hit when provincial journalists staged a two day selective strike this week. closing down one-third of the coun try's local newspapers.
The action was taken in pursuit of the pay claim for provincial journalists submitled by the National Union of Journalists to the Newspaper Society. The immediate demand is for the NS to lift its embargo on house agreements, as a prelude to re-opening negotiations on the full claim (which includes an increase of EIS' on the national rale and a new deal for juniors).
Industrial action has been werwhelmingly endorsed by the NUt mombership in chapel mootings, und the strike action was. prepured for last wock by 24-hour mandatory motings in an attempl to disript production. But only in Sheffield and Southend did papers fail to appear an a resilt of this.
In Southend, however, this led to a fullas journalists. When journalists on the local Westminster Press papers, the Evening Echo, the Southend Standond, and the objected to blacklegs heing brought in to do their work, management promply locked them all out. At the same time, the NGA printworkers Insisted on fol lowing lead office instructions to black all non-NEIl wark with the exception of the Editor's copy, and rufused to allow one seen for poor away on holiday. Ax a result all 100 NGA members went racked, The NUT and NGA memhers immedintely bold joint meetings and clected a joint action commitice lo ran the dispute, Pickets have boen moonted at all the papers, and ane being respocted by the other unions involved management tried Lo pet tough by sucking a SOGAT driver who refused to make a delivery. but retrealed when the rest of the SOGAT workers thacatened to walk out. This united response to management intimidation shows that the employers can DO JOHALE TONDIGAIL BUCHI antagonisms between journalists and printworkers. This is important becunse any succestel struggle for the NUt Calm will depend on co-operation from workurs in unity on a nutional scale can only really he cemented if Journalists support the North Edinburgh and Goran are both urban Scottish constituencies, but thene the resemblance ends. Over Gowan's grey black tenements hang the idle shipyard crates, while the Georgian buildings of the former are dominated by the fendal symbolism of Edinburgh Castle. But both by elections establish a political fact: despite a heterogeneous base, and a polifical impact which is muffled by its proportionately support in the smaller towns than in the Glasgow/Edinburgh conurbations, the Scottish National Party has become a stable third force in Scottish politics, North Edinburgh was a clearer best for the SNP than Govan. Little has distarbed ita Presby terian stolidity; it is a secure Tory fiefdom, with only a little light industry and a solid core of middle-class residential voters. Unlike Goran it is not an homogeneous community, and its working class component does not have a generally high cret of class consciousness. In competition with the Liberals, who unlike the SNP have long had a base in the constituency, the SP's strongest candidate, Billy: Wolfe, won a solid "thind force vote, The result in Goven was affected hy the criss-crossing of a number of factors: a in pell, and a large scale switch of Tory voters to the SP, combined with a significant of defections from the Labour Party, With the massive de-population of the constituency, these were safficient bo bring the former rock-solid Labour majority crashing down in ruins.
The SP had a sinaple and clear campaigning isno-oil. They painted visions of a sort of Scottish Texas rising from the gutted streets of Goran, of big money struggles of prietworkers us well as vio vera. In particular, there must be a light in the Nt to prevent journalists from collaborating in the anti-enion witch-hunt which will undoubtedly be launched by the press this winter.
It is also important to case that a perspective is given to the NUJ strugele boyand this week's action. There it a danger that the reintrodaction of house agroements could be used by the NUU leadership as a swertener to buy eff the nore stromply orcanised chupels preparatory to accepting a smail national increas within Phase 3 Limits, In this respect the decisions of lust Situnlay's Journalists Charter meeting - to put out a special bulletin on the struggle linking if in with the light against Phase 3, and to fight for tho rank and-file Joint Standing Commitlee to form itself into a strike committos and estahlish a reponal support network would be taken up in every NIJ branch and chipel.
Although both the NGA and the NUJ have made the Southend strike official, neither union is giving financial support. A dispute fund has been set up and all contributions should be sent without delay bo: Ray Collins, 16 Queens Road, Ray leight, Essex.
SNP dreams of Scottish Texas and big development, if only the od profits could he kept out of the hands of the English Government.
The lahour campaign, on the other hand. was dominated by the overconfident apathy which marks the Labour Party in Glasgow. They offered nothing to an elec torate which very well remembers the falure of the Wilson gorernment to solw the chronic unemployment. To this was added cynicism beed by the operation of the Housing Finance Act by the Labour dominated Glagow Creporation, pushing up the rents of the tumblang Coman tenements which the Council has caken Coming on the heels of the Kilbrandon Report on regional government, which re commends national asemblies for Wakes and Scotland, this now consolidation of the SNP will have important long tem effects. The problem of the SNP could turn out to be mone sonous for the Labun Party than the rise of Liberalism from its political crypt, The Nationalists attract a high proportion of working class stes and have proved to be a consistent electoral phenomenon.
The Tammany Hall bosses of the Scottish Lahour Party are screaming Tartae murder at this crosion of their atrategic reserve of wats in Scotland, A combination of the swing to the SNP, the revision of electoral boundaries, and the reduction of the nem ber of MPs sent to London from Sortland and Wales. proposed in the Kilbrandon Report, could seriously stash the numbe of Labour Mi's in the House, Coupled with the bitter resufts of the last Labour Gon ernment, the rise of the SNP constitutes a serisus obstacle to Labour's hopes of winning a majority in the next election.