Building a national union for the unemployed

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up a national movement to link up all the isolated groups.

We had delegates from Edinburgh, Liverpool, Telford, Newcastle, East_and West Midlands, South East, London-all of whom put delegates onto a committee which is to work for the formation of a national movement.

It was felt by everyone that we all wanted to build a national organisation and this was reflected in the coopêration of the delegates. especially the willingness of movers of motions to composite their views into the main motion where there was common agreement. This helped us to fully cover the agenda.

After areas had been working by themselves for such a long time it gave them a lot of encouragement to see they were not alone and there was such a positive line of unity throughout the conference.

1 The Newcastle delegates however thought the conference was tod soon. And the Claimants" Unions on the other hand felt our aims and theirs were so similar we should look to joining together.

The main resolution called for a conference in the autumn. What is that about?

The conference is to actually set up a national organisation. In the meantime the steering committee will guide all the groups into working towards the conference.

- here we can pool all out resources.

We are also immediately asking for trade union support. Locally all the Unemployed Workers Unions should be building for the autumn conference and then we shall be discussing what type of action we can take.

What has the response been to the UWU in Leicester?

How have the Trades Council and the trade unions been?

What we have found is that the way to recruit members is through practical work.

The Beal Street Nursery occupation gained us support locally and new members: and the support we gave against the closure of Markfield Hospital has lead to NUPE giving us help.

One of our members is in NUPE and is the Trades Council delegate.

Our campaign for free access to travel on the buses for unemployed workers also gained a lot of support. We had over 50 people on the lobby of the council offices.

Already NUT and AUEW have given us financial support, and we are in the process of writing to other unions.

What we desperately need in Leicester is an office because we have so much paper work spread around members' houses, which it is becoming difficult to cope with.

Also after the conference we have been approached by areas around Leicester who want to set up UWUs.

As for the Trades Council we received total hostility from the start. They refuse to recognise us-though now they want to start up an unemployed section, with an EC member of the Trades Council to be in charge.

This new section is to have the People's Marchers from Leicester as its founding members. But the fact is. that out of the ten People's Marchers from Leicester, six are in the UWU.

An AUEW motion went to Trades Council when we were setting up, asking for recognition and a £50 donation. It was lost by two votes one of them a SWP momber!).

So there seems to us a big contradiction in Trades Council unemployed section. They refuse to recognise the UWU-but then want to set up this unemployed workers section which they know will be all our members anyway.

But they could not overlook the way the UWU built for the People's March-here they were forced to recognise us.

The increase in militant action against job loss is clearly an important development with occupations at Lee Jeans, Gardners and Plansee. How do you see the NUWU relating to these developments?

At the conference we adopted Leicester's proposed statement of aims which includes in it the call: "To campaign alongside workers TRADES cond fighting redundancies, contacting various community organisations in the area to highlight the effects of mass redundancy on the area as a whole and thus mobilise support for the campaign in the whole community and not in the work place."

We see the Nowi is having and practising the policy of supporting occupalions and strike action to stop closures and opposing the selling of jobs by voluntary redundancies. In Leicesroll ter we supported the picket in Nuneaton fighting the closure of the Camden Journal newspaper.

One of the by-products of unemployment has been an increase in racism. I believe the UWU has a very definite position on this.

Our new constitution clearly states that "we must try to prevent racism by offering the disillusioned unemployed a constructive alternative to the evils of the forefront of our minds.

What do you see as being the central task of the labour movement for the immediate period?

To start defending the interests of the working class and seriously fighting against unemployment.

The labour movement should be leading the offensive to defend existing jobs and create new jobs.

The central task for the labour movement has to be around the bringing down of the Tory government by mobilisation of the membèrship into all-out action.