Over 1,000 people marched through Southall in West London on February 20 in a resounding show of labour movement and community support for the 300 LSG Lufthansa Skychefs workers sacked on November 20 for taking part in a one-day official strike.
The march was joined by workers campaigning for union recognition at Rosti plastics factory in Wembley.
The march was addressed by TUC leader John Monks, TGWU chief Bill Morris and high-ranking officials in the regional labour movement, promising their full backing for the strikers in what they see as a landmark battle for human rights at work.
Under the proposals outlined in the government's Fairness at Work bill, which promise protection Susan Moore from dismissal in the first eight weeks of official strike action, the sackings would have been illegal.
Whilst their high-profile support for the strike is very welcome, Monks and Morris are pursuing a flawed strategy which is leading the strike towards defeat.
They are insisting on compliance with the anti-union laws which curb picketing and outlaw solidarity action. The laws impose a deadly straightjacket on the union in the dispute because they forbid it using its trump card - the power of mass solidarity action by TGWU members at Heathrow Airport.
Of course there is no guarantee that the strikers would win if they defy the law. Nor is victory ruled out if they comply with the law. It is mass support - whether legal or otherwise - which is the key to nents so much. the law gives the employers the upper hand. As long as they can keep production Cooper going, they have the resources to sit out lengthy disputes whilst strikers are increasingly hard-pressed. We should not hold ourselves in thrall to unjust laws which are clearly designed to empower the bosses and shackle the unions.
Monks and Morris believe that LSG Lufthansa Skychefs is a "bad employer" that can be made to mend its ways through pressure and appeals to "enlightened self-interest". Their strategy is to mobilise public and union pressure, particularly at an international level, on its parent company Lufthansa and its customers amongst the big airlines (including Quantas, Iberia, Air France and American Airlines) to in turn put pressure on it to reinstate the strikers or face losing their custom. This is fine as part of a wider strategy including solidarity action, but is inadequate on its own.
This strategy is underpinned by Women strikers from Skychef on the picket line the ideology of partnership, both with the employers and the Labour government.
But LSG Lufthansa Skychefs is not a "bad" employer. It is simply doing what is necessary to stay ahead in the highly-competitive airline catering industry and retain its value to Lufthansa as a profitable subsidiary.
This means adopting new work practices to cut costs, and removing union members if they stard in the way. The airlines themselves benefit from competition between their catering suppliers to cut jobs, attack conditions of employment, and weaken the unions.
The outcome of the dispute is of strategic importance to the TGWU. Heathrow Airport is a bastion of TGWU strength. A failure of the TGWU to defend its members at Skychefs will send a signal to employers at the airport that the union is weak, and that: they can step up attacks on their workers.
Conversely a victory will increase the confidence of workers at the airport and be a massive incentive for non-members, especially young people, to join.
A support group has been set up: ring 0181-558 6612 for information on forthcoming activities.
• Visiting the 24 hour picket line, and send donations payable to "GWU" and marked "Sky Chef" on the back to: Regional Secretary, TGWU, 218 Green Lanes, London N4 2HB.
• Ring the TGWU Heathrow Office on 0181-573 9494 for standing order mandates and dispute leaflets. more militant stance, and have