GATE GOURMET - a political as well as an industrial challenge (continued)

Socialist Resistance no28 | page 7-8

This is scanned newsprint, not web text. The original PDFs carried no text layer at all, so every word here was read off the page by OCR. Expect dropped opening letters, run-together words and wrong characters. There was no contents page to cut the paper up by, so the articles were found from the size of their headlines: a headline may carry its kicker, and where an article ran beside a boxed panel a few lines of the neighbour can appear. The scanned issue is the authority; this text is here so the words can be found at all.

unions once again had no answer. launched a big attack on the laws, saying that they were strangling the trade union movement by preventing it from defending its members he went through the usual ritualistic repudiation of the strike in line with the requirement of the laws.

The fact is that after 20 years of these laws being in place the unions have no reply to them other than "defend the fabric of the union". The problem with this is that is these laws are not tackled there may be no "fabric" to defend.

The problem for Tony Woodley is that the is issue of the most repressive trade union laws in any developed country other than under dictatorships is a political issue not just an industrial The T&G has established a hardship fund for the sacked Gate Gourmet workers.

Please send donations to Mr E McDermott, Transport & General Workers Union, 218 Green Lanes, London, N4 2HB - make cheques payable to TGWU with "Gate Gourmet' on reverse.

Support committees are being set up in many areas. If there isn't one in your area try to get your trades council or a number of well-organised local union branches to organise one.

And keep Socialist Resistance posted with what you are doing.