prospective customers and from the police.
who spoke to MICK WOODWARD are determined not to give in.
Zahir Haq, treasurer and | General Workers. secretary of the Garners strike committee, talked about how it felt to be on strike after nearly a year.
*Although the pickets are determined to carry on, they are hitle baffled situation', heexplained.
•We see it as an elementary right of the worker to be in a trade union, and they surprised Inal employers nike Margolis can get away with it.
*It's scarcely believable. The other thing', he added, 'is that weexpected moresupport. It we could just have five or six pickets on each restaurant over lunchtime the strike would be over."
STONEW ALL The main problem strikers has been maintaining morale in the face of determined stone-walling by Margolis, and win mine back up irom CATERING workers at Garners have been on strike for over ten months. Standing on the picket line in Central London is never much fun — it's boring, and you're subjected to harassment and abuse With the second winter of the strike now setting in, the strikers face one of their worst enemies - the cold.
Cyril Margolis, Garner's boss, is depending on the freezing temperatures to kill the strike, but the strikers GOSLING and The strikers each receive £6 a week strike pay, and it's quite simply not enough. We spend it just on transport getting in to picket, raq said.
VOLUNTARY The TGWU says that it is bound by its constitution and cannot pay more. Nor can it institute a compulsory levy on the branches.
This may be true, but the union can sironay aovise 15 branches to take a voluntary requires more than the routine reulars narnave ocen outour.
Two branches are taking a voluntary levy, the 616 branch and OLIC branches. This would be done in a great many more branches, if the union leadership made its point strongly enough.
SITIKerS have speakers along to the branches, JUDE and oreanised usually getting a good response.
A Sp a head levy from the biggest and best branches docks - could boost thestrikers pay and finance other members of the union to take ume on work and help on the pickets.
Despite the lack of support, 35 of the 84 Garners workers who wakee out are sul actively involved in the strike.
Some of the problems of the strike stem from the nature of the catering industry. Workers at Trust House Forte and at building Metropolitan Hotels hard for union recognition and lost hag pointed ou catering industry TOE believe, due to the exploitation Scene from the last Garners solidarity demo mainly immigrants.
organised at Ford, in the not just the pay -Close their job.
fought with each other.
AIROUE! is growing, *Growing, WC of catering workers, who are holding out.
*The industry is one of the most low-paid areas. And it's the hours people work are unsocial hours They have no time for family or socature. nevaresave nour Haq continued: It is hard to orLanselen, as many conc to this country on a work permit basis which means they can be iceberg. sent out of the country if they 'Often they don't have trade union experience, British law is completely new to unem, and language is a big problem; often *The ancy canoever Communald trade at the Haymarket branch is down to less than 20 per cent of normal said turnover, Margolis seems to be He has offered more to the scabs, but he has refused to discuss recognition.
Some of the strikers cannot help feeling that Margolis must be getting help from outside. There are powerful anti-union interests in the catering industry Garners strikers do not win — it could be ust the lip oi th Muhammed Mahboob, on the picket line at Haymarket, alway wasn't happy with the TGWU's attitude to thestrike.
officials arrangement with the police inatine bickers woud De amitce to six on each restaurant, and we weren't even told", Mahboob *And the police aren't on our We tried to serve summons against one of the directors who allacked a picket and they said they wouldn't do it. Then we got a summons iron the same director saying we had attacked him.
Margolis's wife received E25 assault month, for milling one or the pickets in the eye, which is now permanently damaged. Mahboob was fined £25 and bound over for a year behaviour"
PARTIALITY The courts and the police displayed their usual Mahboob told us: "There was one 15-year-old black youth coming down here and the police said they would do him for "sus" if he hung around *The boy had a letter from his mother, who also used to come down, saying that she knew that COOKSON (Socialist was where he was A day of action has been called for Friday 8 December when all Garners' steak houses WILL DC DICKCICE Militants in London should make it a priority - - not simply because cereal Grunwick would be a tragedy, for union recognition ere i but because both these battles fundamental aspect of racism in Britain: that the paid Joos are reservea for blacks PICKETING It is not surprising, therefore if black people in Britain judge the workers movement by its support or otherwise for strikers like Garners.
The pickets believe that with adequate picket lines each day - thestrikecould be won The Transport Union has completely opposed mass picketing, but particular ly during the Christmas period this could be the way to take the strike forward by stepping up the pressure on Margolis.
* On 8 December turn up at the Haymarket restaurant between 12 and 3pm and from 5.30pm onwards.