There are 40,000 laid off in the North-west. The docks are botfled up and no containers are moving. Ninety per cent of all transport goes by road.
You'd think we could get this strike finished quickly, but we are divided.
Among the Road Haulage Association drivers the strike 1s virtually a hundred percent. But the Freight Transport drivers haven't been called out ers Union.
The RHA is the employers' association which negotiates for firms operating a hire and reward system. The negotiates for firms which have their own transport delivering their own goods.
The union's decision sets up a division among drivers that wasn't really apparent before the strike.
FTA drivers are about 20 per cent paid, would probably have joined the present action.
rGWU made the official, it was drivers from both the associations who were taking unofficial action. the At our place dum, on Trafford Park — we had to vote on whether to come out on sympathy strike, strike pay, or secondary pickets closed the FTA place down and get lay off pay.
With that sort of choice the drivers voted against action.
Before the TGWU came out, the United Road Union had accepted the 13 per cent offer. Being an all-drivers union, but most members, they they'd be finished the worked through the strike. strike I think it's the first they've made they're carrying secondary picketing.
Carborun- Secondary picketing is the only way we're going to win.
The FTA drivers ourer anvers picket unes, wait until the three or four pickets can close down a really big place.
At our place three pickets have stopped 28 vehicles. At strike Colgate Palmolive down the Transport Many 20,000 don't need a picket.
recognised if they Gateways strike example, they official, and on full they continued secondary pickets.
won't cross kind of nonsense sO Alex Kitson, has some theory 2DOU after the other. road TGWU members in the The warehouse there won't touch wagons, so they very divisive.
A lot depends on what the union officials are up to.
near Bristol, for threatened to tear up drivers' union cards if to mount code In Manchester at the moment up for him? there is just no chance of this the national committee, official in charge of the strike, kind of domino regional negotiating bodies settling one union leadership looking for deals and ways out, and the local settlements are There is a dilemma - if you bring down Labour the Tories would take away the right to win. strike altogether. So what do you do when Moss Evans signs for of picketing that Callaghan had probably drawn Bill Astbury, the chairper son of the Manchester strike said that if the drivers can't afford to eat no In one will. Of course, holding up hospital supplies and anıma feedstuffs will not strengthen NF's reins that physical they the strike.
Bill is very blunt, and that was a bit rash. But what it reflects is our attitude to the strike. The bigger it is, the more solid it remains, the quicker we A crucial part of the claim is the 35-hour week. The whole industry and pay structure is geared around working 20 hours overtime a week.
The basic rate for drivers is something like £1.33 an hour 1981, when the EEC regulations come in limiting the working week, drivers' wages will be slashed.
----- pull-quotes -----
offer of f60 for 40 hours. BOB
In local settlements, the union leaders have dropped the demand for a reduction in hours and at the same time done their best to appease the Government with a picketing code that amounts to a scabs' charter. member at Carborundum on the Trafford Park industrial estate, Manchester, told Martin Collins how the strike is biting in spite of weak leadership.