Women discuss fight

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«i.IO HOL VA therp's a microchin ahout' ry around, this kind of crisisin one form or another-is going to occur again and again while statute law remains as it is.

Sooner or later, we are going to lose unless abortion is de-criminalised and treated in law, as any other surgical procedure.

The Labour Abortion Rights Campaign has identified three major goals: improvement and equalisation of facilities under existing legal provision, decriminalisation which will involve action on the 1881 and 1928 choose.

Whatever the techniques that may be applied to realise these goals, they are absolutely vital. Without them we will be perpetually under attack. In short, LARC, like other abortion rights campaigns, is aiming to render itself redundant.

from the Labour Abortion Rights Campaign New technology was a major theme at a 100-strong conference for women trade unionists organised by Leeds Trades Council Women's Advisory Committee last weekend. In her opening remarks, Pam Thorne of the WAC said that the major changes that had taken place regarding the status of women in society during the post-war periodin particular the growth of women's employment and the availability of abortion and contraception facilitieshad made women less amenable to the current attacks on their rights.

There had been several important, examples of women fighting back against attacks, such as the Lee Jeans workers and the Liverpool Corporation typists. It was hoped that this conference would - encourage women to work together in their trades unions to protect their existing rights and improve their conditions.

Ignored

Guest speaker Judith Hunt of AUEW (TASS) spoke of the value of organisations such as the Leeds Trades Council WAC and hoped that all Trades Councils would form Women's Advisories.

Since 1968, the growth of trade unionism amongst women has accounted for the major area of growth in the trade union movement as a whole. Women now numbered about 3½ million trade unionists, and yet were still mainly very poorly represented in the numbers of full time officials and national executive members in most The benefits that unions have negotiated that primarily affect women, e.g. maternity rights, child care faciliities, flexibility in working hours, have not reflected the support given by women in sipe of union membership and dues paid. The special considerations that affect women are often ignored in negotiations, largely conducted by men. Negotiations for shorter working hours are often aimed at obtaining a free half or whole day, whereas many women with children would prefer to finish work earlier each day in order to meet children from school.

Recognition

Ms Hunt quoted the example of local union officials at Hoover, Merthyr Tydfil who signed a redundancy agreement allowing the dismissal of part-time women workers in direct contravention of a nationally adopted resolution stating that part time and women workers should not suffer disproportionately as a result of redundancies!

This example is particularly disgraceful in view of the tenacity and discipline shown by women involved in disputes such as Lee Jeans where no drinking • was allowed in the area of the dispute, and care was taken not to damage the owners' machinery etc and thus open the union to liability.

There is however a growing recognition of the problems directly affecting women; for example, the issue of sexual harassment at work is to appear for the first time this year on the agenda of the TUC.

Ms Hunt concluded by saying that women must not be put off by the tactics of trade union officials and politicians who say that demands for women's rights should be shelved during the current "recession". for reconsideration later on-there never is a "right time" for women's liberation. Women must mobilise and fight for their rights throughout the trade union movement as part of the overall struggle for jobs, pay and conditions The workshop on new technology was led by two women from the West Yorkshire Technology Group.

They pointed out that the rapid introduction of new technology had been prompted by the falling rate of profit over the last decade, pushing capitalists to cut production costs and employ fewer people.

APEX estimated that ¼m clerical jobs will have been lost by next year, and figures from West Germany indicate that 40% of clerical jobs in that country will have been lost by 1990 owing to new technology.

Where new technology is being introduced, jobs are becoming fragmented and "de-skilled"

For example, at the Grattons mail order factory in Bradford the clerical staff used to have personal contact and responsibility for a group of agents. Now their jobs are reduced to coding meaningless sequences of codes onto a database, with the constant use of VDUs throughout the working day.

New technology is frequently introduced into areas of "low status" work where workers, mainly women, are using obsolete equipment in an unpleasant environment, SO the improved machinery and surroundings brought in with the new technology are seen as a benefit, even though jobs may be lost.

The areas involved are often those with little or no trade union organisation (e.g. Grattons, where despite a closed shop in the warehouse, there is little more than 50% union membership among clerical staff).

The way in which the hardware for new technology was produced was discussed. Multinational companies exploit women's slave labour in Third World Frankland L..LI Countries such as Korea and the Philippines-women work long hours for a pittance, producing silicone chips, etc. Then they are dismissed when their health and eyesight gives out and are reduced to begging, prostitution, etc.

So new technology can be produced cheaply in countries where vicious regimes prevent union organisation.

In the long term, we saw work sharing on full pay as the only solution to avoid the absurd imbalance between those doing souldestroying alienating work and those in equally souldestroying unemployment.

And we mapped out some initial steps to fight for 1) the elimination of any measurement of work incorporated in new technology.

2) Salaried work-no piece work.

3) Adequate health safety provisions.

4) No redundancies.

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Socialist Organiser, Thursday 11 February 1982 Page

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Acts, and enshrinement, in law, of a woman's right to