WE'VE BEEN in dispute for six weeks over our right to refuse to handle South African goods. We first apSpeech by Andy Lavender, Portsmouth steward proached our management last September. We outraged at their instruction to conhandling these goods. We were told by them they do not discriminate about the country of origin from where they purchase their goods. They also told us any employees who take action would be disciplined.
We said we could not tolerate this and from January have bovcotted South African fruit in the nealn service. Immealale ly we faced discipline, and workers were half a day early and lost bonuses.
We've responded to the call of our South African * brothers sisters. To stop this, management have brought outside contractors as our drivers and central stores staff are refusing handle the goods. We're asking that Britain's unions respond to the call of the ANC SACCOSATU sanctions. We want financial support, HOIC than that we want you to take action in your workplace. If you can't yet take action, question the morality of your employer. At present we're isolated in Portsmouth and also face the threat laws. We need the support of the trade union movement to force this government take action. NUPE in Portsmouth have taken this action, we hope you'll follow us. • Messages of port/donations to: Portsmouth NUPE Health Workers Branch Secretary, Richard Jewison, 93 Leigh Rd, Eastleigh, Hants, Tel 0703-61151. British trade unionists participate in a solidarity demonstration in El Salvador from El Salvador for Socialist Action. What were your first impressions of El Salvador?
There were soldiers armed bonce everywaere. patrolling. the streets especially in San Salvador. There WelC even quaras with machine guns outside MacDonalds.
Ine trade unionists met were very concerned about the large numbers of UNIONI leaders who've been jailed, killed or simply gone missing. They wanest send messages of protest L0 Dudile. and solidarity messages to the unions. They stressed that this inLenauoldi orcssure save lives and strengthens their morale.
can they organise and have disputes LUC government has killed 60,000 people since 1980?
They have very few full time officials. Most union workers. When strip-ances officers shop-floor arise they are on the spot.
The nons de growing rapidly as workers lose their fear of being active Ine government has casca up a little on anti-union répression. The unions can oreanse SuuKes demonstrations without being attacked by the so-called securitv few years back there were almost massacres. NOW Lne reDress on much more selective.
This means there are still many jailings death squad assassinatons. ror example. met the these eral adorary (Salvadorean Unity Federation). He said that the last years had sculclares been murdered. We asked him if he was worried. He said yes, but someone had to do it, and if something happened him many would be willing to step in. to his shoes.
has the government" relaxed repression even to DAVE BOYLE, a sacked miner from Silverwood pit near Rotherham and member of the Labour Party Young Socialists, was one of a four-person trade union delegation which visited the strife-torn Central American nation of Ei Salvador in January 1986. They saw plenty of action. During their stay, FMLN guerillas blacked out power across the country for several days, and a wave of strikes and street protests met the announcement by the dictatorship of austerity measures. JOHN SMITH interviewed him La small degree it at the same time it is stepping up the war?
solidarity! when 1 was there i saw literally thousands of letWing the attacks on the unions on specific U110l minister of labour himself showed us a huge pile.
More more unions because they see much Dacking ley nave. When we marched on the antiausterity we carried a banner announcing our presence. helped provide security for the making it too politically costly 10] une government to ditack But the actual organisers had to their identities completely secret, and many marchers covered their faces.
How old, and what sex, were the union leaders you met?
Most were young men, but women were strongly represented at all levels of structures.
Women form the leadersaiD or some or lne modi militant unions. For the Workers umon, Walen The hospialis ho worses, hospitals HUSCO, COOKS. GOCIOTS last summer staged a sit-in which was attacked by the army and ponce. I would say thạt the average age the union leaders we met was about 30.
What sort of issues are at the centre of trade union disputes?
First, Many unions are fighting for legal status - without It lucy have no wav or be ing legally represented when members and leaders are arrested and carted on for taking industrial tion. wages condltions are also at the centre of most disputes. political deboands directly Wha! about FENASTRAS (National Union Federation Workers) calls for the government to La ulalogue win tae guerillas.
Those we met concentrated on union solidarity against torture and killings ої ner memese то basic human and TENS With few exceptions they did not directly address the war.
But I think they have to be very conscious security, they were concentraling wildl they wanted us, which was solidarity against repression.
On the demonstration, which protesting austerity measures, all the speakers denounced the war.
• Report back meeting with delegation members Larry assistant general secretary the TGWU Burbidge, TGWU executive member Dave Boyle, sacked miner, Jeremy Corbyn MP and a enresenta PENASTRAS Monday 17 March 7.30. Lambeth Town Hall, (Brixton tube) London.
£1 a week and iwo meals prisoners and convicts. nearly 50,000 potential adherents. of cent.
through strikes of parliament.
cent and - ominously Riot areas included three districts of Cairo, Ismailia on the Suez Canal, and Sohag on the Nile, South of Cairo. Targets were luxury hotels and the rich quarters. The rioters also stormed the Tourah prison in South Cairo, freeing political Egypt's oil revenues, which last year reached $2bn, have halved in the oil crisis and its debts total $32.5bn with a trade deficit of $7.7bn pe year. Popular discontent amongst the city poor nas taken an increasingly anti-American and anti Zionist turn. Attempts to refound a Nasserite party — illegal at present — are said to count on Germany: doleful Kohl Germany's ruling coalition suffered a severe defeat in local elections in Schleswig Hoistein. further intensifving its crisis. The Christian Democratic Union (CDU), which rules the region lost 12 per cent of its vote. Its partners. the Free Democrats lost 50 per cent of theirs. The Social Democrats' vote went from 34.6 per cent to 40.7 per cent and the Greens' from 3.1 to 7.4 per Last month over 200,000 workers downed tools for up to five hours against laws restricting social security payments to workers laid off To make matters worse Chancellor Kohl of the CDU faces renewed scrutiny of his role in a corruption scandal. Mr Otto Schilly, the leading parliamentary Green deputy, has produced evidence that Kohl lied in testimony given to an enquiry established in 1984, when it was found that the huge Flick company had been bribing German politicians to represent its interests in Though the German economy is doing relatively well in capitalist terms, with a f22bn trade surplus, unemployment has risen to 10.4 per - production has started to decline, an early sign of approaching slump
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How we built the boycott in Portsmouth