BUILDERS SAY NO TO SELL-OUT

AS UNION LEADERS DISCUSS TWO-YEAR DEAL TWO thousand building work lobbied pay talks yesterday in sell-out' of their claim for £30 They were unanimous in their determination not to return to work until the claim was met in full.

Over 300,000 builders are now locked in bitter strike action, which sees the end of its 12th week today.

Building union leaders arrived early yesterday morning at the employers' New Cavendish St offices, central London.

Lobbyers arriving at midday were surprised and angry to find talks had already begun. Many had been told they would not begin until the afternoon.

The proposed offer, thought to give an immediate basic rate of only £26 a week, no reduction in hours and which lasts for 26 months, was fixed up at last week's TUC Congress.

Rank-and-file builders had travelled down overnight from South, Wales, Bristol, Liverpool, Birmingham and all other major strike areas.

They stood outside shouting the clear message of '£30, 35 hours now.

Many speakers from the platform outside the talks called for an all-out national strike, no company deals and for support from other workers.

Other builders told Workers Press they would stay out no matter what the leadership decided and demanded the resignation of George Smith, general secretary of the Union of Construction, Allied Trades and Technicians who leads the pay talks.

Said Gordon Carruthers UCATT militant from Swansea: 'We have rapidly lost confidence in our union leaders who have failed to fight from the beginning. The union has never been as strong and could go from DV DUN IN MADE PHILIP ers from all over Britain London demanding 'no for a 35-hour week. strength to strength. The next move must be a national strike including all local council workers' Wigan builders, who last week organized a conference of 13 Action Committees in the northwest, were equally determined:

'We know from our experience what these union leaders will do, but we're not going to let ourselves be sold out. No one has executive, any confidence in this member of the T&GWU and the Action Committee.

Robert Blanchard from the Hull Action Committee said they were completely opposed to a two-year deal.

ENGINEERS' union leaders are close to signing a new dispute procedure with the employers. At York yesterday Jack Service, general secretary the Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions, said: would bet that we shall have a new agreement by the end of the year.' Cnin NOW Labour LECTURES THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF MAF given by (SLL national London Marxism as the theory of knowledge Sunday September 17 Development of Ma irxism through working-class Sunday September 24 Nature of the capitalist October 1 Historical materialism Sunday October 8 EAST HAM TOWN HALL Lister Room Barking Rd, Liverpool Nature of the capitalist Tuesday September 19 Historical materialism t Tuesday September 26 AEU HOUSE Mount Pleasant Liverpool 1, 7.30