New moves against militants at Kincardine

SINCE the end of the strike of electricians at the Kincardine power station construction site, the witch-hunt of the militants on and off the job has been intensified.

Messrs. Chapple and Tuck, representing the ETU Executive, arrived on the job to conduct a meeting of those electricians who had been brought on to the job to break the strike. Notices for this meeting were sent out by post only to those men who remained at work during the strike and whose presence on the job during the latter part of the dispute was endorsed by the leadership of the ETU.

The notice for Mr. Chapple's meeting announced it would be held in the Board Room of Messrs. Kennedy and Donkin (the consultant engineers on the site). The letter announced that admission to the meeting would be by contribution card and this letter only.

Escorted Off The procedure for this meeting so incensed the other electricians on the site, who had stood firmly by the locked out men, that Chapple was forced to admit them also to his meeting. He, however, refused to be present if the locked out men were allowed into the meeting. These electricians were therefore escorted off the site by the police.

The witch-hunt on the site has now extended to the AEU and against one member of that union who was the shop stewards' convenor for the contracting men. Subscription High Street, 7s. for Name Address He had given strong support to the locked out electricians and had organised support on the job for the strike. His shop steward's card has been 'temporarily' withdrawn.

There are still 16 electricians locked out from the Kincardine job and without work. They point out that as a result of the defeat of the strike the site money paid to the electricians has been fixed at 7d. per hour; that only a very small allowance is being paid to men who travel in to the job from Edinburgh and Glasgow. The fares to the job for some of the men are as high as £2 per week. The employers have, through the breaking of the strike, been able to cut their costs by the payment of a lower rate.

Encouragement

The strike committee has received encouragement by the response to its appeal to other sections of workers for funds. These funds are still needed to help those victimised. Contributions should be sent to c/o M. Gillespie, 96 Kingseat Avenue, Grangemouth, Scotland.

Department, The 186a Clapham London, S.W.4. 12 issues, or £1 8s. per year has told them that production has to be doubled in three months; that they must have the stop watch treatment because some men are 'not pulling their weight'; that increased production is necessary for the firm to finance the new factory they propose to build in Speke.

A week ago, headlines in the Liverpool Echo reported that the future of the new factory-which was to employ 4,500 workers by 1963—was in doubt, although the site has already been cleared. Cancellation of this new factory in Speke is now held as a threat to jobs in the factory already working.

Men from the Standard factory complain bitterly that the management has produced an agreement on the use of stop watches, about which they know nothing. Standard's management allege it has been signed by trade union officials. At a mass meeting last week, the men were not allowed to vote on it.

Said one shop steward, a member of the Transport and General Workers' Union: 'If the men phone the officials they can't get them. If the management phone they are up at the factory in half an hour. We have put a lot of hard work in getting organised up here. Now, instead of going forward, we are laking steps backward.' But, from his conversation and that of other workers at the factory it is clear that there is a fighting spirit among the rank and file. Their determination to resist the speed up and redundancy can defeat the management.

Registered at the G.P.O. as a newspaper 180 Clapham High Street, London, S.W.4