What confronts the workers at Ebow Vale now-and steel workers throughout Britain later is who shall pay for the capitalist ensis.
UNITE
Ebbw Vale will only be kept open and new industry will only be built there if the workforce unite around a policy of all-out action such as strikes and occupations.
Labour is committed to trying to save British capitalisin. It will antly provide money for Ebow Vale if forced to do su by the independent action of the workers.
conservative elements in the union evolved out of the seniority system that ius operated in steel. The bead men in me team were those whose jobs called for the greatest skill: Other workers in the team worked further down the 'skilled" ladder and right at the bottom of the heap were the sem-skilled, who were often This ladder system was streng thened by a complex wage structure of differentials. In the mid-sixties workers at Port Talbot were organised into 1300 different job cate gories and each more or less had its own wage scale.
COMMON INTEREST
The way that the productive system was brokeu up meant that day-to-day conditions on the job worked against developing a com mon interest, as the work-force was divided along lines determined by the differential payments.
The organisation of BISAKTA mirrored the divisive way that work its officials.
transferred from one team to another all eise were interested in preserving the "seniority" system which provided a direct link betwoon themofficials. stewards committers were often was orgunised in the plant. BISAKTA tees in other industries. branches were not organised at the lovel of the plant. Instead they were built around a particular process or a shop. The best-paid workers were generally the senior men in the team who therefore dominated the branch and almost automatically became The branches of the union above selves and the right-wing full-time The senior men in the team-who often had a direct financial incentive in keeping the production process running-therefore had a vested interest in avoiding stoppages. Concerned with the protection of their craft interosts they naturally turned to the official structures for settling disputes, which meant that disputes were turned over to the full-time officials and the management. The shop on these matters. by-passed and they have never had the power enjoyed by such commitWOMENO