In 1875 a series of important laws regarding trade unions were drawn up by the ConservaTUC, established only seven years earlier for the express purpose of agitating for these laws, hailed them as a great victory and voted overwhelmingly to send thanks to the Tory Home Secretary for their adoption.
Among these laws was the Conspiracy and Protection of Property Act'. Under this very act, almost one hundrod yoars later, 24 trade union militants are before the courts in Shrewsbury: It is this same Act, hailed at tine of its adoption as legalising the right of peaceful pickeling', that the state is today using to spearhead an attack against picketing and against the ability of the working class to carry on its struggles in an effective way Ironically, the very section of the Act under which the members. Their leaders were articulate, selfeducated men who had usually tisen from the tive government and passed by Parliament. The ranks of their respective trades. They coopted the framework of capitalism and capitalist, society; and were more interested in introducing justice into the partnership of capital and labour than in waging the class struggle. The central concern of this new leadership was to win legal acceptance and social respectability for the trade union movement. For, while trade unions had long ceased to be illegal, their legal position was poorly defined and most sections of the ruling class looked on them with thorough disapproval.
THREE EVENTS In 1867 three events occurred which jolted these men into action. First a new 'Master and Servant Act was introduced. While removing some of the worst features of the old law, this A small and unofficial proup of the most prominent leaders of the London Trades Council, often referred to as the "Junta', was set up to lead the struggle around these questions. They saw the Royal Commission as a golden opportunity to establish their respectability in the cyas of the capitalist state and win redress for their grievances, and persuaded the povernment to allow them to nominate someone te sit on the Commission.
LEGAL REFORM After the Royal Commission reported, and in reply to the widespread agitation that developed for trade union reform, the goverament agreed to introduce a bill on the matter in 187L. In the event they passed two measures. A Trade Union Act gave the unions the legal recognition and protection they had sought. But the governmen! also carried the Criminal Law Amendmeat Act, which made threats or By Mr. Scanion's own hand, delegates at the AUEW national confereno last week voted fo remove him from the TUC-Government talks -on the economy The main resolution stated that This national conference declares its continuing opposition to any form of wage restraint, and calls upon the trade union movement to withdraw from dealing with the Government on any prices and incomes policy. During the debate, the right wing tried to amend the resolution to meroly "emphasise" opposition to wage restraint during the talks. It was only at this point, while arguing for the amendment, that Scanion stated that if it was not accepted, I will not attend the talks. The amendment was defeated by 35 to 33 voles.
The moser of the resolution, and the majority of delegates who supported it, seem never to have intended that it should bar Scanlon from the talks, Indeed a motion from the TASS con ference which did call explicitly for the AUEW to leave the talks was withdrawn by the CP. dominated TASS delegation on the first day. precisely in order to leave Scunion a fred hand to attend. This defeatist Line was expressed most clearly by leading Cl member Eddie Marsden, general secretary of the Constructional Section of the unions, when he said that. "There s nothing we can do about the talka. They are already on and the views of our union must be heard.
So it was not the CP who demanded an "unambiguous resolution, but Scanion. The CP. precisely because a cicar-cut resolution would damage their relatiuns with Scanian (who continues to be in favour of talks with the Government), set out by their own admission to put through an ambiguour resolution which would leave the Execurive Committee free to fall in line with the wishes of the TUC. The CP speakers, instead of fighting to call off the talks and prepare the working class for struggle, preferred to offer bogus justifications for the talks continuing. It was only reluctantly that they were forced by Scanion into voting for the AUEW to break off the talks a step which has in fact been seen as a tremendous victory by important sections of the labour moverent and has led to a strengthening of the militants' hand hand, particularly in the T&G.
The reasons behind Scanion's demand for an "unambiguous resolution" are not entirely clear.
In the words of the TDC's legal adyisor Henry Crompton: "A strike was perfectly legal; but if the means employed were calculated to coerce the employer they were illegal means, and a combination to do a legal act by legal means was a criminal conspiracy, In other words, a strike wus lawful. but anything done in pursuit of a strike was criminal."
TUC LOBBIES TORIES In 1871 the TUC set up its first permanent. standing body - the Parliamentary Committee, This committee, which included many former members of the Junta, undertook to campaign for further amendments to the labour laws At first the Parliamentary Committee was distrustful of the recently elected Conservative government, but they quickly berea to pealise that the Tories were at least as willing as the