long suffered very low pay, high unemployment and poor housing leading as a result to steady emigr ation. So the oil companies were able to draw off skilled and unskilled offering slightly higher rates while they imposed much longer hours, "Jump contracting, low safety and dogeed American boss-style oppositson to unionsation. have a vice-like grip over the two local dailies. But the fact that AberLy independent, sells 1400 copies indicates the thirst by some workers for a voice of their own TRAWLERS OUSTED But the higher oil prices eneineered by the companies in collusion with deen People's Press, a small fortnichtThe harbour, of course, was already husy with its traditional work.
Inue" led market.
We are profoundly grateful for every Fictorious and defeat those who ataged the committee. ated port dues and congested cond itions in Aberdeen harbour, Mcanwhile Shell, Total Oil, Amoco and Texaco are building their own spec Jalised facilities, and are taking over control of the Harbour Board from the Lahour Council and assorted small fry. The storage and loading facilities, like the boats they tise are massive and extremely specialised - in other words, useleas for anything but getting oil from the North Sea WILL BOOM CONTINUE?
The oil industry is thus squeezing out traditional industries that it cannot adapt into service industries. This where the main force of the dockis not a disaster for workers while the oil boom continues. But will it cont Right now, visitors from the reeession-hit outside world are struck By what a rich wee city Aberdeen is Oil exploration is going ahead faster than ever before, anywhere. But the oil companies are operating Aberdeen Simply as a part of their world strategies. Developments far away from here could bring the boom to a sudden end, despite the efforts of the eager-to-please city fathers.
In its issue of 8 March The Econ onest showed that there is in tact a world glut of oil -that (for instance) the oil companies are telling their tankers to move slowly across die oceans and so keep more oil effectiv ely in store and less on the oversupp The article went on to point out that despite the illusions sustained by a massive world-wide public rel arions job, the price of oil could not go on defying the laws of the market for ever. Sooner or later it would colapse. possibly beiuw the price that would cuable North Sea oil to he sold at a profit The implication was that this would freeze North Sea oil development in its tracks Clearly British capitalism's hopes of a way out of its slump and mount- extend their active links and use their ing debt via ail money pins the entire economic strategy of the Labour Government would then forg links with oil workers on the be destroyed. Expropriation under workers control would be the only alternative for workers to massive Jong term unemployment in an area whose other industries had been allowed to run down, But how well pro pared are workers for this huge task? STEWARDS COMMITTEE The dockers in Aberdeen are a key sector in the industry. They are very well organised, with a healthy distrust of the T&GWE bureaucracy and a reliance on their own organis ation under an active shop stewards But, although Aberdeen harbour has found itself with almost all its eggs in the oil basket, the oil comp
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To persuade workers to accept found in Chilean cargo