Pre ioe ne ot Conference on Workers' Control, sponsored by th strike Action Caatlime Trade Union Movement, was a delegation of th : members of this dele 1S pga Courtauld's Preston factory. On both ree to the debate a gation made many valuable and distinctive contrib ti Mr. Seattanry vas Bos the close of proceedings, their Seubeecsiakive se
as invited to explain the background of the Preston strike.
He told io ae os —— peoctian nein started in a section of the works, cover- Baal id poses ee ng and rewinding departments, where non white bra ie en Obes aa - and Pakistan, make up 98% of the labour force. we in Pad ib 965, the management issued instructions that each tae, ths work machines, instead of the existing manning of one machine perth an =. ‘ ry were given three minutes to obey the ruling, failing pe accver y ag old they could collect their cards from the office The
staged an immediate sit down strike and, two days later, walked out.
The management has subsequently claimed that t manning
accordance with an agreement reached with the bape ir ate a se Songs . Official has also seen fit to state that the strike wan not an industrial poet tard but a racial issue. Now, it is true that, some days before - 26th, there were rumours in Preston of some agreement being worked tweer. management and unions, to force additional working in the 98% non white shops, A meeting of the workers took place on that day, and was attended by Branch and District Officers of the T.G.W.U., who sade a public declaration that no agreement had been reached, though it was possible that one might be. At this meeting, it was voted unanimously that no such agreement should be concluded.
Another spokesman, Mr. Khaleq, asked us to pay particular attention to the various dates mentioned, in view of the clear procedure laid down between the management and the T.G.W.Ue, to the effect that one month's notice should be given in writing of any proposed alterations in working conditions. Mr. Khaleq said that he would have expected any such notice to be prominently displayed on works notice boards. This account of the meeting on 26th April is in direct conflict with the statements, subsequently made on television and elsewhere, that an agreement between the T.GeeUe and the nanugenent had been signed on the 15th April. He referred to this statement and said that the Strike Committee had asked the Union Officers for a copy of this agreement, but were told that the T.G.W.U. had no copy and that the only copy was in the hands of the management. He also said that, assuming that an agreement had been reached on that date, there were still clear breaches of procedure. All Courtauld employees are bound by 2 Contract of Service between them and the Company, and he maintained that a written contract of service necessarily implied that any change in the conditions of service must also be written, agreed and signed by management
and worker’se
Our conference in Manchester included many Union and Constituency delegates from all parts of the country and we were all profoundly disturbed at the implications of these reports. As one delegate put it, "Immigrant workers are sometimes accused of agreeing to work longer hours, and to submit to worse conditions, than English workerse The striker's action on this issue had shown most clearly that this is not true. At no time had the
Courtaulds Strike continued/
strikers been concerned with securing extra pay for the OA mie Aer
but had rejected outright this worsening of their conditions, : ae 3
accepted, would soon have been introduced at Courtaulds other Lac .
Other delegates made the point that, although attempts pcoeee ore
to present this industrial dispute as 4 racial issue, it was 0 an -
the coloured workers had taken a stand, as responsible union ee
safeguard the working conditions of employees throughout the industry.
Mr Choudhury need have no fear. We are shocked at the cers go sg
disrupt working class solidarity by dragging racial overtones ev to
is clearly an industrial dispute. We are impressed by the reasona e
of his case - far more reasonable, I think, than many of us might have ‘
been under similar provocation, We return to our unions and constituencies
determined to support his cause, which we recognise as being equally our
own cause,