REBUFF FOR T&G

LEADERS of Britain's biggest union received a stunning rebuff from Hull dockers yesterday when they threw out official advice to end their blacking of container firms.

At the first of a series of docks meetings, full time officials of the Transport and General Workers' Union failed completely to carry out the orders of the National Industrial Relations Court to get the dockers to lift their action.

The 2,000 Hull dockers met in the City Hall and voted unanimously to keep up the black and reaffirmed their determination to strike on June 2 if the issue had not been settled.

Hull dockers' leader Walter Cunningham made an attack on Jack Jones, head of the T&GWU after the meeting. He said Court President Sir John Donaldson had told Jones what to do and Jones was 'running like a frightened rabbit.

'We are only doing what the officials should be doing,' he added. Clyde £35m means bigger E GOVERNMENT'S attack on jobs one more adaptation THE GOVERNMENT'S plan to protect certain stra- to protect certain strategic industries in prepara- industries in preparation for Common Market entry got under way in parliament'yesterday.

Industry Minister Christopher Chataway introduced a Bill to the Commons which earmarks £1,400m for industries vital to the national economy.

A major beneficiary of the government hand-out will be shipbuilding and especially the Upper Clyde. A total of £35m of the sum is set aside for Govan Shipbuilders - the government-backed firm which is to take over three of the four old UCS divisions.

The Bill marks a switch from the crude "lame ducks' philosophy, but it is not a move in favour of the working class.

The Tories' strategy at Govan Shipbuilders makes this clear. There they hope to keep shipbuilding alive until they can formulate a common policy with European shipbuilding interests to meet the fierce competition from Japan and weather the deep depression in world orders.

Those who believe that the 'new course' was inspired by a sudden concern developed by Tories for the plight of unemployed Clydesiders should read yesterday's 'Daily Telegraph'.

,In an article on the Industry Bill,, Tory MP Jock BruceGardyne reveals that a report from the Chief Constable of Glasgow played a major role.

obeyed. 'There comes a explode and this he said.

certain to be against the union.

to Hull docks today.

ignoring earlier orders. • BY AN INDUSTRIAL This warned that the police would have to be strengthened by 15,000 to deal with the unrest which would result for the mass unemployment due to closure of the yards!

The main feature of this new policy will be an intensified drive for more productivity and an attack on trade union Between now and Common Market entry the Tories hope to soften-up the labour force in the yards. This process has already begun at Govan Shipbuilders where the Stalinist-led shop stewards have signed agreements which allow for the break-down of craft demarcation, shift-working and pledges to avoid strike action.

Despite these concessions the future of Govan Shipbuilders is fraught with uncertainty. The company begins its life with six orders, the losses on which will eat away almost half of the £35m grant.

As yet there are no signs any new contracts. director of Govan Shipbuilders, Archibald Gilchrist, admitted publicly last week that the new company could not possibly be launched at a worse time because of the slump in world The mood at Govan Shipbuilders effectively summed up by a company spokesman yesterday who said: 'All we can do The meeting was addressed by David.

Shenton, the union's Hull district secretary. He said it had been made abundantly clear to the men that the union was in peril and faced very heavy fines if the Court order to end the blacking was not time when things must is one of those times, The decision at Hull is a stunning blow for the union. Last week it called its full-time officials together to plan how to get the dockers to lift their national action on 12 container firms. The decisions at Liverpool and London are now almost Panalpina—the firm which brought the Court action against the blacking-said yesterday they would send another lorry 'Jones is running'.

Another refusal to handle their cargo would clear the decks for a contempt case against the T&GWU which has already paid £55,000 to the Court for In further contempt cases the union will stop the strike. face sequestration of all its assets. I understand that provision has already ing, on Liverpool docks, the union has been made to counter this by a proposal to pay officials a year's salary in advance.

is to hope like hell the shipping, lines start to order new ships.

The threat of total closure will undoubtedly be used during the early life of the company to make sure the labour force gives every ounce of productivity and refrains from industrial action in protection of rights.

The resistance of the shipyard workers is further weakened because they have been divided between two companies.

At Clydebank, Marathon Manufacturing has reached agreement with shop stewards over pay and conditions.

The Texan firm hopes to begin on July 24 with an initial labour force of 500. The rest of the 2,100 workforce will be employed in finishing the old UCS contracts and converting the yard to build oil-rigs.

Clearly if Govan Shipbuilders' survival is threatened and the 4,300 workers there faced with the dole, the chances of a united fight against this are weakened because of this formal division within the ranks.

This immediate prospect of higher productivity, more redundancies and the outlawing of unofficial strikes is only an interlude of preparation for the Common Market. Then the yard labour force will face even more intensified attacks.

Such a 'solution' to struggle at UCS cannot be described as: a victory but. only Hull Stewards' chairman Walter The Hull decision brings the possibility of a national docks strike closer. To meet this threat the National Association of Port Employers is planning to ask the Court for a lengthy cooling-off period to In the second case concerning blackbeen given until June 2 to put its house in order or face further penalties.

one more hich isa to impoverish strategy which strategy which is to ir and intimidate the working class. and intimidate the work Workers should reject the Stalinists and the reformists who say the Tories have gone soft or yielded to pressure. Chataway's Bill and the Clydeside strategy is no concession to the working class but a new declaration of

SPECIAL

FEATURES THIS WEEK TODAY history of a Stalinist humbug The man • in question is Monty Johnstone whose recent distortions, about the SLL and YS are taken up by TOMORROW Rhodesia: Post-Pearce A special correspondent looks at the similarity in legal powers under Smith and Heath THURSDAY James Reid is the i most remarkable product of modern Stalinism. He has received praise from the. entire capitalist media who hail him as a new kind of workers' leader. What is the root of this adulation?

Stephen Johns examines