GKN STRIKE MAY SPREAD

in. situation.

well as wages.' holidays.

Backing But THE POSSIBILITY of a district. wide dispute* threatened the Greater Manchester engineering industry yesterday as 1,000 steel workers continued their dramatic factory occupation.

The James Mills steel factory, Stockport, was idle for the second day as workers kept up their sitment bid to lock out workers who Their action is a reply to a managebegan a piece work ban and work to rule in support of the engineering industry pay claim, now being fought out at local level.

John Tocher, Greater Manchester organizer for the Amalgamated Union of Engineering Workers, said yesterday that talks with the steel workers and management had produced no break in the He said: It's a battle of attrition. We don't care how long it will take, but this will go on until they come to us and talk about hours, conditions and holidays as He said at a meeting between union officials and management, the firm, part of Guest, Keen and Nettleford (GKN) empire, had made it quite clear that any negotiation would exclude hours and The occupation may precipitate district wide action claim before it was F lanned by the unions. They were calling for the work-to-rule and overtime ban on March 27:

The steel workers, however, took unilateral action when they found that the firm was building up stocks in preparation for a big strike.

When they imposed the ban, stewards insisted that the shop floor stop operating the recently imposed bonus pay system and revert to the original day rate wage.

Management refused and men who began to work-to-rule were put 'off-the-clock'. This led to the occupation, which is unprecedented in the history of this factory.

OW other Stockport have backed the Mills A total of 120, representing all the major plants in the area, have voted to bring forward their action by one week and the overtime ban and work-to-rule will start from Monday. action by engineering workers in with the threatened Sheffield, may mean that the whole areas in the N will soon be locked in a battle with engineering employers. This will kill the bid by the AUEW ership to localize the claim.

Mr Tocher yesterday described the steel workers' actions as "poetic justice'.

'We know that this firm has been urging the employers' federation to take a tough line. This was clearly the action they followed in this dispute, bu : we see the men have answered hem in kind.' Welcome Many militants in the area welcome the Stockport initiative. They were expecting the mass meeting of shop stewards which took place last Monday to issue a strike notice to Manchester area employers over the claim.

But, on a union recommendation, this was curtailed to the overtime ban.

The action could have enormous political implications. If the dispute does spread, the Heath government, still groggy after its mauling by the miners, will be faced with another battle royal over its ill-fated pay norm.

Alex Reese, factory convenor said yesterday that there was no change in the situation.

'We are very well organized and we are prepared to sit it out to the bitter end.' 05al MASC 20188 Anti-Internment_League protestors outside the Home Office yesterday. irks Powell ENOCH POWELL, leader of the Tory right wing, yesterday attacked the government for supporting the dollar at a value 'considerably more' than its worth.

He said it was futile and innecessary' for the government to try and prevent employers nd trade unions from adding to inflation while it continued to buy dollars at the existing rate.

'Huge amounts of sterling have been expended for no other purpose than to meet the irrational and, in the long term, unattainable object of the United States to pretend that the dollar is worth considerably more than i it really is,' he said in a speech at Ipswich.

•It is in the cause of the tars and Stripes that Britain has seen inundated with a flood of money, bringing in its train all the domestic consequences of sustained inflation.' Powell's speech is an outspoken declaration in favour of economic nationalism. It is in line with his reactionary 'little England' line and his opposition to the Common Market.

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