With unemployment one of the central questions facing the labour movement today, 360 workers at the Sneffield steel and engineering factory of Balfour Darwin are now entering their tnird week of strike and occupation against redundancies.
This struggle is being fought in a situation where mass unemployment, mainly in the steel industry, is a growing threat to the Sheffield working class. Arthur Lee's wire factory has sacked another 50 workers, to add to 85 already made redundant. brown balley. Darl of the Dunford Hadfield Group, is in serious financial difficulties 300 redundancies are looming and the Jobs of 3,000 are threatened.
ined fight by a section of the Sheffield labour movement to turn back the rising tide of redundancies. The sit-in is the first response to the rationalisation carried out by the Edgar Ahan Group since it took over Balfour Darwin six months ago. occupanon within me snered labour movement, especially in the hard-hit engineering and steels sector. Is Vital Financial support is needed, but milanis should be ready to respone te calls for mass pickets and demonstrations to show the Darwin workers that thev are not on their own paign against unemployment in te area through speaking tours in local factories by members of the strike COmMELICE CAMPAIGN The Sheffield District Committee of the AUEW have officially supported the, action and are arranging collections, but have failed to launch a general campaign on the issue of unemployment. At a Trades Council meeting on 22 September. despite the passing of a statement of intent on unemployment, delegates oniy received one pud licity handout each on the struggle at Balfour Darwin.
For once the Trades Council should get its hands dirty and organise a meetwith the AUEW District Coming, along mittee of delegates from all workplaces and acrores to dscuss ways or support ing the occupation and fighting unemployment. ine AUEW District Commi tee has already expressed alarm at the right-wing course of the Labour Government and the need to organise against Wilson in the fight for socialist policies - now's the chance to put their call for a local labour movement conference into action.