the Scottish Trade Union Congress, ind Hugh Wyper, District Secretary of the TGWU, right down to John Reidford, Secretary of Glasgow Tradi Council, whose historic mission is to act as general errand-boy for the big lads.
It was comrade Reidford's un stinting efforts to mobilise the mass of the Glasgow working class in supp ort of the strikers and against the troops that produced last week's shambles of a demonstration. But the shambles was no accident: not were the following sterling acts of working class solidarity recently carried out by 'comrade Reidford:
*On the winter 1973 STUC demon *On the 1974 May Day Rally, Reid ford allowed the police free rein to move throughout the crowd. The upshot was a provocation launched against Repubbican paper sellers and the arrest, under Special Branch supervision, of two IMG militants *Earlier this month, Reidford voluntcered to organise the necessary police notlicanon aner ine cr dominated scornsn Chile Defence Committee was fored to support a picket called to demand the release of Chilean sailors held by the junta. When the 100 pickets assembled, no notification had been given and they wore forced to disperse rather than risk the possible arrest of Chileans (The CP, at least seemed to know the situation. There was preciscly one Party member present!
On last week's demonstrabion. Reidford ordered the arrest of 15 militant Mick Napier, an NEIl Trades Council delegate. Napier was liter released, but not before Council delegate who sits with him on the 'Scottish Chile Defence Committoe.
Quite apart from the fact that it is rather disgusting to see a leader of the Glasgow workers movement acting as an unpaid grass for the cops, it is surely also a source of wonderment that he has not been pulled up by his comrades in the Communist Party for his scandalous conduct before now.
DAMOCLEAN SWORD The reason why he has not is, very simply, that he holds the Damoclean sword of the buresucracy, which is his only base, over any who move against him in the CP. His actions merely express the real motives of the men he serves and who defend him The IS comrades who walked out of the Edinburgh Trades Council conference in protest against Reidford's brazen slanders used the right instinct for the wrong action. The way to root out the 'rotten elements' (a term a cynical Stalinist hatchetman like Reidford can doubtless identity on them in indignation, but to walk right in to the overdue and urgent ESK LUELET EACH TO ACCORE BC fore the whole labour movement.
Until that is done, the Redfords of this world will remain minions with three masters - Stalinism, the bureaucracy and the state- with no intention of submitting to the master who pays the hire the working class.
SAME at the Trades Council meetin them to give a little of their precious Kon Brown. place and trade union build a mass campaig of troops, they used t весате тоге and лиме итуспь SOLIDARITY FIASCO the struggles of the electricians and a national pay deal is made. If the Executive of Edinburgh Trades Council had had their way, the activities of strike-breaking troops 40 miles away would probably not have been mentioned 8 Harh However they four it within time to an emergency motion from left Labour Couneillor and AUEW delegate Brown's motion called on the Trades PHERE TO CORCHE CASUAC DEBEL d to call upon the STUC to urge t Labout Government to make an immediate setdement. For the Executive, that was fine - as long as it went no further. When an IMG militant and ASTMS delegate put Council to organise a conference of work for the withdrawal trick in the book to cut off the debate However, Chairwoman Gertie Mac Manus's steamroler tactics dad not prov ent the amendment being carried by 31 votes to 30, as the CP's base split down the middle. As the week progressed, ING Trades Council delegates got on with the job of building Saturday's emergency conference. For the Executive, the need to get in line with the headlong retreat of their fellow bureaucrats in Glasgow Therefore, who better to address the conference than the stage manager of Glasgow's fiasco of 'solidarity". Glasgow Trades Council Secretary John Reidford. Ignoring the question of troops, ignoring drivers (a representative of whom sat ennial party ploce, an illiterate and hystThe Liverpool dustcart drivers' unofficial strike is over after nine weeks. On Saturday they accepted an int- the dump erim offer of £2.63 and returned to work that afternoon. This settlement represents a partial defeat after tromendous pressure had been put on the 250 strikers. The settlement is seen as a temporary measure until Three of the emergency dumps set up by the Council during the strike had been declared health hazards. In the early part of the week the Council tried to get a private contractor to move the three emergency dumps. On Thursday morning when the contractor finally turned up. the lorry drivers refused to cross the 40 strong picket-line. The Coun cil then set their sights on calling in the troops, and decided to con101 DOV S Highways and Environment CommLast Thursday evening about 150 residents who live next to the worst pile of rotting gurbage spread the stuff across several main roads.
The roads remained blocked for get the troops out and support the strik: en, not to hear Trades Council activists subjected to ignorant abuse, Chairwoman MacManus was equally intransigent. Bro Uver Reidford's views, though " personal, had a lot of bearing on the present sE ration". (Although when the mover of Tuesday's amendment referred to the social cuntract, he was niled out of order hy MarManus and cut off in mid-speech as his remarks were "not relevant.) 'The 50 delegates were then treated to an en core, during which several 15 delegutes walked out in disgust, before being in ited to support the Executive's resolut JOINT SHOR XINWODOX ion of the resolution "book hours. The "hours' must have been-speat in collecting the 120 odd words that went into the As George Keneran, Trades Council delogate from the Educational Inatitute of Scolland and a member of the IMG, remarked afterwards: "It would have been much easier for the Executive to say whet they meant - that the borenuericy was to he applauded, that mose of die same was on the under of the day, and that a saleanent would do a take thing Bul maybe that would have made things a bit. 70o clear comperhec
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NOW.... 'M OUT! I PARTY IN THE FRUITS AUCRACY
RATTLE THEY VE NEVER BEEN
SINCE BELFAST CLATTER: