A CAMPAIGN for strike acnot in support or the wuners. and full backing for the GreenHan style camps to be set up ar the gates of the threatened pits by Pit Closures (WAPC) were amongst the decisions taken by a very successful solidarity conference on January 9.
The conference, which was culica at short nonce by the Socialist Movement Trade tional Miners Support Network was attendca Dy dou people delegated from trade union and labour movement organisations.
it nda the run support of the NUM, and adopted a statement from the union which called for a one-day stay-away in defence of the threatened jobs and the mining industry. Urging unity: Benn Introducing the Statement in the opening plenary, Idwell Morgan from the NUM NationExecutive Committee, stressed that the only HELES able outcome for the NUM was that all of the threatened 31 pits would be kept open. There could be no compromise on this and no victory short of it. The closure of a single pit would be a defeat for the NUM he stressed.
Six other speakers were on the platform, among them John Hendy, QC, who represented the NUM in the recent victory in the High Court where the Goveriment was toura to be in breach of the law.
Tony Benn stressed the need for unity across the movement Carolyn Sikorski from the SMTUC spoke of the historic role of women in trade union APC outlined their plans fo the camps on the gates of the immediately threatened pits.
The other speaker was Bob Crowe from the RMT NEC who ing between the rail and mining stay-away day in support of the Walesa mainstream NSZZ Solidarity, while others were from the far smaller but more mitant Soldarity Kontra union, linked to the anti-semitic Poland.
The ex-Stalinist OPZZ confederation sent messages of support and threatened a general strike from midlanuary but generally took a more cautious line. This did not stop a pro government MP accusing ex-communists of instigating a strike patently of Solidarity origin.