month fight they couldn't kill!
The politics of the MINERS' STRIKE a By BILL PETERS C COUNCIL i Perhaps the first attempt at an objective and coherent political analysis of the miners' strike and its lessons for the workers' movement. 44 pages, 80p, including postage, from Socialist Viewpoint, BCM Box 3956. London WCIN 3XX. was no real debate about the News International dispute at the TUC. Everything was geared to play it down. Like the 1984 TUC conterence which was debating support for the miners, a resolution was put get maximum backing but had no teeth to it and called TUC affiliates to do nothing. The state of the dispute was summed up when Michael Hicks, leading member of the Communist Campaign Group out of the conference with his ever present megaphone - which he needs like Linus blanket needs his security the TUC had just given announced fantastic backing to the printers. There were cheers and clapping. In the crowd was a print worker who has been fighting since the beginning for Fleet Street to come out, for effective picketing, and against the tactics of Dean - which Hicks and the CCG promote, He just stood there head down, arms folded and shook his head. He knew that the TUC vote
featured in the media. Scenes from Wapping or Kinning Park appear on the television in the way miners strike the papers have a keeping it quiet Murdoch win... they will then be in a strong position to and conditions terms workers. The printers, now out for nine months, win this dispute. They lack the rank and file leadership up force the arguments into Fleet Street. The way to win is clear... Fleet Street Sloganising out. Giving the support, and political, to the printworkers who are arguing for it has proved harder. All SOGAT, NGA and NUJ members who International titles must be picketed. And a strategy must be drawn up tor mass picketing the other papers in order to stop them publishing. The endless sectarianism apathy of the left has meant that the strongest of the printers have been left with little support. That has to change now. Support groups revitalised to mobilising the labour movement in their areas to get down to the pickets absolutely nothing and far from backing the printers the Dubbins and Willis want to wash their hands of this dispute, negotiate it away. and SOGAT has been crucial from the beginning. justifiably) hated by many of the print a woman leading a very she is dominated union the slurs and criticisms of her politics degenerate into attacks on her because she is a woman ( and by implication strike). Her role from the start has been to came negotiate. to try thoughts tactics and strengths of the miners might and materialise and she has done everything possible to stop that. has She attempts by other sections to get involved the picketing in phoned ensure that no official NUM presence has been on the Wedensday and Saturday pickets on a regular basis. Dubbins the on rapturous applause and standing ovations ment Socialist Viewpoint No. 14 November-December 1986 p4
rarely and have The did. other not the vested interest in and in seeing similar impose their on are largely determined to not a and preaches till now to Nine about it is easy. both practical News handing strike action. themselves or total was need to be take a lead in trade union TUC, Kinnock, Dean, officers' The role of the leadership of the NGA him. Brenda Dean is clearly (and She is the villain of the piece. Because male clearly not up to leading a terrified Her most were that a strike with similar that not even deliberately defused any personally and has up NUM leadership figures to other hand gets TGWU
and physically support the printers. They should set up public meetings
Othe printers who are arguing for Fleet Street out speaking,
"Wapping personalities" like Hicks and Freeman who have been at the front of stopping any kind of discussion on spreading the strike.
A support group structure should be reformed bringing support groups in Regions together. But it needs to be a structure which is accountable
sectarian group which about the way forward without mobilising for it and which patronises the strikers.
months on strike changes people. The tactics for winning - the boycott, the weekly demos, the flying squads — advanced at the beginning by the bureaucrats, and supported by the Communist Party, have failed. There is nothing wrong with them as tactics for supplementing supporting
But they are not in separately or together capable of winning this dispute. That
difficult to argue at the beginning with about 90 per cent of the printers. Nine months in struggle has changed some of them and the arguments need to be put now, put strongly, acted on and maybe the
movement will see a victory instead of a defeat. from the printers. The Dean and Dubbins double act are a bit like classic police One is hated and the other gains your confidence under pressure so you trust okay". He has done nothing to further this dispute and has been just as much of a traitor to the worker as Dean but becasuse she is so awful he seems better.
Whatever happens in this dispute the
print unions will never be the same again.
The crucial question in the trade union
movement which comes out in any strike
or struggle is the question of leadership.
Nowhere has it been more apparent than
in the printworkers struggle.
It was clear from the beginning of the
strike that the SOGAT NGA leaders did
not want a fight and would block any
attempt to get effective action. The fact
Tall SOGAT and NGA
members handling Murdoch titles were
called out was a clear indication of the
lack of will to spread the strike at all.
The fact that many SOGAT members
were working on News International titles
and that Fleet Street was working normal:
made it virtually to get any response frc=
members driving the sca:
Iwo days after the ballot result: printworkers and supporters march through
REVISER
Wapping. The fight goes on! lorries, though this does not excuse Ron Todd and the TGWU from their role.
Because of the very bureaucratic and federated style of the print chapels and branches there was very little organised unity between the different strikers even within the same union. It was three weeks into the dispute before there was a joint union committee meeting to discuss the dispute. Workers were turning up Saturday night pickets with no plan, no organisation, and no idea achieve the stopping of Wapping.
The Stalinists meanwhile were quickly to ensure that they kept a tight grip through the bureaucracy on the picketing and stewarding of the marches. From day one of this strike the CP and the Communist Campaign Group determined to be in control. They have had a very strong presence in the print unions for many years now. The CP split had just taken place and there was disunity amongst the Stalinists, which left a slight chink in their armour but not enough to allow a strong challenge Stalinist strikers.
Anyone attempting to intervene in the strike who was known to be hostile to the CP was attacked. Support group members from Tower Hamlets were threatened by Communist Campaign Group members both at meetings and on the picket.
Printers who were organisation of the strike and particularly the role of the CCG and CP were physically threatened. Most important of all was the need of the CP to ensure that the question of bringing the rest of the Fleet Street workers out was never raised in chapel meetings or mass meetings and that sacked NI workers who did raise it were discredited and shut up.
They were the first to adopt the pathetic excuse that any Fleet Street strike would increase Murdoch's circulation because
OGAT 82 at winning have workers, not The leaders, through negotiated conditions working the sacked members foI equipped enough of how Stalinists to against the stactic of the boycott campaign. Gradually acting more raising the issue of bringing were Fleet The Street about three to four from dispute to the rest of Fleet Street. non- leafletting organising critical of the it has begun. any real their megaphones brunt of the police violence. main road coaches take Highway. Socialist Viewpoint No. 14 November-December 1986 p5
THE SUN his would be the only papers on the stands. A scab The print chapels, although very good economic demands for their developed many political perspectives within the unions. FOCs and MOCs, had excellent strength which nOW WeLC threatened by Murdoch. But the bulk of well were not to argue effectively and against the and more of them, however, were looking for a method of out Fleet Street, and a small but strong group of printers have been at the fore of trying to gain control of the aspects of the strike from the very powerful and mafia-like CP. Support Unit, consisting mainly of printers, was set up riot gear months into dispute. It is an attempt to loosely organise the plant. those printers who are trying to spread the The Fleet Street Support Unit is now and lobbying outside the other papers. The Observer with 550 NGA members with redundancy notices was the first target. Organising the left in unions with structures like the print unions is an extremely difficult job — but The Stalinists on the other hand can be seen at Wapping every Wednesday and doorstep. Saturday leading the marches away from controntation; announcing on must be that they