Unity can... STOP THE | Socialist Action 1983

Uncorrected machine reading. This text was read by machine (Apple Vision OCR) from a scan of a newspaper page, and the page was cut into articles by machine, at the headlines found by their type size. Nothing has been corrected: expect misread words, text from a neighbouring article, and titles that are the machine reading of the headline, some of them only fragments. Quote from the scan, not from this page.
How this article was cut and titled: headline found by type size in the OCR geometry (split_tabloid.py); 1-3 of 6; machine-segmented newspaper page; uncorrected Vision OCR.

page 1 of the scan

AS THE MINERS stand to the fore in defence of jobs and trade union rights they have brought down on their heads the fury of the government, the police and the media.

Hostility such quarters is only to be expected. The history of our movement shows that it can expect nothing but spleen violence the establishment when it dares to stand up for the rights of working people.

But when leaders join in with the strike breakers that is an entirely different matter. And let there be no mistake about it: Eric Hammond of the Electrical, Electronic, Telecommunication and Plumbing Union (EETPU) has drawn the knife and stabbed the miners in the back.

His statement that: 'We in this union are not prepared to use our strength to bring down an elected government' is a reassurance to Thatcher that he intends to keep the power stations running to help her break The ISTC leaders have not been quite as brutally frank as Mr Hammond, but their actions over using scab coal in the steel plants have been of more use to the Coal Board than they have to the miners. Meanwhile, with a nod and a wink from some ISTC leaders, crane vocaluls at British Steel Hunterston unloaded a giant coal ship last Friday. As a result it seems likely that TGWU dockers will come out on strike in support These people are firmly in the camp of the Tory government, and like the branch officials in the Nottingham NUM who are encouraging and leading their members across the picket lines they are on the wrong side of the divide in the labour movement. Their actions can only weaken the strike, and produce divisions splits the trade unions. This is why those unions who support the miners must now step up their actions in reply to the likes of Hammond.

The rail unions must make sure not one ounce of scab coal is allowed to run the transport of coal on the roads and at the docks must be stopped by the TGWU. Every trade leader and member who wants to defend the unions against Thatcher and her allies in the leadership of the EETU and the ISTC must rally behind the miners. Solidarity strikes, on the picket line and huge financial donations are what is It is the duty of the trade union left to make sure that they get the solidarity they need as they fight to defend the unity of the trade union movement. aid

page 2 of the scan

Socialist Action 18 May 1984