Socialist Action 24 January 1986 unions, indeed, up the will follow.
He's cut out the print unions altogether.
The is successful not only will is of no-strike deal for unions. unionisation here in Britain.
contracts in else to so d0. house-trained in Wing devised to match.
leadership, is attempting lo do. sluggish fact.
unions, backed must back the print unions to the hilt. WHEN RUPERT Murdoch set New International's £100 million-worth of presses rolling last Saturday he was breaking new ground — for the print industry and the Fleet Street for the whole trade union movement. He described his decision to open green-field site as: 'a pioneering effort. I have no doubt that others Murdoch is a pioneer alright. Many aspects of his ultimatum to the unions are similar to those which other newspaper barons have demanded and in some cases already forced through. Robert Maxwell's Mirror Group secured a deal at the beginning of this year, creating 2100 redundancies and longer hours and worse conditions for those remaining. He is now carrying through a wave of victimisations. Eddie Shah signed a no-strike deal with the EETPU last July for his new newspaper.
But Murdoch's demand is a qualitative step which goes beyond any union deal signed in Bri tain so far. He is attempting to give his no-strike deal the force of law, to make it legally binding. If unions and in dividuals too for that matter) be liable to prosecu tion if they go into dispute with management, but the implications for every single trade unionist in this country are huge. The EETPU is undermining every trade union by going along with Murdoch.
The production of the Sunday Times at Wapp ing last weekend was the culmination of five years' work and 'intensive negotiations' for Murdoch. Those talks have so far resulted in the employment of a new labour force: electricians on short-term contracts and no involvement of the print unions. But for Murdoch this is the harbinger of the new management-union relationship to come. Already the EETPU is attempting to agree a legally binding their members, against the pressure of the TUC and the rest of the Fleet Street Such legal agreements are already in force abroad. The resulting effect on unionisation and trade union power is disasterous. In the US all union contracts are legally enforceable. Most contain elaborate grievance procedures and no-strike clauses of the type the EETPU is prepared to sign. Real wages in the US have not increased since 1966. And the percentage of the workforce which is unionised has dropped from 35 to 19 per cent since the '50s. This compares to almost 50 per cent Union agreements are treated in law like civil France. Here 1oo the percentage unionisation has dropped to almost 19 per cent. In West Germany it is not only illegal to break a union agreement, but also to encourage anyone West German unions are the most West Europe - and have been since the end of World War II. Now there are new signs of militancy, and new legal sanctions are beTo introduce such deals in Britain would fundamentally weaken every union. And that is exactly what Murdoch, with the help of the EETPU Even the usually leadership of the TUC recognises this Under pressure from the rest of the print the miners railworkers unions, Willis and company are now frying to persuade Hammond to back down.
This is a vital battle for every trade unionist in this country. There must be massive pressure from all unions to stop the Murdoch deal and to suppor the NGA and SOGAT '82 in their fight. The TUC