'NUTS AND BOLTS, NOT DOUGHNUTS,' SAID STEWARD ON SAFETY-LAST SITE

Mass meeting of London trade unionists on Sunday pledged full support to the locked-out men at the Belvedere power station site, asked the unions to stand firm, and gave a collection of £51, which included a number of job donations.

Chief steward Hugh Barr told the meeting, which was called by the Belvedere liaison committee, that the only two contracts on the job with 100 per cent. trade unionism—William Arrol's and John Brown's—were the very firms to sack all their labour.

It was not simply because they picketed at South Bank that they were sacked, he said. The real reason was their consistent fight for trade union conditions on the job.

'In one year at Arrol's we established a 44-hour week. The only time we permitted overtime to be worked was when it involved safety and essential maintenance work.

'Before the union was on the site we had a position where a foreman actually instructed a welder to fix steel. He told the man: "If you can't do it you will get the sack." The welder jacked the job in.

'Battle after battle was waged over safety. The first man killed was a Constructional Engineering Union member called Kelly. Although Kelly was a crane-driver he was killed while bolting up steel.

One man, one job

'We ended all that,' declared Brother Barr. 'The stewards' committee insisted: One man for one job.'

After the death of one erector, who fell into the coal bunkers, the firm put handrails up. He believed that if handrails had been there before, there would have been less chance of that man's losing his life.

They did not restrict their safety campaign to the job alone. Approaches were made to MPs, and one MP led a deputation to the Ministry of Labour.

A number of stoppages took place to enforce the employment of a full-time safety officer.

'It is our fight to obtain decent wages, better conditions and adequate safety that made Arrol's and Brown's act,' Brother Barr went on. 'Every attack made on the shop stewards and job organization today is a prelude to an attack by the employers on wages and conditions tomorrow.'

A steward at John Brown's raised a laugh when he told the meeting of a conversation he had with a boss on the job.

Six previous stewards sacked

'Before I was steward, the six previous stewards had been sacked. Then we had a strike to secure the reinstatement of some boilermakers who got sacked.

'The boss told me: "If necessary I'll build the job with butcher's and baker's boys."

'"Oh no you won't," was our reply. "You'll build it with skilled men and trade union labour, who will erect it with nuts and bolts—not doughnuts and strings of sausages."'

On Tuesday the Belvedere men picketed the premises of the Central Electricity Board, and were refused an interview with Shannon, one of the officials.

One executive type read a poster saying 'Nationalization, not National Assistance' and snorted: 'We don't want any more nationalization here.'

'Christ,' said a picket, 'to think people like that are running nationalized industries.'