Is Opportunists Exposed

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A letter in the May 31st edition Also on the IS N.C. Of course if Socialist_Worker, paper of the would be the Editorial Board of nternational Socialists, shows the Socialist Worker who decided to 'pportunist relationship this organ- print the above letter and reported sation has with workers and its the activity of the Speke Trade omplete lack of principle. The full Union Committee, thus giving the appearance of fighting voluntary "AUEW members from IS bran- redundancy, while at the same time ches in Yorkshire recently atten- sanctioning it for a leading member.

ded a school in Leeds. At one of Will Jock Wight and those responthe sessions we discussed the sible now be expelled from IS, or fight against redundancies. The are the requirements for trade union main problem at the moment is membership more demanding and the fight against voluntary lemph more principled than membership of IS itself?

Those present at tae school voted to take up the idea of the Speke Trade Union Committee, RECORD reported in Socialist Worker, that no worker accepting voluntary redundancy money should ever be employed in our factories. The record of Jock Wight in the To help enforce this, we will plant has been throughout one of a push for resolutions through non-political militant, who when branches and district committees faced with a fight could never to have anyone accepting volun- understand the right wing or the tary redundancy expelled from the union on the grounds that In October 1973 Wight was they have acted against the inter- victimised by the management. He was a steward in the press shop, We hope trade unionists in and when he was sacked the press other areas of the country will shop night shift, and all bar 12 of those on the day shift came out on If the last paragraph of. this strike. The management told the etter was acted upon, then top of union that they wanted • Wight's he list for expulsion would be Jock stewards card taken from him. Vight, National Committee member The right wing leadership of the if IS, who chaired the last 'Rank plant refused this but asked him to nd File Conference'! He was one of give them his card whilst they he first to take voluntary redund-. carried out an enquiry into the ncy from the BLMC Body Plant management's complaints. Wight gave them his card "to get the men The local IS branch say that back to work' saying that he 'trustVight was given clearance to do this ed' the right wing leadership. ›y the IS National Committee. On Even though the enquiry cleared his committee sits also Tommy him, Wight still left all action in the tealey, who is chairman of the hands of the leadership, repeating ipeke Trade Union Committee! that he 'trusted' them. A massive Iow did Healey reconcile Wight's witch-hunt had been developed ›osition with the principled oppos- against him by the management, tion to voluntary redundancy in and when they refused to accept the enquiry's findings and decided to suspend him for two weeks and transfer him on to day-shift (thus losing his stewards card), though the night-shift in the press shop came out immediately, the Stalinist nights convenor called an immediate mass meeting which rejected support. This was used by the day-shif1 stewards, who refused to fight for supporting action, and Wight himself then told the press shop night shift to go back to work to "save losing any more money"

The experience gained in this victimisation was used by BLMC management in the Cowley Assembly Plant in the victimisation, 6 months later, of Alan Thornett, then T&GWU deputy senior steward He too had pressure put upon him to relinquish his steward's card, but unlike Wight refused to do so, and still remains a steward on the Transport section.

The IS in Oxford said that Wight had made "a mistake" when he helped to get the day-shift in the press shop back to work, but less than a year later he was chairing the 'Rank and File' conference!

Voluntary redundancy is now a major weapon in the hands of the employers, used to weaken trade union organisation and to avoid conflict and occupations against compulsory redundancy. It has been a decisive factor in the present level of unemployment.

PRINCIPLE

Opposition to voluntary redundancy is a principle, though hard to fight for. Those who accept it are helping to create unemployment instrumental in forcing speed up on those they leave behind, and then go on to take other people's jobs.

It leading militants take voluntary redundancy then this weakens the fight against unemployment and gives credibility to the right wing who are accepting it all over the country in order to 'avoid confrontation'. MG A leading member of the IMG at Cowley has also applied for voluntary redundancy. What action do the IS and IMG intend to take against these people? From the history of these groups the answer is clear: they will continue with their same old opportunist relationships. • Since this article was written the Socialist Worker has published a report of the IS annual conference. The resolution dealing with redundancies and lay-offs reads: *7. Opposition to voluntary redundancies - or those accepting voluntary redundancies to take the end of the job queue, for union registration jobs, maintenance of 100 per cent closed shops, control of hiring."

One delegate from Liverpool argued that in one factory they had "agreed that anyone who took voluntary redundancy would lose their union cards" and another argued "that workers who took voluntary redundancy should be denied access to work in their factories, and should be branched by their union (have their cards taken away)". He saw the difficulties in enforcing the policy but 'you have to do something and there's nothing left you can do?

We wait to see if anything is done about Jock White inside IS and those who cleared his voluntary redundancy.