LANCS MINERS GAGGED BY UNION BOSSES

LANCASHIRE miners who took part in the rank-and-file miners’ demonstration against pit closures in London on January 8 were under attack at last Saturday’s area conference of the National Union of Mineworkers.

At the request of the Welsh miners one Lancashire branch of the NUM—Sandhole—sent delegates to this demonstration, and other miners from the area went as individuals to demand a fighting policy from their The Lancashire conference last week-end discussed a resolution from the area executive which ‘dissociated’ the area completely from ‘this unofficial demonstration’.

The resolution declared that in future no delegates from branches, or officials, can ‘attend ‘any unofficial conference or demonstration’ without receiving permission from the executive committee and the delegate conference.

The resolution was carried by the area conference with quite a number of delegates abstaining.

That miners’ leaders put forward this resolution to strengthen the witch-hunt was shown by the statement to the Press WE HAVE THE BUILDERS IN...

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This is because building work is in progress at the printshop where our paper is produced, and it will not be possible to turn out the usual eight pages.

‘This building work is part of the necessary preparation for the expansion we are planning in the size of which Edwin Hall, area secretary, made immediately after the meeting: © ‘This is an answer to the Trotsky movement’s call for a rank-and-fite conference of miners to be held in March.

The delegatés made it clear that they didn’t want any connexion with such a movement.’

In fact it was the rank-and-file paper the Miner which had stated its intention of calling a rank-and-file conference in March.

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Right-wing leaders attacked the Miner and all forms of rank-and-file demonstration.

Mick Weaver, well-known member of the Communist Party, voted for the resolution at the EC meeting before the conference, thus helping Halll in his attack. Yet a few months ago Weaver was being threatened by the same Edwin Halt with expulsion from the union for standing as a Communist Party parliamentary candidate at Wigan. There was no hesitation on the part of supporters of The Newsletter in Lancashire pits in defending Weaver against Hall’s bureaucratic threats.

At the area conference the pay-off for Weaver’s action on the EC came when he tried to support a resolution calling for the area to send delegates to London to take part in this Thursday’s mass lobby.

(Continued overleaf) ‘REINSTATE OUR STEWARD OR ELSE! SAY From Our Industrial Correspondent