Officials use CPer to get Leeds return

COMMUNIST Party member Arthur Dale, chairman of the Leeds building workers' coordinating committee, played a key part in ensuring a return to work vote at a mass meeting of 1,000 strikers on Saturday.

at Queens all at er plating Queen's Hall Yorkshire area UCATT officials had failed in attempts to get a decisive vote to end the strike.

The officials expressed their disappointment with the terms agreed on Thursday night, but urged the men to return to work.

A show of hands vote appeared to give a majority in favour of staying out, throwing the plattorm into confusion.

The officials refused to take a motion rejecting the settlement Builders draw lessons EEC will make it a wage-cut JIM ROCHE is chairman of the London Steel UCATT branch and during the 12-week builders' strike chaired the strike committee at the Laing's Heygate site.

He claims last Thursday's deal violated four basic principles at stake in the original claim: 'There is nothing on hours, which was an essential part of the claim. Nor is there anything in the agreement about the lump.

'The differential between labourers and tradesmen has been increased in the pay award and reduction of this differential was one of the main principles that was originally in the claim.

'Finally, the agreement contains no guarantee against victimization, leaving the employers free to sack militants if they so wish.

'The so-called cost-of-living clause can really be discounted. And though the union leaders will claim this is the highest rise ever achieved in the building industry, this rise will be nullified directly we are a full member of the Common Market.

'Long before the package deal runs out, this is going to be a reduction of wages not an increase. There's the new rent rises as well: in a matter of six months the increase will all have been assimilated.

'I expected basic principles to be maintained. We're going back to the same old industry-the lump, rotten canteens, no faciliies. We're still going to have to live like animals.' Mr Roche was particularly disgusted by the attitude of the Communist Party leaders who opposed the national stoppage:

Their excuse was that didn't have enough pickets. But for every site where there were lumpers who might have been against coming out, there were a dozen that were ready and willing to strike at the drop of a "There were about 300,000 actually out and we were still 520,000 adrift, on the sites still at work.

•If only a quarter of these were trade union members it would still have escalated the strike to gigantic proportions. In any case they key people would have come out-the crane drivers and plant drivers whose equipment would just have been left to rust.

'The UCATT leaders saw the threat of a national strike on their hands and backpedalled. They didn't "screw" anything out of the employers. This deal was offered the day before the final talks-it was published in "The Guardian"

•Communist Party members talk now about changing the leadership but if you think any of these people has even resigned voluntarily you're living in cloud cuckoo land. It isn't the CP that's trying to get George Smith out. It's the rank and file.' CORRESPONDENT which had been passed by Leeds action committee on Friday.

They also denied the platform to an electrician from Whitney's, Leeds, who wanted to urge continuation of the strike.

Instead Dale was called up from the body of the hall urged the men to go back with dignity and solidarity... though yois makes me as sick as it makes Dale used the same scare statement as the rest of the platform, saying any picketing on Monday would not have official union support.

His intervention was decisive in swinging the vote: a show of hands after his speech showed 800 to 200 in favour of a return co work, despite vociferous opposition from a section of the meeting.

SHEFFIELD buildıng workers bitterly criticized local UCATT officials after a meeting of 200 of the city's 4,000 operatives voted to return to work today by a majority of 13 to one.

Mike Duke (28) claimed Stalinist officials deliberately sought a go-back vote early in the meeting. "They would not let me speak. They read off a long list of all the sites that had gone back and then took a vote. *I had two resolutions criticizing the leadership and calling for the strike to go on, but after the vote they said I was out of order.' UCATT official and CP member Hylton Stuard told the men at a stormy two-hour meeting that they had to accept the employers' deal or face losing solidarity among building Monday Club links up with THE TORIES in the Monday Club have moved into open collaboration for the first time with the extreme rightwing racialists organized in the National Front. Dropping all pretence of being purely right-wing Tories, on Saturday they worked hand-in-hand with the National Front at an anti-immigration rally in Central Halls, London.

Not only did the Front provide the bulk of the 2,000 people at the meeting, but its burlier members took tight control of the stewarding.

At the only entrance to the hall was Martin Webster, the Front's organizer who played a prominent part in organizing the recent Smithfield marches.

He fingered all those he thought likely to oppose the meeting and they were promptly barred entry by ten stewards.

Webster and the Monday Club were clearly enjoying each other's company as were the huge battalions of police. 'How is it going Martin?' one high-ranking inspector was heard to say to the NF man.

Monday Club director, Michael Woolrych also chatted amiably with the police who asked how things were.

Before the meeting, Colin Jordan and members of his British Movement gave out literature which was warmly received by the Dowager Lady Birdwood and other notables queueing up.

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Although it was a bad settlement, union leaders would try to improve it once the men returned to work, he added.

Said Mike Duke: 'If we had stuck it out we could have won. The officials say we've got to get George Smith out before we can do anything. 'But when we go back now we've got to start from the bottom. People are wise now and realize why they have been sold out. "The terms we are going back for are worse than when we first came out.

We were offered £26 right at the start. I'm a labourer so I shall only get £22.20 and it goes into 1974. So we are tied for two years.' *In another year the cost of living will go up and I won't be able to go in for another rise. This is the reason I fought so hard.

We are going to be the lowest-paid workers Britain. 'The Tories are smashing us one by one and it is up National Front Jordan was once the leader of the British National Socialist Party, the self-styled Nazi organization.

Inside the meeting, Monday Club MPs Ronald Bell, John Harold Soref obligingly churned John Biggs-Davison and out the anti-immigration propaganda.

'In 1958 this was a fairly homogeneous, British, White country ... We are always being lectured now about Black Englishmen ... The idea is preposterous nonsense,' said Bell.

Even this was not enough for the National Front. 'Enoch', 'Heath Out join ihe National Out', and the Front', they screamed, interrupting all the speakers.

One unfortunate who shouted 'racists, fascists' at the platform was promptly jumped on, thrown through a door and punched.

Soref, who led the witch-hunt on the Young Socialists' summer camp, brought a little order when he called for a show of support for Enoch Powell.

When the meeting broke up, the National Front quickly organized a march to Downing Street to hand in the resolution calling for repatriation. Monday 6.40 7.30 8.00 8.30 9.00 10.00 10.30 11.30 12.00 OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS! CORONATION STREET.

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Mike Duke to working class people to stick together and stop them. It is going to be a hard fight but we can do it.' "The likes of Feather should not be talking to Heath - they should be kicking the Tories out. "They don't want to face the challenge of the Tory government directly. We have given them the responsibility but they wont take it? "The unions have got to get together now. If Councils of Action had been set up during the building strike everyone would have been together. They have got to be set up immediately. It is one of the biggest lessons of the building strike' Martin Webster, NF organizer, chief door steward for Monday Club meeting Club members joined on behind.

At No. 10, newly-elected Monday Club chairman Jonathan Guinness, a merchant banker who comes from the famous brewing family, led the MPs to the door.

Back at Centrat Halls, Martin Webster led the demonstration in three cheers for the police. By this time, the Monday Club and the National Front had become old friends. BBC 2 11.00-11.25 Play school.

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Builders leave a meeting in Sheffield after voting for a CP recommendation lo accept the pay deal and return to work-See p.11.

PULL OUT ALL THE STOPS THERE is not a moment to waste. We still have £1,297.81 to ralse by the end of the month.

But we are confident that you will pull the position around. While the union leaders run from each struggle, the working class remains determined to fight on.

It is this determination that lies behind your support for becoming even more widely read as trade unionists everywhere are beginning to look for an alternative leadership to help them to fight.

Post all donations to:

September Appeal Fund 186a Clapham High Street London SW4 7UG B7ft7mb7I 18. 1972