Delegates show wav to union , Stoke leaders initiated a 'leaders'

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..IT WORKED A TREAT AT LIST SATURDAYS SERTUC ÖNFERENCE — PARRY HAD 'EM SNORING IN THE AISLES! forced to deepen that blacking.

A question that can be legitimately asked is why the national officials were allowed onto the platform at Ryton and Stoke. They should have been told bluntly that they had done nothing to earn the right to address the mass meetings.

Talbot management will obviously now go onto the offensive to smash trade union organisation within the plants.

The strength displayed by the rank and file in the pay strikes shows that this offensive can be halted if the militants in the plant work to counteract the initial demoralisation and cynicism which are always likely to accompany defeats of this sort.

Entering the main hall of Congress House the 406 delegates attending the South East Region TUC conference on the cuts were inundated with an impressive array of brochures, leaflets and posters listing the cuts and their effects.

This reflected completely the kind of "fight"" the leadership of the SERTUC and the TUC are prepared to launch against the Tory cuts.

"We must educate the public on the effects of the cuts."

"We must wage a propaganda war"

"We must convince the membership of the reality of the cuts."

One after another the platform speakers, Harry Barton, NUPE, Gerry Gilmore, SCPS, Les Wood UCATT, gave us a long list of the cuts hitting their members and the effects these would have on the "public"

Then they unveiled SERTUC'S own secret weapon against the Tories-a November Week of Action'.

"United"

Not one platform speaker stated what form this 'action' against the cuts will take-they only insisted that whatever happens for doesn't happen) it must be "united""

Delegates were offered a tantalising glimpse of a possible day of action to be organised by the TUC on a working day sometime next year by Terry Parry of the FBU.

But he quickly sped on to describe the thousands that will be made redundant not by the cuts, the Edwardes plan, the closure of Corby steel, Singers , the docks, etc-but by the silicon chip.

Parry did, however, give one sound piece of advice:

"Whatever you feel about the cuts don't leave the fight to tea oneral council of the Ene Inactivity Jack Dromey, having rocketed to dizzy heights on SERTUC fand now comfortably installed in Transport House as a TGWU full-time official) summed up by giving his usual call for unity.

It was clear the unity he meant-unity behind a policy of toothless inactivity, capitulation and sell out.

He stressed his belief that the Tories "are here for some time to come" and that "you Dromey are mad if you think that they will go out in a wave of working clas militancy in March or April next year"

Astonished delegates were told that "this government is here to stay because the working class has moved to the right."

His five point tactical programme on fighting the cuts reflected TUC policy down the line.

But the conference hadn't gone the way Dromey expected, despite all his careful selection of rostrum speakers.

His speech received cold reception from the floor.

FBU leader Parry who boasted of holding wages down for the Labour government sounded more left with his call for a full scale nationalisation But worse than this for Dromey there were disturbing calls from the floor for action to bring down the Tories which were warmly welcomed by the delegates.

The COHSE delegate from Merton, Sutton and Wandsworth said in his area alone Parry workers from BOC and public sector employees in defence of the public sector.

Many more rostrum speakers got applause for asking what the TUC and SERTUC are going to do about the cuts.

Ken Eaton, UCATT, stated He welcomed the conference brochure sent to all delegates listing the cuts for their information:

"But there seems to be crucial pages missing-on what we are going to do about it."

Then, in a miscalculation, Dromey allowed a speaker to address the floor on policies, pointing the way forward.

Need for action

Anne-Marie Sweeney, Oxford County NUPE, spoke on the decision of the Long. worth Hospital COHSE members to occupy their hospital if threatened with immediate closure.

She pointed to the other policies of the campaign, and stressed the need for action to defend occupations which can be broken if denied the necessary supporting strike action from other public sector workers.

She stressed the need to open the books to show how the private firms-drug companies, building contractors, etcsponged off the NHS, making profits while services are slashed as they say there is no money.

She also pointed to the necessity of replacing the non-elected RHAs and AHAs who can only be sacked for not balancing their books with elected bodies of trade unionists, workers and users of the NHS, answerable to the labour movement.

"The Tories know what class they represent, and are going hell for leather to represent it, using every weapon to fight for their interests.

"But what are our leaders that we have heard today doing? What are the weapons they are sino are dow •osters an rochures the weapons of th working class?

No! We need occupations, strikes and workers control!"

Finally Dromey, desperate to show he was doing something in fighting the cuts, promised he would go down to the depots and speak to the "T&G lads and lassies and see if they can come up with a tanker or two of oil to supply the occupied Fulham swimming baths.

But unfortunately for him, before he finished his winding up the caretaker had switched the lights out on the platform.