International solidarity with British miners
The youth sections of the trade unions are also organising worldwide workers' struggle for job security and for a rational
In West Germany ....British miners toured for ten days at the end of May raising support for their struggle, particularly among the engineering workers of IG Metall and the print workers of the IG Druck und Papier who were on strike themselves in support of the thirty-five hour week. Trade union activists and support groups of the 35-hour struggle organised meetings for the miners in Berlin, Hamburg, Duisburg and Karlsruhe.
The GIM (International Marxist Group - Gruppe Internationale Marxisten), German section of the Fourth International, organised an international solidarity meeting with speakers reporting on the Italian factory concils and the Belgian general
The meeting took place in Stuttgart, in Baden-Wurttemberg one of the key areas for the 35-hour week struggle. The British miners went to the nearby town of Lordi where the workers had occupied their plant in support of the strike. dressed the workers there, stressing the common struggle gainst Kohl in Germany and Thatcher in Britain.
Nearly 6,000 German marks (about £1,600) was raised during the tour. A future tour is being planned in which a miner's wife and a woman from Greenham Common will take up the role of women in the strike and the link between the fight for jobs and against nuclear weapons.
....activists and rank and file trade unionists are trying to set up a broad based trade-union committee to beat the crisis and fight the government's austerity measures. They decided to invite some dockworkers from Demark and some miners from Britain to adress them. Arthur Scargill, leader of the National Union of Mineworkers, was the natural
However, when the spokesperson of the trade-union committee announced the intention to invite Scargill, employers in the Volvo company, a section of whose workforce support the new
'saw red'. They claimed that if the Volvo trade unionists were to invite cargill, this would get them, the management, into deep trouble in Britain and would severely upset the British market for Volvo lorries!
The main leader of the union at Volvo was immediately contacted but he issued a strong statement in support of the miners.
If Scargill came to Sweden, it would be very important for the Swedish campaign against their own bosses and in solidarity with the miners. For the British miners it would bring support from the broad-based trade-union committee and thus force the hand of the Swedish trade-union and social democratic leaders.
....miners' wives, Katherine Slater and Lynn Bennett completed a tour at the end of August. was organised by the Women's Union, FNV-Vrouwenbond, who felt that although the main trade-union federation (FNV) had agreed to open a special bank account for the miners, more active and practical support was needed.
The women started off in South Limburg which used to be a mining area and where some ex-miners still live, many of them unemployed. fight pit closures in the area still exist today and gave the women a warm welcome. About 200 people attended a meeting adressed by the women. They raised 12,000 guilders (about £3,000) of which 5,000 guilders came from the ex-miners groups. Even bingo-halls in the area pledged an evening's profits to the British miners!
The women also visited Amsterdam where they raised 8,000 guilders at a 300-strong meeting supported by, in addition to the Women's Union, many other unions and political parties including the Communist Party (CPN) and the SAP (Socialisholidays for 30 miners' children. The pop group, Rick Noloc, has even launched a record, the proceeds of which will go to
The Women's Union is continuing to organise solidarity up and down the country and has drawn up a hit list of factories and workplaces where collections can be organised. In one steel plant the women's group is discussing what to do next and in Rotterdam a solidarity committee has already been set up.
In France ....a delegation from the Bold branch of the NUM met miners from the CGT (General Workers Union) in Carmaux and Gardanne. In a visit to the steel-producing areas one of the delegation spoke on the platform with Henri Krasucki, the leader of the CGT. A miner's wife in the delegation also adressed women at a meeting at the Paris women's centre. raised 20,000 French francs (about £1,800). It was sponsored by, among others, the Ligue Communist Revolutionaire (LCR), French section of the Fourth International.
In Belgium ....dockers in Ghent have pledged that upon word from the NUM they will stop all movement of coal.
The Belgian section of the Fourth International, the POS/ SAP (Socialist Workers Party) has been very active and at a meeting in June of left trade unionists which they helped organise about 18,000 Belgian francs (£250) was raised for visiting miners.
In Switzerland ....Thatcher could not get away from the miners' strike even while on holiday. Members of the Swiss socialist youth organisation, the RSJ, dumped 300 kilos of coal on the drive to her holiday home. The youth, supporters of the Fourth International, called for support for the miners and Britain out of the North of Ireland.
In Australia ....the miners, dockers and seafarers unions have already started an embargo following a visit of miners' leader Malcolm Pitt of Kent NUM. The support of the dockers and seafarers internationally will be vital in the coming months to stop the movement of coal.
In New Zealand ...support is beginning with the seafarers and the engineering unions each sending 5,000 Australian dollars (£1,920) to the miners. Also a telegram from the ship Toki Arrow pledging 600 Australian dollars was sent to the miners. Dave Morgan, of the New Zealand seafarers union, explained in the union journal that, 'a supreme effort is required. This is probably the most important fight of the decade and every assistance is needed. Support the British miners in every way you can.' In the Republic of South Africa... the independent, non-racist Federation of South African Trade Unions (FOSATU) has issued the following statement in support of the British miners:
"To: Arthur cargill, President
National Union of Mineworkers
From: Joe Foster, General Secretary,
Federation of SA Trade Unions
The Federation of SA Trade Unions fully supports the NUM in its fight against pit closures. With the formation of a wider federation of South Africa's independent trade unions next year, we hope in future to be able to offer you more concrete support.
The fight for the right to work is particularly understood by tiese Arbeiders Partij - Socialist Workers Party), Dutch section South African workers and supported by our Federation. We of the Fourth International.
support and the squatters movement has already organised
8 believe that your victory will be a major step forward in the society. Amandla! [Forward! ]'
International Viewpoint 17 September 1984
What the rise of trying to touch the bright clothing of the Jewish women, which they obviously admired.
The formal Jewish support for the demonstration went beyond the non-Zionist left. There were speakers from the