Unemployment is chronic throughout the valley areas of South Wales, where one in twelve are unemployed. But a recent strike by 40 electricians and mates was successful in fighting redundancies, victimisation and pointing the way forward to the kind of action needed to defend the right to work.
The sparks employed by the contractors, Kh wilaims are emploved in electrical work at the Girlings brake factory at Pontypool. On Tuesday 10 August six men were laid off after being transferred to a non-existent job, and from there to the office to pick up their cards.
It was no coincidence that these six men had been involved in forming a union shop which had successfully fought against 19th ...and how not to Two extremely serious developments have occurred which cast the strongest doubts on the claims of the International Socialists to be building a united movement against unemployment. Is leaders or me kigne to Work Campaign have banned gays and women from marching as separate contingents on the forthcoming Right to Work March from London to the Brighton.
In reply to a letter from an All London Gay Workers meeting to join the march with its own banner, Right to Work *Experience has shown that alternative loyalties to political groups or other campalens can only sow conrusion on tac march.' An exactly identical attitude to that shown by the Communist Party when they told off IS for raising the previous Right to Work march at the National Assembly on Unemployment!
Then, in a telephone conversation with a spokesperson for the Working Women's Charter, Jimmy McCallum, another leader of the Right to Work Campaign and IS candidate in waisall Nort, said that the campaign would not permit the Charter to march behind their own banner. When told that the Charter had already built the march with their own leaflets McCallum replied century safety conditions on the site. As the manager said to shop steward Billy Williams: The game's up, Billy, and after all you re too clever to be a spark, you snour become a supervisor."
On Wednesday a mass meeting of tne shop was called. The deputy steward Alan Marshall addressed the meeting and proposed strike action in defence of Williams and in opposition to the redundancies. As IS member Lawrence Morcombe and IMG member Phil Cornwell put it, the fight goainst the lav-offs had to be seen and fought for as a fight for the right to work throughout soutn wales The strike began and was solid. Several of the electricians went to address meetings that in that case the Charter had a cheek to issue your own leaflets". He said that the Charter would not even be allowed to send a representative to the Campaign's National Council to argue their case.
With the same arguments used by bureaucrats against the rank and file, McCallum insisted: You have to go through the right channels, you have to have a green card." Faced with a request to speak at the Right to Work Council on the theme A Woman's right to Work, McCallum He Died. organise vour own mecue. also said that the Charter would not be allowed to issue their own leaflets on the march, despite assurances that the leaflets would not attack the march's organisers. Similar Earlier in the week McCallum had given similar replies when student teachers in South London had also asked for recognition of the contingent under the Wom an's Right to Work' banner.
attitude. It is a on a neighbouring site and received sup port. Electricians inside Girlings also backed the strike.
Every worker turned up on the picket line and leaflets were issued to the regular factory workers explaining that the electricians' fight was a question directly concerning them: the defence of jobs. All those involved in the dispute had a say and the strike was organised to layolye eyeryone affected.
Faced with this united and militant approach the management caved in and the men were re-employed. A victory notable both in itself and for the action-orientated, democratic way in wnich it was organiseo anu won be permitted to take part and use their own slogans.
By saying that all marchers have to march behind Right to Work banners, the IS is attempting to cut out any political current which it does not control. This was obvious when McCallum in the same phone call told the representative from the Charter: "The Labour Party wants to send delegates. Well it's just not on.
This sectarian attitude will destroy any potential the Right to Work March has for beginning a serious fight against unemployment. The only successful campaign will be one built on a united front basis- which means the right of open and democratic discussion in that campaign. It has no future if everyone who does not agree with IS is kept out.
The attitude to gays and women is More than 800 workers marched through Manchester on Saturday in support of 25 Engineering Union members sacked from the Swinton factory of Automat. For thirty weeks they have kept up a picket of the factory and weekly mass pickets have attracted hundreds of supporters. But with the majority of the firm's non-unionised workforce continuing to work the local district of the AUEW has stopped short of calling sympathetic strike action which could force recognition at Automat.
disgusting, especially at a time when the most important struggle currently taking place is at Trico on the issue of equal pay for women - where the Working Women's incidentally, has organised all night pickets. The IS ban on gays also coincides with a struggle by Tower Hamlets social workers who have gone on strike after a welfare worker was sacked because he was gay. The attack on the rights of women student teachers takes place when this section of workers is one of the worst hit by the cuts.
Red Weekly will continue to support the Right to Work March. We do so with the demand that all contingents have a right to march, to make their own propaganda, and We ask pur our terr own cariets members of IS to demand of their leader ship a commitment to make the campaign
STER AND DES
open to all those willing to fight for the right to work: women and gays included!
SATURDAY 4 SEPTEMBER: assemble Embankment, Charing Cross, iam March to Downing Street to lobby Callaghan, then on to BRIXTON. Camp the night at CROYDON.
On the nights of 5 and 6 SEPTEMBER the maroh will stop at CRAWLEY and PYECOOMBE. Entertainments are being arranged at both stops.
TUESDAY 7 SEPTEMBER March into Brighton and Lobby TUC. Special transport down for this is being arranged in London and other towns.
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March 3 Righ to Work
UMAT HUEW SHASTRIKE BOWEEK
AMALCAMATEO UNON ENGINERING WORKER
JOIN THE MARCH FOR THE THE RIGHT TO WORK