Lambeth dustmen still breaking strike

UNIONS ALLIANCE MEETINGS OLLERTON: Saturday October 24. 12 noon. "The Plough', Ollerton. •Miners and the ATUA. Speaker: Mike Banda, Editor Workers Press. C0 Y30 P.m: Cly Ards. Smithford 14, 7.30 p.m. City Arms, Way.

London

'How to defeat the Tories' CROYDON: Thursday, October 15, Thai guerrillas down bomber COMMUNIST guerrillas in Thailand have shot down a bomber over the town of Khao-Klao, in Petchabon province about 200 miles north of the capital, Bangkok.

They took the area at the beginning of this month, but have retreated before a strong offensive by troops of the US-backed government in the last few days.

However, they are still harassing government strongholds on the borders of the region with mortar and artillery fire.

HOUSEWIVES will face a winter of higher gas bills and workers in the industry productivity speed-up, according to British gas chiefs yesterday.

Reports from 12 area gas boards show that despite record sales during 1969 of 5,264 million therms and gas appliances to over a million customers, the industry's ın boroughs listen attentively below the windows of yester- Evans was unable to give : Lambeth meting for a decision.

bear brunt of brunt rises BY A WORKERS PRESS CORRESPONDENT in his report on the 'unprecedentedly high level' of interest charges and warns that his board will make every effort to step-up the productivity of its employees.

Chairman of the Eastern Gas Board, despite a profitable year, warned that work in the area's plants would have to be intensified.

In the coming year every effort will be made to increase efficiency and obtain higher productivity in order to absorb as much work and joined strike pickets from Hackney, Southwark, Kensington and Chelsea , outside the gates of the gas price as possible of the large increases in costs resulting from higher wages and salaries,' he reports.

The industry's guiding body, the Gas Council, rejects in the report the Prices and Income Board estimate of savings that could be made in the face of higher wages.

During the last few months gas workers in several areas of Britain have struck unofficially in support of their claim for a £20 minimum and a 25 per cent incentive guarantee for men not on incentive bonus.

• See 'Miners scapegoats' in Workers' Notebook inside. borough's Shakespeare Rd depot.

But appeals from rank-and-file dustmen's leaders failed to persuade a majority of the men to answer a two-week-old strike instruction from their union - the Transport and General Workers'.

And a 'stay united' plea from T&GWU regional officer Peter Evans sent the 100-or-so dustmen who voted to strike back to work pending a further meeting next Monday.

ALL OUT Most Lambeth men now say that leaders of the three unions involved in the strike -T&GWU, Public Employees and General and Municipal Workers—must call out highways, refuse and sewage workers in all 32 London boroughs before they will strike.

Although council workers in Bromley joined the campaign yesterday, there are still only 23 boroughs out.

Doubts about the unions' selective strike policy and fears of another half-baked compromise settlement - like that concluded at Edinburgh 12 months ago — were major factors in the confusion at yesterday morning's 90-minute Shakespeare Rd meting.

firm assurances either that an all-out strike would be called or that the final pay settlement would be no less than the £2 15s demanded.

PLEDGE

But he pledged that he would meet officials of the other unions to put the Lambeth men's case and report back to a further meeting next Monday morning.

London strike committee chairman Tony Sweeney-who said later he thought the union was largely to blame for the Lambeth situation -warned yesterday's meeting of the seriousness of the struggle facing council workers.

Referring to the Tories' threat that troops would be used to break their struggle, he appealed to them to show a united front and join the strike. War plans