THE TUC was right to take a hard line negotiate a legally binding no-strike deal with Rupert Murdoch's News Internatioal Wapping plant. The partial back-down by meeting amply demonstrates that point.
Murdoch's ultimatum went far beyond what other newspaper barons have secured. Indeed, it went beyond any union deal which exists in the type Murdoch demanded are nothing more than a proposal that human beings should be placed on the same legal level as animals or inThe idea of legally binding contracts has been a key part of the almer, umorously entised Fair Deal at pork. paper, humorously entitled Fair Deal at agreements on a par with any other type of conthe Heath government's Industrial Relations Act tried to practice this.
unless there was an explicit clause to the contrary. That was defeated at the time. First by the while the Act was in operation did include such a clause. Second by the action of the dockers and the threat of a general strike when the Pentonresistance of the tions Court which had been established under Thatcher raised the whole issue again in 1981 with a 'consulative' green paper on trade unions. It extolled the benefits which legally enforceable agreements 'appear to have brought to other countries (and which) could be realised here.' But she didn't yet dare attempt to make union contracts legally binding.
At the beginning of this year, the Financial Times surveyed the problem again. The best way to introduce them, it thought, was on new sites. It singled Wapping out.
The reason for the pressure is simple. Legally binding agreements have been shown internationally to be a tremendous weapon with which to weaken union organisation and power. British unions stand almost alone in resisting them. introduce them here would totally alter the basis of industrial relations. And that is exactly what the EETPU leadership tried to do.
All along the electricians have their defiance of TUC policy. In a letter to Norstand on Wapping) is a massive extension of negotiations.. Our members cannot be made to conform to decisions of other unions, even with the backing of your "advice". I fear your letter is the beginning of an attempt to do so.
Far from opposition to legally binding deals CHUCTS the union movement in this country from its very against the onslaught of the ruling class. The TUC position on this must be upheld Published weekly except two weeks in August and Signed articles by contributors do not necessarily Send all correspondence regarding subscriptions.* PO Box 50, London N1 2XP Send all material for publication (including advertising) to Socialist Action Editorial at the same address. We regret that due to the high cost of postage we cannot return or acknowleage unsoncitea copy or photographs unless accompanied by a stamped ad dressed envelope Resistered as a newsnaner with the Post Offce Published by Cardinal Enterprises, PO Box 50, London N1.
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Legally enforceable contracts of union strategy for almost every agreement concluded engineers to the judgement being a new development in Maintaining that status quo is a