THATCHER HAS chosen the Government. munications Headquarters at Cheltenham as an easy option in the Tories' busting exercise. Playing on the spy scare and national security the government is determined to make this the first step towards banning union organisation in 'sensitive areas and towards getting a 'no strike' pledge from the public sector unions.
The TUC and the union leaders could not have been more helpful to the Tories. On the very day January - that thousands of civil servants came out in spontaneous protest against Comby Eddie Shah.
Meanwhile offer.
- the Cheltenham ban, Joe Wade was carrying out the TUC line in the High Courts grovelling before Mr Justice Eastham and calling off militant action against Alastair Graham was meekly offering the government a 'no strike' pledge which most of his members will read as a clear sign that the union can't defend them therefore making the f1000 seem an attractive Protestations of patriotism, claims of responsibility and offers to give up the right to strike will not budge the Tories one inch.
Because the union leaders are running away before the battle has even begun this will only increase Thatcher's contempt for them. The only thing that will make the government back off is action, and the basis for such action does exist on a wide scale. The protest strikes of their sisters and brothers in the civil service unions shows what can be done. But support for the right to belong to a union goes far beyond that.
Hundreds of thousands of other trade unionists are opposed to the government on this and so are many, many thousands of people who would not describe themselves as militants but
Socialist Action 3 February 1984 declaration