It now seems certain that the Imperial Typewriters strike will continue well into July. The meetings last week with management, the T&G and conciliation staff from the Department of Employment got nowhere.
The strikers position is that they will return to work only on the basis of guarantees against victimisation and of continuity of service, They then want negotiations over the payment of bonuses and the election of shop stewards.
The discussions with the Department of Employment on 19 June lasted from 9 am to 5 pm and were entirely devoted to an attemptic get the strikers to accept victimisation of members of the strike committee. One of the strike committee commented: 'It isridiculous, No victimisation is not negotiable, so how do they expect us to negotiate about it?"
The strikers have been out since 1 May and the strategy has heen to starve them back to work. Some of the strikers now have no money and are deeply in debt. One striker, with • wife and five children, has had his gis cut off. Social Security officials refused to give help on the basis that the strikers had been sacked. They were expected to pick up their holiday pay and their P45s and register as unemployed. The strikers refused to accept that they had been sacked and were therefore given no money. Computer staff vote to return Last Monday a meeting of 80 univ.. ersity computer staff in the Scottish region voted to return to work after a seven week stoke Fourteen voted! against.
The return to work followed a recommendation from the head Technical and Managerial Staff, Asimo nad intornico as mcinpers that national negotiations were opening up with UNS - Unversity Committee Tor Not-Icaching Staff. The UCNS negotiations which were - no technic in grades for computing staff and no had insisted on the purticipation of the On 18 June one of the Social Security offices gave in and started to give benefit. This weak link in the Social Security network was the office that had been previously occupied by the strikers.
The task now is to use this breakthrough to smash the Social Security blockade. The T&G did not inform Social Security that a trade dispute exists at Imperial, which would have forced them to make payments. Brian Mathers, the Regional Organiser, claims that he has now done this, but this was done only after payments had been made. Unfortunately, at the time of writing, no written statement from the T&G exists.
The situation inside the factory continues to deteriorate, Produc tion has virtually ceased. Office workers have been drafted onto the production lines. The agreement was that this would be for a two week period. Management have tried to extend this and a two bour stoppage resulted. Representatives of the strikers will he speaking to workers at the Imperial factory in Hull and it is hoped that effective support for the strike will be obtained.
it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that the biggest stumbling block to a return to work based on office of the Association of Scientific,no victimisation and negotiations over grievances is the bostility of the local T&G officials. Hoth the district secretary, George Bromley, and the convenor, Reg Weaver, are past of the old Deakinite apparatus, Weaver has been a long time member of Imperial strikers and supporters on the march through Leicester a fortnight ago both the T&G National Committee been consistent in his antagonism to the strikers and in attempting to build up a backlash amongst the workers still inside. He told those still working that the Regional Enquiry had come to examine complaints of intimidation against the pickets. On this basis he was able statements about the harassment' carried out by the picketers. The Enquiry, apparently, was greatly not on strike had sent in no complaints ahout management but concentrated their fire on the question of violence on the picket -lines!
Some strikers had alleged that they paid dues but had not received union cards. One striker claimed that he bad been issued with a card that had been issued before and the previous name erased Weaver has now collected in all the cards held by those in the factory and has reissued them with new cards.
and Bromley are over. It is crucial, therefore, for these two to get the strike leaders such us Khethani and ing aspect of this strike is the inability or unwillingness of Mathers and his CP friends, to deal with the Deakinite hacks.
to report for four whole weeks neenie die percentages in a situation where some of tho