Engineers Lead Pay Pause Fight

Industrial _KE one-day stoppage by over three million em HE one-day stoppage by over three million engineerin decisive step in the battle against the pay pause. action by engineers must be carefully planned with understanding of the forces ranged against them.

These forces are the employers in all industries who want to see the engineers beaten so that they, in turn, can defeat their workers as they struggle to smash the pay pause.

The Tory government is merely the chief spokesman for the big employers. the government are the big businessmen who control it, the directors of the giant combines and monopolies.

And there is Lord Mills, the Minister of Fuel and Power, who was recently the president of the Engineering Employers' Association.

a vital part of its plans to enter cut production costs so that they can making a big drive to cut down Take-overs, plans to stabilize prices.

mean they are not harmful to the shareholders and businessmen who office workers, teachers and civil to fight the larger, unions.

So far they have succeeded in keeping down wages. The pay pause is highly successful.

Unless a serious and determined struggle is waged against the pay pause there is a grave danger of the employers succeeding in worsening our conditions. The A Birmingham Engineering Worker ineering another Further a clear engineers are in a key position to defeat the employers and the government on this issue.

Ted Hill, as well as thousands of shop stewards throughout the country, have pointed out that to win the fight engineers must prepare for an all-out national strike.

Any other measures are only substitutes for a real fight. Bans on overtime or working to rule are confusing and extremely limited in their effectiveness, as the campaign of the post office workers has shown, in spite of the splendid loyalty of the postmen.

The leaders of the Confederation of Engineering Unions will try to avoid this fight. The rank and file must be organized for it. This involves the preparation of regional and national link-ups by shop stewards' committees before and during the dispute.

The entry of the TUC leaders into the government's economic planning council (including some 'leaders' of the engineering unions), demonstrates the absolute necessity for engineering workers to rely solely on their own action and organization.

Only preparation and alertness on the part of rank-and-file engineers can stop any attempts at a sell-out by the union leaders.

But the fight against the government cannot be won in isolation. Only a link-up between all workers in all industries can bring the Tories down. That unity must be forged now between engineers and busmen, railmen and postmen, teachers and civil servants and all workers engaged in a struggle against the Tories.

Engineers must call for the ending of the steady monopolization of the motor, aircraft, electrical and shipbuilding industries by taking them out of the hands of the employers and nationalizing them under workers' control. The Buses • from page helped the confusion 'no strike' votes.

But it was lack of leadership over a whole period that created a situation where the press and the Right wing could confuse the issues and defeat the conference.

Voting in many garages was quite close, while many others the delegates did not not hold meetings but just posted notices for normal working on the 29th, stampeded by false press reports.

UNITED ACTION

It is apparent from the meetings that many bus crews are not acquainted with the union's wage claim to the LTE, or that it has been rejected twice. No special meetings were called on the wage claim rejections to set the atmosphere for united action with the tube men. If the CBC is to lead it must see that this is done in every garage.

Delegate conferences are heid monthly but none was held in January and the CBC only really protested as late as January 24 when an evening delegate conference to discuss the strike was refused by union officers.

The time to see that a conference was called was at the CBC meeting of January 9. If a date had not been offered by the union officials there would have been enough time for a campaign in the branches for a conference. The failure to call a conference contributed to the confusion, as the full-time officials knew it would. They said on the 24th that if a 'work on Monday' instruction was given an evening conference could be held.

CONFUSION

The sum result of all this manoeuvring is solid confusion and demoralisation among many militants in the fleet.

The Central Delegate Conference can do the job that was not done by the Central Bus Committee. It can give a clear lead for next Monday. A decision to strike is the only decision that can be made if the pay claim is to be won.

As Hanwell garage showed this will meet with a ready response. If the staff are to be spared the extra strain of working while trying to carry the 37 per cent of the public that use the tubes, the conference has no alternative but to propose a stoppage. February 5 can be an important day for London busmen that will more than make up for Black Monday, if the delegate conference gives the leadership that busmen are ready for.

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