defend the sacked and imprisoned miners!
Judged in the raw terms of an industrial trial of strength, Government has improved its position considerably as a result of its victory over the miners. They have virtually destroyed the power of the NUM and created the best conditions for speed up and profitability drives within the pits which is , ultimately what capitalism requires at its most level. Along with privatisation it is what the NCB's closure programme is all about.
This problem — the strength of the Board and the weakness of the NUM since the strike - has been compounded by the stance taken by the NUM itself, particularly level. The declaration bravely made as the miners marched back to work that "the fight against closures will continue" did not materialise.
By ALAN THORNETT the Tory prolonged of a nature against the NCB was now out bargaining of the question for a long time and that the - — however difficult that might be. Consequently, miners fundamental strike action as managements impos- tant miners, ordered leaderships in negotiating machinery. This was the case in Yorkshire and with the nacite Five" in South at Area that no sures The Socialist Viewpoint, No. 6, June 1985. Page 1
lived. policy in reality was that strike action generalised and only hope of influencing management was through negotiation took who miners. ed their new-found authority or car- ried out further victimisations of mili- were generally quickly back to work by their Area and Russell favour of the "Fur- yet Wales.It en- for a momentum fightback develops. Although strikes occurred frequently at the level of the pits this attitude kept them isolated whole
and ensured they would be short-
This attitude also extends to the sacked and imprisoned miners and embraces the national leadership of the NUM as well. Not a single national demonstration in support of either the sacked OI imprisoned miners has been organised by the NUM since the strike: not even a national conference of the sacked
Not even the two outrageous life sentences imposed on Dean Hancock
Shankland from South Wales provoked the NUM into a national demonstration over the issue;
there was strong feeling throughout the coalfields. In Merthyr Vale village (it was Merthyr Vale pit where the scab was being taken when the taxi driver was killed) almost the
population walked onto the
South Wales has seen the biggest march in defence of victimised miners. streets when they heard the
There was strong feeling throughout the working class on the issue yet not a single trade union sentences. There was not a word from demonstration on the issue, held in Cardiff, backed by the South Wales Area Executive, would have been bigger if it had had more official
The NCB are exploiting their victory to the full. Pit closures are now three more pits in South Wales and three more in Yorkshire — Acton Hall, Saville and Glasshoughton.
The effect of the defeat on the NUM is in quite strong contrast to the reaction of most of the rest oi the working class. They were affected by the fact that the miners fought so hard and so long and see it as an example of the kind of fight which can be created mass unemployment. see the miners more as having failed to than having defeated and are not generally aware of the conditions in the pits.
As a result of this strike, struggles have continued since the end of the miners strike. The teachers action and the escalation of action in the Health Service are examples. It is,
despite the fact that most union leaderships have drawn the opposite conclusion - that if the miners can't win, no one can, and therefore don't try. Shabby deals and sell outs are now the order of the day whilst the TUC prepares to accept the anti-union laws formally. Yet despite the
they have won at shop vulnerable to further strike action. They have not won the workers over. Where they have imposed speed up and new working conditions it has workforce. They have often accepted it because of current conditions or the attitude of the trade union leaders to resistance — but the resentment is
SOUTH WELS AREN NUM AS 10DC, UNITY AN MANPE there and will emerge as strike action if the right conditions are there or a strike wave breaks out.
The Tories are vulnerable for another reason as well. Although they have had success at the point of production, in political terms they have emerged weaker from the strike - something which could be exploited by the unions if they were prepared to take up the struggle.
A number of factors have contributed to the Tories' slump in popularity. During the strike the miners were seen as fighting for their jobs and enduring serious hardship to do it. The Tories were seen by many as having created the confrontation and as keen to put the boot in as heavily as possible at the end Their support slumped in both opinion polls and County Council election results. On top of this the measures they have taken to capitalise on their victory since the strike will eventually hurt so many people that it has compounded the problem. There was the budget. Unemplovemnt has gone up. Inflation has increased. Fundamental measures have been initiated to "restructure" supplementary benefit. The state pension scheme is to be
Proposals have been inpublic order legislation police wider powers and introducing a redefinition of the law of "riot" with a 10 year sentence attached to it.
All this creates a situation where,
won the miners' Tories are likely to lose an election in 2 years time. Continuing strike struggles would exacerbate this situation.
There is little possibility of strike prioritised by any of the Trade Union leaders of course. They are busy moving politically to the right to create the conditions for a coalition with the SDP - since they see a hung
rather than Government, as the most likely out-
Cof the next election. Graham spelled it out at the CPSA Conference. Socialist Viewpoint, No. 6, June 1985. Page 2
This righwing shift at the top of the unions (brought out in the most pronounced way probably in NUPE) at a time when there are still 700 miners sacked, more standing trial and 60 in prison, puts a particular responsibili-
on the support movement if serious campaign is to be developed in their defence.
The problem is the state of the Support Groups as they exist at the present time. The reality is they have been largely run down or wound up since the end of the strike. Many never successfully changed over from strike support to support tor the victimised and imprisoned miners.
Yet they, as with the women's support groups, were a very major gain of the strike. They are now the obvious rank and file basis for an ongoing campaign for the victimised miners given the weakness of the NUM on the issue and the refusal of any part of the official movement to take the issue up.
One of the more bizarre features of the situation is the current role of the Workers Revolutionary Party — who had been too sectarian to work in most of the Support Groups throughout the strike. They have now stepped in to fill the vacuum in the situation with their Edinburgh to London march for the victimised miners. They have now been able to present themselves as the mainstream of the amnesty campaign. They would never have been able to do it but for the weakness of the support movement and the absence of anything else happening.
On top of that most of the mobilisations which have taken place have been poorly attended. The Midlands march on June 1 had 400-500 on it. The NOMPAS march on June 8 had 150 — which could not entirely be accounted for by bad organisation on behalf of the organisers and sectarian attitudes on behalf of the far left groups.
If the NUM had organised such a march it would have been massive. If the TUC had organised it it would
PEOPLE AREN'T
UNEMPLOYMENT 10 OFFICE have been even bigger. But in the absence of that the Support Groups, had they kept going and got together, could have organised a march on much broader basis.
In this situation there are a number of things which are now a priority.
1. Inside the NUM the bargaining power of the union must be rebuilt and the battle rejoined with the NCB. This rebuilding a fighting movement amongst the miners can be started by taking on every issue where militancy emerges and developing it. It means rejecting the positions of George Bolton and the Communist Party that "unity" is now the main thing. The main thing is developing a miltant fightback with no concession to scab areas like Nottingham.
It means defending Arthur Scargill against moves by the right wing because of his record in the strike, despite his weakness over the victimised miners. It means defending the strong policies of the NUM Executive like their continuous refusal, under immense pressure, to "purge their contempt" in the High Court in order to have the union's funds
WORKING. released from the "official receiver".
At the same time it is necessary to develop a militant rank and file movement within the NUM. To help achieve this the various leit group. ings spread across the NUM should be brought together into a single movement. It has to spearhead the development of a fight back and campaign within the union for adequate action on amnesty.
2. The NUM must be pressurised into calling a national conference of victimised miners to be followed by a national demonstration and maybe a one day national strike.
3. The role oi the TUC is extremel important. They should not be let ofi the hook at the September Conference. Means should be found to get a resolution on the agenda giving full backing including finance, which they have not given at the present time — to the victimised and imprisoned miners and maybe a national demonstration.
4. The Labour Party Conference is even more important. Neil Kinnock, when pressed last week, pledged that a future Labour Government would Socialist Viewpoint, No. 6, June 1985. Page 3
But the economy 1s reinstate some of the sacked miners accused of "less serious" crimes.
In making this point he reminds us of a very important fact: that even if a future Labour government was not prepared to confront the courts on the matter of the jailed miners - and we would be soft to assume they would be - they could, at a stroke, as a matter of policy, reinstate all those sacked since they are directly the employer. Although an election may be as long as two years away it would be a huge boost for the amnesty campaign if such a declaration were made. Resolutions on the agenda of the Labour Party Conference are therefore extremely important.
5. Outside the NUM the rundown of the Support Groups must be halted and the ones still in existence reinvigorated and brought centrally into the amnesty campaign while taking up other issues at the same time. Support Groups need to get together, if possible, a Conterence of supporters to discuss the role they should now play.
Will