Slump boosts ASTMS

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THE low key debates and lack of leadership at the ASTMS conference last weekend had a very demoralising effect on delegates.

There were a lot of potentially lively topics for discussion - Tebbit, cuts, women's rights, unemployment and Ireland. But the level of debate showed a very clear change in the balance of forces in the membership of ASTMS.

Unemployment has dramatically cut the size of the engineering membership in the union and the lack of leadership in the face of redundancies has left the remaining engineers very demoralised.

The only increase in numbers has come in the finance and insurance seefor which is predominantly right wing, leaving ihe public sector technicians, particularly those in, the health service who are in the middle of a pay dispute, fairly consistently on the left.

In spite of the issues, like an amendment calling for strike action over Tebbit, the debates were non-controversial with the bureaucracy heading off action whenever it was mentioned.

But on Sunday morning the heated feelings came out and the conference took off over an emergency motion tabled by the West Midlands division calling for the resignation of the National Executive Council over their handling of the union finances and the branch levy.

This internal wrangle aroused more feeling than any other debate and the NEC were in trouble for a while. But eventually after a long procedural struggle the motion was defcated.

This, initially left delegates feeling that they had worried and chastised the National Executive and the motion had served its purpose. But as time wore on the NEC reasserted its confidence and demoralisation set in among the delegates.

Low key

The conference el nded with a very low key de bate on leland and a mo stion calling for the eventual v vithdrawal from Ireland ai nd a united Ireland was remi itted to the Executive SO no décision was taken.

The contradictions ir 1 the rightward turn of the n nembership was the 1 for Sue Lister, Organiser suppor her to the confer ing Orders Comn plus the number who voted for t! Executive to re that people are 1 lead and not ju internal union str But the left 1 way to give that l allow the NEC 1 to head off di decisions and the sary actions to d services and un at conference.

ELAI nassive vote a Socialist ter, to elect ence Standnittee. This, r of people he National sign shows poking for a st over the uctures. nust find a ead and not to continue ebates and very neceslefend jobs, lion rights, NE SMITH

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Organiser, Thursday 1982 27 May, Page