In response to an almost unanimous call from a mass shop stewards meeting in Sheffield, the engineering industry in Sheffield was virtually stopped today (Monday 5th), to protest against the NIRC fines arising from the Con Mech dis pute. But the failure of the AUEW executive to give a clear lead, and the Communist Party's reliance on a 24-hour protest, has led to impor tant differences within the leadership of the rank and file and among the leading militants of the Communist Party.
At the shop stewards quarterly meeting the convenors of three important factories opened the debate with a call for an all out national strike, and attacked the executive for not taking a lead, This met with an enthustastic response from the body of the meeting. In the end the intervention uf the big battalions of the CP resulted in an endorsement of the execulive and the call for a 24-hour stoppage, but a large section of the meeting temained unconvinced.
At the City Hall today after a demonstration of some 800 engineers, with support from building workers and other sections of the labour movement, the feeling in favour of a national strike call was clearly demonstrated, Although discussion from the floor was severely limited, two of the three speakers attacked the tokenism of the 24-bour stoppage The point was made that such a stoppage only made sense if it was used to build support for an all-out confrontation, and to demonstrate to the executive the need and support for a national stoppage. The CP convenor from BSC River Don went furtber than tactica. opposition to the official line. He argued that although we were in favour of a recall TUC lo unite the offensive of the working class, and were in favour of as much pressure as possibic on the official leadership, this in itself was not the answer, Past experience must teach us the lesson, he said, that the General Council could not be relied on. The only way forward was to unite now, at rank and file level, the forces who were lining up for a struggle with the Tory Government, and this must be done whether the TUC was prepared to give a lead or not.
Those stewards and convenors who, through the events of recent months, have realised the need to organise for the coming struggles independently of the official leaderships must begin that task now, Over the NIRC fine individual stewards committoes should campaign through