Auew No Policy for Youth

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The annual youth conference of the engineering section met in Eastbourne on 15-16 March in the midst of a growing crisis in the section.

The fruits from Boyd and Scanlon's record of betrayal could be seen in the drop in attendance from last year.

Of 52 possible youth delegates only about 35 were present and with only four localJ unior Vorkers Committees actually sending in resolutions the scope for discussion was limited from the start.

Unlimited time

The vast majority of these delegates however were individuals hand-picked by Divisional Committees.

A handful of regional full time officials were given seemingly unlimited time to speak on every motion by the Executive Committee member in the chair.

This gives a good idea of the impossible situation many youth find themselves in.

As the debate got under way token resolutions on training, rate for the job, youth unemployment and socialist policies were passed formally, to be passed on to the waste paper bin or the government (which is more or less the same thing).

Sensing their strength the right wing moved on to the offensive with Eddie Wright, youth delegate from Glasgow moving an emergency resolution "congratulating" the Executive for its successful negotiations on the Confed. national claim and expressing regret that early retirement and a shorter working week had to be dropped!

Refused to The reason for them being dropped had already been spelt out by Scanlon in his opening address :

"The other points in the Confed claim had to be dropped during the course of the negotiations since the Engineering Employers Federation refused to discuss them"

Conference voted unanimously for resolutions on the 35 hour week and early retirement-and then incongruously carried the emergency resolution which congratulated the negotiators who had abandoned these demands in practice.

Sharply attacked

The Broad Left split in confusion on this issue with four voting against and eight abstaining.

The TASS delegate who in his fraternal address and socialist policies was bureaucratically prevented from speaking on the Confed claim on the grounds that it didn't concern TASS.

Scanlon To sum up, the conference was a useless talking shop, a place for the right wing and Broad Left to bury their differences.

The only good point was the passing of an amendment pushed by the TASS delegaté and taken up by the Broad Left calling for shop floor action to black all trade with South Africa and not just pressure on the government.

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): Chris Davies, Report PHOT