Suspicious Silence

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T&GWU BUREAUCRACY SILENT IN FACE OF BALLOT COMPAINTS T&GWU BUREAUCRACY SILENT IN FACE OF BALLOT COMPAINTS The Region 5 Committee if the T&GWU still has not iven replied to detailed complaints on the recent dectoral practices of the 1/60 (BLMC Cowley Body "tant) leadership.

Both individual and branch pomplaints have been lodged, ine coming from the 3,500-strong 5/293 Branch, listing violations i democratic procedure in the ray the 5/60 Branch ran the Legional ballot for General ixecutive, National Committee nd Regional Committee.

In the election, the state of *treme right wingers supported the Oxford District штеаистасу all obtained espicious unaccountably and high votes, on the strength of which Cowley Body Plant Convenor, Bill Roche was elected to the General Executive, and unkown right winger Jack Adams from MG Abingdon elected to the Regional Committee.

The complete silence from the T&GWU bureaucracy presumably means they cannot answer the serious complaints posed, which included the fact that. Roche, a major candidate in the election, nad for two days the uncounted ballot papers, together with the unused ballot papers, locked in his private office, to which he had the key!

The WSL welcomes the which has come forward in both Red Weekly and now in Socialist Worker for the demand for a full union enquiry into these gross, abuses of trade union democracy by the appointed officials of the T&GWU and their hangers-on.

The bureaucracy must not be allowed simply to brush aside legitimate complaints and protests of the membership. The time has come to clean up the T&GWU and expose the manipulations on which Jack Jones bases his wage-cutting initiatives.

Footnote The following resolution was passed at the Warwick 5/504 Branch TGWU on 3rd March:

"This 5/504 branch of the TGWU regards the action of No. 5 Regional Committee in relation to the two recent elections held in No. 5 Region for General Executive Council, Regional Committee and National Committee positions as undemocratic and contemptuous of the membership. Despite clear indications that votes returned in the first ballot were impossible in terms of votes cast, and despite calls from 5/293 and 5/55 branches (who represent 5,000 members) for a full enquiry, the Regional Committee simply declared the vote invalid and proceeded with a new ballot. Similar grave doubts have arisen over the results of this vote and the way it was conducted, and similar calis for an enquiry have been ignored.

Therefore this branch calls upon the National Executive to immediately organise an enquiry into these two baliots, and the way the Regional Committee handled them; and further resolves that in order to prevent re-occurrence of this situation:

1. Secret ballots, which are open to manipulation and prevent full discussion by the membership of candidates involved, should be ended and all votes be held in branch meetings.

2. All candidates be given equal rights to speak to all branches concerned.

3. in the case of ballots occurring scrutineers be elected by the membership, and the voting figures and procedures be open to inspection to members at any time; and that the Regional Committee follow the three procedures listed above when organising elections.

Passed 3.3.76 5/504 TGWU SOCIALIST PRESS £500 Monthly Development FUND Our £500 Fund is still vital te continue the work of the paper unelected bureaucracy which runs T&GWU. cont'd from front page a question of who is to lead the labour movement.

But the TUC leaders have shown that they • are по тоге willing than the 'left' MPs to lead a fight against Wilson and Healey's cynical and arrogant anti-working class policies. them every no, on on open 01 Just the they giv Scanlon, once an "opponent" of the social contract said in Glasgow last week:

•We support the government completely and absolutely in its general strategy. We are not against the cuts in principle but against cuts in certain directions."

Scanlon, like the rest of the TUC leaders, iccepts th government's argument that th worker's right to a job is entirely secondary to the capitalist's "right" to profits.

The cuts in public spending, like the wage • restrictions are designed to give top priority to capitalists profit.

PAY LAWS

And while Scanion campaigns for the cuts, Jack Jones has continued his pleas for further reductions in pay through state wage control.

Healey, of course, has welcomed this and hinted that the legal limit planned for the next year is an increase of about £2 a week or 3 per cent!

These consistent anti-working class positions of the trade union and Labour Party leaders are producing a wave of revolt throughout the labour movement.

As the collaboration of the leaders with the capitalists becomes more naked, so the anger of the rank and file is growing. For instance, last week's T&GWU executive meeting received anti-cuts resolutions from several Regions.

Jones managed to postpone discussion of them until after the budget in the utterly forlorn hope that a bit of "reflation" will temper the opposition to the cuts.

But there is little chance that the leadership can for long hold down the upsurge of opposition.

The cuts have already provoked numerous resolutions in trade union and Labour Party branches rejecting the WisonHealey policies.

They have also given a boost to the growth of local anti-cuts committees formed from organisations of the labour movement.

The WSL supports such committees and fights for them to become sources of active opposition to the Wilson-Healey government and its policies.

We fight for the anti-cuts committees and for Trades Councils to take up a relevant programme of demands which include:

- Opposition to all cuts; no discussion of 'priorities' - A sliding scale of public spending. • - A programme of extra public works to be allocated to nationalised industries to cut unemployment.

- Open the books of all public authorities as a prelude to:

_ Local programmes of public spending under the control of elected trade union committees, and the nationalisation of construction and supply industries.

In addition to this we continue to support the demand for a recalled Labour Party Conference - not to provide a forum for a polite debate, but as a means to expel the anti-working class Wilson-Healey leadership and to further the struggle for a socialist leadership in the labour movement.

OUT NEXT WEEK!