Prospects The following is an interview conducted recently by Red Weekly with a militant from Westoe Colliery in the North Durham Coalfield, This interview clearly shows the awareness of many rank-and-file miners that a practical, fighting unity with other groups of workers up against the Tories" Phase 3 is an essential weapon for the coming struggle.
In the weeks ahead the big job for these militants will be to step up the pressure on the NUM executive to make sure that a strike ballet gets held first thing in the new year, and to start organising the type of united struggle necessary to defeat the Tories, An important opportunity to build rank-and-file unity between the miners and eng neers will be the upcoming national meeting of engineering convenors, being planned for Manchester on 14 December. It is important that a big delegation of representatives from pits across the country is present at that meeting, so that practical coordination of the two struggles can begin. Miners should also start to play a leading role in uniting the struggles of the whole working class for the coming showdown with the Tory Government. They could give such a lead by calling for conferences of the entire local labour movement which could work out a plan of united action against Phase 3 and the Tories, These conferences could make practical plans for the defence of pickets against police attack, launch a mass campaign to prepare the working class movement for the coming fight and undercut Tory propaganda, and create representative councils of action that could organise the necessary preparations for the struggle ahead.
How can the struggle for the full claim be organised? What are the next steps that militants should be discussing and arguing for as the overtime ban begins to bite?
The militants in the coalfields realise that the engineers have a claim in the pipeline also, and could be in dispute this winter. The militants will of counse want to work with the engineen -and want to liaise with them. This will be done. particular to show some of the responsibility through trades councils, and, where trades councils den't exist, through direct links with the engineers themselves, I don'1 think the miners the rank-and-file miners, the militants in particular-will have recourse to Congress House. Because, although the TUC has rejected:
Phase 3, they have tended to be pedestnan in their movements when workers have been on strike in the past. So I think that the miners will try to forge direct links with the worken im industry. The empinees" position is cruci so the miners" position.
Certain members of the NUM leadership have touched on this question-Lawrence Daly writing ing a general strike movement this winter, in the Morning Star, for example, Has this been discamed among the rank and file?
I was surprised to learn that when Lawrence Dily wrote that article hu wrote as National.
Secretary of the NUM, rather than in his personal capacity. This suggests that some discussions have taken place on the National Exocutive Committee but the statement made by Lawence Daly is rather obscure, it merely mentions the support that the miners have for the engineen. It suggests nothing about co ordinating activity between miners and the cogincering workers. It is merely a reference of Daly's brotherly support to fellow trade unionists who have a claim in the pipeline, that is as moch as can be inferred from it at this stage. Hopefully the National Executive Committee will contact the AUEW in an endeavour to maximise the effectiveness of the NUM and engingers' stoppages.
One of the features of the situation this winter will be short and bitter struggles fought by less well orginised sections of the workers' movement. Can you see any possibility of links being forged between these groups-for example, the ambulancemen-and the miners?
Hopefully the miners will seize this opportunity to redeem themscives, as will the engineers. In recent struggles the miners and the engineers have watched the ancillary hospital workers without attempting to go to their assistance. There is an opportunity for the miners in that should go with their industrial strength. This should not be the way in which any dispute amongst lower paid, less well organised, workers is approached. Not only should the mineworkers liaise with the engineering workers, but they should attach similar importance to coordination and consultation with other workers who may be involved in strike action this winter.
What this implies is that if the miners wen nio struggle, followed very quickly by th engineers we could well see something approachI think the general level of feeling in the trade union movement has risen in the past few years, Recent opinion polls have suggested that a great many trade unionists think that the Government's pay policies are grossly unfair. Credence has been given to the notion that the trade mion movement shouid commence a general strike to rid itself of the Tory Government. I feel sure that a lot of trade unionists would want to participate in a movement which was designed to smash the Tories pay laws. This has been voiced in manly branches up and down the country. but it hasn't taken a tangible for yet, Nevertheless the feeling exists within the trade union movement that the Tones should scrap the pay laws, return to a system of free collective harguining to cnable trade unionists to bargain with the employer unhampered by Tory wage policies. The only shadow over any such development is the attitude of the trade union leadership iself towards the Government's decision to invoke tbe Emergency Powers Act, This may scare the leadership who could abandon any militancy shown by the rank-and-file in the months to come. The following section of the interview spells out some of the problems and dangers involved in the present overtime ban It' is now clear that the NCB is using the ban to lay men off and provoke local walkouts and or even a definite date for a strike ballot, such struggles could become demoralising and disorienting for many miners.
Red Weekly has already suggested measures which could be taken to avoid this danger: 1, a drawing in other groups of workers — in every locality in support of a national strike; 3, the national strike, following the rule 'maximum damage to production, minimum damage to miners' paypackets': 4. these committees to contact local transport workers to prevent the movement of whatever coal is produced during the ban.
You mentioned the possibility of 'provocation" from the coalboard managerent during a full overtime ban. What would this involve?
The most likely one will be accusations fron the management of restrictions of effort on the part of the men, This enables management to downgrade faceworkers in particular. The National Coal Board agreement is to some extent a measured daywork agreement, which enables management to stipulate what a face's potential is. If this target isn't being reached this gives management reason to downgrade men, if that's what management wants to do, If there are difficultics about onsetters, winding enginemen, not turning up for work, then this could also give manngement the excuse to send men home.
What do you know about the debates which took place inside the National Executive on the pros and cons of a production ban, as there was in "72, versus a full overtime ban in the industry?
There's been very little information released Police reinforcements move in to hold back mass of workers outside Saltiey last year stoppages. Coming just before Christmas, and without a clear commitment to a national strike, campaign in the NUM branches to demand that the next meeting of the Natiorial Executive sets a definite date for a strike ballot; 2. a campaign of mass meetings, rallies and demonstrations -establishment of committees in every pit to run the overtime ben as a means of preparing for the on the mechanics of the discussion, but the actual content was that 7 Jeft-wing members of the National Executive were opposed to the full overtune ban, Presumahly they were suspicious of the right-wing's enthusiasm for it. They may have had a premonition of what was to come-that the miners militancy, to some extent, could be lost as a result of upheavals over downgrading, and so on, while an overtime ban was being applied.
Is the full overtime ban a mistake?
It's a difficult question because it depends on a number of variables which aren't really known. For example, if it were known that it was the intention of the National Executive to ballot the membership of the NUM at u given date to find out whether they wished to go out of strike or not, then, like many others, I would support a complete overtime ban. But. as yet, no date for a ballot has been announced, and the miners' leaders are avoiding unswering the question directly | the law further into trade union affairs by