GKN makes pay talks plea

ONE of Manchester's biggest employers has approached unions for talks over the engineering pay dispute, now in its second week.

Two local union officials will meet management at Guest Keen and Nettlefold's steel plant at Bredbury, Stockport, for negotiations on Wednesday.

It was at this plant that the greater Manchester battle for a wage increase, shorter hours and longer holidays began more than two weeks ago when workers there began a sit-in strike.

Action by the Bredbury steel workers has been followed by a total of 7,000 workers who are occupying Il factories in the May spread Tomorrow the occupation may spread to one of the city's largest factories, AEI's in Trafford Park, where 3,500 workers have been told they will not be paid if they continue with their ban on piece work.

So far GKN have been considered one of the hawks in the NW Engineering Employers' Federation and some union officials are already declaring the request for negotiations as a 'breakthrough'.

But GKN are unlikely to offer anywhere near the flo, a 35REFORMIST YOUTH MOVE RIGHTWARDS 3Y GARY GURMEET IN SCARBOROUGH ALL fines imposed under the Industrial Relations Act should be repaid when Labour again takes office, it was urged here at the weekend.

An emergency resolution passed at the annual conference of the self-styled Labour Party Young Socialists called on the trade unions to 'totally ignore' It asked the next Labour government to repeal thè Act and indemnify organizations charged under its provisions.

Attended by 150 delegates and about 280 visitors the llth conference of the LPYS has produced a newly-strengthened ally LATE NEWS' WEATHER SUNDAY lunches were wasted GENERAL SITUATION: on the prison ship 'Maidstone' in trough of low pressure is moving Belfast harbour as the internees northwards over western dison board kept up their hunger tricts of Britain. strike. S, SW England and S Wales The fast—in protest against will be rather cloudy with occaconditions on the ship and the sional rain. NW England. N internment policy in general- Wales, N Ireland and SW Scotbegan two days ago.

01-720 CIRCULATION 01-622 7029 Press.

1060 hour week and more holidays demanded by steel workers.

Employers who have given concessions on hours and holidays have been threatened with expulsion from the Employers' Federation:

Meanwhile an explosive situation is developing among semi-skilled and unskilled workers in the dispute. Most of these are in the General and Municipal Workers' Union which so far has refused to follow the Amalgamated Union of Engineering CONDISTA of the Labour Party's bureaucracy. • This is the so-called "Militant' group which has used its majority on the National Committee to effectively silence any serious criticism of reformism.

Over the weekend 'Militant' supporters opposed the expulsion of Common Market supports in the Labour Party and the immediate removal of the Tory government as the only real way to assist Irish workers.

Conference defeated an amendment moved by another group, the Young Chartists', calling for the expulsion of Jenkins and 68 MPs who voted with the Tories on the Common Market.

Derek McMillan from Croydon LPYS was cheered loudly land will start bright but cloud and rain will spread from the SW later. NW Scotland will have showers, with bright intervals at first.

Eastern districts of Scotland and. E England will be mostly dry with bright intervals especially in the morning. Temperatures will be near normal generally but it will be rather warm in Southern districts of England. Outlook for Tuesday and Wednesday: Changeable with rain at times, particularly in the N and W, but also some sunny intervals. Workers and tions official.

The 600 G&M members at Bredbury Steel have been in occupation for over two weeks without strike pay or dole.

Ken Baker, the union's national organizer, will. travel north tomorrow to discuss the situation with local G&M officials. • The union's regional executive has in fact strongly recom mended official backing, but where more than 200 members are involved in a dispute the when he said that the expulsion demand was "ludicrous'.

"The question is not of expelling the 69 Jenkinsites because you could only replace them with another 69 Wilsonites, he said.

In the guise of opposing Wilson these revisionists refused to mobilize any action against the right wing.

On N Ireland all radical phrases used by the 'Militant' majority amounted to little more than mere words.

Nowhere did they raise the demand for Labour and tradeunion leaders to campaign in Britain for the Tory government's resignation.

Only a last-minute change in the agenda allowed a resolution condemning the Labour leadership in its support for Tory Paul Moore, a delegate from Norwood LPYS, was booed when he called for defence of the IRA against the British army.

Speaking in the Irish debate yesterday, Brent delegate Graham Bash said the LPYS had to unconditionally oppose direct rule.

We must mobilize the British working class behind the Irish struggle. That is the only possibie solidarity we can show' Pickets fight Hull sacking ALL 100 striking draughtsmen at Fenners engineering factory. Hull, demonstrated outside the plant on Thursday against their union secretary's alleged victimization.

The strikers-members of the technicians section of the Amalgamated Union of Engineering Workers-have been out for eight weeks.

Last week they were joined by 18 members of the AUEW from the research department, whose sympathy action has been made official by the union's district The strikers feel that their action is now having a considerable effect on the management and they hope that the research men's sympathy action will be the beginning of moves by other sections of the AUEW. final decision rests National Executive.

According to one G&M o: ficial this weekend the executive i ; unlikely to discuss the issue until its next meeting in about weeks' time.

Feeling at Bredbury was summed up by one worker who told me: If Baker does not come across with the money there will be no G&M left at the steel works. We are not going to be treated like those Pilkington lads were at St Helens.' ABOUT 100 mainly Official IRA members of Clann na h'Eireann (children of Ireland) arrived at Hyde Park yesterday just as 500 members of the Provisional IRA were leaving for a rally in Kilburn. The two separate marches were staged to commemorate the 1916 Easter Rising.

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