Southern railmen reluctant to resume normal working

Workers Press no. 747, 24 April 1972 · scan page 2

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BRITAIN'S railwaymen are not resuming normal work with any great enthusiasm.

Only skeleton services operated throughout the country yesterday and the number of cancellations was higher than British Rail had wanted.

If the schedules are not working. could roperac the government go back to the National Industrial Relations Court and accuse the unions of contempt of court.

Drivers on British Rail's S region appeared yesterday to have decided to continue their industrial action which has disrupted services.

About 100 delegates of the locomen's union ASLEF met in a pub by Waterloo station. They issued no formal press statement after the meeting because of fears that action under the Industrial Relations Act could be taken against them.

A spokesman, however, indicated that they • had voted not to lift their ban on "normal' working.

At Cambridge yesterday a meeting of 50 railway workers from all three unions decided to return to normal working.

But they declared that if no satisfactory settlement was reached during the 14-day cooling-off period, a national strike should be called.