As 120,000 miners challenge the NCB: coal strike spreads

MORE THAN half the collieries in Britain were on strike yesterday in defiance of the union leadership and the National Coal Board.

Yorkshire's 75 pits were solidly out, joined by 24 pits in South Wales, ten in Derbyshire, two in Nottinghamshire, one in Kent and a number of large pits in Scotland. Altogether more than 130 of the 306 collieries in Britain were on strike.

More than 200 Yorkshire miners on Monday su eded in calling out two of Nottingham's largest pits Bevercotes and Thoresby. Bevercotes, an £18 million showpiece pit, is the most modern in England.

Hostility to the union leadership, which has recommended acceptance of the NCB's wages offer in return for 'further negotiations' on the question of surfacemen's hours, is growing rapidly.

Representatives of 17,000 Derbyshire miners on Monday passed a resolution of no confidence in the NUM leadership seneat secretary lawrence Daysent sir Sianey ford lod Leaders of the South Yorkshire branches have also

DALI cam ' came under the bore Roben:

Union® inaction Procedure behind Daly pleaded with the miners to go through constitutional procedure, explaining that this tubemen's would mean an executive recomendation going to a delegate conference and then a strike ballot of 300,000 members.

But as one strıker put it : 'For far too long our union vor has provided cheap labour for IOST London Tube line the NCB. We've waited years on this hours question, guards from both rail another two days.' and we don't intend waiting unions struck in support of They were equally unmoved their demand for, higher by Roben's claim that their mileage pay. action amounted to anarchy and 'anarchy certainly won't tral, Piccadilly and Circle pay off in this case'.

lines and Northern, Bakerloo 'There are rules of the game and District services were and you are breaking the rules, he said. restricted.

The miners' action, he claimed, would make no operates without guards, was difference to the NCB, except unaffected. that it would lose customers and 'losing customers loses and out of central London pits'. and Scotland Yard advised The miners had heard this motorists to leave work early. kind of talk before. grade work- We been battered and defiance y of their union's brainwashed with all this advice, a joint meeting of talk of closure until we've London ASLEF (Locomotive lost our backbone-at least branches last Wednesday and I thought we had until now!' supported by Railwaymen's Said another: 'We've always Union guards. been in a position where its wither not taking it any more day each week until the demands for equal mileage bonus with motormen (drivers) are met. Trapped Smouldering If anyone was trapped it was : Robens himself, who ad- smouldering under the surmitted : face for two years, one striker 'As a public corporation the told the Workers Press on Board has simply to return Monday: the interest on the money that it has borrowed.' been building up because the While he might feel for executives of both unions miners on low wages, this was have done nothing about no concern of the Board in its this', he said. public capacity.

This statement, described by one of the miners on the a mileage award of only 6s.

programme as 'a cynical remark', sums up NCB policy amounts motormen receive since nationalization. as much as as 15s. a day. which sometimes reach Ever since 1947, Coal Board policy has operated entirely in the interests of the moneylenders and the old coal owners who draw fat compensation payments while the miners draw a pittance in wages.

During all these exchanges, left-talker Daly cut a sorry figure, appealing to the strikers to let the rest of the lads have á chance to consider the offer through procedure'.

Same line But every miner knows from bitter experience that once claims are in the tortuous negotiating procedure they are lost to sight for years at a time.

exactly the same line of talk from the entire NUM leaders"'The miners present.

have lost confidence in their secretary Lawrence Daly.

They see him as no different from his predecessor, longtime Stalinist eneral secre tary William Paynter who now adorns the corridors of power 1n the hated Commission for Industrial Relations.

After Monday's showing, what has the Communist Party's 'Morning Star' to say about Daly?

Friday's 'Star' assured readers that 'although the executive of the National Union of Mineworkers has not endorsed the strike action by its members over the surfacemen's pay, many of its members are privately supporting the men on this issue' Their support has so far been so private it has gone entirely unnoticed outside the pages of the 'Star'.

What has been much in evidence is the virulent hostility of many executive members to the strike.

The miners' unity and determination win can bring vi certainly, the strike has already won the largest ever wages offer from the Coa Board.

Every issue

maust aight for the suspension as obens pas said, are ine s now in for the most search ing scrutiny. be bobbed of winh let talk.

which wilminers" leadership, break definitely with the tradition of Paynte and Daly, must now be built n the coalfields. must be built around the Such a leadership can and Polions Affate. All Trades Alliance Il car, ca omponent delivery vorkers are invited to a motor workers' conference Digbeth Civic Hall, Digbeth Birmingham Saturday November 8 2 p.m. to 7 p.m Write for credentials to Oxford.