WHAT WITH Lord Cameron's report on the Briggs dispute, Mr.
Jack Jones's impassioned speech in the Commons, and Mr. Christopher Chataway's reporting in Panorama, there is not much excuse for ignorance of Communist technique in industry today. But the difficulty remains: what to do about it? Trade union solidarity, for all its occa- sional signs of crumbling, remains strong enough to ensure that even the bell-man MacLoughlin is considered as victim rather than victimiser; nor IS it probable that the colleagues of Mr. McGrea, who told Mr. Chataway that he would like to see employers go bankrupt, will think any the worse of him for his forthrightness. Indeed, they will probably let him be elected (on a 7 percent. poll) to his union executive. Perhaps the most promis- ing aspect of the Briggs inquiry was the discovery that a substantial slice of the shop stewards' lottery takings disappeared into a mysterious Central Fund whose purposes, according to the court, were 'left in considerable obscurity.' A man who would be quite unconcerned at the election of Communist executives may become very con- cerned indeed if he finds them syphoning off the lottery money for pu'rposes unknown (perhaps to sustain the Daily Worker?). The report will also do good if it reminds employers how necessary it is not simply to have a good labour relations system but also to make sure it is functioning.
Previous page
