Monday hundreds of thousands of engineering workers strike and demon strate in protest at the £75,000 fine slapped on the engineering union by the National Industrial Relations Court. But a one-day stoppage alone will not overturn this outright attack on the right to strike (for that is what is involved in the Con Mech dispute). And it will certainly not do permanent damage to the hated Industrial Relations Act or its offspring, the NIRC. Some militants see the strike as a be solicited, and the means of getting revenge," of making the employers pay. But the bosses NIRC as a means of raising money. will see a massive display of working class unity as whole Irade union movement should be drawn into the struggle.
The mounting of a series of local actions — stoppages, demonstrations mass meetings, mass pickets - and the linking of the national fight against the NIRC with key local battles (such as that at Footprint Tools in Sheffield) can give life to a national campaign that will prepare milhons of workers for an all-out struggle against the Tories, A national conterence of engineering shop stewards delegates should be organised, with representatives from all other workers pledged to solidarity action, to coordinate the local strug gles. Such a body would also be in a position to organise a national all-out stoppage AUEW executive refused to lake this step.
This is the only way to repel this latest attack by the bosses state machine and prepare the ground for an all-out offensive against the Tory Gosernment and its pay polley. One group of workers have already opened up this offensive - the Glasgow firemen. These overworked and underpaid workers have been deser ted by the local Labour Council, the Scottish and British TUCs, and their own. union. Only the solidarity of rank-and-file firemen across the coun try and trade unionists in Glasgow, stand between them and the full might of the Tory Government. These workers are simply the vanguard of the struggle which the big batallions of the class must take up in the near future if working class living standards are not to take a severe bashing. For that reason they must not be defeated. Every meeting. demonstration or strike against the NIRC must also take up the fight of the Glasgow tremen against Phase 3: to provide them with a platform from which to explain their case, expressions of mass support which will boost their fighting spirit and make the Tories think twice about any repressive moves, and practical aid such as money.
The working class movement must take all steps necessary to ensure the dejeat of the NIRC and the victory Glasgow firemen. On that basis it can rapidly go forward to the crushing of Tory pay policy, and deal a death-blow to this anti-working class Government. their road block across the path of Popular Unity they