Pay 'out of Order " - Say Num Bureaucrats

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At the miners' union conterence last week, the ExecItive took the logical conclusion of the wage-cutting TUC deal with the Labour wages.

Gormley's argument against fighting on wages went even further, and implicitly attacked the miners' pay strikes of 19/2 and 1974 by saying that since 1971 "we seem to be on a treadmill, running like hell to stand still.?

FRINGE BENEFITS

Gormley argued it would be better to fight for fringe benefits instead.

A Yorkshire delegate, Tom Mullaney, in attacking the decision to rule the wages debate out of order, described the method of repeated ballots as "government by referendum" and pointed out this device was used by both Hitler and Mussolini.

The conference eventually endorsed the decision of the executive by 145 votes to 128. This means that only the executive has had the right to discuss wages - the conference has been excluded.

In fact when Arthur Scargill, Yorkshire area president, started to attack the right wing over the £6 deal he was ordered off the platform by Gormley.

PROTECTED

In this way the leadership were protected against any criticism, conference was denied the chance to draw the lessons of the last period of wage-cutting, and any discussion of alternative policy was excluded.

As a smokescreen to cover up for the fact that their manoeuvres had almost made the conference redundant, the right-wing from Nottinghamshire moved a resolution calling for retirement at 60 by January 1977 - leading on to retirement at 55 by 1980.

This resolution also called for yet another ballot of the membership to determine "which course of industrial action shall be taken to bring this matter to a successful conclusion"

UNANIMOUS

The resolution was passed unanimously, and has forced even Callaghan to speak about the "special case' of the miners, while of course referring to the econ omic crisis. In America ant Europe most miners already retir at 55.

Whatever manoeuvres are ti follow on this demand, it becam quite clear at the conference tha there is a backlash against th bureaucratic actions of Gormle and Daly - even with the confer ence stacked against the militan areas, with Yorkshire having les than one-tenth of the delegate while having a quarter of th NUM membership.

FAILURE

A resolution was passed closed session on. Thursday b 166 votes to 107 which "criticise union leaders for failing to impli ment conference decisions"

This must be followed up i pursuing the early retiremer demand , and by the building of a alternative leadership in the NU. to challenge the domination the right wing.

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NI THE

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government. They ruled out of order" any discussion on