150 discuss way forward against Thatcher Conference reflects anti Tory militancy XBZL

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"Generals' in the union bureaucracy are fighting on the other side!

These words from Alan Thornett-a deputy convenor at BL's Cowley Assembly plantsummed up the increased confidence expressed by nearly every speaker in the November 15 conference of the Campaign for Democracy in the Labour Movement.

Set-backs and betrayals have indeed been suffered, as several speakers explained; and trade union and Labour Icaders continue to fight tooth and nail to hold back the struggles of the working class.

but tnis conterence, mor chan any previous conterence held by the CDLM, succeeded in reflecting a new mood of militancy emerging on the shop floor and underlining the fact that the crucial factor in the next period is the fight put up for a correct programme and independent leadership in the working class.

Speakers at the 150-strong conference at Digbeth Hall, Birmingham, included active participatns from many of the major struggles against the Tory offensive in the last period.

Tony Richardson from BL's Cowley Body Plant introduced the conference main resolution, outlining the fight to reverse the sell-out of the BL pay dispute.

Firefighters

FBU speakers pressed for a resolution pledging delegates to fight to mobilise other sections alongside the firefighters in their struggle to defeat the 6% pay limit.

A second resolution was also carried, which called for the series of one-day FBU strikes to be backed up by a call for all-out action-"such action to be taken to coincide with strikes by other sections of workers or at the completion of four one-day strikes-whichever is the sooner."

Other speakers detailed their bitter experiences of betrayal at the hands of union officials.

Jim Robertson from the Birmetals strike pointed out that the major unions involved -GWU, GMWU, AUEW and EETPU-had the power to shut down the whole Birmid group in their support; yet officials had done nothing but urge their members to lift their 24-hour picket!

A young worker from the Ayrshire Marine oil-rig yard at Hunterston gave an account of the development of their 15week health and safety dispute, and the lengths to which Boilermakers' leaders had gone to sellout the strike.

Gardners Gardners convenor Tom McAffee admitted that «We thought we had insurmountable problems until we heard some of the stories today"

The easy part of the Gardners occupation had been to force the AUEW to make the dispute official. That had happened within a week.

But the hard part is getting the dispute benefit: in six conference included: Enfield Trades Council; Leicester Trades Council; Cowley 5/293 TGWU; Export Packing 5/104 TGWU Banbury; ACTSS 5/293 Blackwells, Oxford; Leicester AUEW 16; Leicester AUEW 17; COHSE branches in Oxford and Great Barr; Oxford NUJ; Camden General branch of NUPE; Hunterston Joint Shop Stewards Committee; Mid-Leicestershire NUT; Leicester Cuts Committee; Oxford CPSA DHSS Branch; ASLEF Kings Cross Branch: Bucks Brigade FBU; Accrington CLP; Aylesbury LPYS; Rank and File Mobilising Committee; strike committees at Adwest, Birmetals and Gardners; and the Llanwern Action Committee. weeks the occupiers have received not a penny from the AUEW, while the DHSS has been docking £9 per week from allowances due to dependants.

speaker from the Llanwern steelworkers Action Group outlined the problems in fighting for democracy within the Iron and Steel Trades Confederation.

They were demanding that the IST's annual conference should be decision-making: that its delegates should be democratically eiected; and that union officials be elected and accountable to the members.

The link between the fight for democratic procedures within the unions and the struggle for demands necessary to defend the working class was also a major theme of the contribution by Alan Thornett.

He described the campaign waged by Cowley Assembly Plant shop stewards against the unrepresentative BL Joint Negotiating Committee and the Foot Speaking on the fight for democracy in the Labour Party, Ted Heslin, expelled for selling Socialist Press, pointed out that this had been a recurrent question at CDLM conferences.

The very first CDLM conference had included a platform speech from Keith Vanessexpelled from Islington Labour Party for criticising the local MP!

The CDLM had also fought in defence of Tony Kelly, the socialist, witch-hunted for his efforts to drive out Reg Prentice at Newham North East.

But as John Bloxham, secretary of the Rank and File Mobilising Committee emphasised, the march during even more unrepresentative BL convenors' conference.

Instead, the Cowley stewards are demanding a democratic delegate conference which would then elect a Joint Negotiating Committee.

Until this is done, national officials and "convenors" representing only handfuls of members could continue to ride roughshod over the wishes of a 2-1 majority of BL manual workers.

Scottish teacher lan McCalman, chairing the afternoon session of the conference, drew attention to the fighting programme adopted at a Central Scotland conference on unemployment in Falkirk.

Joint Committee This programme-though not entirely adequate-was already beginning to be put into practice.

And in Glasgow SOGAT had begun an important campaign the conditions for a fight for programme within the Party had changed dramatically as a result of the Blackpool conference.

The fight was on two levelsthe fight for control over the Party leadership by the rank and file, and the fight for socialist policies.

Neither fight should be used an argument for postponing ducking the other.

Marxists And Marxists in the Labour Party haven't always played the role they should have done in recent years, stressed Bloxham.

The Rank and File Mobilising Committee was a united front for struggle against the right wing.

But it was not a complete united front-there is an ongoing battle to secure the full for the establishment of a citywide Joint Shop Stewards Committee to draw delegates from all unions in the public and private sector-a development unlike any since World War I.

Oxford COHSE delegate Jo Coxhead drew out the contrast between the stubborn fight against closure waged by union members at a small, isolated geriatric hospital, with the refusal of the convenor at a much larger and better organised hospital to wage any fight whatsoever.

The large hospital had been closed: the smaller one has been kept open, and workers have declared themselves willing to work-in to prevent closure.

Steps were being taken to support the work-in with strike action.

But the NUPE and COHSE leaders had done nothing to prevent the closure of St. Benedict's Hospital in London.

"We don't know what will happen-but we'll keep on fightadmission of the CDLM to the Committee; and it was limited in its scope by fundamental differences on policy.

What is before us is the fight to ensure that the rank and file are not cheated out of the gains of the October conference, stressed Bloxham.

He strongly attacked the right wing plan for election of the Labour leader by postal ballot-which would disenfranchise trade union affiliated members, and hand over control to the Tory mass media.

, *Politically there is no argument for the PLP to have any special role in the election of the leader: but at present we must fight simply to minimise that role. Taking this fight into the unions will overlap with the fight for trade union democracy.

An amended resolution MONTHE PICKET ing, or there won't be any health service left."

Youth

TGWU member Mick Liggins spoke of the fight to organise youth on a "Youth Opporwage is only £23.50' where the A factory committee had been set up, a fight waged against racialism, and a list of demands formulated.

Drawing the session to a close, Tony Richardson emphasised that:

•We are not waiting for the mass movement-the mass movement is already on. Workers want to know which way to proceed. We must offer them a perspective."

In the fight against the capitalist class workers would recognise the need for a new democracy in the Labour Party was carried, including a pledge that:

"The CDLM commits itself to campaign in union branches to vote for any formula for the election of party leader which satisfies the following conditions:

1. Annual elections, mandatory when the party is in opposition and optional (to be decided by simple majority) when in office.

2. Voting at conference with direct voting for every organisation and MP.

3. At least two-thirds of the total votes for trade unions and CLPs with the PLP not to exceed that of CLPs.

4. Recorded voting with details available to every affiliated organisation.

5. Full provision for vacancies."