WORKERS Dundee's Caledon shipyard voted last Thursday to continue to resist the closure of the yard and the resulting loss of 1,000 jobs.
The move vane insistence of the union leadership that not only must the closure of Robb Caledon be accepted, but so too must all the cuts announced three weeks ago by British Shipbuilders and the Tory 6,000 jobs are at stake.
The decision to accept the cuts was made in Blackpool on 4 September at a 600-strong meeting of delegates. The meeting voted to lift the sanctions, including an overtime Socialist Challenge 13 September 1979 Robb Leading ine and Engineering Unions despite the He said unions would be Overall at least ipproach Increase" the term shipyard thousands Page 6. the announcement of the cuts.
John Chalmers, the general secretary of the Boilermakers Society and chairperson of the Confederation of Shipbuilding Chalmers persuaded the delegates that British Shipbuilders. had agreed to try to avoid compulsory redundancies.
that management and making a joint the government to of redundancy payment to make job losses more attractive to older workers'. But even if the government agrees to such a of jobs dica suffers from high unemployment.
The union leadership has made a vague promise that alternative work will be found for those who don't opt for redundancy, but these assurances were not accepted by workers. Robb Caledon Bob Barty said that promises of work in oil-related industries were industry were stready being aid ofi. words' because workers in the Barty said the overtime ban and the non-release of two sulles due launching would continue.
As Socialist Challenge went press workers at the Glasgow yards carmarked for closure were meeting i to decide their attitude. convenor 'empty for