Minister Alleges lorry drivers' steward

Further action on supervisor's sacking discussed today Today a be held to action. meat importers are working hand-in-hand with the Tory government to launch an attack on the dockers.

The drivers, who have told the meat importers that they will not cross dockers' picket lines, say strategy on the issue was discussed at a meeting last week with Joseph Godber, Minister of Agriculture.

•Eric Rechnitz, chairman of the London drivers' shop stewards' committee, claims Godber then met the Department of Employment, who gave the go-ahead for a bid to break the picket.

On Monday atternoon, lorry drivers were informed for the first time that hauliers would give any driver the loads to go through the lines with.

Up to this point they had hedged, fearing a nationwide black by dockers of any firm that crossed the picket. TWENTY-EIGHT members TASS, the technical and supervisory section of the Amalgamated Union of Engineering Workers, are mounting a picket outside a Letchworth engineering firm demanding the reinstatement of one of their members.

Les Wreford, a supervisor in the services department of Herbert Controls and Instruments, was sacked a week ago. He was dismissed on the spot. Immediately the sacking became known about 280 workers walked out the gate in protest.

mass meeting will decide on future The management and the local Press have given the impression that Mr Wreford is a member of the management.

The local 'Evening Post' headlined his dismissal: *250 walk out after firm sacks manager'. The firm's managing director, Mr Derek Helps, told reporters:

'When we found we had too many chiefs and not enough Indians, 1 naturally thought he would not mind losing his job.' This is a snide attack on Mr Wreford who has been complaining that he has not enough workers in his department to carry out the work-load efficiently. When he asked Wreford Wragement for mate men firm suffered from 'too many chiefs and not enough Indians'.

Recently Mr Wreford was involved in the formation of a shop-floor committee to take over and run the factory in the event of mass redundancies or a collapse.

Mr Dave Gallard, dispute appeals treasurer of the Letchworth and District Trades Council, says that the stated reason FROM the start of the drivers' counter-picketing campaign Workers Press fought for the position that 'unity of dockers and transport drivers against their common enemy - the employers — is a basic principle' (SLL Political Committee statement, July 21).

Responsibility for the scramble between these ITU DELEIUMO VA TUARDIO twn cortione of workare for a shrinking pool of jobs, we said, rested with the worthless retormist policies of the union leaders and their Stalinist hangersDrivers' leaders turned the offer down flat. 'We're not willing to take part in a government-employer conspiracy against the dockers,' Eric Rechnitz told 'The employers also had the impertinence to tell us they wouldn't take our union to the COR Suparvizor Las Wroford for Mr Wreford's dismissal— redundancy-'does not hold water.

"This is a deliberate attempt to get rid of Les Wreford so that management can then proceed to further sackings among TASS and AUEW shopfloor workers.

I base this on the fact that Les Wreford in his capacity as a trade unionist at shop floor, branch and trades council level, has always fought for the best interests of the working people in this district.

In 1969 when the drawing office workshop at Herbert's faced 30 per cent redundancies, he successfuly led those workers in the defence of their jobs and all the redundancy notices were subsequently withdrawn.

*Earlier this spring, when the Herbert _ group announced £4m deficit and work within the group was made scarce, Mr Wreford was instrumental in setting up an emergency occupation committee.

'I see the action against him as the start of a campaign against those who have fought in the past for better wages, conditions and job security.

"This is a fight we must win, for if we lose, the consequences could be far-reaching not only for Herbert's workers, but for all trade unionists in the area. on in the Communist What was required was a policy for combined struggle. The T&GWU should be forced to fight for a policy of no redundancies among either section, maintenance of all workers on full pay and nationalization of the docks and transport industries without compensation and under workers' control.

This required the recall of the union's biennial delegate conference - not due to meet until 1973 — to mobilize action to force the Tory government to resign.

When, that same day, the National Industrial Relations Court ordered the jailing of five London dockers for contempt of its orders to stop picketing Midland Cold Storage, drivers walked out in support of their fellow trade unionists.

But instead of seizing this opportunity bring the warring factions of their membership together, the union National Industrial Relations Court if we drove through the dockers' picket.

Drivers also said they were not prepared to be used 'by the Vestey group in their antidocker machinations'.

Added Rechnitz: 'We have had talks this week with releaders sat silent.

T&GWU secretary Jack Jones continued his backstage Lord cussions with Aldington, chairman of the Port of London Authority and a close friend of Heath on proposals for continuing to slash the docks labour force... but quietly.

La meeting to hammer If Tones fails to call out a policy for struggle this week, it will prove he is in fact in favour of the split in his union's ranks.

gional officials of the Transport and General Workers Union on rranging a joint meeting with lockers' He hoped a meeting would wake place before the end of the Every trade unionist will come the drivers' stand. demand