•ALL THE Act does is take away from the some of privileges that unions have been given for generations.' declared Mr The fined the £200,000 for defying Court order to call off the Austin Rover strike.
Despite the collapse of the strike Anstin Rover has ruthless v nursued its case against the union, in order to demonstrate its tough stand against 11. 0 and to give the government the first major opportunity to enforce its 1984 anti-union laws.
The company has threatened to sack unofficial strikers in its plants, and the action against the TGWU is designed to prevent the unions from backing their members.
This fine is a vital challenge to the Redictered as a newsnaner with the Post Oftce blished hv Carcina Enternrises. PO Box 50. London NI Printed By Laneridge Ltd. (TU), London E2.
the So Hodgson TGWU face of the repudlated we strike.
High the road of sequestration'. the NUM.
tion. trade union movement because it is the maior test of the new Act which came into operation in September. During the Austin Rover strike all the other unions involved retreated in the court order, Ken Cure of the AUEW stated that his union 'was not going down The EETPU followed suit. The result was the unions handed BL victory on a plate.
The TGWU has now been given 14 days to pay the fine. If it does not pay, defeated. it will be faced with sequestration of its f55 million assets - the pattern already established with the NGA and Moss Evans has made it clear that the union will abide by its Conference policy and will not pay the fine. There gas, must be no moving mom us posi The TGWU fine is even more important because there is now a concerted attemot by centre and ri°h1 wing union leaders to change policy on the anti-union laws. These leaders want to reverse the stand that the TUC is committed to by Congress decisions and by the Wembley Conference in 1982.
They have been encouraged in this by the lack of response by the TUC first to the fine of the NGA and then the seizure of the NUM's funds. This move to accept the 1984 laws must be The TGWU is the largest union in with over 1.5 million members. It is capable of bringing the country to a standstill. Its members key industries sucn as docks, power supply, water supply, transport, chemicals engineering The leadership of the union must use the 14 days to explain to the membership that this is an attack which threatens to cripple the union for standing by its members. TUC And they must turn to the rest of the Whatever steps the TGWU has taken to protect its assets from the courts, a simple refusal to pay the fine will not be enough. appeal for action to stop the courts.
Moss Evans, acting on union conterence • decisions. stand against the anti-union That stand must be translated into action. The TUC general council must now give its full TGWU. • No compliance with the courts. Stand by TUC policy! the Prepare for strike action if funds are sequestrated! • The TUC must declare its support, and build national action to back the TGWU!
Task for much The union must They at our pit has now taken a laws.
backing to the HIC.
we have today.
My