Dustmen dig in for the 'full five'

Turin strikers DUSTMEN and other council strikers in most of the : chester and in a number of other provincial towns are sti despite recommendations from two of their three unions A meeting of 150 Transport and General Workers' Union shop stewards and branch secretaries at the union's Smith Square headquarters on Friday voted down a proposal to accept ALL TRADES UNIONS ALLIANCE MEETINGS Speaker: Frank Willis ung Socialists candidat in the parliamentary by-election Friday, October 17 Swindon Town Hall Thursday, October 23 Pinehurst Common Room Flat workers on an earlier demonstration crowd around the Thursday's Edinburgh pay rise offer, and negotiate local deals.

Only five hands were raised in favour of acceptance.

As liaison steward Frank strike sackings BOILERMAKERS at the British Petroleum building site, Grangemouth, have been declared on strike by their shop stewards after a dispute in which 480 men were sacked. declared the site open tol site contractors lowing the sackings and invited the Plumbing and Constructional Engineering Unions to supply men to do the boilermakers' work.

Officials of the PTU and the CEU have said their members will do whatever work is available to them.

Both unions have accepted the agreement signed in 1968 which lays down complete cAe-hangeability between *arent trades in the event of a labour shortage.

ATUA meeting 'Unemployment and the lessons of GEC-English Electric' LIVERPOOL Sunday, October 19 7.30 p.m.

Museum Lecture Hall

William Brown Street London boroughs, in lying out for the full to return to work.

Sully, from Lambeth, told Workers' Press after the meeting:

"This is a completely half-baked deal. They claim it gives a 50s. increase, but this applies only to refuse collectors in London who are not already on some bonus or productivity scheme. For some manual workers it would mean a rise of only 29s. a week-a far cry from £4 9s.' Other stewards at the meeting were confident the employers could be forced to concede the full claim.

If we got half the claim after a week, what would they give us after a month?' one asked.

Many dustmen from the National Union of Public Employees (NUPE) and the General and Municipal Workers' Union are in complete disagreement with their unions' decision to accept the offer.

Some have torn up their union cards and joined the T&GWU. They feel particularly that while the proposed deal gives something to dustmen, other sections have been shamefully neglected.

The dustmen are not in the least worried by press attempts to smear their strike.

particularly blatant att toning Standard oFriday, October 10.

Earlier editions of this paper carries prominent article headed 'Big split over pay deal for dustmen'.

The text, however, carried the news that is twn areas, Sutton and Reading, had returned to work and that almost every other area and borough was still on strike.

Later editions dropped this headline-when became clear that the 'split' was a myth-and carried instead another story 'Rubbish: There is a risk to health'.

One dustman commented : 'We handle rubbish every day and nobody told us about a risk before'.

ON GUARD But despite their confidence, dustmen must still be very much on their guard.

The Transport and General Workers' Union, pleading 'constitutional' grounds, has still to make the strike official.

And, more important, strikebreaking efforts will undoubtedly be intensified over the next few days.

Already, in Lambeth, a large force of police has been used to prevent dustmen from interfering with scab labour clearing rubbish in Brixton market.

Attempts to break the strike must be countered by the united action not only of the dustmen, but of all other Every worker is vitally involved this important struggle against low wages and Strike hits Motor Show A ONE-DAY guerrilla strike was being staged at Earls Court, London, • on Monday-two days before the opening of the Motor A shop steward said this would be another strike on the lines of those held during the past three weeks over a wage agreement dispute.

On Friday the National Joint Council for the exhibition industry agreed new hourly rates for craftsmen of Ils. 3d. and for labourers of 10s. Id. back-dated from September 8.

It now remains for Mrs Barbara Castle, Secretary for Employment and Productivity, to approve the agreement.

(PA)