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National strike boast

15th October 1983
Page 6
Page 6, 15th October 1983 — National strike boast
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

A STRONG alliance between the major transport unions, forged at the recent Labour Party Conference in Brighton, could bring all transport in the UK to a halt, claimed one of the union leaders.

The alliance, made up of the Transport and General Workers Union, the train drivers' union Aslef, the National Union of Railwaymen and the National Union of Seamen, has been formed to resist Government plans for privatisation and cut-backs in the transport industry.

Leaders of the four main transport unions claimed that the new alliance would be the most powerful group in the country. It could effectively bring the whole transport network in the UK to a standstill, the union claims.

Larry Smith, executive officer of the TGWU and chairman of the Trades Union Congress, said: "An alliance of this sort could not be defeated. We would have the power to stop all transport. We are setting up the alliance for the defence of transport in all its forms.

"Transport in all its forms is coming under threat. We are determined to protect it by all the means at our disposal," he said.

The alliance hopes that more unions will be joining it in the near future, in particular Balpa, the airline pilots' union.

The Freight Transport Association said that although it was unlikely that the alliance could stop transport all across the UK, if it went about organising its members thoroughly enough it could cause considerable difficulties.

The FTA spokesman added that the 1979 hauliers strike organised by the TGWU gave an insight into the potential damage a strike could cause to the industry. He pointed out that in the own-account sector a strike call would be difficult to enforce owing to the number of unions in that sector. He predicted that own-account activity would still continue during a transport strike.


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