JOHN MAGEE reports from Belfast One of the major issues tacing the labour movement in Britain is the crucial question of the role of British troops in Ireland.
This question has been debated in the labour movement for some years now, and recently the Greater London Association of Trades Councils organised a 14-strong delegation to visit Belfast on a fact-finding mission. The secretary/organiser was was Jack Dromey, of Brent Trades Council and the NCCL.
Prior to the visit, three of the delegates pointed out that the range of organisations and individuals selected to meet them was too narrow for the tour to be a genuine factfinding mission. Their efforts while in Belfast to get the delegation to meet a wider cross-section of the community - for instance, represen tatives of Provisional Sinn Fein -were in vain. In fact, it became apparent that a conducted tour had been arranged. Finally the three delegates were expelled from the delegation after further protests (see Red Weekly, 17 July).
BOTH SIDES Upon their return the three 'expelled delegates - Mike Knowles (Hackney Trades Council), Gerry McMorrow (Hackney Trades Council) and Rosemary Sales (Barnet Trades Council) produced a brief report on the way the delegation had been run, which was widely circulated in the labour movement.
They are also appealing to trades councils and other groups holding report-back meetings to invite a representative from both the majority and the minority on the Belfast delegation. The Troops Our Movement is holding a major meeting in London on 1 September at which both sides have been invited to send speakers.
Both majority and minority have now produced reports on their visit to Belfast. The majority report comes out against the immediate withdrawal of troops from Ireland because it would 'cause considerable difficulties for the trade union movement in Ireland'. Instead they propose that the British Government The minority report, however, concludes: 'It is total political ineptitude to believe that the British - which has limited civil rights in Britain through the Prevention of Terrorism Act; which has made massive cut-backs in social expenditure, including housing; and has allowed the num ber of unemployed to climb above a million - will somehow adopt a totally different policy for Northerr ARMY OUT 'We believe that the overwhelming mass of views expressed, and the facts we learnt on the delegation, point towards only one solution that the British Army should be withdrawn from Ireland and the Irish people allowed to solve the their own problems."
Their report also contains an appendix on 'omissions and admissions' in the majority report. It is available from: M. Davis, Secretary, Trade Union Committee for Free Speech on Ireland, 18 Lordship Park, London N.16. Since this report had to be produced without any financial subsidies, they are appealing for donations from the labour movement and supporters of TOM.
The majority report is obtainable from: Jack Dromey, 13 Plympton Road, London NW6 7EH Originally the GLATC had decid ed that a report-back conference from the delegation would be an open meeting for all London trade unionists. Now they are limiting it to a delegate conference.
REPORT BACK It is especially important, therefore, that TOM supporters in the London labour movement make every effort to attend the reportback conference on 13 September in Unity House. The reformists must not be allowed to smuggle in the 'troops back to barracks line as official labour movement policy by the back door. As Rosemary Sales says: "It's not we who are afraid of a debate.
Niall Nolan