CP STEWARDS RELEASING SHIP UCS: BIGGEST RETREAT YET

behind this reactionary page one opinion was made unmistakably clear by the JOHNS author when he said that unless somebody breaks the deadlock, the strike could go on for months'.

YET ANOTHER retreat is to be made Worried by the prospect of declining coal stocks at the power stations and millions of by leaders of the Upper Clyde Shipand concerned that a protracted strike could pounds of machinery lying idle in the mines, builders' 'work-in'. The retreat will, in develop into a General Strike against the government, the 'Sun' tried desperately to turn, strengthen the ruthless determinisolate the miners.

To get the Tory government off the hook, ation of the Tory government to it suggested a 'face-saving formula' which involved a court of arbitration and a guaran'butcher' the yards. tee from the unions that 'if the miners are allowed an over-the-odds settlement, no other union will use that as a lever to get more It has now been confor itself. UPW chief firmed that the Communist Party leadership at UCS will What the strike-breaking plans of the 'Sun' really meant for the miners became break one of the most evident on the day after when its political specific and binding pledges editor, Anthony Shrimsley, launched a calls for ever made to the yard's vicious witch-hunt against the Socialist Labour League and the All Trades Unions labour force.

Alliance.

They want to hand over Before answering the distortions of this another ship to the conanti-communist hack job, we should like to aid to miners sortium's liquidators. say something about the author. The decision by the Together with 13 other 'Sun' journalists, on- Thursday Comhe has been asked to appear before the NUJ POST OFFICE workers' leader munist Party-dominated shop Central London branch committee of inquiry Tom Jackson warned yesterday stéwards' co-ordinating comfor refusing to attend a mandatory meeting mittee, will be put to a mass of the paper's Chapel during the dispute over that the striking miners should meeting of workers at the the dismissal of a photographer employed by have bigger physical support than Linthouse division on Monday. the "Sun'. at present if they are to avoid The move breaks a promise According to the Central London NUJ made on November by defeat. secretary's letter a complaint has been made léading Stalinists James Reid against Shrimsley and others that they "per- He was 'very sad' about the TUC's and James Airlie. sistently ignored an instruction of the Chapel refusal to co-ordinate supporting action, to attend a mandatory meeting while avail- he said, expressing surprise that the Then they told a Clydeable to do so...' miners' leaders themselves 'seem to be bank meeting that three asking for no more than they've got'. completed ships would be Shrimsley's article in the 'Sun' is called allowed out of the yards, 'Strange Case of the Angry Pit-strike Pickets' The National Union of Mineworkers was but fourth-the New and consists of a series of unrelated incidents, 'standing where we stood last year', ', he said. Westminster City', noW in suitably distorted and juxtaposed to create Its executive members should 'take stock of the fitting-out basin on the the completely false impression that a) the the situation, see they are saying exactly the river's sidewould be SLL and the ATUA are dedicated to violence things I said last year and realize we didn't held by the labour force and b) that the miners are being manipulated win'. until the four UCS divisions by the SLL. In an exclusive interview with Workers were secure. It is the familiar smear technique employed Jackson said he was convinced the Tories Press, to be published in full next Tuesday, The CP's daily "Morning by the capitalist press ever since trade unions would write off the £80m increase in its were set up and picket lines organized. Star' described this ultimatum Terrified at the prospect of a long, drawn- five-year deficit the Post Office forecast on as 'the mightiest UCS-governout strike and the miners' growing militancy Thursday. ment confrontation since the and determination, Shrimsley wants to under- "They will write that debt off as part of work-in began'.

the price they had to pay for defeating us mine their unity and discipline by intro The same front-page article ducing the red-herring of 'violence' and last year,' he said, 'and I think the govern(November 5, 1971) declared: ment would write off the £200m-worth of 'No guarantee-No ships!

machinery that's underground at the moment : It is typical of the 'Sun' that it should to defeat the miners.' This was the fighting ultimatum to the Tory governmagnify and distort beyond recognition, the The TUC had thrown away its opportunity incidents of one day outside the NCB offices ment today by some to co-ordinate the pay battle in the public 8.500 UCS workers meeting in in Doncaster, while far more serious incidents sector last year, the Post Office Workers' the Clydebank yard. involving real violence by scabs and police secretary said. He recalled that one of those are tucked away in an obscure corner-like 'Spelled out, it means that this one from the "Sun' January 18, 1972): unless the government starts 'A policeman and three miners were moves before the end of the year for the retention of all injured when. an oil tanker broke through & four yards and every job, the fold, Derbyshire, Open cast site near Chesterthrée vessels to be launched in the next ten days will be Similarly no great comment was forththe last to leave until such coming from Shrimsley about the carnival guarantees are given.' of brutality unleashed by British troops on Civil Rights demónstrątors at Macgilligan Delivery ramp. One man's picker another man's out. He quotes an anonymous NUM official— The 'New Westminster City' they are always anonymous — 'political week been carried out in the is due for delivery early next extremists are trying to jump on the bandwagon. but this serious retreat He then alleges that 'reports are before teeth of opposition from the Ministers concerning the incident which section UCS shocked the country etc. etc'. Next he goes on to inform his readers that the Security The move was first broached Services 'have long kept a check on the Monday when the Socialist Labour League and its associated ordinating committee split body the All Trades Unions Alliance'. two-to-one in favour of reWe reject with contempt these allegations report back to mass meeting leasing the vessel, and distortions of Shrimsley and the 'Sun'. The SLL and the ATUA have never shop • stewards révealed advocated violence for the sake of violence UPW SECRETARY TOM JACKSON such opposition that no vote in Doncaster or anywhere else. INTERVIEWED BY OUR INDUSTRIAL was taken. We say categorically that no SLL or ATUA CORRESPONDENT DAVID MAUDE On Thursday, however, member was involved in the 'violent scenes' James Reid reported that the alleged by Shrimsley to have taken place at committee had agreed to Doncaster on January 21. We defy him to who had spoken out most strongly against doing this was miners' president Joe Gormley. reléase the ship with only one produce the names of his anonymous But Jackson rejected the view that unions opposition vote. Informants in the NUM and the Security Services and the evidence of SLL-inspired should mobilize combined action to make the Heath government resign. Speaking on argued that it was violence on the picket lines. Put up the not worth threatening the principle as a social-democrat, he declared: proof or withdraw the allegation! unity of the shop stewards' 'I don't believe you can force a General Since the miners' strike began our attitude Election on the basis of trade union action committee over the issue. has been clear and principled. We have This appealwas coupled fought consistently for the victory of the and win at the ballot box. Given those circumstances I work within the system.' with hints from Reid that miners and the defeat of the Tory governthe US firm, Marathon He said the miners could win their wage ment by the construction of an alternative Manufacturing, were showdemands on their own if they maintained badership based on revolutionary socialist ing a serlous interest in the their solidarity for the next eight weeks or policies. so, but that no other union would be able to Clydebank yard. We do not 'manipulate' the miners or any do so without concerted action.

This treachery dovetails ocber saction of workers. We have as much 'The miners' fight had sharpened the with statements by James right as any political group in Britain to situation on the TUC General Council for Airlie that the stewards will give full co-operation down vees our policies in the unions and win those unions who were proposing to register them. Nobody, not even under the Industrial Relations Act. shite vill stog. we from exercieing our Marathon's bid to pin I am in favour of those who are registerI righta, oven if they try to influence ing getting the boot,' Jackson said. the Clydebank work force under a four-year contract.

at to Inroke the Industrial Order your copy of next Tuesday'& issue, If Marathon buy the yard, Which will carry the full text of this inter. vlew. Ring 01-720 2000.

PADDINGTON WORKERS LEAVE THEIR PORCHESTER HALL MEETING YESTERDAY TITO REJECTS FIRM HAND ON NATIONALISTS IN A conciliatory speech at the end of the three-day conference of the Yugoslav League of Communists, President Tito rejected a 'firm hand' policy against right-wing nationalist groups.

He said he wanted to see the party cleansed of 'disloyal intellectuals' and warned that treason trials would be set in motion against people with foreign links.

But he made no specific reference to the Ustashi exiles who have been linked with engineering, train and plane explosions which cost 27 lives this week.

The Ustashi, who fought with Hitler against the partisans during the war, have support in Croatia, where opposition groups have been agitating along nationalist lines.

They stand for the restoration of capitalism in an independent Croatia. According to sources in Belgrade, they are seeking assistance both from the Soviet Union and from western capitalist countries to dismember Yugoslavia.

The growth of nationalist agitation has been favoured by the Tito regime's economic policy and its major concessions to foreign capitalism.

The state monopoly of foreign trade — one of the cornerstones of the workers' state — has been virtually abolished.

The government plans to make the dinar fully convertible as an additional inducement to foreign investors. This will expose the Yugoslav working class to the full impact of the capitalist economic crisis.

Worker-delegates at the YLC conference bitterly criticized Tito's policy.

Veljko Milatovic spoke of he constant and rampant inflation' devaluine the effort! of the working class and strengthening the elements of class conflicts. Another speaker Belgrade Milutin Rail Transport Enterprise, said workers were dissatisfied with their present social position and explained in detail how the so-called 'price freeze had adversely affected workers' wages.

Miroslav Mitic, a skilled worker and delegate from Nis, said the working class was in revolt on account of the great differences in incomes and the unjustified enrichment of individuals. Jan Func THIS WEEKEND Is the time for an all out last-minute effort to make January's total our best yot.

The enormous movement bullding up inside the working class can force this govern. ment to resign. Everywhere, miners, railwaymen, engineers, are getting more determined than over to fight unemploy. ment and defend their standard of living.

out in front In every struggle.

JAIL THREAT L A JAIL threat hanging over George Matthews, editor of the 'Morning Star', was lifted in the High Court yesterday.

It is not my intention to pursue the application committal, Mr James Leckie, counsel for the electricians' union, told the vice chancellor, Sir John Pennycuick. VOTE TO RETURN TO WORK ABOUT 600 strikers from Paddington station yesterday voted for a return-to-work recommendation put by union officials and some sections of the shop stewards.

The strike began over a week ago when 136 men in the down-parcels section walked out because of a speed-up scheme being mooted by British Rail.

They were joined by several hundred men in other departments. Speakers at yesterday's

this contract will include no-strike guarantee and vastly increased labour mobility with union negotiations under what is described as 'a common umbrella'.

It is not yet clear whether the contract will be legally binding under the Industrial Relations Act.

The secretary of the Clydebank Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions, Donald Tonner, agreed that without a clause specifically stating that the deal was not legally binding the full force of the Act could be deployed against the labour force.

He said that when shop stewards met Marathon representatives on Thursday they had not inquired about this aspect of the proposed deal:

I have not the slightest doubt that the company will agree to both inserting a suitable clause subject to our agreement of their conditions,' he said.

Marathon representatives were in London yesterday for further talks with Tory trade chief John Davies.

They say that a decision on whether they will buy Clydebank to build giant oil rigs will be made within three weeks.

A big question mark still hangs over the deal however. Marathon rigs are over 500 feet across the beam.

And the Clyde, above the Village of Bowling is 550 feet across in places.

A spokesman for the Clyde Port Authority has already warned that navigating Marathon's rigs round bends in the upper reaches would be very dificult. ‹Pressure' talk a danger to autonomy fight OPENING in London today is the National Union of Students' emergency conference on union autonomy and N Ireland.

This conference will see some of the most important discussion on the 500,000 strong union's fight to retain its constituent organizations in Britain and N Ireland.

Centre of the Tory government's proposals for changes in student union financing as laid out in the Department of Education and Science Consultative Document is:

"To encourage authorities in colleges and universities to measure the claims for student union facilities against other claims on their resources...?

The advantage for the DES in this system was to:

'a) Replace by payments made in other ways students' union subscription as such;

"b) Reduce the financial commitments of local authorities by relieving them of the requirement to pay the union subscription as part of the students' award...

'c) Encourage closer scrutiny by academic authorities of student union expenditure and bring most of it under the examination of the Comptroller and Auditor General or District Auditor, in comon the institutions expenditure However, in spite of these 'advantages , both the Federation of Conservative Students, the University vice-Chancellors and university authorities have overwhelmingly spoken out against the DES proposals as being unworkable and unwieldy.

and they are now backed by a Private Member's Bill from Sir Gilbert Longden, Tory 1. Loadi