miners — to fight for jobs affected the ballot. In this atmosphere, management's intimidation was probably the crucial factor.
This intimdiation could have been answered if rapid and widespread or national action had been taken in defence of those guards sacked. But the union leadership. having tied their hands by the ballot, refused to organise official action and did little to encourage unofficial action.
Given that, a crucial failure of the NUR leadership was that no strategy for a strike was advanced. Indeed, the proposals tor an overtime ban, a work to rule, and selective strike action that the union leadership was going to call if the ballot had been won, showed their own lack of confidence in all-out strike action. What was needed was a serious drive to link up our dispute with driver-only operation on the London Underground and the threat of removal of conductors from buses in order to try to extend strike action to other areas of public transport.
Despite the defeat in the ballot, we can't give up and let management do as they like. The sacked guards still have to be fought for. We will have to fight over the details of implementing DOO, for the best conditions and job protection for guards affected and guards transterred to other jobs. A key task of militants now ls to maintain the strength of trades unionism in their depots and to build regular links between depots, so as to be able to take effective industrial action when necessary.
If the ballots of workshop workers and S&T (signals and telegraph) workers vote for action, they will need the support of all railworkers.
TUC backs miners' call: Scargill gets it right!
ARTHUR Scargill got it right this year. His decision to reject pre-TUC overtures and present Tu Congress resoluten to the
Congress over the plight oi
the NUM and the sacked imprisoned miners resulted in a major victory for the left.
Although the resolution didn't call for amnesty miners it was a comprehensive list of
• A complete review of all cases of miners jailed
• The reinstatement of miners sacked as a result of the dispute.
• The reimbursement of the NUM and all other unions with all monies confiscated as a result of fines, sequestration and receivership.
• The ending of all pit closures other than by exhaustion.
adoption of the resolution overturned the recommendation of the General Council 16-24 majority - that it should be
It creates a dramatically new situation in the campaign to defend the sacked and victimised miners and demonstrates once again the impact the strike had on the trade union and authority the NUM still carries as a result of it 6 months after the end of
The influence of the NUM resulted in conflict within many of the delegaions, where the right wing were op posing the speech evoked memories of strike, which are still strong in the working class. The ASTMS delegaminute switch in favour of the resolu-
despite the opposition of Clive
The way this resolution was carried shows again that last year's decision by the NUM leaders to compromise on their demands General Council at the height of the strike was a serious mistake. Much more could have been won if the NUM had gone in and fought it out.
Arthur Scargill's attutide this year is what it should have been then: will either win or see clearly where everyone stands!" He put it this way in the Morning Star on the first day of
"When the TUC makes its decision,
By ALAN THORNETT the world will be watching, the wider labour movement will be watching, the public at large will be watching, and, perhaps most importantly of all, 632 men and their wives and children will be watching to see whether the labour movement stands modern day equals of the Tolpuddle
The TUC decision, reached on a card vote of 4,649,000 to 4,585,000, a majority of 64,000 in favour, focuses all attention on the
Party Conference
Despite the fact that Neil Kinnock has said he would not carry out such resolution there would be that mer major boost to the campaign. The campaign to torce Kinnock to put it in
manifesto and to carry it out would come later. As we go to press it seems likely that the NUM can win such a motion at Bournemouth.
The TUC decision puts major new
Othe support movement and the labour movement as a whole.
y the NUM. A weakness of the TUC he campaign must be stepped t intervention was that it was not accompanied by an adequate campaign on the resolution prior to the Conress, and there was no lobby of the TUC outside the doors of the Congress while the issue was being debated. A massive lobby of miners and suporters would have increased support for the reslution and advanc. ed the campaign.
Nothing should be left to chance with the Labour Conference. must be a massive lobby organised nationally by the NUM.
This is another very good reason
Othe support groups and the women's support groups must be kept have been wound down.
The recent Sheffield conference of