Port Talbot steelworks Furnacemen face new 'Green Book' threat

Corporation management. act now!

TO WASHINGTON Following the afterXmas lock-out of blastfurnacemen and coke-oven men, Blastfurnacemens' Union national secretary Jim Barry is expected to appear before a meeting of the union's members today.

It is believed that Barry is now prepared to negotiate productivity concessions based on the BSC's national 'Green Book' agreement.

Since the eight-week blastfurnacemen's strike last summer, the BSC has faced one set-back after another in the Port Talbot plant.

The Port Talbot management, however, is determined It has no intention of yielding to any more demands for higher wages or improved working conditions without big productivity concessions from the steelworkers.

Introduction of the 'Gree ook' on a plant-wide basi would lead to an estimated 5,200 redundancies—a third of the labour force - and would severely cripple trade union organization.

Failure to force the steelvorkers, especially the blastfurnacemen, to accept imple. mentation of these plans so far has caused a major crisis for the plant management.

Forced rise

November's threat by memAmalgamated Engineers Foundryvorkers, the Electricians and Plumbers and other crati unions to scrap the entire deal forced the management to pay a 6 per cent wage increase.

Only the actions of union officials, together with the majority Pore retook to return Since the summer driven blastfurnacemen have the management back and — yielding no concrete roductivity nave won further wage increases and improvements in conditions.

These include a rise of 6d an hour for riggers, fl a week for sinter plant men and the introduction of machines to lift the blow-pipes.

Towards the end of 1969 there took place what could be described as a major 'purge' of the plant's top managemembers — including deputy convenor K. Sealey (ASTMS) and AEF shop stewards A. Kindred, B. Newth, B. Wilcox, J.. Gretton, T. Holmes and C. Lader-have signed at Leicester's New Parks GECElliot Automation plant.

More than 20 New Parks estate tenants have also signed.

FIFTEEN Southampton Ford's T&GWU, AEF and Patternmakers' Association members —including AEF shop steward M. Thorne and Patternmakers' steward R. Thomashave swung in behind the campaign.

THE Workers Press petition has also been signed by Dagenham's Victor Engineering convenor Doug Blow, an ex-Ford shop steward and exmember of the AEF National Committee.

THIRTEEN trade unionistsincluding the convenor, deputy convenor and two shop stewards - have signed the manding the stopping of the visit at Ferrarti Meters, Bangor, North Wales.

Other Bangor signatories include four ex-Communist Party members and members of the ASW and AEF.

SUPPORT has come in from seven more members of Liverpool's Central AEF branch, including branch secretary Bro. McCartney. LONDON T&GWU busmen— 12 from Cricklewood and 13 from Neasden garages - have also swung in behind the campaign.

Five AEF members at Acton's Landis and Gyre works have put their signatures to the Workers Press petition. Blastfurnacemen leaving a strike meeting last summer at Port Talbot High-powered productivity 'experts' have been moved in to push the 'Green Book'.

Morris, the former managing director, has been recalled to head office.

The new management's first step was to demand the observance of 'agreed practices' and the taking of all claims through full procedure.

Then came the lock-out after the Christmas stoppage.

This was interpreted, even by the reactionary local press, as an ultimatum to the blastfurnacemen to either abide by the procedure agreement or sufier an extended period outside the gates.

The blastfurnacemen's lodge committee, however, led no fight against what many rankand-filers believed "try-on"° be a management and a mass meeting on the first day of the lock-out voted by a tiny majority to return on the management's terms.

This retreat gave the green light to the right-wing leadership of the Blastfurnacemen's Union.

Bulwark

It is to precisely such leaderships that the TUC's 'guidelines' on strikes and shop stewards are in the first instance meant to appeal.

No doubt they will see the General Council's recommendations as a useful bulwark against militancy.

Particularly the section which states:

'Meetings of members are a useful and authorized method of consultation, but not entitled to make decisions, or instruct shop stewards to take actions which are at variance with union policy, or with the obligations arising out of establishment, company or industry-wide agreements to which the union is party?

The point must be made that if this clause had been in force there would have been no Christmas stoppage, the spite of the fact that men's £4 bonus claim has been in procedure for more than ten months.

Behind the demand that the men abide by procedure lies an attack on everything that has been won since the summer.

Now officials of the NUB and the ISTC are in for the kill. As one leading blastfurnaceman told the Workers Press :

'We stopped Wilson's antito have the same effect, Boing WEATHER London area, central Southern and central Northern England, Edinburgh and east Scotland, Glasgow area: Sunny periods, isolated snow showers. Wind mainly northerly, moderate. Cold. Maximum 3C (37F).

SE England: Sunny periods. Snow showers, mainly near coasts. Wind northerly, light or moderate. Cold. Maximum 3C (37F).

E and W Midlands: Freezing fog patches thinning slowly to went along with trimming this claim to the prevailing wind from Whitehall.

Less than a month after the re-activation of Part Two of the 1966 Prices and comes Act, the Stalinists are thus already helping the right wing to accommodate themselves to the . government's incomes policy. Another example of Stalinist double-dealing is found in the calling-off of week's threatened power strike.

Saturday's power stewards' meeting finally dropped a wage demand of just over £3 which was put forward following November's unsatisfactory award from the the Electricity Council and called off strike action planned to take place this The 'Morning Star' yesterday reported, without direct comment, a statement put out from the meeting that the men's main objective'more democratic control over the industry's wage negotiations' - had been achieved. "The transport workers' and the engineers' unions', the 'Star' continued, had made "positive steps" towards listening to their members' views. Even the other two unions-the electricians and municipal nized this, workers--recogThe power workers' official leaders hav already accepted a 10 per cent award from the Electricity Council against the wishes of the men themselves. Both the claim and the offer, TOM The strikers, including men from the garage and highway maintainance departments, dustmen and workers from the corporation-run airport, are demanding £2-a-week increase to bring their basic pay rates in line with those paid in London.

ATUA-YS

PUBLIC MEETINGS Stop Wilson's visit to Kosygin-Brezhnev regime.

mentally ill'.

Stalinism.