Broad Left but because they did not even mention the issue of Golding and the role of the NCU executive. The line taken by the paper was confirmed among views in the articles that were rejected. Socialist Actin reaffirms its view that those like John Golding, the trade union bureaucracy, constitute the single most important line of defence of the employers and the capitalist class.
FOR telephone engineers, the three week strike which ended on February markee a watersneu. Haicl 100 years without a national SIKe oLlIK file rebelled, took their leaders by the scruff of the neck, and made themselves a real This will be a priceless gain in the struggle against Collialcu 70,000 redundancy plans. How to build on it, ana prepare IOI the next strike in defence of jobs, is the question now facing hundreds OI minded who have come forward from the picketlines.
our leaders kicking screaming out on strike did we vote by 2-1 only three weeks later to go back and accept defeat? On the face of it the NCU faced none of ine problems walen auggeu the NUM or the printworkers at wanping the strike was solid, with no evidence of a drift back to work, hardship was as yet minimal, despite massive press cover-up the strike was biting. Socialist Action supporters incorporating workers struggles: the primary reason that they failed to win was not that thev didn't wield the same industrial muscle as Lacune CuzCC s. lacked the 100 per cent backing of their members. It was that they were forced to fight alone! a vev senous aliciol workers today to defend themseives brings them very quickly into confrontation with not only their employer, but with laws ballots picketing, with the courts, in the form of injunctions ane anes sequestrations, and with the police, through intimidation arrest and frame-ups.
By Ian Grant on behalf of London supporters in the NCU This because the bosses Auu uCl Lyculment have made sure that anv worker daring to take on a fight has to face the united strength of the whole of their class. If we want to win then we need to be able right to point the finger at his' role? strike and sat back while it ran out of steam. The Broad Left constantly warned of an imminent sell out, but did nothing to lead beat BT and in doing so beat BT in doing so keep the NEC in tow.
Socialist Action refused and the NCU strike: was Socialist Action throughout the strike with ousting right wing from the leadership of the union. Rather than say what was needed LIKC WIll . ine BL' : was more concerned that blame for the 'inevitable' defeat was properly laid at the door of the Oy caldec S from all these people will we be able to stand up to the use of the police, the law and the courts by break our action.
Telephone engineers will have to bulld on the kind of international support which was onterec toe sanke ta time, in any future action We will have to , take fight in the Labour Party not only for solidarity but ensure Inal a government plements policies to defend us from the attacks of the bosses.
It would be surprising if the Broad Left were not to gain as a result of the strike NEC : elections this year. However this is not to say that they credible alternative leader. shịp to the right. As the miners used to say: a leadership which guaranteed you could go to sleep at night conneeu ual vou wouul l wake up in the morning to tind thay you'd been sold out! Such a leadership did overnight.
Calciet Before it can be built in the NCU, telephone engineers will have to take a few more steps down the road we have started on.
Learn fight. union today have begun learn this fundamental JOHN BRANNAN, convenor at the occupied Caterpillar plant at Uddingston in Scotland spoke to a fringe meeting at the Scottish Labour organised by the Brannan challenged the logic of the system whereby pronl determines whether workers have jobs, whether steel is produced at Ravenscraig or tractors are produced at Caterpillar.
'We are fighting for the right to determine that we want to work for Caterpillar' he said. 'The factory belongs to us. The only thing we lack is someone to pay our wages.
The occupying workers have built a tractor named the 'pink panther which they have NCU members in the london City area wert donated to Nicaragua. They built it, Brannan explained, 'to highlight LC COSC Ua l which is making somehting that people need. We want to congratulate War on Want for accepting the tractor and for building a campaign for the tractor to go to Nicaragua where it belongs Neil Kinnock visited the occupation on his way to the Scottish Labour Party conference where the Caterpillar struggle was, with the neal daast Eue cosulc of the Golden Wonder feature of the conference. Tony Benn plans to visit the occupation 24 March. nuce naca door has been mobilised for the closure fight, which has also won international support.
On 5 March to coincide with a lobby of parliament, Caterpillar workers in Grenoble in Switzerland had a demonstration outside the US embassy and workers in Brüssels stopped work for 15 minutes. These actions were coordinated by a HuroDean combine established in the last MIONLO victimised are standing for office in this week's
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tion supporters in the NCU in London were rejected for publication — not, as is stated in the article which follows, primarily even because of the issue of the
by a meeting of the Socialist Action editorial board. The following article represents a minority view
PIZZOS C
• Bosses interfere in NCU AGM