rail.
tinghamshire, where in Coalville last month.
management.
powerful platform included Charlie Limp, a local striking miner; local and district rail union officers; the assistant genera secretaries • both rail unions and national executive committee members from each LOU Adams, a driver Stratford in East London and a member of his union's executive, plained, 'We have to support the miners because 80 per cent of coal in this country is transported b rail. And coal makes up 60 per the total amount of freight traffic.' Britain's rulers understand that railway workers and miners arm po te ful combination.
Serpell Report with its infamous proposals to slash the railways pieces, there are two options cuts which if implemented would mean that no coa would be shifted by a rail last Sunday's The meeting was held in Shirebrook, in Notthe divisions amongst the meeting followed a similar open union meeting held ones, backed union policy of refusing to shift scab coal by Tone lo a vowc station anywhere in the United Kingdom.
NUR member A powerful theme of the meeting was to dispell the myth that railworkers shifted coal today, their depot would be sare wnen te governmell comes for the rail industry tomorrow. "Let's recall the lessons of our said Neil Milligan ASLEF's assistant general secretary. 'We found out then that we weren't alright if we were loyal to management during that They came for most of us in the 1960s. They didn't disciminate.? And, as Lou Adams pointed out, a full 67 footplate depots are today faced plans.
Tony Donaghy from the NUR executive tackled the argument that the road haulage industry will keep for shiftin coal if we let lorries shifi LUCI colliall coal today.
Jobs 'We meet regularly with Transport Workers union and they explain it's been cowboys in the main who are doing the work We have reports of up to £500 being paid 'to these cowboys. Farmers tors, suitably camoflaged are even being used to shift coal.' But above all, he said, 'we must take seriously the miners' pledge that when they win they will guarantee that all coal contracts return to rail."
During meeting tribute was paid to outstanding efforts of railworkers despite harTommy Taylor, Tassient from Shirebrook ASLEF, told how the depot normally shifted more than 400.000 tonnes of coal weekly with the railworkers who are scabb.
ing today, 300,000 tonnes coal could be moved. off to a lone signalman who has stood un to the pressure. HIs ac tions mean that only 50,000 tonnes are being moved each week.' The Federation has blacked all movement of aviation fuel which is now being used to keep open stations, like JUWC Neasden. The desperation ot the government to sup ply power stations was evident in management's ap proach to a small drivers' depot of 16 men in Thame, near Nottingham limited LUVE amounts of oil in emergen for the Ministry of CC. Defence. The drivers were bribed with amounts of overtime they'd agree to shift oil to Didcot.
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SPEAKER: AFTER speaker 100-strong meeting of railway workers spelt out why every railworker who refuses to shift coal is not only supporting the miners, but is also defending jobs in
miners have extended to the railworkers. Called by the Federation of the two major rail unions, the
Both of these meetings, and future despite a vicious campaign of harrassment
designed to show solidarity with railworkers who have stuck to working class principles and have