Red Miner no. 13

Last month,Albert Wheeler, hard line Director for the Nott's area ,outlined his plans for the mining industry at the mining engineers national conference. At the time, some thought that Wheeler might © be out on a limb - flying a kite for his personal views. Mot so national boss Robert ‘, Haslam has confirmed that Wheeler's proposals represent current Board thinking. : Speaking to a Commons Energy Committee — Haslam stated that while

"I would not agree with every dot and crues of what he says - I do agree with the broad thrust" ;

The “broad thrust" Haslam is talking | about adds up to the following.

Scargill, against pit closures. the rest of the executive?

calling for’... action

1 A six day working week. But what ut what. about

2 A 24 hour working day - with either

RES DS SPAS NPE ANC

4xf%hr shifts or 3xQ9hr shifts.

3 Wew technology to reduce the number of jobs.

4 New tighter incentive schenes.

5 Qutput per man shift increased to 6 tonnes.

force reduced to

6 A labour

79,000,

national

Some list ! The only point missing is, the introduction of privatisation. The only reason privatisation is being left out (publicly) - is because the Board and the Tories are frightened of the political impact of letting the cat out of the bag at this stage. Miners know better. The Tories will sell off profitable sections of the

industry. But first they consider it necessary to go through another periad of “softening up" in line with the Vheeler/Haslam plans - after which

privatisation will be discussed publicly rather than privately. This week Thatcher has announced her plans to privatise the whole of British Steel after selling off the most profitable bits already. There are more than a few similarities between what has happened to steel workers and what they want to do to miners.

EIGHT NOW - DON'T WAIT FOR KINNOCK!

Faced with the prospect of this new onslaught, there has to be a determined fightback, However, this is not the view of

the Communist Party/Labour Party majority On the NEC. They continue to advise caution. Making the Great Strike's defeat permanent seems to be the strategy of the NEC majority.

All they can propose is waiting for a

Labour government under Kinnock. Faced with this argument - 3 points come to mind.

First - who says Kinnock will win ?

General Elections arn't decided by whose turn it is.

Second - even before the General Election an awful lot of damage can be done - with more closures, speed-ups and redundancies. You only have to look at what has been done in South Wales (see regional reports) and the way the Board have ignored the

findings of the independent review into Cadeby pit in Yorkshire

Third - there are no guarantees that Kinnock will re-employ redundant miners

and recreate all the jobs destroyed under the Tories. We only have to look at his attitudes to the sacked and jailed miners to understand the extent of his treachery.

The alternaltive to this pessimism is to fight now - with industrial action against closures and speed-ups. There still remain many examples of militancy in the industry,still greater than any other British industry. Miners are still the vanguard of the British working class, but without the leadership they deserve.

ay,

SoerTHh WALES

October saw further cutbacks by British Coal in the S.Wales coalfield. As expected Cwm and Nantgarw are to close with the loss of 1,300 jobs. British Coal claim that both pits are making heavy losses, and that Cwm was sustaining the worst losses in the U.K.(@267 per tonne). As usual in SWales the underlying reason given for closing the pit was severe geological probleme - but this can only be overcome with adequate investment which was pitiful at buth collieries.

The NUM didn't oppose either closure at local or area level, Des Dutfield felt it “wouldn't have been worthwhile as the review would have had little impact on hanagements plans". True enough, but the ‘leadership! did nothing to counter the rumours of clasure and the demoralisation and uncertainty created particularly at Nantgarw. Closure was greeted by many in the workforce with a degree of relief, at least they finally know the future of their pit. In this sort of atmosphere B.C. has no problem in playing their redundancy money card to the full.

The closure of Cwm was particularly bitter for the Coedely workforce who had accepted the closure of their own pit only a few months ago, They transferred to Cwm, so as to not threaten Cwm closing in a joint review procedure of the 2 linked collieries, They area now faced with the prospect of transferring again. But where and for how long ?

A week after these colliery closures, British Coal announced that they are to shut Nantgarw coke ovens, currently employing 190 men. B.C. claim that the closure has nothing to do with axing Nantgarw colliery - it's main supplier Just a colncidence ! ? Meanwhile Cwm coke ovens will stay open and even expand production slightly, with a few jobs created. At least

"UP

that's what the management say, but they declared a few months ago that no more collieries would close before the end of the year, and look what's happened.

NACODS SCAB AGAIN True to form NACODS have played their now familiar scabby role in all this. Their 100 members at the two collieries nave voted to accept closure and so won't even try to invoke their sacred review

procedure. Area Secretary Glyn Jones even Said that the closures of Nantgarw and Lwin were "ali Scargill's fault" and that " ne should have accepted KceGregor's ‘generous offer’ during the strike.” NUM members need nO reminding that NACODS' threat to join the national strike strike was averted by their agreeing to accept the new review procedure - which they now believe is worthless.

It now seems that the future of at least 4 more pits are in doubt - Six Bells, Lady Windsor, Abernant and Tower. in a recent interview on local T.V. the Area Deputy Director was asked about the future of these pits, to which he answered that Lady Windsor and Abernant had both had heavy duty faces installed "which were proving successful". Six Bells is due for review this month,

The long term future of Oakdale is in some doubt after BC's refusal to develop key reserves. This has already meant the cutting of 140 jobs.

As predicted in the last issue of Red Miner the Tredegar workshops will now stay Qpen, but with the workforce slashed from 400 to 180.

Meanwhile, the overtime ban on coal production continues, although it's influence on management can be seen from the above events ! Productivity levels are once again on the increase despite the ban. A delegate conference in October voted to continue the ban. This was just after Haslam announced that the pay rise would now be backdated to last November ~ but at the same time pension rights would be affected by any strike over one week, Another delegate conference is due this month and it's clearer than ever that Qnly

(CONTINUED a9)

a full overtime ban at the very least will have an effect against management's continuing butchery of the coalfield.

The recent closures mean that only half of the 28 pits in South Wales at the end of the strike are still open, with the workforce cut from 18,500 to around 11,000,.The Area is increasingiy relaint on anthracite and power station coal production after the recent reductions in coking coal capacity, While the anthracite warket is relatively secure, since South Wales has the only true anthracite reserves in W. Europe, the long term markets for power station coal are less secure,

MARGAM DELAYED, -

The £85 million Margam development has ance. again been put in doubt. The new super~pit would link up with British Stecl's Port Talbot and Lilanwern works, supplying them with coking coal. On a recent trip to South Wales Haslam stated that market prices were against developing tae reserves at present. Haslam therefore becomes the fourth Coal Board chairman to make promises on Margam without any serious intention of going ahead with the development.

YORE SE TRE

The suspicions of the miners we talked to last month have been confirmed, At this months Area Council meeting the resolutions on an overtime ban have been left on thé table. The reasons given being that the National Executive have not yet met to decide the unions response to the latest from Haslam on pay. The liklihood is that it will then go to a national ballot. All of this is wasting time. As we argue in the editorial it continues to be a matter of urgency to mobilise and link up action against the plans of the Board.

Cadeby, On Friday (7/11) the Board confirmed it's intention to close Cadeby in the new year. They rejected the advice of the Independent Review body which said they had a moral obligation to the community in an area with over 24% unemployed. The Board said that keeping Cadeby open would go against it's basic strategy of seeking a low-cost, highproductivity industry. They claimed this was to fulfill their obligations to miners in other areas,

UPaek.

We know it is to trim down the industry directing’ investment into the pits that will pay handsome returns to their future private owners. This is another example that shows the need to build up the fightback before it's too late. Scargill commented on the ~néed ‘for industrial action saying "The only way: to save Jobs, pits and communities is to take some form of industrial action". We agree with him the task is to get that, organised!.

Rossington Has been lucky (!) enough to be chosen for the new Coal Board safety scheme. Apparently those with the worst records on safety will be part of this new scheme. Good, we hear you say, it is time the management did something to cut down accidents caused by undermanning and the drive for production targets. Hold on a minute, who says that's what they are doing. NOT A CHANCE ! The selected pits will have their work units put into divisions and points will be allocated for each accident depending how. long it takes the man away from his work. "The division Jeaders will be the team with the lowest accident rate. The rate will be colculated by awarding 1 penalty point for each accident, 5 for accidents resulting in 4 workdays lost and more for serious accidents at the discretion of the Colliery Safety Action Team."

What do they hope to gain ? Are they after men not reporting seemingly minor accidents to keep their team position in the league ? It will be no use trying to claim compensation for a knack on the head at work that leads on to ill health if that accident was not reported ! Watch out for this one at other pits.

(CONTINUED 4433)

FRE ADT I TPIS SY STARS BR Ar TARE

Organssation

Agorest

fpclosey af Fri

Chaques gayable to “Matrone! Justice for Mineworkers Campaign® please

Please ©

Brodsworth. The union and the Women's Support group at Broddy are raising the issue of the victimised men at a PUBLIC MEETING next Sunday 16th. at 6pm. in the Miners Welfare. Arthur Scargill and Sammy Thompson will lead the speakers.

Hatfield Maip.Miners and the Yomen's Support Group from Hatfield were joined by representatives from Armthorpe, Rossington, Kiveton Park, Brodsworth and Renishaw Park as well as Doncaster Women Against Pit Closures on the rally at the Humberside docks protesting against the importation of South African Coal. The idea for the rally came from the Hatfield branch as a sesture of solidarity with the S.A.black

miners.(see report later in this issue)

Mational Qrganisetion £50 (D Regional Organssatton £25 (] Local Grganisation £5 CC}

1gtion Fae

return to Matronel Justice for Himeuorkers Campaign,

c/o RUM Durham Mechantes Association, 26 [ke Avenue. Ourhem Od 4D

NORTH DEREYSHIR

Nexy April North Dberbyshire and South

Midiands coalfields are to merge to become

Lentral and

will consist of North Leicestershire and

Area which South Derbyshire,

Varwickshire,

Jne pit in North Derbyshire, Highmoor the most militant) will become part of the

South Yorkshire Coalfield in April. The new

area Arkwright, Ireland/Markhan, Shirebrook, Bagworth/Ellistown,

will have he pits; Renishaw Park, Baddesley,

Cadley Hill,

Main, Bolsover,

Varsop

Coventry, Daw Mill and Donisthorpe/Rawdon. The new area will have it's Headquarters in Leicestershire with staff jobs to be lost.

the Boards VWhitwell

s North Derbyshire have escaped lightly, attacks up to now, with Colliery being the only closure.

But as expected it was only a temporary repreive until the Board had dealt with the

solid areas. transfers

Reductions in manpower and

has meant Ireland colliery

merging with Markham to become Markham complex No.5, while Arkwright and Renishaw

Park are ticking aver manpower resulting

on the minimum af in health and safety

standards at rock bottom.

-Murton in Co.

The first round of one day strikes by the Durham Mechanics has nearly reached it's conclusion. The strikes, over the pay question, reinstatement and the closure of Seaham got off to a very good start at Durham where a massive 80% voted in favour of strike action. (see last RED MINER)

So far a total of 7 pits have been brought to a standstill in the action and there is only one left to go before the promised action is successfully carried out,

The strikes have demonstrated the good co-aperation between the Durham Mechanics and the Durham Miners who are themselves in the middie of an overtime ban. The miners have almost to a man refused to cross picket lines.

The reaction of the UDM to the strikes has been varied, At Murton and Westoe where there have been battles, they virtually stayed away. But at Wearmouth where there is the largest concentration of scab union members, including the first scabs to return to work in the North East, some did cross the picket line. NACODS members also crossed, Billy Etherington, Durham Mechanics secretary, accused NACODS afficials at the pit of actively encouraging their members to indulge in anti trade union activity by crossing picket lines.

The Board tried to claim a victory at the Seaham/Vane Tempest combine, the late t pit to take action, where some NUM members did cross picket lines. As usual the Boards counting of heads included anything that moved. Jim Perry, Mechanic's president said, "We have seen the Coal Board playing the numbers game during the national strike" And as for their claims that the action was crumbling he said - “They will seethat this is not the case in the comming weeks and those pits that have been solid will continue to be so",

In the North Bast, morale is goad, the men voted on the action and are determined to go on

NUM woman

A pit canteen assistant, Mrs Pat ‘Curry, aged 47, thas broken into the allamale world of the National Union of Mineworkers by being elected to the NUM lodge comumittee at Murton Co}- liery , County Durham, thought. to Ge the first time a woman has ‘been voted on.

WOMEN SUPPORT SILENTNIGHT STRIKERS

Hatfield. Vomens Support. Group, Women from the Hatfield Main Women's Support Group have started to campaign on behalf of the sacked strikers at Silentnight, on strike now for over 17 months.

Red Hiner spoke to Elainée,¢ one of the founding members of the group back in March 1984), about their work.

We asked Blaine why they had chosen this particular struggle.

Blaine: Well we got a letter from one of the women strikers asking for our help. Thay. wanted to get in to speak at trade union branches because they felt their struggle had been totally forgotten by moet of the unions.

hed Wiper: What have you been doing?

Foad collections mainly - outside our local supermarket. We collect on a rota basis on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. We also collect money by selling badges and hold a raffle every week for a Christmas fund. We have given out lists of the chidren's names to gat presents and will make up Christmas parcels for the single men. We helped get them a speaker at the Doncaster Trades

Council Day of Action on Women and have joined their picket at Sutton, More people are coming to the meetings and we are becoming more active again. The group is meeting every week now instead of fortnightly. Yes, we went over last Wednesday Sth Nov.) in a van 10 women and 2 men. We went to take the food we have collected and to give them support on the picket line. They were really pleased to get help - although they are in good spirits it must be hard. The picket is usually small and they can't stand near the gate as the boss has taken out an injunction to stop them. Ye stood an his private property though!And more pigs were soon drafted in, 2 car loads of then. They tried to arrest a picket on his own but we stopped them.

The scabs working in the place seemed very young I would say they were on YTS schemes and they are bussed in from

Keithley every day, right into the place and they don't come out for dinner. Most likely in a few months time they will be . on the dole as well.

In January 1972, the British army shot down 14 unarmed civilians in Derry, Northern Ireland. It came at the height of nationalist opposition to the British army and the systematic denial of civil rights by the northern orange state to Catholics and Republicans.

Fifteen years later, little has changed. The army is still there and the Republican population still faces systematic repression. The labour movement in Britain has continually dodged this question - preferring +o support the bi-partisan approach of both Labour and Tory parties. Because of this Bloody Sunday marches over the years have attracted minimal labour movement support.

RED MINER urges its readers to change things this year. The "Bloody Sunday" march is to be held in Sheffield on Sunday January 3Sist. We need to make sure the march is raised in NUM branches and that transport is organised to get people to the demo.

No time should be lost in raising the issue now and winning support.

events in Southern Africa must Red Miner readers to continue to for effective workers solidarity

Current remind work action.

Hundrads of trade union leaders are still in jail and there are continuing fears for their safety. Each month reports filter out of prisoners or detainees ‘committing suicide’,

the Apartheid regime has also stepped

up its attacks on its neighbours. It is jetermined ta cow Mozambique, Angola, Zimbabwe and other ‘Front-Line states’. Viether or not it was responsible for the death of Samora Mackel, President of Hozaubiqua, it certainly has been creasing pressure on that country through both military and econaumic weasures. It supports, funds and arms

‘Renanto', a reactionary guerrilla movement. And in response to recent sanctions moves, it is expelling migrant Mozambigan workers from South African mines.

In the face of this, the response of the British Trade union movement still falls pitifully short of what is necessary. The TUG has been jolted into producing a glossy booklet, and to encouraging regional conferences, but it still fails to

for $ 2Oit action. The union leaders are still concentrating on the

consumer boycott and disinvestment. Neither of these can cut the lifelines of the Apartheid regime now. Workers boycotting goods and services to and from South Africa could do that,

However round the country there is more evidence that trade unionists at a rank and file level are prepared to take action. Members of the Civil Service unions in Passport Offices, libraries and trade departments have helped to cut South African links. Union pressure in Local Authorities and Health Authorities has succeeded in getting more of these bodies to break their links with South Africa through orders and contracts.

The urgent task is to co-ordinate, lead and encourage this action. That is why Lambeth Trades Council has agreed to call a conference on December 13th, (details below). So far this has been sponsored by several trades councils and trade union branches. We would urge Red Miner readers to raise this at their branches/Areas and get delegates to it.

Piaase

London SW2 SSA. 01-274.-7 72h ext 2010

NFERENCE

CONFERENCE FOR TRADE UNION SANCTIONS AGAINST SOUTH AFRICA.

Saturday 13th December liam. - 6pm. + Carrs Lane Church Centre, Carrs Lane, (off High St. Near Birmingham Central Station) return to:

Bronwen Handysida, 17 Porden Road,

Coffice hours

SOLIDARITY RALLY

with

SOUTH AFRICAN MINERS |

Organised oy HATFIELD NUM and OONCASTER ANTLAPARTHEID | MOVEMENT

Ban South African Coal Now!

11 NUM branches were represented at the rally on Saturday (8/11/86) in solidarity with South African miners. Along with women from the support groups and members

of Anti Apartheid groups from Doncaster. Sheffield, Chesterfield and the city of London they marched to a rally near the

wharfs where South Atrican coal is brought in.

About 200 demonstrators heard Dave Douglass trom Hatfield Main NUM (speaking in a personai capacity) speak about the latest bruta: attacks by South African

police and troops on black miners. Aithough Dave emphasised that we were nut there to stop the coal or to picket the wharfs he

did hope that in the future real pickets would be organised. "It Is the responsibilty of Seafarers, dockers,

drivers, power workers, and factory workers not to handle and use South African coal soaked in the blood of South African miners."

Red Miner would agree with Dave about the need to organise real pickets. It is not enough to hope that the NUM executive will be able to do deals with the tops of the other unions to get this coal stopped. We should of course demand our officials take the issue up and that they co-ordinate

and encourage an effective campaign of workers sanctions against S.A. goods.

Brixton (£2-00 per delegate)

At the beginning of the Tory Party Conference, the ‘Financial Times', the bosses' mouthpiece, commented that it was likely to be “more of a rally than a conference, and there is not much to rally about", The F.T. was right ..... on both counts!

Conference spent the whole week calling for more of what we have been suffering for the last few years. A priority for Tories is privatisation - that is selling as much as possible to the already rich and powerful basses. Mr. Lawson, the Chancellor, played to kis drooling audience by baasting about having already sold off 40% of the state sector and promising to “privatise most of whet remains" in the next parliament. When a leading young Tory called for the privatisation of the coal industry he got a standing ovation (there is no N.U.M. delegation at this conference!).

Illogically, Peter Walker, the Energy Minister, argued that to reduce unemployment what is needed is more.....privatisation! Mind you, to be fair, no Tory came forward with much better to offer the unemployed - conference called for an extension of ‘training schemes’ (they mean silave~labour schemes) and for more self~help ‘Jobclubs'. (There is a free week's holiday for e@ in Finchly for the first ‘Red Miner’ reader to explain to us how this is to get jobs for the 4 million unemployed.)

Barbarians

Quote of the week was by Dr. Rhodes Boyson "every society is threatened.....by barbarism produced by the wildness of the uncontrolled male young". Of course he may have been drunk at the time - but speaking of ‘barbarism' the Tory Party does look like a good example of ‘uncontrolled’ 'wildness',

At a time when workers are suffering record levels of unemployment, increasing poverty, real cuts in social security and

pensions, poor and worsening housing, collapsing schools, inadequate hospital provision and longer waiting lists what do the Tories offer? More privatisation, deregulation of private rented housing,

lower taxes for the rich, a few months extra on ‘training! schemes for the unemployed, extra powers for the police, more attacks on trade union rights.....In other words they offer the rich the chance to get richer - and the rest of us can go jump.

Not many Tories wanted to disagree with this but even when some did they were prevented from doing so, Resolutions hinting at disatisfaction with the Tory leadership mysteriously 'disappeared', speakers who wished to question the Government's record managed to get to the rostrum apparently only after scrambling through an obstacle course - and all delegates only got a chance to speak by asking the Chairperson before the debates even started!

Joke

The ‘voting' was a total joke. Just about every resolution passed unanimously! sust in case anyone aidn‘t know which way to vote they were ‘reminded' by standing ovations for speakers who argued the '‘'correct' way. (In fact the ovation went on for such a4 long time after one of Mr. Lawson's speeches that he had to tell the delegates to stop it and sit down!)

All this from the Party that continually harps on about lack of ‘democracy’ in the trade union movement! This lot have passed legislation which interferes with how unions elect officers, conduct strike ballots, etc. Of course we know what they are up to shackling unions to prevent workers fighting back. Yet Thatcher and her crew dress this up in terms of ‘increasing democracy’. What a load of rubbish - as their own ‘conference’ shawed they haven't a clue about healthy rank and file democracy

The hypocrisy and callousness displayed at Tory Conference reminds us of a slogan. Let's see how does it goa?..... ‘We hate the Tories, the Tories make us sick’. They certainly do!

AFTER ;LACKPOOL

Last month Red Miner ran an interview with And the crowning achievement s! ‘ne cath and Mick from Coventry colliery We new. reformed, mode. wuabour Party .2 .''s said we wanted to start a discussion about -Ommi*men* tO maintain the ant. onion the Labour Farty. In the article below we awe Ji course they will change “hem 4 outline our view of what happened at the .iftt.e paint them red insteag of biue . Labour Party. conference this year and give them a new name, but the great strike invite readers who disagree with us to would stii: have been lilega.. aS woud send us their views, voycott action against South African goods Trade ‘Jnionists like NGA member ‘5m Election fever is here: The party \,: Harrison can stisi face fines of ft... rallies (they could hardly be called “4 \ tor organising union meetings in tact confereaces!) this autumn, followed py \\ you's. probably need a ballot betore going Lawson's meagre public spending handouts \ to tne toilet never mind taking strike last week have fuelled speculation of an action éigction early next year. Already millions \ y/ of working people are sagerly anticipating 8 their opportunity at the ballot box to vote y) pe Sirk, gut Thatcher and Co. once and for ali, and ey ;

who could disagree with that’ A Kinnock government might nat be the most endearing prospect. but surely anything's better than the Torfes isn't it”

But the Kinnock alternative ‘arries a price with it, in order to present a unified and moderate image. the Labour seaders have purged their programme of any radica: @lements Kinnock 1s using Alliance poricies and the smoothie Alliance image to try to win the middle class voters over His promises to them are many. more police on the beat « you remember those friendly bobbies during the strike); continued support for home ownership and the sale of cOunci: housing (‘that should please the we / miliion homeless), and no significant Pee us a increases in taxes for the rich. Wi..is promises Kinnock peace ana ji ..e°"

Ana as tar Labours promises to workers, they're minimal. A million jobs in two years «gee thanks a lot)- and after thatNothing said. A bit more money for the health service,education, housing, etc but not a lot as they're “not prepared to let public spending get out of hand". No new nationalisations, no massive expansion of the coal industry for example, no measures

" * to compensate for 8 years of fory rule. Kinnock's side-kick Hattersley on the Well they can't do too much you see,

other hand, has been making the rounds of because there is a recession on, and it's the big buiseness luncheons, promising low going to get worse. So we'll have to wages, low public expenditure, low tighten our belts and think of Britain inflation - in short low everything except (read "bosses profits") just like in the

f dole queues. fo last Labour savernment.

MINEWORKERS _pJNITED

Nonetheless you might say - as Ken Gill did at TUC congress - “With the prospect of angther term of Mrs Thatcher, I think the trade union movement is prepared to put up with almast anything, achieve any level of unity...to make sure that doesn't happen again."

Fair e@nough...except that that means unity on Kinnock's terms, unity with the SDP voters, uolty with those who'd run a mile rather than take a stand now and fignt. It means don't do anything that night embarrass Labour, and it means that demoralisation will spread yet further in the ‘New Realistic’ labour movement.

NO INCOMES POLICY!

RED MINER will campaign for = an alternative to the “wait for Kinnock" perspective, Our alternative is two-fold: Firstly, don't. wait for Kinnock but fight now! On pit closures,job losses, wage demands; on resisting all attacks from the Tories and the basses, we don't have faith in any future Labour government to da the job for us - it's up to us.

Secondly, yes vote Labour to get the Tories out at the next election, but don't concede an inch to their anti-working class policies.

Labour says it's a workers party, so let's demand they live up to that, to abandon their wage freezing ideas,to impose a living minimum wage on the employers, to provide a massive programme of useful public works to mop up the dole queues,and to nationalise all the firms resisting or sabotaging this programme, without compensation.

The voices of those resisting “unity at any price to get any sort of Labour government" will be small in number in the

TI-UNION LAWS!

RACIST LIES!

You can always trust the gutter press to find something to vent their poison on and last month it was a sickening de1uge of racism, egged on by the government's visa requirements for foreign visitors

"3,006 ASIANS FLOOD BRITAIN"

"ASIAN FLOOD SWAMPS BRITAIN"

These were just two of the front page headlines. Headlines which don't only cause an increase in racist remarks at work in the pub etc. but headlines which can kill

There have been 63 racist murders over the past 15 years and the latest state attacks have, as Ann Owens of the Joint Gouncil for the Welfare of Immigrants stated, "created a climate where it becomes legitimate to attack black people and by extension those that advise them".

The night after the "3,000 Asians flood Britain" headline in the Sun, Pankaj Patel's newsagent shop was daubed with paint and racist attacks in Londons Hast End have increased.

COMBAT RACIST LIES Militants in the trade unions and Labour Party have a responsibility to take up the fight aginst thio racist poison, and not iet the bosses get away with their attempts to divide us.

They say unemployment is caused by immigration, well did immigration cause unemployment in the thirties, did it hell!

‘Racism and unemployment are the direct

products of capitalism, and the worse the economy gets the more the bosses try to shift the blame onto some other section of society.

We must fight for; No more deportations and No more Immigration controls. Support for black self defence. A positive campaign in the unions to expose their racist ae [Sc

rr B jhora’t se (SP ea

Davily

Fergit Fiylee hint

October saw the 20th anniversary of one of the worst disasters in British mining history. At 9:10 am on October 21st 1966 “Black Friday" one of the tips from Merthyr Vale Colliery slid down a hillside and killed 144 people in the tiny South Vales mining village of Aberfan. 116 of those killed were schcwlchildren in the Pontglas Junior School, which was literally engulfed by ‘thousands of tons of coal slurry and slime. Most of the children in the school were buried alive with no hope of survival. 4 few children weré rescued, but after 11 ai nobody elise was found alive. The rescue workers included miners from Merthyr Vale we were sent, from the pit as soon as news broke and who had the heartbreaking task af digging for their own children.

At a atroke a whole generation of children in Aberfan had been wiped out. One in five of the residents in Aberfan and nearby Merthyr Vale were directly bereaved, and in Aberfan alone one in two. Yet despite this only two of the families have moved out of the village since the disaster. An already closely knit community was brought even closer together by the disaster and its aftermath.

Sole responsibility for this terrible disaster lies with the NCB, who ignored many warnings from residents about the safety of the tip. At the tribunal the NCB called the disaster an "unforeseeable accident". No acceptance of blame, no apology. They were found guilty at the tribunal of “bungling incompetence” and “failure to heed clear warnings". They had in fact built the tip on a spring. They had no system of tip control - which later led to a future act of parliament on tipping. The Board were found wholly to blame for the disaster. During the tribunal proceedings the local paper the “Merthyr Express® ‘reported that parents shouted "murderers" at NCB officials, and that their children had been "buried alive by the NCB". This hatred and resentment of the NCB remains to this day.

Although found guilty, nabody was sacked from the NCB, there were no prosecutions of any kind. Lord Robens remained head of the Board. The Labour government of the time chose to take no action against those responsible for the tragedy. Indeed, the government,s disgusting role throughout was one of

The Bolivian Embassy

COAL BOARD'S NEGLIGENCE NOT FORGOTTEN

support for the NCB against the villagers. For example, the government refused to even pay the £150,000 costs of the tribunal - it had to be paid from the Aberfan Disaster Fund. Neither would it pay for the costs of removing the tips, again the. people of Aberfan were forced to do so. The only compensation the bereaved families recieved was £500 for each child's life lost.

oo 989 8 @

Abefan was remembered because it was a mining disaster which killed not miners but 144 people, mainly children in a mining village, But it should also be remembered as a disaster that could easily have been prevented. Cyril Vaughan chairman of the Community Association helped to rescue 6 boys and 2 girls trapped in the school, and to dig out the remains of others. He said at the time of the recent anniversary "I have never felt so hopeless, so futile and so angry. To think that after so many Warnings and danger signs that the tip was allowed. to come down and engulf the children.’. Uniess ordinary people take notice there will be another Aberfan". The lesson we need to learn from the tragedy at Aberfan is that while the industry is run to make profit, unacceptable risks will always be taken and disasters will happen again and again. We must fight to improve safety standards now, both at the colliery and in the surrounding area. Recognising that this can only be fully achieved when the miners themselves control the pits and working conditions.

FREE ELEUTERIO GUTIERREZ

Tin miners' leader Eleuterio Gutierrez is condemned to rot in jail because he is a Militant workers! leader. Full details of - his case can be abtained from Red Miner, c/o 138.Crookesmoor Road, Sheffield 6. An article about him appeared in last months issue.

So far since then letters have been sent protesting about his detention from Renishaw Park branch and have been supported by the North Derbyshire Area. The local M.P. is raising the issue too. Aliso the Nov. Durham Miner will feature an article about him. We urge all NUM members to raise this in their branches and send letters of protest off to the addresses below. — President Victor

Paz Estenssoro Presidential Palace,

La Paz, Ralikknia

106 Eaton Square, London SWI.

THE MINERS’ BROAD LEFT

Last month saw the second national meeting of the Miners' Broad Left. 114 miners and women from the women's support groups met in Barnsley to discuss the current problems facing miners.

This ‘new’ Broad Left was careful to emphasise it's difference with the old election machine that brought Scargill and ather lafiwingers to prominence in the union The miners present stated they were not there to set up an election machine alone. Jo Owens from Bilston Glen speaking from the platform called the meeting "an historic step forward within the ranks for the NUM" ..."we are buiding a national, open, democratic, campaigning rank and file Broad Left. Yes we will be putting up candidates in elections, their policies will be decided by the men ~- there will be no careerism."

The organisers stressed that it wasn't a splinter group but NUM members concerned to rebuild the union after the defeat of the strike and break out of the straightjacket put on by the rightwing dominated executive.

The conference passed resolutions that fleshed out the basic policy statement which included the following. ° "It is our intention to maintain and build on the democratic, socialist tradition of our union and to ensure a fighting leadership.

* No Pit Closures

# Stop Privatisation

# Amnesty for Jaitled/Sacked Miners

# Associate membership for Women's Support groups

# 4 Day Week with No Loss of Fay

# Miners Leaders on Miners Wages

* One Industry - One Union."

A resolution from Red Miner supporters called for the Broad Left to tight to spread the overtime bans in South Wales and Durham by pushing for a fullovertime ban. This met with a lot of discussion as the organising committee made it clear they were against taking such a policy decision. The resolution was lost <5 votes to 36. Supporters argued that such a campaign could be taken into the branches and used to win militants to action and increase the action already taking place Those against didn't want to cal. for something that wasn't going to be won in Many areas.

This seems a strange argument from a new organisation whose stated aim is to try to take the lead in our union. Surely to do that we must be honest about what is needed and wage an all out fight to get that. Huw eise will we win militants to fight with us '

wonference heard a speaker from South Africa caliing for workers sanctions against South African goads. A resoiution along these lines was passed aS was support for jailed Bolivian tin miner Eleuterio Gutierrez

There wi il be lacal Broad Lefts set up in ali the coalfields and representatives

_ were elected at the conference. We would

urge Red Miner readers to attend these meetings and push for them to become genuine miners rank and file groups in the NUM, capable of linking up action nationally and challenging the 'new right’ in the union. The test of the Broad Left will be its independence from the bureaucracy-left as well as right and its commitment to building a rank and file movement as oppased to another election machine.

eenttigny s Don't “D, ao vw

RUSSIAN REVOLUTION

Fart 4

Aad -SOICE 22 NR SN RO

ees Pease

RAPE RIAM TPO ENAL 9 CRUD COI Went tit aber OT: een

The defeat of the Fetrograd workers, soldiers, and sailors in the July days opened te door to an orgy of reaction. The sovernment ordered the arrest of the Solshevik leaders and Lenin was forced inte hiding. Nast of the party leaders were out of action for the rest of July and most of August.

Kerensky was appointed head of a ‘new government intent on restoring order against the revolutionary workers and troops. His government restored the death sentence at the front and, on July i6th appainted the reactionary General Kornilov to the post of Commander in Chief af the Russian Army. The Bolshevik daily "Pravda” was shut down and it’s printing shop cumpletely demolished. House to house searches were ordered in the worker's districts in-order to disarm the workers.

Reaction

Bourgeois reactionaries became even more and more brazen on the streets. A worker from the New Lessner factory dascribed the atmosphere

“4¢ the market we came across a well dressed nurse in the middle of a crowd saying that Trotsky and Lunacharsky were arrested, that, Lenin and Zinoviev were in hiding....She called to mercilessly kill the Bolsheviks. We ask : Who,gave you money to slander the Bolsheviks and the workers? Ve argued for ten minutes exposing the lies. Then about twenty merchants arrived and started to curse the Bolsheviks ~"Beat the Jews and the Bolsheviks! Into the water with theml'-and the crowd thrashed - us soundly. One comrade ran away, the other died in hospital two weeks later from the beating, they took away my pistol and threw it into the canal and began throwing stones.” ;

Part four of RED MINER’s history of the Russian Revolution takes the story through toe months of reaction, aad the isolation of the Bolsheviks, up to the defeat of Korniiov and the opening of the road to socialist revalution.

connect

- Anti- Bolsheviks

The so-called moderate socialists who dominated both the Petrograd Soviet and the Provisional government raised little or no objection to the wave of repression. The Mensheviks and Socialist Revolutionaries (SRs) launched their own anti-Bolshevik crusade in the factories where there was 4 bitter mood of defeat. In many workpiaces anti-Bolshevik resolutions were actually adopted. This wae particularly so amongst traditionally conservative sections oat workers such as the printers wha, in many cases, refused to print Bolshevik papers.

ligwever key sections of the Petrograd workforce remained firm. On returning to work the cannon shop of the Putilov works unanimously voted ta issue the following defence of their actions. citizens,

Like an ancient oak amidst the forest, the great Futilov factory stands amidst the nations industry, shaking the earth with the heavy blows of it's hammers.

(CONTINUED +44}

(CONTINUED)

Citizens! This is not the first time the Futilovtsi shed their blood in the interests of the working class. Remember January Q9thl1905] and refrain from the indiscriminate accusations that are being heard on the streets, In the July days we went....not against the Soviet but for it, fhat is why on our banner was written,

All power to the soviets!"

The prociamation laments the defeat but ends with resolution.

Citizens! Loox trustingly at the black

smokestacks rising from the ground. There at their foot, the same kind of people as you, creating uew values you need. Suffer

and agsonise in a bondage of perfected and fierce .- exploitation. There, slowly, consciousness is ripening. In our hearts,

haée ig -being stored, and the tender

conditions of another life for all humanity are being lovingly writen an the bloody banner.” ;

Coup The defeat of the workers made the right much more bold. Commander in chief Kornilov was canvassing a military coup in the top circles of officers and capitalists. Now that the workers were in retreat Xornilov considered the time right to topple the Provisional Government. After all the workers had no respect for it and the top military brass. and bosses had no time for. it.:Better to establish a military aictatorship and .clamp right down on the

workers organisations.

At the end of August Kornilov marched ‘a Petrograd .with what he thought were ieyal. troops. The working class and their revolutionary party were in the firing line again,;. along with Kerensky's government.

In.:July the Bolshevik party was cold shouldered in many plants. The Party Petrograd committee reported that it was able to do hardly any agitational work in that period. Lenin remained in hiding in Finland. The experience of July led Lenin

to chauge his perspectives. He wrote in late July

"The objective situation is thus : either a victory of the military dictatorship wita all it implies, or victory of the armed insurrection of the workers."

Given the role played by the Soviet's leadership Lenin also dropped the slogan "All power to the soviets",

"The slogan of all power passing to the soviets was a slogan of a peaceful development of the revolution, posible in April, May, June and up to July 5th-9th.., Now this slogan is no longer correct, as it

does not take into account the change in power, that has taken place, wor the complete betrayal of the revolution by the Socialist Revolutionaries and the Mensheviks,"

Kornilov’

Faced with the Kornilov offensive Lenin urged the workers to fight the counter revolutionary armies but not in order to defend the government... but to defend the revolution and {t's true objectives : the victory of the workers, the victory of the poor, the victory ot peace,” ,

It was down to the working class, not the counter revolutionary armies to settie the final account with Mr Kerensky

With Korniloy marching on Petrograd and with Bolshevik agitators urging - the formation of Red Guard detachments the Petrograd workers rallied to the defence of their organisations and their city. Putiiov produced 100 artillery pieces in 3 days while, at the same time, sending 8,000 younger workers into the Red Guards and hundreds of agitators’ to the front. Kerensky cowered behind the workers defence squads powerless to ‘stop the release of jailed Bolsheviks and the arming of the workers. © So

Red Guards

The morale of Kornilov’s troops was easily broken. The Red Guards saved Petrograd and in doing so saved Kerensky for the time being. But the road to: armed insurrection was now’ opened before the working class. On 3ist August the Petrograd Soviet supported a Bolshevik resolution calling for "a government of the revolutionary proletariat and peasantry".

Mascow followed suit on September Sth. With military reaction crushed,with the provisional government's weaknesses there for all to sea the time was ripe for the party to lead the final strugg.e to take power into the hands of the workers.

teeta A i RT TLIO

The final part of RED MINER'’s history of the Russian Revolution will be in the November issue

WHERE WE STAND

RED MINER

Tha Red Miner is produced by: members and supporters of Workers Power. Workers Power is a revolutionary organisation fighting to build a new revolutionary party to overthrow capitalism - at home and abroad.

WORKERS" STRUGRLES

We support all workers’ struggles against the bosses. We fight to turn all struagles inte conscious anti-capitalist struggles. ‘

REFORNTSN

Tha trade union and Labour leaders believe capitalSem can be reformed, made better, but they do not aim to overthrow capitalism. They act as go-betweens for the bosses with the workers. Even militant leaders limit their strugles to the fight far gains within capitalism. Far this reason we are far building rank and file movements politically independant of the bureaucracy and committed to transforming the unions into democratic, class struggle unions.

REVOLUTIONARY PARTY

A revolutionary party will be a workers’ party, 4 party that, built in struggle, can learn and pass on the lessons of the 1984-85 strike and other struggles. We stand for miners taking their place in the front ranks of butlding such a party as they did in the 1920s. Only by building a new revolutionary party ean we create the class army that can fight and destroy the stinking capitalist system that threatens us with always having to fight to protect our jobs, conditions and organisations.

INTERNATIONAL ISA

We are committed to fighting capitalism internationally. We strive tq build an international arganis~ ation of revolutionary parties. (Workers Power works with Irish, German, French and Chilean revolutionaries in the Movement for a Revolutionary Internatfonal). In particular we fight nationalist solutions to the crisis put forward by reformists like calls for import controls. Such demands merely divide the working class.

DIVISIONS

tle fight all divisions in the working class. Div- {sions are fostered by the bosses to weaken us. tle are implacably opposed to racism immigration

contruls, fascism, discrimination against and oppression of women, gays or black people.

THE OPPRESSED

We support all stiuggles by people oppressed by the bosses of Gritain, America, France, Italy and the other capitalist (imperialist) countries. Immediat-

ely in Britain this meams we support the. right of.

the Irish people as a whole (not just those in the north) to detrmine the fate of their country. wWe unconditionally support the republicans and socialists in Ireland fighting for this right and demand the immediate withdrawal of all British troops from Ireland.

WORKERS’ STATES

The USSR, Eastern Europe, etc are workers! states. Capitalism has been abolished. However, in each of these states a bureaucracy, based on the Stalinist Communist Parties, holds political power. This situ~ ation arose out of the international isolation of the Russian Revolution in the 1920s. The revolution degenerated at the hands of the bureaucracy headed hy Stalin, The ather workers! states were degensrate fron birth in that they were created in the bureaucratic image of the USSR.

Therefore we call for a political revolution in all of these states to overthrow the bureaucracy and realise the full potential of these non-capitalist economies thruogh democratic planning. At the same time, in order to preserve the gain for the working class represented by these economies, we defend the USSR and degenerate workers' states unconditionally against imperialism which, through war, will seek to re-intraduce capitalism in these countries.

QVERTHROU_CAPITAL ISM

The revolutionary party we seek to build will have as its strategic goal the overthrow of capitalism vy workers organised into workers’ councils and armed so as to defeat the police and army that the bosses have used, and will use again, against us. We are for a socialist society in which all property is in the hands of the workers' state and all production is directed tawards meeting human need - not satisfying the profit greed of the capitalists. we stand on the old slogan of Karl Marx:

WORKERS OF THE WORLD UNITE, YOU HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE BUT YOUR CHAINS, AND A WORLD TO WIN.

i | t | \