Political Programme

(CONTINUED FROM NEXT PAGE) 17, The establishment of a national (32 county-wide) Council of Delegates from shop stewards' groups, tenants' associations.and co-operative and small farmers' associations. The Council would foster solidarity among the exploited sections of the community and organise widespread support during strikes and agitations. The Council should seek to extend its control over all sections of the economy. 18. The convening of an Assembly of elected representatives from both the Northern and Southern areas as soon as a majority agrees -. to this, and the new Assembly to replace the present partitioned ones at Stormont and Lenister House. The function of this new Assembly is to co-ordinate, not control, the work of the democratic workers' councils. 19. The repudiation of the Government of Ireland Acts and the breaking of the links between N.Ireland and Britain. 20. The immediate withdrawal of all British troops from N.Ireland. . 21. The disbandment of the R.U.C., U.D.R. and Garda Siochana. The organisation of a Civic Defence Force under the control of locally elected representatives and deleoN nee nar nameaserers anaene mre gates from workers' organisations.

All officers of the R.U.C. and Garda Siochana, .all members of R.U.C. and Garda Special Branches, and all mémbers of the R.U.C. Special Patrol Group (riot squad) to be barred from membership of the Civic Defence Force. 22. No membership of the E.E.C., and no participation in any existing military alliance.

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The convenor, the chairman of the union branch, and the district official of the union meet the personnel officer and the production manager. If no satisfaction is obtained the cor venor, the district organiser, and the N.I. secretary of the union meet the chief personnel officer of Goodyear U.K., the Company personnel © officer and possibly the appropriate work study engineer. :

If there is still no agreement after this bureaucratic nightmare, the issue goes to a mutually agreed arbitrator whose decision is final. : This process is supposed to take 6 weeks, and is rumoured to last 6 months. It may go some way to explain the frustration in the factory, it may explain why some shop stewards complain that the men are not prepared to fight over their complaints. It is small wonder if they have to face all this, This year, however, it does at least appear that the issue of basic wages will be fought. The unions also intend to criticise the arbitrary nature of job-coding, and to demand a new method of productivity assessment which allows for machinery breakdown and bottlenecks in the supply of materials.

So three years experience by the Goodyear workers may bear fruit. The situation is a challenge to the unions concerned, which they may meet. They must back the shop stewards in the factory. The must be prepared, if necessary, to support official strike action over the basic wage issue. If they fail to do this, thus compounding their failure in early negotiations, then there will be increasing pressure for unofficial action and the strangle hold of 'procedure' will be challenged, not before time. Either way this is a crisis year for labour relations in Goodyear. oe ee