telecoms privatisation dispute more thanthree weeks ago. In response to a tremendously effective work to rule by Post Office Engineering Union members at three London Telecoms management locked out 1600 workers.
bussing in London in an attempt to break picket lines suspending them when they refuse to do so.
Management has peakCallbalzil threatening the union with its first real casualties - 19 members received notices of dismissal, which BT have since opted to postpone until after the union's Blackpool ULI November.
The present policy of the to win the dispute selecave tion'. This strategy was successfully developed the POEU in its 1978 fight for the 35 hour week and has been employed for some montas campaign against Mercury which preceded the mass lock out the international Exchanges However today we are no longer in the period of Photo: GM COOKSON POEU pickets gave way to real war in the Exchanges, British Management have since escalated the dispute by POEU members from outside central the phoney war, but are fighting a real war with casualties. Secondly the situation in the 1982 and the high stakes involved over privatisation have little in common with the dispute over shorter working week 1978.
Some have argued all-out strikes anachronism, left over 'hi-tech' OIC revolution. Of course this were true who would want to go on strike if you could win by a less financially difficulty route!
Robots
But the time has not yet arrived when robots will fight battles for The POEU membership may have widely different levels of understanding of the stakes involved in the fight, spread as it is from ondale House in London the most militant centres of the City of London to the more isolated reaches of the Scottish Islands.
But the membership 1s mainly young, undefeated in past confrontations and unlikely 'respond passively to BT's provocations. especially in the wake Mercury's deteat courts.
Moreover, it would be a mistake to underestimate willingness the membership to fight on an issue which ultimately will determine the future of as many as 1 in 5 jobs. At the moment, the initiative the dispute is in the hands of management so long as the selective action strategy is adhered to by the union.
Selective Simply from the financial point of view selective action has unavoidable anne merent limitations.
far is possible, without acting decisively, to contain sustained 00liC) by BT when every suspender member costs £100-150 per week.(The bill Cull cul alasproximately £¼m per week.)
The eventual outcome of the legal moves by Mercury are unlikely to go in The union's favour sooner or later the avoid this Move lo debilitating blow to its tinances But the real issue lies, not in the cheque-book, but on the level of involvement of the membership in the action. Without mobilising the full strength of the members in national action, even the potential disruptive effect of selected key targets is undermined.
Without picketing around the clock and occupations, manage ment scabs are capable of reducing the union's impact to little more than nuisance value.
Meanwhile the majoriFOEU of the non-participating members are fair ame for the media propaganda. The cumulative effect of the selective action policy can only be demoralisation and isolation of the most militant sectors under such conditions. is at its least confident phase since the election in the wake of the Parkinson scandals and its complicity Other public sectorworkers are sizing up for a fight around the National Health Service and also in the rails and mines.
Concerted action by the POEU for the withdrawal of BT's sacking notices and the return work. of the interna tional Exchange engineers could draw in wide-based trade union support deal a severe blow to Tory policy.
Idea The idea that you can win a fight like this on the active participation of only a tiny proportion of the membership undermines the possibility of ultimate victory.
We may, or may not win public support for ou aims. extremely unlikely that we will ever do so on the scale that the nurses were able We will definitely not have the media on our side, nor are the Tories likely to readily make concessions on one of the major items legislative programme. The courts toc will be against us.
The only base of support capable of winning out against these obstacles the whole 130,000 membership of the POEU. There is no way that we IT WAS the British Telecom's management decision to suspend the sacking of 19 POEU members until after the union's conference that hit newspaper headlines last week.
Brian Stanley, the POEU's General Secretary, said, it would be a matter for the entire trade union movement if any of the 19 were dismissed'.
action has spread into five cities Manchester, Birmingham Liverpool, Glasgow Swansea.
the Union of Communication Workers has started a t levy to suppor the action and has begun 24 hour walk-outs in areas where POEU members have been disciplined.
British Telecom's management has responded by stepping up its own campaign of provocation.
Emergency resolutions for national strike action to the POEU National Conference 7 November West End Breach • AS a 1 resalt of recent chee Yes in the event of member being dismissed for implementing union policy over Mercury or privatisation.
West End Branch 'In the event of an injunction being granted should call a na the tional strike calling on can afford to have 99 per cent of them simply putting their hands in their pockets to pay a fl pe week strike levy and stan din Sion the side hings, ended the phoney war by Lionin Services out the Interna tional workers' national strike action has been the only option open the union other thar defeat Its polic of bussing POEU members into othe when the BT management arranged for faults from the centre to be reported directly to the North West London Telex office.
North West Lon don POEU members who refused to accept the blacked work were then suspended sent dismissal letters. This was answered by four North West London exchanges taking protest action and occupying their canteens for one to two hours.
More POEU members were suspended when they were bussed into the Fleet Building from the City and refused CLUS picket lines.
Meanwhile Mercury is carrying on its campaign through the courts with the active encouragement of the government and the Al elecom manageall the unions in the public sector to actively support us.' City Branch 'The removal of la. ternational Services bers from ce of work ou the weekead of 8 Ox. rober in ment to attack the POEU and stop our opposition to the privatisation of BT. This conference en dorses our total opposinon to orvausalon and the interconnection of Mercury and instructs the NEC to take all steps to defend our union and our jobs, up to and including national strike action.'
THEY DID IT. The plan worked. Unbelievably all The
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POEU OFFICIAL PICKET
The Tory government These workers, bussed in from East Area refused to cross picket lines at the Moorgate Exchange
Action escalates