AcTion THE RESULT of the ballot in the NUM for a 50p a week levy to support miners victimised by the NCB for their role in the strike is a blow to the miners and to the left in the union. Of those who voted, 50, 429 (46 per cent) were in favour and 58,721 against (54 Less than 60 per cent of those eligible voted, while four areas including Notts refused participate.
Had these areas voted the number against would undoubtedly have been creased.
Some of the abstennons were aue lo opposition to the levy, by militants, who felt that the decision to hold a levy was ship on the question of dudes!v. beneved that it was a substitute for fight secure the reinstatement for the 620 who have so far been sacked.
This kind of confusion retected the weakness ot the campaign the coalfields. sufficient time for the acLIVISES to organise etfec tively behind it. It is clear that in some areas notably South Yorkshire there was a failure by the leadership to campaign effectively for the levy.
The return to work has chancede concilorsma which the left has to fight.
While on tivists were able to meet and organise on a conoasis they did to considerable The return to work has meant that the miners who carmenrouge lae surike are broken up on different in different workplaces.
I nose were not active in the strike did not LOC exerences OI those who were picket lines, so their attitude to the mass picketing and the arrests are coloured by the media. Neil scabbing only those not convicted of serious of fences should be reinstated strengthened the erroneous understanding of this layer and reinforced The NCB however. need not take too much CONTOT these figures. Scargilism' is no defeated in the NUM - in fact a long way from it The ditterence in the vote was only 8000. This understates the support in the union for the victimised miners and the support for Scargill.
However there are two lessons that need to be drawn from this result. One is the need to openly break with those in the movement Kinnock who draw a distinction between those 'engaged in lawful trade unior activity and others To criminalise some of those sacked is to criminalise all. They are all being victimised for defending their Jobs and com munities.
The second lesson that the activists who fought this strike through for 12 months now need to find new ways of organishadn't been in this situation they wouldn't have been pinching.
Dave: What it is is that they've been to court and been fined, and some of them imprisoned, and the Coal Board now says you've got years unemployment on top of The injustice should stare people in the face. At the end of the day they've done no more than fight for their jobs.
But a lot of people who haven't been active nickets don't understand that. Its being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
That's the thing about the levy. Its come out of that they would take it out of funds, but they've put it there in front of everybody's eyes: 'do you support these lads or don't you?' If the answer is 'no' then we've got pro blems. If the answer 'yes' then we're going .... and then those very familiar state ing in the context of the return to work There has to be organisation of the militants on the ground to back up the lead from the left, Scargill, wing of the national executive.
The leadership find ways. of organising and unifying the pickets who led the strike, in the day-to-day activity in the some place.
Its right make the about the been sackthe who's not, or to pit tors allow certain common practises, overperience, we've come, #92 31$° Cormac ...which do their best to imply that seventeen people committed suicide?
----- pull-quotes -----
on the