only job left in Hull will be that of the one engine driver taking local deputations to the rooms of Whitehall begging for JObs. so spoke prospective councillor and chairperson of Botanic Branch Labour Party, when convening a meeting of nearly a hundred militants last week. The meeting was held in response to the announcement of 1,500 redundancies in the area in une space or live cavs. ane was geared to mounting a solidarity Cam DalE against the loo curs al Hawker Siddeley, Brough.
Earlier in the afternoon. Red Weekly supporters had initiated a Joint meeting between the Hawker shop stewards committee, Fleet, Secretary of the Institute for committee Workers Control, and representalives of the Russell, Combine. They Cucuor or du arenalive workers plan of production, and the types of socially useful commodities that the aircraft factory could produce. What ensued was an indispensable discussion on the need to centralise the experience of the class, in particular workers, in formulating alternative social goals for productive activity. At the solidarity Asquith (AUEW-TASS representative on the Lucas Combine)
Ken Lucas workers in Aerospace discussed energy.
engineering meeting Phil desert.' Tory Government be closed?' CAN WIN les no use nere ana now with the central action offi démonstrations.
an effective mittee with a view action and cooutlined the experience of the constructing their "Corporate Plan'. Instead of meekly accepting job cuts, Lucas workers designed alternative job creation projects such as ecologically safe and cheap transport systems, urban heating plans and wind generators as alternative sources of Ken Fleet, speaking next, attacked the idea floated by the local right wing for lifting the ban on sales of Buccaneer jets to South Africa. He explained that Hawker Siddeley workers would not get support from the labour movement for this. Brother Fleet also spelt out the need to fight for the widest passing of the Nationalisation of Shipbuilding and Aircraft Bill.
Keith Russell began his speech by noting that 'unemployment in humberside nas rocketea to over 16,000. Unless we call a halt now to me consciences one soda Contract, this area will be reduced trom an maustrial gnost town to a He pointed out that, "The last was brought Ine StrUELICs workers and was replaced by a Labour Government elected on the WOrKerS most radical manifesto for years Callaghan, Healey, Mur ray, Scanion and Jones argue that our main aim must be to restore the confidence of "our" businessmen through the Social Contract But how many more for the dole? Howmany more hospitals have to Russell argued that the lesson of struggles like those at Trico was many workers it is possible to win!
wullne Tor someood eise to fight for you - the fight is He finished by appealing to all activists to fight in their unions to build a broad based solidarity committee which in close liaison with the Trades Council should raise an active fight on unemployment. When Hawker workers go into action other workers should back them up with stoppages and A resolution was then passed by an overwhelming majority to set up a broad based solidarity comcalling a demonsiration ane no ding action conference on unemploy pointless, as pump attendants HOurS Vary. Dul wee ye Hu told by Healey himself that equal pay was exempt from the pay policy, since women had already achieved equal pay?
This case, in fact, points very clearly to all the inadequacies of the present legislation.
MALE RATE Two thirds of women de low-paid jobs which cannot be compared with men's work so, as in this case, the only pare their pay with the lowest male rate in me maustry. but cases taken to tribunals on this basis have usually been rejec ted because the term "broadly similar work' is open to the interpretation. Even more importantly, the legislation does not really cover women in this situation.
As most women work in low-paid jobs, and therefore in ity of workers are women, they automatca excuted under the terms of the legisla tion. Onlv a light against low pay coupled with a demand for the rate for the iob can begin to challenge the situation of But women are finding it a hard fight even within terms of the legislation. When ARTHUR CHURCHLEY, shop steward at the occupied Elisabeth Garr et Anderson Hospital thanked pickets who turned out in force to resist the closure of the hospital. The picket was called last Frida OWn struggles, and not on the legisThe strike of the women in Suffolk also makes it clear that in many cases this will mean breaking with the Social Contract. At Trico, because the tribunal ruled that the women's claim did not fall under the Equal Pay Act, the women won a straight wage claim and broke the Social Contract. In Suffolk the employers are rejecting the women's claim by saying that it is contrary to the Government's pay policy.
The fight for women's rights cannot be separated from the ugal against the social con tract, not only because cuts ane unemoiovment eraorcate any gains that women may have magde rights legislation, but also because equal pay means a nigat against low pay which the Social Contract.
EXPLODE The third stage of the pay policy, with its proposed emphasis on differentials could therefore explode in the face of the emplovers as women beein to fight against their low grading and low pay in industry. thus revealing that the legisla tion has failed.
ANNE CESEK