Unemployment continues to climb towards the 1½ million mark. 130,000 are out of work in Scotland alone. In London the headquarters of the National Union of Teachers are receiving 50 letters a day trom unemployed teachers. Last week 300 workers at GEC's North Shields factory were sacked while elsewhere in the Tyneside area 2,800 workers at Plessey's Sunderland factory, and 6,000 workers at Smart and Brown's ref rigerator plant were put on a four-day week.
But the fight back is also beginning. The 280 workers at the Personna razor blade plant in Glasgow have turned their four week old strike against sackings into an occupation. And at Balfour Darwin in Sheffield, 360 workers are entering the sixth week of their strike and occupation against redundancies.
On 14 October 4,000 engineering workers at Imperial Metal Industries in Birmingham downed tools for a mass meeting and march against a proposed 180 redundancies at the company's Witton industrial estate. Monthly meetings of the Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions in Birmingham and Coventry have decided to step up their fight for jobs by calling town meetings of stewards and convenors In London, two thousand building workers at four sites loDoy. wie coven ourrine workers -are being worked seven days a week ors from the provinces.
tish Area of the NUM. have voted to strike on 26 November in support of the jobs - on strike against 24 redundancies at the company's Guildford Street site - have successfully picketed and closed the Lovell's site at Archway station, North London. In Woolwich unemployed building workers are campaignning for jobs at the Thames Barrier Project, a huge flood prevention scheme where twelve hour shifts Meanwhile more support for the 26 November lobby is coming in. The London regional committee of the building workers' union, UCATT, has called on all its members to assemble at 1.30 at Euston Station to welcome the demonstrat The No. 1 region of the Transport and General Workers Union, covering Greater London and the South (building trades section), is giving full support. So too are the Southern Region of UCATT, Crawley Trades Council, the Lancashire Association of Trades Councils, and the ScotThe task now is a massive campaign for strike action on 26 November to turn it into a fighting demonstration againsi the unemployment policies of the Labour Government.