The mational importance of the Raloigh strike is underlined by the fact that the Financial Times of February 18th chose to devote its second editorial to the matter, In doing so it takes a swipe at the unions in gonoral, of course, tut it devotes a considerable amount of space to supporting the stand of the Tube Investments’ management. : The facts of the Raleigh strike have been stated more than once in this journal but it is necessary to omphasise the extremely radical nature of the stand the men are taking. If we understand this, wo understand why the management is being so pig-headed. To strike to impose work— sharing instead of sacking is to strike to take away the right of the employers to hire and fire at will. The latter is one of the fundamental "rights" of the employers in their one-sided contract with the workers. Vhat is more, in a period when large-scale rationalisation is taking Place the right to hire and fire becomes paramount. This is why tho article ondss "....economic expansion requires mobility, The unions, like the rest of us, must accept change."
The strike itself is a heroic one — 300 of the men who normaly earn £16 2 week upwards (with commitments to match) have oxisted for well ovoramonth on 55s. a wook, They are not striking for more money - but to save the jobs of their fellow-workers, The othor A.#,U. members (those not employed in the tool-room) aro not striking about an issue which directly affocts them, but aro striking out of loyalty to their union, Intor-union rivalry has created many problems,which are complic— ated by the fact that the local A.l.U. leadership did not combat a redindancy in departments where its membership is in the minority. The management have not been slow to point this out,
Thus the stage is set for a drawn-out struggle. The latest attempt to end the dispute, namely, the appoal by the A.Z.U. Executive for the Ministry of Labour to intervene, scoms unlikely to bring about a speedy solution unless one side or tho other makes substantial concessions, The Raleigh workers are fighting the huge Tube Investments combine which can ‘afford! to suffer some loss totestablish a principle!., Defeat for the strikers would have repercussions for union organisation and for the fight against redundancy in genoral. Jivery class-conscious militant and Labour Party worker should take sides - the elementary step is to get their organisation(s) to go on record in support of the strikers, This is extremely important for the real solutions: that of bringing all the workers at all the Tube Investment factories into the struggle.