Witch-hunts staged as cover for ASTMS betrayals

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Conference in Brighton was forced by events to reveal the anti-working class nature of its so-called 'alternative economic strategy'.

Delegates defeated proposals for a subs increase and voted next business on the Executive's anti-democratic proposals for rule changes on union elections.

Four sections of the NEC report were referred back (rejected); for the second year running on inadequate organisation of the engineering section conference, and on the NEC's breach of instructions to ensure a majority of lay members on the TUC delegation.

No debate But despite delegates' awareness of the inadequacies of union policies and democracy, the conference was unable to debate the policies required for an independent defence of the working class.

General Secretary Clive Jenkins set the tone with a passing reference to the prospect of five million unemployed in Britain and his defence of import "I put defending my members first and if that's chauvinism, … then I'm a chauvinist"

Dead Answering a demoralised delegate from Leyland's Liverpool branch, the platform speaker called on conference to accept that "Speke is dead now" , ignoring the calls from branches to take up the policies of occupation and opening the books, work sharing on full pay and a programme of useful public works as the means to fight closures.

Pious resolutions on wages, unemployment and economic policies were passed almost on the nod while the standing orders committee blocked useful debate by erasing from the programme resolutions calling for catching-up claims and a sliding scale of wages.

From the chair left" Labour MP Doug Hoyle ruled out of order the request to inject some reality into the debate by having delegates Jenkins from GEC Coventry. address conference on their 11-week pay strike.

The unprincipled opportunism of ASTMS's leaderPower ship was clearly demonstrated in the treatment of two different groups of delegates.

The General Secretary's "attack" on Tories in the PHOTO: Andrew Wiard, Report union (welcomed into membership along with members of the armed forces) resulted in a lone Tory champion being called on to repudiate Thatcher's statements on racism.

Support every word

This, the delegate, (a consultant to Tory Central Office), refused to do, while at the same time exposing the feeble nature of the resolution on racism by saying she 'supported every word of it' On the other hand Colin Kenny, a delegate from the London Health Service and convenor of the Committee of London Area Stewards in the Health Service responsible for the NHS, CP member Reg Bird.

Bird read out a personal letter from the ex. Secretary Last but of the London Health Advisory Committee which represented views shared by none of that committee's members apart from himself.

For the third vear there _ us 4A4VA" was no resolution on the health service.

The effective defence measures proposed by members-calling for national strike action and an inflationlinked increase in public expenditure-had been cut from the agenda.

Women's rights were given increased priority this year, appearing as last but one rather than last item.

But these questions, together with moves to reject attempts to muzzle discussion on the health service advisory (CLASH), was again witch-hunted by the General Secretary (who referred to "this Trotskyist nonsense") and by the national officer committees fell through lack of time.

This year's conference has shown up more clearly than ever the crisis of leadership within ASTMS.

There is no solution in turning away from confronting the bureaucracy, the road 'Red Collar' (the rank and file" SWP front in ASTMS offers).

Their complete refusal to fight for a principled programme highlights their political attitude, which blames the working class for the lack of fight against pay ASTMS members are ready to hear real alternative policies. The task is to build a leadership that can fight for such policies and to gain a hearing at the next conference.

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fishals Diary YOUR MAN AT THE TOP'S GHT TO STAY ON YOUR B PHOTO: Andrew Wiard, Report