28.11.1996

Fight for better terms

From the Workers’ Weekly, paper of the Communist Party of Great Britain, November 26 1926

The miners’ delegate conference was guilty of turning down the mandate of the rank and file in agreeing to open district negotiations on the basis of certain national principles. Whether it likes it or not, it has helped to make the miners’ struggle more difficult.

The fight is, however, far from being over yet. The miners can still fight to obtain better terms than those offered by the government a fortnight ago ...

There are certain vital principles which must not be sacrificed in any district agreement ...

Chief among these ... is that of the seven-hour day. If this goes by the board it will weaken the fighting strength of the miners considerably by adding to the number of unemployed in the industry ...

Every effort must be made to get definite agreements in respect to victimisation. The owners will attempt to drive the active men in the various localities out of the industry. If the Miners’ Federation is to survive, this must be resisted.

The fight on wages must not be given up and a higher percentage than that asked by the delegate conference must be secured whenever possible.

A strong resistance devoted to securing those principles will enable the miners to prevent the owners from breaking the federation completely, and it will afford them a basis for reorganising the federation into a National Miners’ Union, staffed by a new leadership which has, under the influence of the Communist Party, come to the front in all the districts during the lockout.