'Morning Star' silent as SCANLON AND STOKES GET TOGETHER

By our industrial reporter CONTAINER boss Sir Andrew Crichton's 'Tilbury will die' threat set Labour and trade union leaders running scared yesterday.

'What is needed is action, government action', insisted Crichton yesterday morning. 'We are not bluffing'.

To prove it, the container companies placed a 10 per cent surcharge on rates for transporting goods by the UKAustralia route.

If there is any element of bluff about OCL-ACT's statement that it will transfer its operations to Antwerp, neither the Labour nor the union leaders have any intention of calling it.

Castle statement

Speaking to the Commons yesterday, Mrs Barbara Castle appealed for the ban to be lifted.

She had asked for urgent talks with Mr Vic Feather and Mr Jack Jones, if necessary 'in the next five minutes'.

Mr Jack Jones, Transport and General Workers' general secretary, held emergency talks with two of his top officials yesterday afternoon.

They have one big problem.

Dockers are standing firm against working the highly. mechanized berths and against the key proposals for implementing the second stage of Lord Devlin's docks 'modernization'.

Speaking of last week's rejection of the Devlin terms, Tilbury's T&GWU delegate Mr Henry Battie—who earlier pleaded with his members to lift the container ban-said on Wednesday:

'Feel sick' It made me feel sick and I don't mind telling you I shed a few tears.' He told the Tilbury meeting that the responsibility for the livelihood of nearly 2,000 dockers was 'getting too much of a burden'.

Mrs Castle, Mr Jones and Mr Battie all have a choice.

If they are unable to put the needs of the working class before those of the employers they should resign and clear the way for those who will. Czechoslovakia, persecution Soviet intellectuals and the nouncement, which went unreported in yesterday's 'Morning Star', marks a further step by the union leaders into the all-tooenthusiastic embrace of the big employers.

The real purpose of Mrs Barbara Castle's 13-month-old brainchild-conceived in discussions with the most rapacious of the industry's employers last year - is bare.s concealed behind the claim that it will 'promote good industrial relations'.

Its main aim will be to stop Whatever the reservations of union leaders, the employers are quite clear about their programme.

'Sensible'

This is what Stokes, Lord Rootes, Vauxhall's David Hegland and Ford's William Batty wrote. before last October's meeting with Mrs Castle:

'.. • several major firms have been endeavouring to introduce more sensible wage structures and methods of payment. We believe that these will result in higher productivity and a recognition of the necessity of working to properly, engineered work standards.

'This is essential in today's competitive international conditions.

However, this progress will be nullified if the resultant agreements are not observed by both sides. Regrettably the trade unions have shown themselves unable to secure observance by their members of agreements entered into on their behalf.

It must be the wish of any enlightened industrialist to help responsible trade union officials to overcome this situation and work with them to overcome this situation and develop a system that will eradicate the sporadic, irresponsible and unpredictable unofficial strikes which in an industry like ours have such wide repercussions.

'We believe that some changes in the legal framework within which industry works will be necessary before the ultimate solution can be found' ('The Times', September 24, 1968. Our emphasis.)

Policy Measured-Day Work, tighter union discipline, and—as their 'Times' letter went on to say -'some form of legal penalty PUBLIC MEETING • for breach of contracts; this is the policy of the people with whom Scanion now intends to work for 'good industrial relations' !

Neither the blandishments of Mrs Castle, nor the Trades Union Congress's appalling Downing Street retreat of June this year have changed their position.

If anything, they have strengthened their resolve to press for tougher action against the working class.

There are other straws in this particular wind.

Advise attacks •Presumably one of the council's functions will be to advise employers in their ttack on shop-floor resistance to job - evaluation and Measured-Day Work', one Midlands carworker told the The council is backed by the 'Big Four' motor firms, their two main components Grangemouth boilermakers stay out BOILERMAKERS from Grangemouth's BP refinery site were still on strike yesterday, despite their union executive's recommendation that they accept a 'peace formula' arrived at by the Trades Union Congress.

After speaking to the men for over three hours on Tuesday, union president Mr Dan McGarvey persuaded them to accept the formula and promised attempts to win an improvement in the terms being offered by contractors for a return to work.

But union official attended yesterday's lunchtime meeting at the site.

There were two ballots at Tuesday's meeting.

Carried

The first, on a motlon that the dispute over the sacking of the boilermakers should be taken to a meeting of the executive at York, was carried 270 votes to 32. - Builders lobby over deal Blind workers pay protest MORE than 600 blind workers are to stage a protest in London today to press claims for higher wages.

They want an increase of basis. a week 3,90 €14 ind basic pay of 3,500 WEATHER Outlook for Saturday and Sunday: Cold with wintry showers particularly in north and east but also sunny intervals. Becoming mainly dry and less cold on Sunday. London area, SE England, Channel Islands: Cloudy early then sunny periods. Wind NW moderate. Rather cold. Maximum 5C (41F).

Central Southern England, E. Midlands: Sunny periods. Wind NW moderate. Rather cold. Maximum 5C (41F). SW England: Some sleet or snow showers near W coasts. Sunny periods. Wind NW moderate. Cold. Maximum 6C (43F).

W Midlands, NW and Central Northern England, N. Ireland: Scattered sleet or snow showers. Sunny spells. Wind NW fresh or strong. Cold. Maximum 4C (39F).

Edinburgh and Glasgow area: Sunny periods. Wind NW light. Cold. Maximum 3C (37F).

BY'S HORSET PORKERS BUILDING workers' delegates from London sites (seen above) yesterday afternoon lobbied National Federation of Building Trades Operatives (NFBTO) leaders who were meeting to discuss the employers' pay and productivity offer.

The employers' deal contains demands for sweeping productivity concessions, including interavailability of labour, and the handing over of bonus negotiations to national But the undoubted militancy on the sites is not sufficient to win the claim for the £20 basic wage now and without strings.

Only big, strikes forced the rejection recently of the leadership's plan to sell tea breaks for 6d. an hour. disarmament? wishes, but by defeating and and disarming the bourgeoisie". Y Part WORRIED about the masLENIN, 1916 Briefly GOVT. APOLOGY: the British government yesterday apologised to South Africa for the anti-apartheid demonstration in Newcastle on Wednesday during which the South African Ambassador's car was kicked and punched.

Earlier, Dr Hilgard Muller, South African foreign minister, had summoned the senior British minister in Cape Town for talks about the incident.

'ROAD BONDS': A Commons Estimates Committee report has suggested that bonds could be issued to raise funds to speed up Britain's roadbuilding programme.

The report also questions

ror Security', which has a is its aim the merging of Nato suppliers and the Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions.

Firms involved are BritishLeyland, Rootes, Vauxhall, Ford, Joseph Lucas and GKN.

Claims have been made that it will support and not replace the industry's established negotiating machinery, The council's sponsors, however, include concerns inside and outside the Engineering Employers' Federation.

Ford and Vauxhall already out, Rootes come out at the end of this year and there are increasing pressures on British-Leyland to pull out as well.

One of the biggest of these pressures is the British combine's agreement with the Transport and General Workers' Union guaranteeing mutual agreement before termination of payment-byresults systems, including piece-work.