Leicester were sacked last week. criminal charges brought by British Rail management.
Coalville depot for the last seven months.
ROY BUTLIN, leader of the Coalville railworkers about what is happening.
Why do you think that the sackings management's harassment campaign?
First of all in Coalville — a town filled with scabs my members nave stood by the handful of striking As He Suite winter gets nearer everything is being done to get coal trains back on the rUdu To my mind, it is not coincidental that rail workers WelC visited by transport police the same dav that management threatened with closure unless we shifted coal.
was devastating to ¿ur families. niokes went tome and broke the news that a closure plan had seen announced.
As that wasn't enough, a few hours later They row face members had sevell transport police searching their homes for BR properito date, three of the seven have been summarily dismissed Never before has this kind of offence ended up In fact I was sent home this morning for refusing to take a coal train by a supervisor who was found guilty of stealing from wage packets the sate several years ago.
This is what convinces me that the sackings nothing but punsumen. for my members who have backed union policy.
What has been the effect or une sackings members?
At the most critical stage in the dispute the morale lowest point. They've put with financial problems, police raids sackings.
We need a tremendous morale booster while we're preparing the appeals. The decision by the local NACODS to back their national strike call will be a big help.
Over the next few weeks railworkers miners from our area will be in London drumming up support. So response has been tremenCOIS. We are also plann ing an open meeting at our depot on 4 November.
We've invited Frank Dobson, Sponsored MP, as well as local NURDennis Skinner and Peter Heathtield. All Ot our suD porters in the rail industry will be invited to attend Many London depots will send have said they When my members see the support inal i nave seen since arriving in London, we'll be more united than ever.
You seem to be winning a lot of support, but what has the union done?
I must be frank. My national union, especially at district level. A lot more come be done o! respect of fund-raising.
Our closure threat should have been banner headlines 1n the Pr sero Transport Review.
should have been 'A depot faces closure for backing the union' depot the number one depotas far as this dispute is concerned. Yet no one in the country knows what's going on.
Can this change?
I'm sure it can. The support is there in the membership But our trade union needs be shaken from the roots. We need to get rid of the old Weighell-typ mentality in the union and at head office.
We need an Arthur Scargill to emerge our ranks and we need to learn from how the miners conduct their attairs and how they struggle.
Contributions message support lU.
Roy Butlin, 23 Capson St Leicestershire, KOSLOCI
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case to the value of f4! But the court action has more to do with the fact that no coal has moved from
The charges are of theft of BR property, in one Doreen Weppler, member of the NUR, spoke to