10 or more of its leading members. This will be a treacherous blow to the unity of the labour movement. Now we have the revolting spectacle of the Tories and Alliance gloating whilst Labour's leadership disbands the very party which has stood longest and firmest in defence of the jobs and services of its city against Thatcher's government.
Liverpool is not being disciplined because it broke the rules, because, like the NUM it stood up to Thatcher and in doing so it exposed the failure of the Kinnock-Hattersley AS WE GO to press, Labour's NEC leadership to take the labour movelooks set to disband the Liverpool ment into battle against the Tories. In Labour Party and to prepare to expel fact the most gross violations of the Labour Party rules are with the support of the NEC, in precisely those parties where the right wing are in control.
Kinnock and Hattersley are attacking the left because they are abandoning Labour Party policies full employment, against the Tory anti-union laws, those fighting the Tories. but taking the party so far to the right, in fact, that the Sunday Observer feels able to extol the virtues of Hattersley's 'Reaganomics' occurring, stand and fight the Tories.
- for against the Tories.
and in support of They are course left.
The Labour leadership increasingly tries to woo the City and big business by convincing them that they will stand for Thatcherism without Thatcher. That is why Kinnock, Hattersley, et al have to attack those sections of the labour movement that do The NEC's McCarthyite witchhunt is a disastrous blow to the fight Every individual and every organisation of the labour movement should make themselves part of the campaign to reverse this - and to turn the Labour Party outwards to fight the Tories not the • See page 3 for details of the witch-hunt. DURING THE six weeks of the official dispute between the print unions and Rupert Murdoch's News International publishing operation, solidarity with striking print workers has grown by day all over the country. Demonstrations twice weekly are now a feature of the Wapping picket line. And supporting actions up and down the country beginning to get off the ground.
Most of all, this solidarity from other trade unionists and labour move. ment activists has been led by miners. The experience of their own year-long strike still sharp, they more than most understand clearly the stakes in the printing dispute. rucien Agains Pit Closures led the way, participating the • first demonstration at Wapping. Kent miners quickly followed, reorganising their own London rally to centrally include representatives from the print unions. On Saturday contingents from across the country, down for the Justice for the Miners march rally, and concert the following day, will swell the ranks of picketers.
Other trade unionists are following suit. o Activists have used the experience of the miners strike to begin setting up support groups for the print workers. Lambeth and Tower Hamlets are two examples.
The response of the rank and file of the movement has given heart to the 5000-odd News International printers whose jobs stand to go. But the police-patrolled barbedwire fortress in London's docklands is a symbol to the whole labour movement of the future of the print industry if Rupert Murdoch gets his way.
All of the newspaper bosses are moving in behind Murdoch to impose redundancies, speed-ups and union-busting on their workforces. Robert Maxwell, who claims to abhor Murdoch's union busting approach has just followed Murdoch's tactics by locking out the work force producing his Scottish Daily Record. Whatever short-term gains in sales they may try to make at Murdoch's expense, all of the press barons are lined up to break the power of the print unions.
These are the stakes. The government and courts have already shown where they stand. And it is these stakes in the fight with News International which makes it so urgent to respond to the sackings, the sequestration of SOGAT 82's funds and to the mounting anacks by omner employers wit all-oul strike action to close down Fleet Street.
This would massively swell the ranks of the Wapping pickets. It would present a powerful argument to the TUC and affiliates to deliver solidarity action as opposed to purely moral support. And it would bring the labour movement into the battle to the level made necessary by the scale of the attack.
Murdoch's papers undoubtably should be boycotted, but the key to victory in this struggle is escalating the action in a major way within the print industry itself, and in solidarity.
The scale of Rupert Murdoch's attacks show the seriousness with which he is treating his project; the response of the ranks of the movement so far shows potential that exists to combat it. The prin union executives must rise to the chal - and step up the action against the wrecking, union-busting onslaught News International • See page 4 for
Socialist Action ACTiON 28 February 1986
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Bill Etherington on the Justice for Mineworkers Campaign p6 • War at Wapping: Week 5 p4 • Tambo welcomes COSATU p9 • Heffer on the witch-hunt p3 • Sellafields leaks p2