S. Defends Reformist

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750 delegates and visitors at the International Socialists' Right to Work Conference on 6th November were urged by the platform to vote for a programme of reformist demands - many of which have already earned the verbal support of most of the Trade Union bureaucracy:

Unemployment, delegates were told, must be met with a 35 hour week, without loss of pay, an official overtime ban, and 'five days work for five days pay"

The social contract should be fought with "across the board increases" with no limits on agreements.

Everyone was urged to fight, fight and fight again. More militancy should be developed, roclaimed ' Conference spoakers who concluded that what is needed is a rank-and-ile ln-up.

Compromise was the order of the day. One delegate, Sean Doherty a London teacher, called for support for a protest lobby at NUT head office backing the teachers suspended from the union for taking 'unofficial action' at the school. 'nick North, Conference chairman and member of the NOT Executive made no comment or call for a campaign within the NUT on this blatant example of bureaucracy.

An alternative programme however was put by Mike Davis from the Oxford ACTSS 833 branch and a resolution from Central Sootland Federation of Trades Councils which called for a policy of occupation of factories to demand work sharing on full pay introduced under the direction of LETTER: elected Trade Union Committees.

They demanded that those employers. who crused • to guarantee jobs must open their books to these committees so that the case for nationalisation can be proven, The resolutions called over and above a substantial wage increaso, for a sliding scale of wages to protect against inflation.

International Socialist speakers attacked these demands. Willie Lee from Chrysler Scotland said it was "not a matter of sliding scales and open the books" - what was needed was action and answers.

"My employer will open the books when ever we ask" he said, "but we don't want to see them."!

But as Mike Davis correctly argued, the task is to raise the conscioumess of the working class to revolutionary consciousners. That task can only be achieved through the fight for transitiona demands, which challenge capitalism - certainly not through reformist demands which can be contained within it.

In this the ending of business secrets, open the books, can be one of the most powerful demands.

The bankruptcy of the IS refuss. to fight for any political development was highlighted by the enthusiastic response by the Conference when Alan Inornett, delegate from the 5/293 T&GWU branch, in challenging the Conferепсо programme as Teformist' called for a campaign to force Healey and Callaghan to resign.

This remained as virtually the only politica. note Conference, standing in complete contrast to the Tank-and-file link-up panacea peddled by the platform. and Communist Party minority, not normal Trades Counci attenders, led by David Buckle, right wing District Secretary of the T&GWU.

In the reorganisation the existing elected officers were effectively removed from office and the present : olficers including Bro. Power were elected with the active and enthusiastic support of that same right wing minority. Indeed the voting lines were clearly drewn between the active members of the old Trades Council. voting for Gerry Casey as President and the right wing and Communist Party minority (bolstered into a majority by a three line whip from national offices of almost every affiliated union under pressure from the TUC) voting for Brother power, attending his first Trades Counci meeting in at least five years.

While he may call that a democratic election we would call it a bureaucratic carve-up.

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S/293 BAA OXFORD sy ASS TOUNCIL PLAN NO CUTS!