Heathrow workers at Brentford Stadium Monday March 16 With a copy of The Times, dated 17th March, folded into a neat pack to point the editorial leader, titled. "When a Strike is an abuse" one of the dockers who struck for a day over the new Ports "You've got to give it to them, lad. They're sharp smieu a rat in a jury If this thing gets going, with the airport The Times uncertain as attempted to draw the line between legitimate wage strikes and political strikes: mands and the actions which threaten CUCINCCU economic dethe system of ownership as well as the institutions that maintain and guide it. But the essential point was clear. Solute dockers and The Times tied together the disputes at London's massive Heathrow airport, and the campaigs in the docks.
eighteen months now eriod of loyalty to the Labour Party an the national interest, workers have beer clash over the • BUA and the acceptance of the docks (which though at least that one was ra bit.) three actions emerged about political challenge hamex-Government the man orginally Tesponsible for the new Ports Bill, which is putting through what is better described as 'rationalisation' than nationalisation of the docks, jumped into the fray the night before the dockers' one-day strike. in a speech which was interestingly enough to his own party workers (since the society wide appeal of Barbara Castle has eclipsed, the battleground is now within the labour movement) Marsh stated, "the strike questions indeed...The use of industrial action to apply pressure to an elected Parliament to force changes in a Bill which is still in Committee is a complete negation of Parliamentary Democracy.
Fred Mulley, the Minister. made a pedestrian attack in the House Commons and even tired old Ray Gunter, the failed ex Minister of Labour. felt called upon in this hour of need to put the line good and hard. *Power in the hands of irresponsible people has always earned the resentment and triumphant opposition of the British people" Capping it all, hysterically an advance of for South Buckinghamshire fired off "No real situation, Ron Bell, Tory M.P. COLEL Y gangs of students. can on like unionists, and this. Militant ordinary criminals now infest the process of British life"
Labour's nationalisation of the docks has gone sour. It was granted at a period workers" participation looked as though it might be an intergrative mechnism, and when nationalisation of the old-time dock owners was supported by the big industrialists who wanted to get their exports out fast and cheap. An alliance was formed between the industrial capitalists who want efficient and cheap ransport, and were prepared to acrifice a section of their class in thei own interests, and the which thought that this alliance for modernisation would buy off the dockers who wouldn't realise that it was captansi! that was bringing nationalisation to the docks, not workers' power manoeuver collapsed. After several years inside une Government the final Ports Bill emerged without guarantees of 100% nationalisation, without measures of workers control, and without any firm guarantee of the continuation of the present National Dock Labour Board which gives 50/50 over labour to workers bosses. While the Bill has been mellowing, the full impact of containerisation has started to be felt, and the big COm panies in shipping and international tran: ort realiser that steady profits can be made in the Docks, profits of a different order to the speculative gains and com pensation which interested the old dock owners.
The collapse of the manoeuver means that the Government has got to take sides: the dockers strike-not their last have worked out whose side the Labour move by any means-shows that they Government has chosen. The political status of 'nationalisation' is now seriously questioned, by a group of workers whose ability to organise their politics is beyond doubt HEATHROW AND BUA At Brentford Football stadium, 15,000 Heathrow workers voted for a 24 hour strike started or and an poet cive tem Canadian servicing kins, referring to private enterprise atempts to stop a takeover of the private British Airways firm by the state's BOAC said. po Brighton," as he ganged up with the democracy.
STUBBOR Heathrow
tremely complex. The present crisis is a Coline ORC -airport workers trying prevent private capital from carving up the most profitable sectors of the that the state takes over their rickety company. and demand a say in the ownership of their own firm.
The sector has been sufficiently crisis in recent years to warrant a full Government enquiry. Ron Edwards, the Electricity Board boss took the shakey private airlines, who have consible routes to get sees the and sistently tried to get access to the BEA.
But the private companies nave squabbled amongst themselves, and BUA decided there was no alternative but to sell out lo bUAl when the price was highest. Parliamentary permission thai they given. Then caledonian said would take BUA and Parliament its mind at the nod of commercial bosses The BUA coincided with the firemen's strike. which was ne DOIL chosen by the British Airports Authority for a stand against group by group wage demands at the airports. The strike was the climax of the Heathrow workers opposition to the Canadian ground hanc ing firm General Aviation Service workers have stood firm against GAS coming on to me apor GAS were granted a contract by unusually unpublic processes by the British Airports Authc financial level by John C. McGrath, who had a record of rightist in fighting against the left in the Cooperative Movement.
At present, ground handling is done by the state airline firms The workers felt that the insertion of GAS would start capital, as well as restructuring private an avalanche of "picking own organisation. This fight will escalate as the Roskill Commission decides on a site for London's new, third airport.
multi million pound venture which has brought big capitalists circling in, with at least two consortia already planning on a "We say to independent airlines gigantic new sea and air city at Foulness.
The essential element in common be tween both the docks and the airline and airport workers is that in terms of basic job security, wages and conditions.
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enquiry on. Edwards recommended the setting up of a private second force air line made up of a merger of the present
changed its mind. Outside pressure? Not at all! It is only outside pressure when workers obiect to Parliament changing
rity which is led by Peter Masefield, o Beagle Aircraft fame, and controlled at a