The TUC's charter for working women, published last week, became the main focus for attack at a women's conference held by the TUC'* south-cast regional council on Saturday. Not one of the delegates, representing over 200 trade uition branches and trades councils, was prepared to defend its limited demands-and delegate after delegate stormed to the platform to condemn in particular the omission of any demand on abortion.
The conference made it abunWinmarie Greenland, a delegate from Camden NUT, asked Shirley Summerskill what she was doing to restore the cut-backs in education and to enable women to get easier abortions under the NHS. Dr Summerskill strangely omitted to answer these simple points in her summing up!
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I would like more information about the iG and its activities NAME dantly clear that the TUC charter fall completely to confront in a meaningful way the real problems facing women today, It contains such choice pieces as "employers must accept the need for women to work the hours which would enable them in meet their commitments as mothers or assist them to care for ciderly dependents.
In contrast to the 10 point Working Women's Charter, presented a year ago by the tormer London Trades Council, the TUCs paind version fails to take up: aborton and contracention; a national miniman wage to light against low pay (although this is the policy of TUC): family allowances: opposition to deterioration ing conditions, the role of won en in the trade unions. Alihough *e organisers of the conference to take any resolutions, the regional council secretary announced at the end of the day's barrage that the TUC's charter would clearly have to be weighed against the 10-point Very few of the 250 delegates appeared to be impressed by the brave utterances of the 'star speakers on the issues of women's rights. Surprisingly enough, not one of them actually mentioned a word about internationalism. Shirley Summerskill, Junior minister at the they could do without WITH THE OCCUPATION of the Imperial factory at Hull now throe weeks old, the Labour-controlled Humberside District Council is making its contrihu tion to the struggle. It decided to congratulate and support the occupiers and then informed them that they would be assessed al E100 a day for rates!
Despite this the occupiers ano lighting on and receiving widespread working class support. Hull dockers ate blacking inported Litten typewriters and refusing to handle machinery being removed from the Leleester factory, while wor kon from Marathon Shipyards-Tomicry Upper Clyde Shipbuilders have donated ES0D to the struggle But union officials have failed to agitate for solidarity actions from other sections of the labour movement beyond requests for moral and financial support. And to save Imperial's more than the determination and courage of the few will he needed.
Solidarity action including senike action in other sections of the ollice Home Office, managed to speak for 45 minutes on equal opportunities and women's rights as citizens of the family, child care facilities, of abortion.
She came under heavy fire from dozens of deicgates who de manded to know what the Labour Government was prepared to do to close the many loopholes in the Equal Pay Act, what measures at war going to take to protect the Abortion Act from being further croded, what the Government was planning to do to stamp out sexisin in schools and the media:
whal it intended to do lo ork- tion expenditure. Dr. Summerskill obliginely offered to refer these poinis to the approprate Ministers. ised Delegates erupted in anger when she said that every MP should vote according to his conscience on the question of abortion and that the Labour Party (like the TUC) could not take a formal position on this issue.
Hopefully the TUC's annual women's conference, which takes place in Hastings at the end of this week, will endorse the Working Women's Charter and reject the that are now being lought for. Ingrid Falconer will be mopessary to force the Tabout Government to act Union officials results of a feasibility study and on tie outcome of their discussions with Land Beswick at Benn's Ministry of Industry, Control has printed a pamphlet on Imporials wiich argues in favour of But a workers cooperative would stil have to opcrate in the shrinking type utilet market but forced Littons to milt Britain pensation of not just Imperials but the whole typewriter and office machines industry, with workers control to in manning levels and wages, can only feasible road belt HULL IMG PUBLIC MEETING Solution Speakers: Helen Charlesworth (senior shop steward, T&GWU, Imperial Type writers); Tim Hall CING Political Com mitteel.
Wednesday 19 March at 7.30 p.m. in Stevedores and Dockers Club, Postern without a single refesence to the role victimised teachers. restore the outs in health and cduca teaching bury pickets TUC's attempt to stifle the demands ujan senemes tor workers cooperan Only nationalisation without com the TUC action.
guarantee the worlers future. This is the The Redundancies Crisis- For a Socialist victimised teachers. Street theatre as fringe actors lobby the Arts Council a fortnight ago TEACHERS from schools throughout London will be meeting this Thursday 13 March to discuss the way forward on their April pay claim and in defence of The delegate conference has been called by Wandsworth Association of the National Union of Teachers in conjuncton wile toc campaiga commentee set up carlier this year at a conference opposing the Houghton Report on teachers" pay вае пощено пирот was oroualy Cross) divisive, giving large increases to the odministrators and leads, and peanuts to close on the lower acales or just starting The conference comes at a time when authoribes throughout the country are implementing savage education cuts, which have already provoked strike action or the threat of it by tenchers in traditionally docile anels such as Buckingham, Leic ester, and even Richmond, In London the Inner London Education Authority is mov ing to crush the possibility of a revolt ag ainst the cuts by victimising teachers who took part in strike action against the Houghton Report and in support of the TUC-backed lobby of Parliament to demand the release of the imprisoned ShrewsThe wending priority for teachers is to Llow these attacks hack if they are to stand a chance of lighting a sell-out on the claim and against the cuts —especially in stafling. An important part of the curs are being made by cutting back on the "reserve fund" which is aspally used for employing extra and part-time staff. Since tie autumm of 1973 teachers have been refasing to fill in on jobs that have been cut and many kids have heen receiving only a part-time education.
the education cuts- the NUT Executive has given no lead. In South Hackney. where five teachers are to he disciplined for sapporting die TUC Shrewsbury lobby, the NUT wrote to the ILEA telling them the action was unofficial. Communist Party teachers, who have members on the Execute like Max Morris nre saving that the action was the result of 'confusion' over whether the NUT afficially supported The 15 group have gone along with this, ang to confront me er on tie poure basis of defending the right of teachen to spport actions in the interests of the whole working class. In this way they have helped wenken the overall campaign to defend all Thursday's conference must be the launching pad to Force the NUT to organise a national campaign of action against die cuts, and forge unity in action with other school workers affected by the cuts whicis have an interest in defending Ove imised teachers can be the fiest step in thi process This is why the Defence Committee is from odier trade onion bodies supporing their struggle. Resolutions cte. should be St Agnes Close, London E9. Its next meeting is on Mooday 24 March at 7.30 pin at the Prince Albert pub, Wharfdale Road, London N. 1. (nearest tube Kings Bernard Regen THRESHOLDS from page 1 miners, railwaysen, hospital and local government manual wor kers bave outstanding threshold claims. And 400,000 local government white collar staff in NALGO are demanding an extra 60p a week for every 1 rise in the cost of living since Last Novernber.
But so far only relatively small groups of workeis nave won new threshold agteements. These include 44,000 whito-collar workers in the British Steel Corporation who are due for 15 tises for every, 156 increas in the cost of living since December.
They have achieved the nearest that exists in Britain to permanent wage protection against inflation a sliding scale of wages. This would involve an automatic monthly in crease in pay for every increase in the cost of living.
The fight for the automatic defence of ail aspects of working class living standards against inflation social expenditure and state benefits such as grants, pensions and dole, us well as wages-is contral to the fight against the social contract.
Groups such as the railway en and powerworkers, who are fighting for "new money" increases as well as consonuation into the basic rate of existing thresbold payments, should start to campaign throughout the working class for automatic protec tion of any wage increases they achieve by fighting for nil-norm' threshold payments as part of any settlement. Hy taking this up on a class-wide basis, the most powerful sections of the workers movement would be effectively defending the weakest sections and dealing a real death blow to the social contract.
Dear Comrade Johns In your article in Workors Press on 6 March you say that The Intamational Marxist Group has an obligation to the entire labour and trade union move ment to give a full explanation of their involvement in the Red Lian Square debacle."
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International Marxist Group
The struggle for the teachers' pay claim starts now