On the march: Notts miners last Saturday 'WHAT A WONDERFUL way to say the fight goes on!' With these words, and to rapturous applause, Dennis Skinner summed up Saturday's Justice for Mineworkers rally in Notts more than three thousand miners and their supporters wound their way through the streets of Mansfield to a rally where they heard speeches from representatives of the NUM, victimised miners, Women striking printers at apping, the trade union organisation in El Salvador.
Notts NUM vice president, Mick McGinty, told Socialist ACRON lelighted he was with the Lint-Oil. What : more I'm highly delighted with the people that stood and watched we through Mansfield clapped. It was like the old days.
'In fact,' he added, 'there were more people on the march than in the old days when we had a MINERS AND FAN Against Pit Closures, and FENASTRAS, united national union and we used to march through Mansfield ... It shows that the NUM is here to stay in the Notts area and that it's getting stronger everyday'.
strength the NUM and confidence defeating the breakaway was a constant theme of The NUM VICe-president, Mick McGahey, ONE OF the features of the struggle at Wapping has spoke of the UDM as standing for the anon diminishing members'. Unity Notts area president, Ray Chadburn, spoke out in his speech against those 'who favour a compromise with the UDM as the way esasst GulL) ine Notts coalfield. Loud applause greeted his clear-cut statement: this: I'm not seeking compromise. Nor the Notts NUM!' With the debates proceedings of the the question of what sort of leadership and what sort of policies were needed was a colls tant theme of the speeches. Paul Whetton warned those who were campaigning against Scargill that he enormous support in the union's rank and file.
Striking printer, Jim Mason praised Scargill as 'a leader who led you and unaerstooa wnele ne was going andenned othe Turnung leaders of the print unions ne weni on: All we ask of our leaders is to support us the way they said they were going to 18 januari when we came out in sup. port ot our trade union's right for recognition in that plant'.
Notts secretary, Henry Richardson carried on the point as regards the Labour Party:
despile ine lace the last political ballot 99 cent of our Notts members to support the Labour Party, there are no Nottinghamshire Labour MPs on this platform, apart from Dennis Skinner. I hope you'll The emphasised to nouce, loud applause. Cheap Internationalism was a constant meme noaa out HanGer received a standing ova ton as ne spok on the situation In paid his union's tribute to the struggl the miners and of Womer Against Pit Closures The struggle in South Africa W as especially highlighted in the platform speeches. An emergency resolution was unanimously adopted to protest the imminent ANC members Sipho Xulu and Clarence Payi The fight against tr JDM in Notts is going 1 be a hard one — - demanding support the whole labour movement. But the for rewo ker ary was ali important step forward in that fight CLPs In additio n the direct against the UDM in the area now, the movement has demand that future aboli PoverHcu withdraws all recognition LUIE the Dicakawd organisation recognises the NUM in Notts.
As victimised miner Paul Whetton told Socialist Action: 'once we ve got united mineworkers union in the , I'm sure we're going acd to take the fight forward. The time for retreating has long since gone.' LIZ FRENCH spoke on behalf of Kent IuNI Women Pit Closures her imprisoned husband, victimised miner Terry French. "The are still here' she reminded the rally. We're still strong we're still standing by ou men. After two-and-a-half years. And we're stopping here because the fight has not yet been won' she emJIM MASON, a striking printer dispute, ,appealed for support. Then Jim went on to comment on the TUC.
'I heard Neil Kinnock's speech at the TUC. I don' personally feel that we need government for some of the things he's saying. I feel we need a Labour govern• ment because we need revenge. We need revenge for the people on low pay, ed Revenge hor the antiRevenge for the antitroge union laws. Kevengt for the sacked miners, the villages that took the battering evenge for tl 6000 print orke who or all, trikenday. . Mos all, revenge for the thousands of murders go ing on in South Africa b!
. apartheid regime supported by this governIcal• 'WHO is going to tell us that the spirit of the Notinenamshire miners is se low after this marvellous turn-out today? asked 'He's been away 22 mongot. another year to do. Last weekend he had homes leave from the Friday Monday. I -got booked in a little bötel in Bognor Kegis, But wasn't allowed "t0" because we had to go to the picket and show them what it's 'He even went to the TUC and embarrassed a lot of people down there. He wanted to show that being prison mean that give up You can still be a fighter in there. can still have your principles Down in Kent, we've inst had a vote for an over time ban. Though we're being kicked down there we're still Terry's he's lost parole. Area s n evane Because . No reason wa: given. We just have assume it's because he's 'In Kent there are 48 lads still sacked. Not one has got his job back yet.' ment denied it. mne tullner The Well las September them went to the international currenc market and borrowed $2 ½ billion the highest
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'Despite the fact that the UDM are flirting with the that in