Photo: RICK MATTHEWS (IFL) miners, and try to break the far the most serious.
actions were also taken last week.
Derbyshire 'working miners were granted High Court injunction or Monday banning the use funds furtherance of the strike. This move is clearly aimed at strengthening the back to work moves in the North Derbyshire preventing strikers from effectively picketting the The move against the Derbyshire area will be a signal to strike breakers in other areas to seek similar oraers In Yorkshire the scabs are attempting to take control of the area away from its elected officers the the hands of pointed by the courts Thi a receiver will be on the basis that the High Court has declared the strike unofficial, and therefore use of the funds is a breach of trust. The receiver would run the union on terms dictated by the High Court.
The Yorkshire action has a similar basis to the members of the NUM Na. pending arallis. tional Executive which will attempt make individual officers personally liable for the fines on the Shas Waste tee TGWU also WRITS AGAINST the labour movement are now flying like confetti, as the courts go for the kill against the NUM, attack solidarity action with the Austin-Rover strike.
But it is the legal moves against the NUM that are by The seizure by the Irish courts of £3 million of ordered dockers have imposed on LIC twu haulage firms whose court action led to the siezure of South Wales NUM funds.
Separately • the miners strike, but as part of the legal onslaught, BL has also taken to the courts to attack its workforce. Mass meetings at the company's plants at Longbridge and Cowley voted by large majorities to reject the company's wage offer. After failing to stimulate a back to work' move the company is now using the courts to break the strike Under the 1984 Trade Union Act, which came into effect September, unions are liable to up to £250,000 damages unless a secret ballot is first held to endorse sinke acton. would then face fines similar to those imposed on the NUM.
The labour movement to these atust lake u tacks now. They represen the most serious assault on the unions since the imprisonment of five dockers In 19/2 - ana coula also end up in the imprisonment of trade Even now these court ac , are a serious threat to the NUM's ability to pursue the strike. The governknows that the NUM can continue through the winter power cuts will come. It is therefore aiming to break the now. Simultaneously the government trying to push through the whole ramework of its antibecause if the Austin-Rover injunction is the • first maior use of the 1984 anti-union laws it will be very far from the last if it is not defeated now.
The TUC has got to ac to stop these legal shackles being imposed the unions. The TUC Conguess ceasons commit unr TUC to industrial actior to ston these laws. Massive industrial action is needed now to back the NUM and to stop the courts.
The General Counci of the TUC should be recalled to prepare such action. At present the courts are picking off in dividual unions and in the case of the NUM individual areas — with no centralised response from the labour movement. fact ever since the betrayal of the NGA by the General Council the Tories have been preparing further attacks. Only the miners' strike has held them back.
The fact that the earlier legal attacks on the NUM were not responded to b the TUC has encouraged the government to step up their assault.
The whole movement should follow the example of the NUM in its defiance of the courts the law The TUC should build the miners' struggle prepare the whole labour movement for strike action.
Given the attacks
the different areas of the NUM there should also be campaign build regional strike action.
The entire trade union Hovenell legal attack. The entire trauc unlon moveneat na to be mobilised against it.
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NUM assets was a widely publicised blow to the miners. But still more potentially dangerous legal