SocialistAction 1983–88

The paper of the Socialist League, formerly the International Marxist Group, 1983–88

Behind the NCB's lies:

· Socialist Action No. 79, 23 November 1984 · p. 4 of the scan · 650 words

The scan: 079-nov-23-1984-SA-UK.pdf (PDF, Marxists Internet Archive, opens at this page)

Uncorrected machine reading. This text was read by machine (Apple Vision OCR) from a scan of a newspaper page, and the page was cut into articles by machine, at the headlines found by their type size. Nothing has been corrected: expect misread words, text from a neighbouring article, and titles that are the machine reading of the headline, some of them only fragments. Quote from the scan, not from this page.
How this article was cut and titled: headline found by type size in the OCR geometry (split_tabloid.py); 1-7 of 7; machine-segmented newspaper page; uncorrected Vision OCR.

page 4 of the scan

THE NATIONAL Coal Boards' back to work campaign has failed so far in Yorkshire. With only one per cent of the miners crossing picket lines no coal will be cut. And it will be difficult to move coal from Yorkshire pitheads.

Yorkshire are with more than 100 miners working. But Manton and Shireoaks are both physically in the county of Nottinghamshire, which the police have made a no-go area for Yorkshire miners.

My pit has one of the largest number of scabs in the area. But with less than hardly the collapse of the strike that the press would have believe. Most pits have just a handful of Most of the scabs that are working are part of the industrial staff. These e'ectricians fitters al c the lower management levels in the pit. On top of this the four who went back came out on strike again before the end of the tort i effort has been spared by police scabs to work. They осcupy Thurcroft village satrolling. Convoys of Scabs are collected om their houses and any attempt even to speak to a scab could result in a three, month jail sentence.

Then the police try and take sure the scabs do not -sen see the 150 pickets as are driven through he gate in their armoured sus. Anybody who goes to zork in needs his head examined!

I ne Solle people in Yorkshire has nothing to do with 'Silver Birch' or working miners' committees. Neither is it to with hardship, although this has had its effect and greater financial There are only two only pits in the Board's support is needed more than ever.

November

inere nave nol yel occi major cuts. On top of this people have just SCOu whole barrage of so-called public the media. A few people begin to think that we might not win.

Thurcroft NUM (personal capacity).

So it is very damaging to morale when you get Willis shooting his mouth off in Wales Kinnock just refuses even to get on me lence leve. mind coming down on our side. LIC against this campaign is now the key task The five rallies were Row we need to organise for public meetings in villages and we need to increase the level of picketing, especially mass pickets.

Only the government knows exactly coal stocks are but most people do not realise how near we be to seriously effecting the power stations the economy in general.

Solidarity, both financial and in the form of industrial action, is still the road to victory. Scabs stopped at Cwm colliery ALL BUT one of the coal-fired power tions in the North West are now implementing the TUC decisions on the handling of scab coal. Fidler's Ferry, the largest power station in the north is now very low on stocks.

The TGWU region number 6 have established "boycott committee which meets weekly with the NUM. This monitors and plans actions against the movement of coal and coal fuel substitutes.

The North West TUC are due to call a meeting oi their executive, the NUM power transport unions to further this ac° The NUM plans a mass picket at Agecrott power station and at Ellesmere Port around the oil depots. The back to work movement has been portrayed by the press as a reaction of ordinary miners the strike. In fact it is a carefully organised, well-financed, campaign by the government, Tory Party extreme right wing legal groups. John Marshall looks at the links of the movement to the Tory Party.

The first key link in the 'back to work movement is Thatcher and the Tory government itself. senior journalist involved in the scab miners' organisation is David Hart — who has both close links with Margaret and, according to Hobart House executives, close links to lan Picket at Lewis Merthyr pit

----- pull-quotes -----

North-West power stations

← CatastropheA flop in South Wales →

Something wrong on this page?