STATER PAY LAW PROTEST

BY WORKERS ENGINEERING plants, car firms, buses, trains, newspapers, pits, docks and steel were paralysed yesterday as hundreds of thousands of workers struck against the Tory state pay laws and soaring prices.

The industry-by-industry picture was:

CARS: One of the largest responses was in the Midlands where more than 100,000 car workers stopped work. The 04,000 workers in British-Leyland's Austin Morris factories in Birmingham, Oxford, Swindon and Llanelli were on strike.

The seven Rover factories in the Birmingham area were brought to a. standstill by all 11,000 of their workers. 18,000 trade unionists halted production at the Chrysler plants in Coventry, Linwood, Luton and Dunstable.

The Wilmot Breeden car components firm in Birmingham had 3,000 absentees.

At Oxford, where all five car plants stopped work, picketing car workers paralysed the City of Oxford Motor Services where busmen had reported for work. Only five buses took to the roads.

Nearly 40,000 Ford workers were out. The giant plant at Dagenham was at a standstill as was Halewood, Liverpool. At the remainder of Ford's ZL plants, the company claimed that half the men turned up for work.

All three Vauxhall plantsEllesmere Port, Luton and Dunstable-were halted as 26,000 more carworkers joined the strike.

In Scotland the Chrysler and Albion car plants stopped work.

Three and a half thousand were among those who came out.

Some 30,000 workers stayed away from Lucas, Girling and CAV factories in London, the Midlands and Lancashire.

Tyre production at factories at Inchinnan, Scotland, Speke, Liverpool and Birmingham was halted.

SHIPBUILDING AND ENGINEERING: More than 160,000 members of the Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions stopped work in the Among big factories affected were Hawker Siddeley Aviation (6,000 out), and the GEC works at Trafford Park (4,000 out).

BACK

RESS Arrests hold up London demo THE BULK of the London demonstration was held back for almost half an hour after police arbitrarily arrested two dockers from the Royal Group contingent.

Scuffles with the police broke out as the arrested men were driven away. Ten other demonstrators were released after protests.

Well over 10,000 trade unionists had joined the march organized by the London May Day Committee yesterday afternoon.

They marched six and sometimes ten deep to a rally in Hyde Park. As the head of the march reached Oxford Street the tail was still leaving the Aldwych.

Tilbury docker Bill Thorpe, who witnessed the arrests, said afterwards:

'There was no provocation whatsoever. The men were simply yanked from the column. One of them in particular was Sealed bids for Rolls Royce Motors SEALED bids for Rolls-Royce Motors will be opened today in the City offices of merchant bankers Rothschilds.

The bids have to be in by 1l a.m. this morning. The highest will be announced on Friday evening. All that Police move in and grapple with a marching docker sury arrested while he was just peacefully walking along.' After considerable argument the march continued from Shaftesbury Avenue where the arrests took place.

On the march were the banners of the AUEW, Region 1 of the T&GWU - most of the T&GWU sections - building workers, dockers, electricians and a massive and colourful contingent of print workers. Among the latter were NATSOPA members from Deeko's, locked out for ten weeks.

Despite their union's equivocal attitude to the strike, railwaymen were strongly represented and there were a number of NUR banners.

UPW members were also prominent on the march, despite their union leaders' instructions not to join the strike.

There were big contingents of immigrant workers.

But there was noticeable needed is f7m as deposit and a banker's reference for the rest.

Figures of up to f50m have been speculated upon as the final price.

Representatives of three local authorities — Crewe, Shrewsbury and Brent-urged Christopher Avenue yesterday. lack of British trade union leaders. Among those who did march were Lawrence Daly of the miners, Alan Fisher of NUPE, Joan Maynard of the agricultural workers, Ken Brett and Les Dixon of the engineers and Richard Briginshaw of NATSOPA.

In contrast with the enthusiasm and militancy shown by the majority of the marchers, the official slogans of the demonstration were defeatist and dangerous.

'Never Say Die, Give Them One in the Eye' was one placard widely carried, among others' by Communist Party members.

Said another: 'Where Have All Our Wages Gone? On Higher Prices Every One'.

There were no official slogans demanding the removal of the Tory government and the organizers made every attempt to confine the demonstration to a 'protest' Chataway, Industrial Development Minister, An Monday to "keep Rolls British'.

A delegation from the Clerical and Administrative Workers" Union, which also saw Chataway, proposed that the firm should stay in public ownership.

£100,000 BUILDING FUND WE FINISHED April with £10,027. This means that we have approximately £40,000 to raise during May. This is going to be the toughest battle yet.

branches Lancaster £5; Birkenhead £10; Slough 22; Swansea £1; Basingstoke £10; Paddington £1; Wandsworth £55; Lewisham £6.65; Basildon £1; Jarrow £10; Southall £30; Camden £60; Southampton £13; Edinburgh £15; Aberdeen £16.50; Dundee £1.50; Willesden £20; Tottenham £7; Brixton £5.95.

Post all donations to:

Party Building Fund 86a Clapham High St London SW4 7UG

2 Workers Press, Wednesday May 2, 1973 SOME of the stories Nixon 'forgot' to mention in his speech are filling the front pages of the US Press, revealing Watergate