OVER 500 activists from the mining communities, and the support movement, heard Arthur Scargill at a meeting organised by the South Wales Women's Support Groups (SWWSG) at Caerphilly in the Rhymney valley last Friday. It was a real platform of struggle.
The Rhymney valley had 12 collieries in 1952 There is only one left now.
The secretary of Penallte Lodge told us in openins the meeting that it is stil fighting for its existence.
The support of women was one of the great things to come out of the strike, he said. It was on the role of women that the meeting largely concentrated.
Sian Chairperson of SWWSG, made contribution that Arthur Scargill was later to describe as 'brilliant'. Sian pointed out not only the role of women in the but that the Justice for Mineworkers Canpaign is now the most important campaign and the defence of the sacked and jailed miners was the most important message we had To give in now, and not to defend the union, would be to leave nothing.
called on all miners think again about redundancies, and talked about the tragedy of the open cast sites scarring the environment when the deep mines were being closed. Sian had joined the DOur SUCC the strike believing in the need Brenda Thomas spoke about the striking printworkers. Women have played a major role in the naving learnt from the miners dispute Heather smiln Silentnight spoke of their 10 montn surike Tor reinstatement of sacked workers. After 10 months on strike life is hard inthe Silentnight deed for strikers. She appealed for continued financal support the aouT movement, support for their picket the any the port for une rally Silentnight strikers organising on 17 May in Keithley.
Linda Pengu Ffestiniog the haenau support group that campaigned TOI the slate quarry workers in their seven month dispute, acknowledged the inspiration of the miners strike. She also argued that there must be a fight against attempts to divide Wales along either North/South lines or on the question of language. We must fight for one Wales that will fight for justice and the working class.
In opening his speech Arthur Scargill described this platform of those in struggle as a testiment to Acidly he pointed out to intellectuals like Eric Hobsbawm that the NUM did not pick the timing of the strike — but that the government and the NCB had chosen it with their pit closure programme. He went on to explain the gains and lessons consider SHOU defeat.
Twenty four pits have been closed, not the seventy that the wanted. That is a gain of the The generated a political movement in the working class takeover ing the election in a critical time members employed in Post Office. Bosses demanding CUts of between 30 and 50 percent among NCU represented engineers who have voted on industrial action to defend their jobs.
At the same time BT's breaking of agreements on job security working practices actions in recent months.
In Glasgow 3½ thousand engineers walked out after management tried disciplining workers carrying out an overtime ban.
Despite BT's massive profits last year Glasgow had declared 146 jobs 'surplus due to requirements:
an arbitrary cut wages budget.
The union's Broad Strategy, - a blueprint an industry run for