THOUSAND OF WOMEN BACK JOB MARCH Labour women fight for control

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After the London demonstration, next step is a cross-country Women's March for Jobs is a cross-country Women's March for Jobs

Jo Thwaites reports on issues at the Jo Thwaites reports on issues at Labour women's conference this Labour women's conference this

Class Fighter, paper of the National Left Wing Youth Movement of the IPYS. 10p plus postage from BM Box)

"WHAT do we want? A pint of beer! When do we want it? Now!"

By the time we reached Battersea Park at the end of the Women's Right to Work March on a sweltering June S, marchers were wilting, banners were drooping and the slogans had taken on a somewhat desperate immediacy.

Chanting

"Women's jobs, women's rights, women's independence" we had started out chanting. "A woman's right to paid work", "Equal pay not low pays , "Childcare and social services. A Woman's right to work" we had shouted to impatient, almost exclusively male, car drivers.

As we passed Parliament, we yelled "Women's rights, not right-wing women" and "Tories out, women in"

It was a scorching day as we left County Hall - not a huge march, it seemed, but dazzlingly colourful. But as we moved off; it seemed to grow. Had they all been hiding in the cafes and parks round about?

The March zair life to the Festival

Coaches kept arriving, disgorging their passengers to swell our rumbers. It was really quite a respectable number after all - a slap in the face for the fainthearts who didn't think the handful of women on the Action Committee could bring women onto the streets in any numbers.

Indeed, when we arrived at an almost deserted Battersea Park, it seemed a vindication of our argument thatwomen wanted a demonstration and the only way of guaranteeing success to the Labour Party's Festival was to push ahead with our plans for a march to it.

Labour Parties and trade unions had come with their banners, and no doubt many more would have, were it not for the behind-the-scenes playing down of the march.

Lively

Sandwiched • between Sisters Against Disablement singing "Equality not charity, disabled women are strong" and Spare Rib "What do we want? An end to male power" , Women's Fightback had a lively contingent with several banners.

Gerry Byrne reports

Sporting our muchadmired 'Women's March for Jobs" tee-shirts, we made a real visual impact. We want to turn that into political support for our plans for Where we go next after June

We'll be arguing, at the national meeting of the Action Committee on July 3, for a "Women's March for Jobs" organised along the lines of the "People's March" but without 'the bureaucracy.

march We want to turn the disadvantage of it being women who will march into a political plus; using the fact that many jobless women have children to link'up with campaigns to defend nurseries; gearing into the networks of women's groups that made, for example, the Women Live month a possibility, building on the goodwill in the labour movement that was developed by the campaign for June 5.

Footnote: we will have to go into training now. My feet were badly battered just by the few miles from County Hall to Battersea, and we're planning a crosscountry march!

And they didn't have a beer tent in Battersea Park!

We'll have to have better organisation than that for the Long March!

June.

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FIGHTBACK

marc

FOLLOWING hard on the heels of the successful women's march for jobs, and not quite so successful Labour Women's Festival, comes the annual Labour Women's Conference in Newcastle this weekend, 1213 June.

Over the past'two yoars women's sections in the Labour Party have been blossoming - and not just at a steady annual pace, more like one of those speeded up films! The Women's Conference has grown by 300% in the last two years. There are 650 delegates this year!

Yet despite this tremendous growth - there has been no corresponding growth in the resources allocated and power held by the women's organisation. The women's organisation has less control over its functioning than the LPYS hầs.

And this is clearly challenged by demands from. 42 women's, sections and Basingstoke SO Group Political Forum: The Falklands War: Who are the real winners and losers? Saturday 19 June at 2.15pm at Chute House. Further info, phone 0256 57038.

Contact:

Solidarnosc Trade Union Working Group, 64 Philbeach Gardens, London SW5. 01-373 3492.

Glasgow Polish Solidarity Campaign. lan McCalman, 18 Mossgiel Rd., Glasgow G43.041-632 1839.

Edinburgh PSC. C/o Edinburgh Trades Council, 12 Picardy Place.

Oxford Labour Committee on Pland, 468 Banbury Rd., Oxford. 0865 58238.

Coventry PSC. John Fisher, c/o ASTMS. 26 Queens Rd., Coventry.

Labour Poland Solidarity Fund, c/o Cooperative Bank, 110 Leman St., London El.

WOMEN, Politics and Trade Unions: beyond June 5. Dayschool for women organised by Manchester Industrial branch of WEA. Saturday June 19, 9.30 10 7.30 at 8411 Community Education Centre. Moss Side Precined. Manchester 16. £l (50p unwaged).

Illa

councils to the Newcastle women's conference for more control.

These demands, argued for by Women's Fightback and the CLPD Women's Action Committee for the last two ycars, are:

*that the Women's Conference should have the right to put at lcast five resolutions to Annual Conference of the Labour *that the women's places on the NEC. at present controlled by the trade union leaders, should be elected by the Women's Conference;

*that there should positive discrimination Parliamentary shortlists favour of women;

*that the National Labour Women's Committee should be elected by the Labour Women's Conference - instead of the secretive postal ballot system that operates at present or the system of election at Regional Women's ConferLABOUR COMMITTEE ON IRELAND South West London Branch Public Meeting, Wednesday 16 June at 8.00pm at Lambeth Town Hall (Room 2), Acre Lane, Brixton SW2.

Don Flynn, National Secretary of the Labour Committee on Ireland will speak on the LCI campaigns to stop the use of plastic bullets in Northern Ireland and for the repeal of the PTA.

LOBBY of Labour Party NEC to demand Labour Party oppose the renewal of the PTA. Wednesday 23 June at 9.00am at Labour Party Headquarters, Walworth Road, London SE17 (nearly tube Elephant and Castle).

CAMPAIGN FOR LABOUR PARTY & TRADE UNION DEMOCRACY 'A Question of Leadership'. The film HTV refused to screen. Discussion after showing of the film led by Ken Loach, the film's producer. Alan Thornett. film participant and British Leyland shop steward, Ray Davies, ISTC and film participant. Wednesday June 23 at 7.30pm, Ringland Club. Sponsored by the Llanwern Steel Action Group.

NORK

coming weekend coming weekend

ence (the same as the LPYS) voted for last year.

The drawback with the regional system is that the committee is not accountable to the National Conference.

Of course, even if all these demands were passed - and it is likely that they will be, this would only be a beginning. There is also a proposal to conference that there be a special one day conference that would deal exclusively with reorganising the women's organisation -so that it works for us.

Chosen Several women at the Festival last weekend wanted to know how the speakers the plattorm were chosen. There had not been any say in them from the rank and file women's section. That meant that the health workers fight and strikes where women predominate like Rulecan and London Workers Socialist League classes on basic Marxism. Next class: The Transitional Programme, Friday June 11, 7.30pm. For venue write to PO Box 135, London NI ODD.

WORKERS' march against Racism: FROM Brick Lane through Brixton to TUC conference in Brighton. September 4 to 8. Sponsors include: Jayaben Desai, Anwar Ditta, Nasira Begum, Tony Benn, Ted Knight, Ken Livingstone, Paul Boateng. Details 01-274 3951.

CLASS FIGHTER 5277, London WCIN 3XX.

Kigass weren't given ence.

The overriding concern from the resolutions down for the women's conference is the need to change the present organisation of the women's sections of the Labour Party so that we can be more successful and so that the women in the localities have the power and the say in how things are done -not the NEC or Walworth Road.

Women's Fightback is holding four meetings in Newcastle over the weekend. Women fighting the Tories' with NHS workers, and a Fightback speaker on the Women's March for Jobs: Withdraw the Fleet! Stop the War!' on Sunday and two meetings on Monday on 'Where Next?' - one for trade union delegates and one for women's section delegates.

out for Fightback leaflets at Conference.

POLISH SOLIDARITY CAMPAIGN bulletin: new issue out now. Individual copies, or sale Inrlividual ennise areslo •AIDS or-return bundles, car 7 be obtained from Marion Pitman, 29 Hampton Road, Twic enham, Middlesex. (01-898 7165) at 30p per copy.

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Socialist Organiser, Thursday 10 June 1982 Page

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WHAT'S ON

ROTBACK Women's RIGHTI

BRUNEL UNIVERSITY WOMENS GROUP JANT THE RIGHT TO NORK

FIGHTBACK FIGHTB Women's Wome march for jobs Job

WOMEN'S RIGHT

SOUTH WORK HOUSE