ORGANISING THE LEFT MINORITY IN THE TRADE UNION MOVEMENT is the burning need for the whole working class after this TUC Congress. The left we are referring to is not that of Jones and Scanion, vainly trying to drape the rags of their pink cloaks over the misery and deprivation caused by their support of the Labour Government's policies. those who have been:
GAGGED, like the building workers delegates ordered to abstain by UCATT General Secretary, Special TUC Conference, after their.conference had 'improperly rejectea me incomes poncy.
BLOCKED, like the engineering delegates at the AUEW Conference who were not permitted to vote against the pay deal after their National Committee had decided for it by a small majority.
LIQUIDATED, like those trades councils, Oxford among them, who refused to accept the TUC's Rule 14 and dared to challenge the right of Murray and Co to rule out a fight by constituent organisations against this Labour Government's policies.
Those unions which decided as a whole to oppose the pay limit were ridiculed and isolated by the press and finally lampooned at the Special TUC which ended with a 17½ to 1 cuts, unemployment and cuts in social expenditure.
DeninG Enel
La to send a representative to the Right Campaign's National Council. had given or une conungent undera woman a nion to As someone wno was at Ini: meclino. , teel must out the record straiont you accuse McCallum of having scandalous attitude', but -what is scandalCallum post lon any arguments. distortion of McMcCallum at no time said that the WWC coule not marcn bening moir own panner. what he actually siated was inal iney could march behind the trade union banners with their banner but not be a separate contingent should be a unified one of and supporters of the contingent want]. He also stated that he saw no need for a separate Woman's Right to work continoan. as Campaign had been in the forefront fighting for the right to work for both men and woRed Weekly talled to mention thet those TOTK contingont COn march, campaianina for sponsorships, are not ask ina for sponsorsnios for ine kiont to wor march but only for the 'Woman's Right to Work' contingent. Yet it was demanded by No. we are retering to George Smith at the Two weeks ago Red Weekly revealed that the oraanisers of the Riaht to Work march had written to gay workers and also informed the Working Women's Charter that they could not march as separate contingents on the march or distribute their leaflets there. We criticised this as sectarian and reminiscent of the actions of the Communist Party. Below we publish a reply and our comments on this reply. We carry on unis debare not to negatvery anack the nignt to work marcn but with tne aim of politically strengthening it by pointing the way forward for the building of a united front of all those committed 1o righting the Government's policies or wage otinis separately contincent that inev should have the riont to bank slavery Richto work march meetina distribute leaflets, etc. And this on a march want to lobby the VOTAINS fine, but why should they suddenly appea our or ine Diue with recaros to une niant to work march anc exoect to De civen soeak ers, etc? This raises the important point of Right to Work Campaign Council. Lo and behold, a fe the march to Work Council immearate roorosenalon ont u winou navine cone consisient work prevousty to oullc ine kiont to work Campaion in une localities. Ine council is not tor anvooay o any organisation to suddenly turn up to and march and the building of the campaign and As mentioned above, the Right to Work march is going to be one of anger anc action. The demands, structures, etc, of the march and the Right to Work Campaign have those consistently built the campaign. The marct is not intended to be a debating forum [as Med weekiy wans wiwn any omanisatol which succeniy cecides to oin the march ar the last minute.
It seems that Red Weekly's recent two Right to attacks against the Right to Work Campaign, but has affected its abilit to repon correcul Ine views of DeoDie liKE Jimmy Mccalum - Im West. London Right to Work Campaign). bine Joint Shop Stewards Committee; and round of cuts in Parliament last spring. Their capitulation over the latest round of £1,000m has been dramatic and sudden. Eric Heffer declares that the child benefit scheme must be sacrificed to boost industry. Norman Atkinson pleads the need to support the cuts 'in principle'. Tony Benn chooses to work in his office rather than attend crucial votes on Labour's National Executive.
ment which met in March seemed to many of its 3,000 delegates the place to stop the rot. Organised by the No 8 Region of the Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions and the London Co-op Political Committee under the political leadership of the Communist Party, the conference adopted a programme of action. It was inadequate, but it was practical and concrete.
However, the record six months later is disastrous;
locality to organise and carry on the struggle from the Day of Action called by the Assembly on 26 May were never set up or were still-born after being stamped on by the Communist Party.
ti THE EDITORS REPLY: alleges that the Woman's Right to Work' sponsored is true that the 'Woman's Right to Work' and the WWC made a specific appea work maron. A learlet they Right to Work headed: 'Support the Right to Work March -Lobby the TUC Woman's Riaht to Work Contingent.
12 August stated: We sincerely hope you weeks before •Nationa contingent. WIll •oulainis march nd "A Woman's Righ and aided the Right to Work Campaign, and by reached an audience propaganda of the Right to Work Campaign did not. But having fought to build the march and ine women's contincent weare now . The Council is made up told that they are not allowed to march as a separate contingent aimed at highlighting Ine SDeCiTIC broDiems women.
JOIN THE MARCH FOR THE THE RIGHT TO WORK SATURDAY 4 SEPTEMBER: assemble Embankment, Charing Cross, 11am.
March to Downing Street to lobby Callaghan, then on to BRIXTON. Camp the night at CROYDON.
On the nights of 5 and 6 SEPTEMBER done nothing to blunt the march will stoo ar ChawLe Y and PYECOOMBE. Entertainments are being arranged at both stops.
Roderick south TUESDAY 7 SEPTEMBER March into Brighton and Lobby TUC.
WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER. Join the NUPE Lobby against the cuts, supported by the Right to Work Campaign at 12am. of Engineers Charter, A gloomy picture. But the National Assembly on Unemploy• The Action Committees that could have been set up in every * The lobby of the Special TUC called by the Assembly was TU Comrade Roderick •continentallec to oulio ine march. Whie itinannere to maren penine union banners. ou aren't part of a union, ext or une ruent to planenes suon out out was in Brighton Build a nate tnere Is Similarly, a letter sent out by the WWG on contingent.
Both these statements could only have themselves to Branch have the general prohibitions Woman's unempioyed poses also every right to fight for agreements marchers they Miento work campaien means in practice -the organisation of mass demonstrations outside the TUC and Labour Party congresses. After the annoncement of one and a half million unemployed and the further crumbling of the welfare services, the organisers have done nothing to organise either.
destruction of the hopes of the many rank and file delegates who believed that the Assembly would be the beginning of the fight against unemployment. refused to break with Scanlon and Jones (in fact Jones - and even Murray- will be contributing articles to the Morning Star during Congress week). They thus find themselves incapable of launching a fight against the policies of the Labour Government, it, at least, has seen the need to fight in every way possible to halt retreat. But the forces that the leadership of the campaign the International Socialists, can command are alone too small to amount to anything but regrouping of those 3,000 Assemoly should call on the organisers of the Assembly to link their forces with those of the Right to Work Campaign in order to build a conference capable of fighting around a programme of demands to beat the disastrous policies of useful public works to meet social need and employ the jobless. calling for the opening of the books to draw up a system o by the trade union leadership for the 35-hour week without loss social expenditure budget as a whole the minority in the labour movement to get up and resist Of course there is a let-out - • the Right to Work organisers are willing to allow www unemployed women who ment, question NUJ Book Branch which snacitically voted to march benino ine "Women's Right to Work' contingent?
To such marchers Jimmy McCallum says neee • TO separatt Leaving aside the issues involved in such a statement, it is not up to Jimmy McCallum to tell the marchers what Is needed; it is up to ine marcner:
decide If the NUJ Book decided to march separate continent Inal is meir envieee and it is not up to Jimmy McCallum to issue Comrade Roderick characterises our pos- ton as wantine a debaune torum and makes the same remark about the WWC, the Work, and presumably the gay workers who also want to march as a contingent. To this the comrade counter"action and protest' and anger and campaign. action'. Unfortunately "anger, 'protest and even 'action' are not enouch if thev are no channelled in the right direction.
tendency To achieve that direction means 'debating"
the alternatives offered. If Red Weekly or — naTis. discussine in a democialic way orosacanda anybody else thinks the existing policies of ine rion to wow vampaiem are Insumcen surely we have a duty to say so. We have our policies on known.
the march, while at the same time building it and snowing the luc Inal whatever dis Han there may be amongst are all willing to back the Because this is what workers democracy - building a united front of all those willing to build a campaign, but freedom of alowine evervoov in mer camozion to rase their political or tactical differences.
* The two organising bodies of the Assembly were to consider The Communist Party must bear the full responsibility for this . The organisers of the Assembly have main defenders.
Red Weekly has supported the Right to Work March because La protest. urgent task is the delegates attended . Not only the Right to Work March but TUC delegates of the Labour Government.
* Industrial action against the cuts, to demand a programme * A fight for the policy of occupations to meet redundancy work-sharing without loss of pay to safeguard workers' jobs and lay the basis for nationalisation under workers control. The first step in this campaign should be the call for an immediate fight inflation in wages, pensions, and other state benefits and the The Labour Government's capitulation to the demands of the international bankers will continue to lay the basis for a genera election defeat and the introduction of the most right-wing Tory Government since the war. The solution is not to go along with those policies, as the 'lefts' have, but to begin the uphill fight for Organisations such as the Party have always opposed such principles they attacked Is •TOr raising people arrested previous Right to Work march as 'divisive untonunatelv neeerwe cuorec nom vont Deason makes this same criticism of gay workers when he says: Alternative loyalties to political groups or other campaigns can only sow contusion. wnere is the anterenc between this attitude and the CP's to th Right to Work Campaign at the National assemov une tank mere s none.
For years militants have fought agains attempts by the bureaucrats and CP mem cut off debate. For years these •bureaucrats nave replieo witn sucA STaTE ments just like that of comrade Roderick that the Council is not for anybody or any orcanisation to expect recognition'. On the contrary we say that anybody, "last minute' or not, who join the campaign has the right to have their in declaing the porcies and tactics of wa Only in that way will everybody be involved in the campaign rather than just oemne marchine 1oooer Most fundamental of all, every politica on the march has the "distribute leaflets' and to make their owr That again is a right militants have fought for in their trade unions for generations, because behind it is the right Tor workers to organise ana mane toir views The comrade accuses us of being sectarYet he discussion against the rignt or marcners to walk Dente who and what they wish - something even the CP rarely prohibits. We on the other han sav mat hune interess orounoine as brode a movement as possible there should be discussion, , of propaganda and (in terms of the right of separate conting ents) of organisation. Just who is sectarian?
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of pay campaign against incomes policy and the 4½ per cent deal and in favour of automatic increases to compensate for