Scanion and Jones ne seamens sunke call, ma stuke. The seamen's deal is an advance. It has shown that the mere threat of strike action, even by a small section of the working class, can gain concessions. It shows that it is possible to start a fight back now against the policies of the Labour Government and make headway. The very silence of the ship-owners and the TUC on how much will be gained from the deal is testimony that the NUS has come near to achieving its full claim of 26 The vote to take strike action scored a deep line through the ranks of the labour movement. 'We'll cripple you' said Len Murray, backed up by - not to mention the Government and shipowners. On the other side, 320 TUC delegates gave their 'unreserved support' to their response would have been echoed throughout the rank and file of the trade unions and Labour Party.
Other unions' members will take heart from the amount of money that the seamen managed to get by questioning for the first time, the incomes policy. But they should also remember that the seamen's enemies will be their enemies. The bureaucrats have put forward their 'orderly return to free collective bargaining' as a way of heading off the revolt and introducing the next stage of incomes policy through the backdoor. A consistent campaign has to be started now - in every union, and at every level - for complete opposition to incomes policy and for automatic compensation for inflation to be included in every wage claim.