The largest single number of occupations to occur at any one time took place in 1972, when the leaders of the Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions (CSEU) - refusing to launch a national struggle — decided to pursue their claim to negotiate locally and referred any such claims back to the national level. In the meantime they organised compensation for any of their members hit by industrial on a plant-by-plant basis. But the Engineering Employers Fereration (EEF) refused PART 4 isolated on a plant-by-plant basis, were facing a nationally united employers' organisation willing to finance and support those of its members involved in dispute (the EEF paid out more than £2 million to strike-hit firms). Gradually the individual enterprises settled one by one, usually well below the original demands, obtaining perhaps a £2.50 a week increase, one day's extra holiday in 1972 and another in 1973, rarely any reduction in hours, and no moves towards The outcome of the Manchester engineers' sit-in strikes marked the end of the initial phase of uncritical enthusiasm for occupations. The failure of the occupation tactic on such a wide scale as Manchester to achieve any significant results removed from it the aura of sure-fire success, and showed it for what it was: a tactic — certainly a very important tactic, and a big step forward in working class militancy, but nevertheless a tactic to be used as circumstances determined.
The Tories were elected on a union-bashing programme, and 1972 was to have been a victory for them on all fronts. But the initiatives and imagination of the mass of the working class turned it into a year when the labour and trade union movement - not the employers- took Inside the are occupied by the striking Engineers. mass occupation. mon interest. fight against unemployment.
That the British working class has not, after its experiences, drawn any general political les sons from the work-ins and occupations is testDISTRICT/TOW 8 April 1972 - 22 factories in the Manchester area imony to the continuing dominance of reformist ideas in the workers' movement. Challenging these ideas will require more than the shouting of advice from the side-lines of the class struggle. It is only through forcing the reformists into united action in defence of the right to work that the bankruptcy of their strategy will be exposed and the working class will be able to develop in practice an alternative use of the The mass occupation can be a really effective tactic. But militancy and determination are not enough on their own. Many occupations have come to resemble Custer's last stand because they failed to offer to other workers a policy to defend jobs in which they had a com ember demonstration should be a rea How can the thousands of workers or campaigns against unemployment in going into struggle receive solidarity often in the recent occupations - bu paign be mounted for work-sharing w gency programme of public works; 01 ed; nationalisation of all firms creating sary to gain the right to work?
The first significant steps in the right dir tion have been taken by conferences organı by the trades councils in many areas. In Le ter, for example - where 13,000 are unem! ed compared with 7,000 at the beginning o the year - such a conference was attended 80 delegates from all the major unions. Th conference decided unanimously to fight fo occupation of factories as the most effectiv means of resisting closure; for nationalisatic without compensation and under workers trol of all firms threatening redundancies; f opposition to all schemes of voluntary redu dancy, productivity deals and wage cuts; an for opening the books. The conference als‹ decided to produce a monthly bulletin to popularise these policies and convene a fur ther conference.
It is precisely these types of developmen which can lay the basis for a real local Righ to Work Committee. A powerful campaign propaganda and agitation around these den ands would really begin to alter the situatio
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Lessons and Limitations