The explosive situation in the steel industry has once again highlighted the scabbing role of the leaders of the Iron & Steel Trades Confederation. STEVE VOKES, a militant of the International Marxist Group and Chairman of the Bar/Strip Mill Branch of the IST at GN Cardiff, told Red Weekly how the major steel union came to play this role.
1919. Until last ycar were was never ar official strike, the only exception being the General Strike opposed by a section of the bureaucracy. Throughout the 1920s branches of expelled in South Wales for supporting the Minority Movement.
The General Secretary of the union until April last year was Sir Dai Davies ausancuon bestowcu on mH m 1973 for services to trade unionism" by that well known labour leader Edward Heath. The ISTC has always been on the extreme right wing of the Labour Party. One of their two sponsorcd MP's was right-winger Eddie Griffiths, MP for out by his constituency party and replaced by Joan Maynard.
The reasons for the backwardness of the ISTC lic in the nature of the steel inJUNITY INTE particularly in the seniorThere is no common rate of mined to protect their relatively prip DONELIOT ibly autocratic. Under Rule 4. Clause 3 and even this was *no member, branch or official except the Executive Council shall have power to order or sancuon any strike or stop page of work or any act which might be deemed unfair industrial practice. just in case anyone tries, Rule 4, Clause 15 empowers the Executive Council to suspenu. terminate or crose uown any branch or branches where it shall in its absolute discretion consider that such transfer, suspension or closing down shall be necessary or expedient in the interests of me con cucration in the industry leads to collaboration with management. If a dispute arises on the shop-floor, first the branch officials are involved. If it looks explosive, then the full-time officials quickly come in and the branch of union organisation in the steel industry has to accept their decision WOTACES IS dispute is referred to a National Comfor its members. The rule book of the union is incredThe fight for the right to work received a hard knock with the recent events at Chrysler. But the workers at Port Talbot, by defying the sell-out line of their national executive, have taken up the gauntlet thrown down by the British Steel Cor poration on behalf of the Labour Government.
In this grave situation the working class movement must support every fight back which takes a clear stand against the unemployment policies of the Wilson Government — no matter what differences exist on the policies, they have to be fought for. For this reason the International Marxist Group will be organising support for two activities in