won this strike.* ne nico women have scoret a Victor for millions of women throughout the country. They have shown that it is industrial action that wins equal pay, rather than legislation and employerDiased inounals. but did the sirikers have to suffer five months of hardship and frustration to win their case? In answering that question a few more have to be asked. • Were the difficulties over the blacking of wipers avoidable?
Blacking was far from effective. The left press was able to carry weekly reports of factories where blacking was not in operation, or where confusion existed. It took four months for the District Commluce to issue a national appeal trough the FREE ON DEMAND LAST FRIDAY night the victorious Trico strikers celebrated their success. Members of the AUEW District Committee, fortified by a jubilant consumption of alcohol, made numerous nne specones. ne prima bauenmas or men stage-managca perrormance were presented with bouquets. It was left up to the women themselves to bring the party back to earth. To rousing applause leading shop steward Bileen Ward proclaimed: Without the support of the trade union movement and the Women's Charter, we would not have pages of the national AUEW Journal and to include a call for the blacking of all windscreen wipers.
Even then. refused to demand that the national executive issue an official, blacking call. By hiding behind the excuse that the right wing of the executive would block this call, the District Committee avoided putting the lefts' like Scanlon on the spot.
No moves were made to demand that the leadership of other unions such as the Transport and Genera Workers Union add their weight to the blacking action.
Broad Left stewards and convenors only rarely called mass meetings of car workers to explain the importance of the strike tion?
the District Committee and successful conclusion. national were disappearing tricks. • Why was there no call for a district strike or a national solidarity demonstraDecades of industrial struggle have shown that national solidarity action and strikes can bring a struggle to a speedy The District strikers avoidable?
Committee were well versed in proclaiming this 'the most important dispute at present taking place in the country'. But when it came to calls for demonstrations, all the District Committee could manage In June the Greater London Association of Trades Councils announced a demonstration. Ine District committee left this to evaporate in the summer heat.
When the Working Women's Charter Campaign took the initiative to call a national demonstration, they were dewas only on tne eve or tne rnal settiemen that the DC began to make half-hearted plans for a demonstration on 6 Novem• Was the severe financial hardship of the In any strike the confidence of the strikers is sorely tried by financial hardship. Why, in a strike proclaimed as the *most important since the matchgirls in the 1800s* was no national levy demanded? Why did it take three months for a district levy to be organised, and why were new union members denied strike pay for over a month? Why was financia backing not sought to provide child care facilities, so that the women could fully participate without having to fork out their strike pay to baby-minders? time. union activity. At times the District Committee blatantly withheld informat ion about blacking difficulties, claiming 100 per cent effectiveness. When challen ged they argued that they did not want to demoralise the women with the truth! • What were the District Committee afraid of? Why did they deny the striker information and democratic Why did they hold back the essential national solidarity action?
The answer lies in the influence of the Communist Party on the District Commi While supporting the struggle for equal pay, another overriding considera tion came into play. The Communist Party was careful to avoid any action which would have unsettled their cosy relationship with 'lefts" like Scanion and Jones.
If the strikers, and the Charter Camp aign had pushed successfully for nationa solidarity action, they would have forced Jones and Scanion into the open. ional action on Trico, particularly effect ive blacking to bring the car industry to a standstill, would have brought the strike into a head-on clash with the Govern ment's pay policy and Jones and Scan Ion's collaboration with it.
For the CP, this had to be avoided at all costs - even at the cost of a possible defeat for the Trico strike. The determination of the strikers and the timely caving in of the employers saved this round of the equal pay fight. We should not kid ourselves that we will be so lucky next