In this situation the National Committee is unlikely to feel inclined to rock the boat. While militants should demand that their delegates vote against the Healey package and for the Broad Left resolutions (calling for a £29-a-week across the board national claim, a £70-a-week national minimum wage in engineering, immediate 35-hour week without loss of pay, longer holidays, total opposition to incomes policy, etc.), they should not expect much in this direction.
Even if the Broad Left resolutions are carried, the right now has sufficient hold of the union machinery to block any attempt to implement such policies. And the Broad Left has shown itself incapable of mobilising the rank-and-file independently of the union officials. A resolution passed at last year's National Committee calling for industrial action against unemployment has been totally ignored and forgotten.
In any case, none of these resolutions contain the type of demands necessary to unite the working class in a successful offensive against the Labour Government's anti-working class policies. No specific measures such as work-sharing with no loss of pay, the opening of the employers' books, and nationalisation under workers control of firms creating redundancies — are advanced to fight unemployment. Nor do they attempt to fight for the protection of wage rates against rising prices through automatic increases based on a trade union cost-of-living index.
For these reasons the right are likely to consolidate their position further at the National Committee. But the road ahead is not all roses for them. The toolmakers' strikes at Rover-Triumph, Rover Solihull, Rover Tysley, SU Carburettors, Tractors & Transmissions and Austin Longbridge have already revealed a deepening opposition to wage restraint among the rank-and-file.
CRACKS The next round of incomes policy will see much larger cracks emerging in the TUC/Labour Government policies. With a background of rising unemployment and slashing cuts in the social services, it will become increasingly difficult for Scanlon to stamp out opposition as he did with the toolmakers. This makes it an urgent task to begin to develop an alternative national opposition in the AUEW, by consistently attempting to mobilise broad layers of the union around of the right wing.
LOBBY the lobby of the special TUC in June and of the TUC Congress in September are all obvious focuses. Where necessary these initiatives for a green light from the Broad ers to these actions.
erected by the IS with Engineers Charter, should be avoided as sectarian. However, where the base of support for such initiatives is to organise together within the tants from over 12 factories, can a real class struggle opposition in the AUEW to the policies of the right wing and the Broad Left.
Union conferences Red Weekly 13 May 1976