ASTMS must back Benn

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The 13th Annual Conference of ASTMS will start with its debate on economic policy.

The first motion is to endorse the TUc and Labour Party's "Alternative Economic Strategy' with left amendments to delete import controls and right amendments to delete A large section of the agenda for the first day will be on unemployment and the rights of unemployed members which (if passed) will extend ASTMS's correct position on retaining unemployed members.

There are important rule changes which wil! increase the democratic control of the TUC and Labour Party conference delegations.

And between 4.00 pm and 5.30 pm on Saturday, delegates are expected to discuss, digest and vote on motions on the disabled, state benefits, the NHS and 32 paragraphs of the NEC Annual Report.

The other important event on Saturday is a CND meeting in the lunch break which will be addressed by Tony Benn.

This meeting is important not only • because the question of nuclear weapons is essential to all trade unionists, but also because at some point in the conference the NEC will move their emergency motion calling for a vote for Denis Healey as deputy leader of the Labour Party at the Labour Party conference.

Battle

This is probably going to be the biggest battle of the conference because at least three divisional councils have already submitted emergency resolutions calling for a vote for Benn, who more accurately represents ASTMS policy First thing on Sunday morning the NEC are hoping to pass a motion which will increase subscriptions by 25% before delegates recover from the hangovers induced by the mayor's reception the previous evening:

I'm sure someone will point out that ASTMS has not negotiated a 25% pay increase for its membership.

On Sunday afternoon there's an amendment on positive discrimination for women. This will be one of the few times women's rights have been discussed before a lot of the delegates leave on the Monday morning.

Ireland will not be a contentious issue at the conference, not because there will be agreement, but because it is not on the agenda!

It is the duty of all socialists to attempt to get Ireland raised and discussed.

This conference season is too close to the death of Bobby Sands MP and the impending deaths of the other H Block hunger strikers for us to let the bureaucracy get away with ignoring the issue any longer.

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SOCIALIST PRESS * We publish below the text of a leaflet distributed by the English Collective of Prostitutes outside the trial of Peter Sutcliffe at the Old Bailey.

'We are picketing today to protest against the handling of the ripper caseby the court, the police and the media.

The Attorney General Sir Michael Havers (prosecuting) said of the ripper's victims that "some were prostitutes, but perhaps the saddest part of this case is that some were not. The last six attacks were on. totally respectable women."

This distinction between prostitutes and "respectable" and "innocent" victims has been made all along by the police and the media-the murder of prostitute women seems irrelevant and unimportant.

they were completely thrown off the track by the tape and the letter.

-they questioned Sutcliffe nine times and each time let him go.

-they ignored information from Sutcliffe's friend.

-when the last victim's handbag was found the search wasn't pursued because "it was a cold night, very windy and difficult to see anything". The weather has never stopped them arresting and harassing prostitutes, how come it stopped them that night?

At the moment you'd think the villain of the piece was a "cold" and "nagging" wife.

Yet 13 women need not have died if the police had done their job.

-What other blunders did they make that the public doesn't even know about?

Why is there an internal investigation into Ronald Gregory, Chief Constable of West Yorkshire?