Mersey dockers to decide on pay-law fight

LIVERPOOL hold a vital to fight it is an the port's 10,000 dockers a 35-hour working week 10,000 of five formed the basis on which the dockers agreed to work the new Seaforth container terminal to the north of the docks. Up to that time the terminal had been blacked.

will not implement the agreement because of the Tories' pay-control law.

was ever reached', a spokesman for the port employers told would 'obviously be held up'. Union officials had been informed of the employers' decision, he said.

hours, due for implementation on November 25, has still to be agreed with the port's joint modernization committee.

But the agreement on hours was announced to a mass meeting in May. Since the employers have already had six months' lucrative work at Seaforth out of it, there will clearly be considerable pressure from the rank and file for a fight.

It is not even certain that the cut in hours will be implemented at the end of the present 90-day law, since the employers are preparing to argue against it on the basis of the government's planned follow-up legislation.

The hold-up on the agreement was announced to a stewards' meeting last week. No immediate action was forthcoming, although a number of stewards said afterwards that they were incensed by the decision.

Dockers will be watching closely, however, to see if their leaders take up the Tory challenge after their recent retreat on the blacking of haulage firms.

Writings of Leon 1933-1934 1934-1935 1935-1936 1937-1938 1938-1939 1939-1940 These PAPERBACKS ¿CENTRE 28 Charlotte St London W1 dockers' shop stewards meeting today to decide wh out with the Tories state pay. with the Tories' state "agreement At issue is an 'agreement in principle' to grant dockers a hours in Made by the port employers in May, the agreement Now, however, the employers have declared that they Since 'no definite agreement A final agreement on pay and Trotsky £1.43 £1.43 £1.25 £1.25 £1.25 £1.05 extremely vital writings by Leon Trotsky between the years 1929 and 1940—nis third and final exile from the Soviet 1929 and 1940—his third and final exile from the Soviet Union-are now available in Britain from the Paperbacks Centre BOOKS • PERIODICALS • NEWSPAPERS in principle' to 35-hour working their present arrangePit pay blackmail over coal sales with National Coal representatives to discuss the the industry, wage rates for 12 months.

The union is sounding-out the Board's possible response to a pay claim to be formulated in mid-December. Union chiefs have already postponed putting a figure to the claim twice. The miners' annual conference sought rises of £5 to £7 and shorter hours.

Meanwhile the pressure on the union leaders to moderate their claim is increasing.

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933-34/ Writings of WRITINGE OF ED WRITINGS TROTSKY TROTE STEPHEN Arthur Hawkins said the Board's coal consumption could rise 10 to 15 million tons in a year-safeguarding 20,000 miners' jobs-only if coal prices were kept down.

In an obvious reference to the prospect of another pay battle in the industry, Hawkins said:

'This potential bonanza for coal is possible only if the coal industry improves its competitive position. It is for them to take up this challenge.

'We are not anti-coal; we are simply anti-dear fuel,' he added.

Hawkins was echoing a Tory threat issued by the Minister responsible for the industry, Tom Boardman, two weeks ago. Boardman warned that the breakdown of the tripartite talks over inflation should not encourage miners to press for wage demands.

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'Until inflation is successfully controlled, no industry, firm, or individual can feel secure about the prospects , for future prosperity,' he said.

"The coal industry is not imindustry, it is mate winterile mune. than many. I hope and expect the industry to respond to whatever is now necessary to beat inflation.' He repeated his earlier threat that the government review of inancial support for the industry would depend on labour •The overtime ban, then the strike, utterly wrecked the position that had been built up over many years. The government and the industry have to put that right,' he said.

Another method of intimidating miners' leaders has been the Common Market. Coal Board chief Derek Ezra has made a series of speeches outining the prospect tor sale or British coal in Europe.

The corollary of this is that any battle over pay would destroy the chances of expansion through exports to Common Market countries.

This is a particularly crafty move by Ezra since the key competitive period for the industry will begin in the early months of next year after entry on January 1. But this is normally the time • that the struggle for higher wages is reaching its climax on the coalfields.

Miners' leaders are already in retreat over this offensive. They have dragged their feet over the £5 to £7 claim and last week the Stalinist leader of the Scottish miners. Mick McGahey, promised to raise productivity after a warning of pit closures by the Scottish Coal Board. LABOUR LEAGUE FIll in the form below and send to NATIONAL SECRETARY,_ SOCIALIST LABOUR LEAGUE, 186a CLAPHAM HIGH ST, LONDON SW4 7UG. Name....

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