fight to secure a Labour women's conference and a women's ministry powertul enough te serve in this process. So much depends or stronger links and organise joint action with The TUC conference provided a welcome boost for print workers engaged in the eight month old Wapping dispute. But it is the outcome of the current secret negotiations between employers and unions in the Wapping dispute which will have the most enduring effects on the trade union movement. JUDITH ARKWRIGHT discusses some of those implications with LIZ SHORT, acting deputy Mother of the Chapel (MOC) of the Times clerical branch of SOGAT. expelled from the TUC. 'If you refuse to act to defend members' interests because you are afraid to split the trades union movement, then what purpose does that movement really serve', she asks. 'It is Hammond anc the HETPU that are provoking a split in the trade unions and sabotaging any real fight against the Tories' trade union legislation. They are trying to lead us towards the new company unionism.'
The role of the TUC in the dispute, says Liz, has been worse than useless. The TUC and print union leaders have consistently claimed that the law must not be broken but, as she points out, the only way to win at Wapping is through all-out industrial action which under this government automatically •means conflict with the law. She points out that: "The TUC quite rightly talk about the plight of detained trade unionists in South Africa, but what about the more than 1,000 arrests at Wapping and police brutality
step? They are not really serious in supporting South African trade unionists either. Think what could be done to support them if you had strong fighting print unions here.
The struggles could be really linked up'.
But the entire blame cannot be laid at the door of the electricians and the TUC, Eric Hammond, the electrician's union leader, has already pointed out the hypocrisy of
leaders, who while taneously condemning him, have asked him to negotiate on their behalf with Murdoch.
The leaderships of the other unions involved in the dispute have themselves consistently undermined the action, not least in
'It is Hammond and the
EETPU that are provoking
a split in the trade unions'
negotiating deals with other newspapers on
Fleet Street which all but concede the sort of demands that Murdoch is making. * A deal with the Daily Express was worked out at Easter which involved the loss of 2,600 jobs and a massive undermining of condi* At the Daily Telegraph a move to West Ferry Road in Docklands has been agreed along with massive redundancies and an end to branch level negotiations. system of joint negotiating committees is to be set up, which given the current level of demoralisation amongst the rank-and-file, will severely undermine union strength. announced tht it must lose 550 jobs and envisages putting out printing to four regional centres. * In the case of the Mirror group newspapers, SOGAT workers have initially rejected a package from Robert Maxwell which offered a 3½% pay rise over two years in return for 'unlimited flexibility' requiring members to cover any job including non-union positions, a move to a new site, changes in shifts, rotas, working hours, holidays and stipulating members be required to work on any of his publications. This was coupled with restrictions on chapel representation. This follows the reduction of the workforce by one third last January. Maxwell has clearly taken his cue from Murdoch and the outcome of the Wapping dispute will obviously influence his ability to push the deal through.
Liz points out that all these proprietors have boasted that they have not had to use 'Murdoch-style' tactics, but have achieved what they wanted through negotiation. In fact Murdoch has paved the way for such deals. And the fact that the unions have been negotiating such deals will only serve to further undermine union strength.
join a union it it does not represent your basic interests,' she querics.
According to Liz, the leaders of her own union, SOGAT, have been searching for ways to run down the action and force a settlement on the print workers ever since the overwhelming 2 to 1 vote to reject the Murdoch offer of £50 million and the use of the Sunday
Times building.
At the SOGAT annual conference in Scarborough, carlier this vear, Brenda Dean and her national executive were given a helping hand by the key London District Committee (LDC) of the union. After having successfully led the moves to reject the Murdoch offer,
National Exccutive mendation, the London leaders then failed to take the initiative and demand a stepping up of the dispute.
Instead they agreed merely to pursuc the dispute as long as the independence of SOGAT was not in jeopardy and to continue the boycott of News International papers. The effect was to run the action down.
Liz views this whole episode as a critical turning point in the dispute. national union is negotiating at a national
thereby cutting out chapels and branches. The LIX: managed in the lead up to the ballot to assert some authority but then they bottled our in Scarborough.
'In any case, since the agreement the national leadership have not even done the minimal things they agreed to. It took them six weeks to come up with a new leaflet for the boycott campaign. The executive have left us to rot until we'reso demoralised, we'll accept any deal'
Since July 31 the national exccutive have also taken to policing the dispute themselves. On this date, Murdoch obtained injunctions against the unions placing severe restrictions on picketing and demonstrating at Wapping. INT obtained flying picketing. Brenda Dean senta circular out to branches all over the country of which
Dated 1 August the circular is an extraor union. It states that: 'the NEC: wishes to make it clear that it cannot countenance an action by any officer or member which constitutes a breach of any of the undertakings. In accordance with the legal requirements of the undertakings to protect the union the society will be required to take disciplinary action against any officer or member who
which intringes any of the undertakings and thereby places the position of the union in jeopardy
It is not clear what disciplinary action' means, but here is a situation where scabsare being tolerated within the rue. in the shape of the BETPU and yet trade unionists who want to fight tor basic demands are being threatened. This is the extent to which the
government has undermining and dividing the trade unions through legislation.
As against this the sociat ballot and some of the mass meetings that have been hold show a willingness to fight. However Liz believes that some kind of challenge to the national leadership of the union would have to be implied in this. She regretted that the London Ieadership had 'bottled out' at Scarborough since this was the only real existing alternative to the leadership during the dispute. She herselt has participated in the Fleet Street support unit which she describes as the only real rank-and-file voice
in the print unions. She does not secthisas an alternative to tholcadership batasameans ol putting pressure to get the right policies to
What policies? "The primary function of
the support unit was to mobilise other Meet
Street chapels and to put pressure on for the holding of more mass meetings and the setting up of a strike commitce. out that there had only beon six of these
the dispute. attended meeting which she chaired a good discussion developed, but none of the ofticials turned up to it to be accountable to the members. Needless to say less people turned up to the next mecting.
Women prime workers have played a role equal to the men. 'At the beginning of the dispute,' says Lix, public sompathy was not with the print workers so thes tisco us as an example of low-paid workers. There are S00 female staff on strike and women showed themselves very willing to figh and people began to realise that women could fight'
One of the biggest mistakes of the strike, and Lir thinks it was deliberate, was that there is no real attempt to link up with the printers' families. But if you're trying 1o contain a dispute I suppose the last thing you want is a force like the miners' wires.
Liv reports that locally labour Parties have been very supportive and that support could have built on to a lar greater extent. 'But nationally the Labour Party has the same line as the seriat leadership. don't
'800 female staffare on
strike and have showed
themselves willing to fight' rock the boat, wait lor the nose election to change things. Despitethis Liz has joined the Labour Party. I know that there is no alternative but to care on fighting lor our rights. That's why it is no good waiting for the nest election.
A defeat for the primworkers was and is clearly not incvitable. Murdoch's provoca tive action was a gamble and he has faced losses amounting to 820 million. Like others in the Fleet Street support unit she believes that Murdoch could have been defened through industrial action in Hee Street, pointing out to the rest of the labour movement that the issuc is not just new technology, but trade union rights.
I think the strike is still winnable sars Li. 'But of course even it we had talen industrial action in Fleet Street and organised mass picketing the torces of the state would have hit us even harder.' She is bitter that there was no Tud: enquiry into the events of 3 May, when the police ran riot against the Wapping pickets.
She is candid about her disappointment with her union and their lack of determin. tion to win this dispute. 'But the alternative to not fighting is a future with no jobs and no rights for working people and increasing state repression. You cannot put the lid on pressure trom below'