SIXTY THOUSAND shipyard from 6 January.
tied up with strings.
Management, with government insistence are determined to drive through a 'survival plan' involving yard closures, redundancies, Illassive major changes in work-practices.
the last six years shipyard workers have lost their jobs and another 9,000 redundancies are planned in the next year.
This follows a pattern of so called survival plans imposed bv the lorie nationalised industries like British Steel, WICe the workforce has been massacred to less than half of the 1979 level.
With such rationalisaHOnors Come on union rights and hard won practices on the shop floor.
Campaign.
The capacity of the community to organise in face of the overwhelming odds, and the courage o workers, yards and workshops stretching between Southampton and Glasgow, are set for all out strike action The nationalised British shipbuilders have offered a paltry 2 per cent pay increase and even this is Already in the lead up to this dispute, managers in ship repair yards 'vneside have tried to im. pose ballots over the heads of the union.
Shipyard workers have shown thev are determiner to stand up against these attacks on their lobs. conditions and unions. Over three national conferences of lay delegates tion, , grade and union in the industry have voted overwhelmingly for industrial action to resist the Mass meetings in every yard confirmed support toi national Jallual y the Newham 8 should spur defeat the Police Bill and successfully growing state authoritarianism.
But there is concen about to backtrack by leaders of the Confederation Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions, which unites the 13 shi November the na November tional negotiating committee, the SNC, came close to agreeing a deal which involved an attack boundaries and working conditions.
condemned by a national combine commille of shot stewards from around the country and stewards the Swann Hunter yard in Tyneside passed a vote of no confidence in the national negotiating team.
The electricians union general workers union GMBATU which organises jority of shipyard workers told stewards to secret ballots on the strike with a required two Cala thirds majority This angered members who had already voted in their vast majority For more information on the court cases and the Newham Campaign contact 555 3331 Box 213, 1533317.
mass meetings through delegate conferences for strike action Sammy Gilmore, convenor of the Govan ship builders in Glasgow asked 'How many times have we There has never beesi take decisions?
all talk of the need for ballots at the mass meetings and we are not in favour of the "Tebbitism being inGovan workers showed their determination to take on BS by starting an immediate overtime ban in the second week December British Shipbuilders' management are firm their resolve smash unions and conditions in the yards and to prepare the way for privatisation.
by Govan workers will be needed in the weeks ahead if union leaders are to be prevented buckling at the knees. The movement should rally to well siac.
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BLACK COMMUN