platform for union democracy

Scan page 13

Alan Thornett and John O'Mahony present a draft platform for union democracy in preparation for the April 3 conference. The draft will be discussed by the sponsoring organisations, and organisations sending delegates are also invited to send amendto recall by) mass meetings. Through mass meetings and strike bulletins, they must keep the membership All officials should be elected for definite terms (no There should be no secret negotiations. Every time. Full-time officials should be paid the average more than two years) and subject to recall at any stage of negotiations should be subject to rank and file ratification at mass meetings. Mass meetings should never be presented" with package deals unless Union policy-making bodies should be made up each part of the deal has been voted on separately by of elected lay members only. The same should go for Standing Orders Committees and Appeals CommitFull minutes and voting records of policy-making National delegate conferences should be held Shop stewards must be elected at mass meetings held Affiliate trade unions to the Labour Party and every year and should have supreme policy-making in the workplace, in company time if possible. They should hold regular report-back meetings, also if Full equality for women in the trade unions. contributions and equal rights. Positive diss local union branches to the local CLPs. TUC and Labour Party conference delegations should be possible in company time. Joint Shop Stewards' tion to ensure real equality. Support for the ri bound to follow union policy where it exists. There Committees should be set up on a plant, combine should be democratic control of the block vote and international basis. Technical and clerical work- cast at Labour Party conference: delegations should Voting should be at workplace meetings or by work- ers should also be represented on these committees. Despite the general need for unity, there will be all working class parties and tendencies should be be elected and consist of lay members. Members of place ballot. It should not be by postal ballot. We machines. Election addresses must be circulated un- want informed, collective working class decision- making, not ballots manipulated by Fleet Street lie- cases where shop stewards disagree strongly with the majority of the stewards' committee and want to put their minority views to the membership. They No discrimination against black or immigrant work- ers in the unions (including in social clubs). Positive discrimination to ensure real equality. Support for and Labour Parties must report back regularly. Trade union branch delegates to Trades Councils should have the right to do so, after notifying the have unrestricted rights to circulate literature. altered, and candidates and their supporters must committee of their intention, so long as they also make it clear to the membership waht the stewards' unions (using' leaflets in the immigrants' own Campaigns to recruit immigrant workers to trade Trade unions should fight for full independence Union branches should have the right to meet at A purge of open racists from all positions in the from the state. Total non-cooperation with the Strikes should be automatically official until declar- the workplace and in work time if possible. If not, creche facilities must be provided to ensure women labour movement. Expulsion of fascist activists from Tebbit Law and the Employment Act: state money Strike committees must be elected from (and subject ed unofficial. All strikes for trade union principle, work conditions or wages should be made official. es should be set up with all the rights of ordinary workers can attend. Labour Party workplace branch- against racist and sexist job discrimination. Automat- ic endorsement of all strikes against discrimination. A vigorous and sustained trade union fight ¡pation' bodies should be opposed and boycotted. and all the other governmental and industrial 'partic- The National Economic Development Council Trade unionists must be answerable to the membership, not to joint committees with the bosses.

No interference by the bosses' courts in the internal affairs of the labour movement. Even when an appeal to the courts is motivated by a desire to thwart the right wing bureaucrats, it runs counter to Right of members to criticise union policy; to meet unofficially and visit other branches; to write, circulate and/or sell political literature. Right of appeal All education or other special qualifications for union office to be abolished. No member to be disqualified from holding union office on political Police bust through the Scotts picket line last week WHEN AND WHERE: The conference has been PUT BAI from the original date of March 6 - which turned out to with other commitments for many invited speakers - to Saturday April 3. A venue will be confirmed shortly.

Socialist Organiser, London Labour Briefing; Oxford Trades Council; Trafford Trades Council; Basingstoke and Deane Trades Council; Oxford CATC; Laurence Scotts strike committee; Kings Cross ASLEF; CPSA British Library branch; TGWU 5/822; Oxford NUJ; ACTSS-APEX joint committee GEC Coventry: Bradford District Labour Party; Upper Stoke branch Labour Party, Coventry; Nottingham Labour Briefing; Manchester Labour Left; Coventry Labour Left; TGWU 5/104 branch; Leicester TGWU 5/287 branch; Sussex University Labour Students; and in a personal DELEGATES: and observers invited from organisations. Credentials £2: Cheques WRITE TO: Democracy Conference, Saturday APRIL 3 wage in their industry.

tees.

bodies should be circulated.

power.

Sco "IT wasn't Arthur Snipe who beat us. It wasn't even the police or the Tory government. It was the leadership of our own union -that's what beat us."

These words of Dennis Barry sum up better than anything else, the events at Laurence Scott over the past week. Whilst Snipe's scabs have been systematically looting the place of anything worth taking, helped by hundreds of police every day, the labour movement in Manchester has sat back and let it happen.

Pickets

1,000 pickets could have kept the scabs out and sent them packing along with their friends in blue. It shouldn't have been too difficult to get that number to turn out, considering all the promises Scotts workers had been given in the past.

What went wrong?

The treachery of the union leadership at national level, especially in the AUEW, has to be top of the list.

It wasn't just the lack of support they gave to the strikers, they were actively campaigning against them.

Boyd and Duffy broke every rule in the book to withdraw official support from the dispute. And when they did circulate branches, it was to warn them off giving support. Last week's events must have come as a great relief to them. The motion calling for new elections to the Executive has already been passed by over 130 branches, and the pressure was on.

One of the lessons the Scotts workers are determined to take with them, is the need to build up the strength of the movement at grass roots level again. In the meantime they are carrying on their campaign to remove the AUEW Executive and get fresh elections and at the same time to get the Mining Supplies Group blacked throughout the country.

They are also preparing a broadsheet on their experiences. That will be essential reading for all militants.

"When the police came 500 strong with their Tactical Aid Groups, there was no way that the Laurence fully informed throughout the strike.

the meeting beforehand. majority view is.

Scotts pickets could hold the gates on our own. We were let down by the grass roots engineers. Laurence Scott fought on our own-we gave a lead and showed that it was possible to fight. We hope now that someone else takes up the cudgel.

'The fight now revolves around Rule 14. Branches must send resolutions through and fetch the Executive to the polls. These are the men that sold us outand we're not the first, witness Plansees. We saw what happened at Leyland with the lack of lead given there. District Organiser len Brindle even read out a letter from Edwardes to the mass Sell out Now there will be massive redundancies there. Boyd and Duffy sell out their members in big companies, so what chance those in the small ones.

We rejected the Everutive's ultimaium to settle. and that was a democratic vote. They ignored that and withdrew strike pay und official backing.

ments and resolutions.

branches.

CLOSED SHOP WOMEN'S RIGHTS language).

YOUTH Laurence Scotts will still fight on to make the union democratic. We've been called militant morons but we were just fighting to save our jobs and we would have succeeded.

What we've got to do now is strengthen the grass roots of our union to make sure that this debacle doesn't happen again.

It's the rank and file that should dominate the leadership, and not the other way around. We need people with different views on the Executive who witi do the job they were put there for and represent the views of their membership.

There's one more thing. Through occupying 1hc factory. seven stewards are faced with a bill of over 16.000. two thirds of this is to pay for the Sherift and the bailifts who we didn't invite and who chucked us out of the faciory.

AIl AUEW members should be demanding that the union pays for this. But if they don't then we are going to be asking for don:lions. And that isn't the and. There are still no more cases to come up. We must campaign: for 100% right of trade unionists to er the right of trade unionis: workers to scab or flout de ainst the check-off system; policed 'agency shops'.

form women's caucuses.

BLACK AND IMMIGRANT WORKERS the right to form black caucuses. Full trade union rights for young y the right to strike. Formation of yor Unionisation of the within the unions.

INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS direct to union Appeals Court.

grounds, other than fascist or racist activity. RIGHTS OF BRANCHES AND DISTRICT COMMITTEES trade unionism; for the force closed shops; for s to discipline fellow mocratic decisions; agand against employerEqual riminght to 'orkers, including ith committees.

unemployed, rights trade union branches I bou SPONSORS INCLUDE: capacity, Reg Race MP and Mike Cooley.

payable to Socialist Organiser. district committees against the cr cracy. For the right of branches tees to take or approve industrial DEVELOPING SOLIDARITY Develop links between unions. councils to include representation ployed, tenants and students, and, direct representation from factory other shop floor organisations. eligible for inclusion in the delegation.

BREAKING COLLABORATION for postal ballots should be rejected. the principles of working class democracy. al union district i ion.

Expand trades from the unemmost important, committees and CK clash

Scan page 14

socialist Organiser, Thursday trebruary 25,9982"Pase 4"

----- pull-quotes -----

tts call to action CONFERENCE Democratis abour movement!

CRECHE: will be available. 28 Middle Lane, London N8.