Undeterred by opposition which ranges from the National Front through the local press, to the trade union bureaucracy i the district, the strikers at Imperial Typewriters in Leicester are fighting on.
Management sacked 370 of the mainly Asian strikers last Thursday after they refused to return to work. The strikers are demanding higher bonus payments, a more towards equal pay for women, an end to discrimination in promotion, and the right to elect their own shop stewards.
More than 1,100 strikers and their supporters marched through Leicester last Sunday. They were ot Leicester Trades Council: HI All: Julian Atkinson of Nottingham IMG; Dick Skiers, George Powe of the Black People's Freedom Movement; Darshana Tomkinson of IS; two members of the strike committee; and Benny Bunsee, who chaired the rally.
RIGHT TO STRUGGLE Tariq All told the strikers that they were right not to wait for the white workers before starting to struggle, and that the fight against racism had to include a struggle against the 1971 Immigration Act.
Darshana Tomkinson was not well reccived when she attacked "outsiders, who tried to tell the strikers what to do; this was clearly directed at Benny Bunsee, who has a great deal of prestige from the Mansfield Hosiery strike, and is now aising the limperial strikers.
The previous Monday (13 May). 800 strikers demonstrated outside the T&GWU offices, demanding that the stnike be made official. The District Secretary George Bromley flatly refused. He told the press that he was terrified that the strice could lead to a racial backlash, and did not intend to hold a branch meeting BILL EAC IS COULdThe other half of the bureauctatic double-act in Leicester is Reg Weaver, the "convenor" at Imperial. He has made a name for himsell by appointing virtually all the other shop stewards. He insists that he will talk to any of the workers-except those who are not employees of Imperial. This means the 370 who have been locked out, and includes the entire strike committee.
CONFRONTATION
The lockout started last Thursday. when the firm announced that all those who did not return that morning would be sacked. The inevitable result was a confrontation between pickets and scabs on Wednesday eve ning. Six pickets were arrested and fined a total of E315. Altbouch 80 strikers did go back, half of these came out again on Friday.
There has been a disgraceful response to the strike oy the majority of the Leicester labour movement. However, Asian shop stewards at six factories have promised overtime hans in soldanty on Friday 17 May that they would return to work if they were guaranteed the right to elect their own shop stewards, no victimisations, and further negotiations over their other demands. But as we go to press the management has not responded ment must rally to the deferice of are fighting in a town which gave the last election. The local newspaper has done nothing but slander them, and has suggested that their strike is part of a Trotskyite plot.
The local officials of the T&G must recognise the strike as official, and give full support to these militant workers.
The strike committee announced full re-employment. This would allow RALLY TO DEFENCE All sections of the labour move.
the Imperial workers. These workers 9,000 votes to the National Frout at have refused to support the workers; but the left" leadership of the Union Tariq All addresses the demonstration on Sunday Hull trade unionists are preparing