Fight against liner

of Railwaymen rejected a recommendation of their negotiating committee that they accept liner-trains for a year's trial. They also rejected any form of operation of the scheme (an express freight service between specially constructed depots in Britain's major towns).

But railmen should not think that the matter is over, or that the executive will not change its mind.

The government and the British Railways Board are determined to go ahead with the scheme later this year, and will probably allow private hauliers to enter the liner-train depots — a blatant attack on the conception of a nationalised industry.

Such a step is necessary in the eyes of the capitalists and the Wilson government to aid the streamlining of the British transport system and the movement of imports and exports in an effort to save the pound.

'BAD THING

Already, according to the "Times', NUR Secretary, Mr. Sidney Greene, 'clearly feels personally that the union should accept the trains'!

'Mr. Greene ... said it would be a bad thing if they were put into operation, without any agreement with the union, because this would lead to confusion among the staff'.

But who is confusing who, when the matter is left in the air?

The union executive should be taking up some of the demands put forward by their district councils for a militant campaign on liner-trains, instead of waiting for 'further safeguards' from the railways board.

Certain assurances on redundancy and pay have been given by the British Railways Board, in connection with liner-trains, but the streamlining of any industry will eventually mean a diminishing labour force. The Board have, in any case, been pressing in several areas for single-manning of trains.

"CONDITIONS'

And surely the 'package deal' offer by the Board, of two threeper-cent wage increases this year and next year and a 40-hour week, will not be handed to the railmen on a plate. The 'conditions' in return must surely mean further streamlining of British Rail.

Any assurances of no redundancy under the liner-train scheme or the package deal are made to look ridiculous when one considers the case of one railman who was forced to move from Luton, in Bedfordshire, to Bury, in Lancashire, to assured of keeping a job in the industry.

How many others will leave the industry when offered jobs miles away from home?

The only way that railmen can safeguard their jobs and the industry is to join in the growing struggle of the workers in Fords, the dockers, tenants and youth against the Tory policies of the Wilson government and for socialist policies of nationalisation of the basic industries under workers' control.

Newcastle

dockers' strike NEWCASTLE dockers struck for three days last week in reply to a cut in tonnage rates. Employers cut the rate for nonpallertised cargo (not made up ready for fork-lift trucks) from 2s. to Is. 3d., which is the present pallertised cargo rate.

A stormy meeting was held at lunch-time on Thursday (August 19), atter many dockers found their pay packets were several pounds light, and the vote for strike action was almost unanimous. The quay was to stop until last Monday, when the men decided to return, pending negotiations.

The 9d. cut came shortly after the publication of the Devlin Report.

Local newspapers claimed that food was 'rotting on the quays' (it stood for two days), but failed to mention the . wage-cut which the dockers faced. for