S Wales steelmen for London jobs lobby

OVEI travel Steel Ebbw to be TAT COLIN gusted ing. : 2,500 South Wales steel workers will to London today to lobby the British Corporation against the closure of the Vale works. The mass demonstration, followed by a meeting at Central Hall, westminster, coincides involving 9,000 men.

Unlike the militant lobby of parliament by Shotton steelworkers last month, today's protest is overshadowed by last Wednesday's decision of the first-ever delegate conference of the TUC steel committee at Sheffield. ( HUC SON Shettield • dismeetDespite a barrage of demands from the floor for industrial action and a General Strike, chairman Sir David Davies refused to put resolutions to the meeting.

Even more sinister, leaders of the 16 steel unions made it clear they accepted the BSC's modernization plans.

Davies, the Iron and Steel Trades Confederation's general secretary, said afterwards: 'We reached common agreement not to oppose modernization and to make sure that new job opportunities must be provided before closures are implemented.' Yesterday rank-and-file leaders were still reeling from what they regard as the wholesale abandonment of the fight for work by their union chiefs.

Ebbw Vale Action Committee chairman Mr Colin Hudson said on the eve of the mass lobby: "The failure of the conference to make a decision has left me disgusted.

I'm still thinking about it. I'm one of those who have battled for years against breaking away from constitutions, but after this even I am having second thoughts.

Mr Hudson said that he believed the leadership vacuum which would inevitably follow the Sheffield meeting would lead to the setting up and co-ordinating A section of the British Steel Corporation works at Ebbw Vale, South Below: to be run down under Tory rationalization plans.

rank-and-file leadership.

Today's demonstration means that at some of the major steelworks doomed by the BSC's modernization plans all the traditional reformist protests have been passed through-to no avail.

Now men at Ebbw Vale, Shotton, Flintshire, and Glengarnock, Scotland, and at a dozen other works are beginning to know they face a ruthless Tory government which can • be halted only by industrial action aimed at forcing it to resign.

At Sheffield the union leaders pledged to press tor alternative employment to counteract the impact of the steel closures.

Hudson:

But, said i Mr "There is no chance of alternative work. Even if they extended the closu dates, they'd still have industry here.' REBBY VALE WORKS Ford claim FORD white-collar workers yesterday submitted their claim for a substantial all-round pay increase, a cut in the working week and longer holidays.

The three unions involved are the clerical section of the Transport and General Workers' Union (ACTS), the technical and supervisory section of the Amalgamated Union of Engineering Workers (TASS) and the Association of Scientific, Technical and Managerial staffs.

Ford's offer to the 15,000 staff is almost certain to match that made to the 52,000 manual workers under Phase Two of the Tory pay laws. It is believed that the unions' first move in negotiations will be to press for pension improvements which fall outside the pay limit. UNION leaders representing 65,000 C/ manual workers have been warned that their claims for increases of £6.80 will not be considered in isolation from the Tory pay laws. The same is certain to apply to a similar claim, to be submitted later this month, on behalf of 60,000 chemical industry workers outside ICI.