After the Lord

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Spot the woman: only 108 out of 1,200 delegates were Scarcely a worker in sight in the hall: but TUC leaders could not ignore the mood of the rank and file breacn or lory anti-union' suttered by the advocates laws, Foot went further to of wage control when the the right than any union TUC voted not to discuss leader except Frank this with any government,

HARRY SLOAN

reports on an unusual TUC FOR A DAY or two it seemed as if the customary bottomless barrels of booze which fuel the bureaucrats at the TUC Congress had been additionally 'spiked' by some exotic halluçinogen.

Everyone went wild. Terry Duffy called for defiance of the Tebbit Bill and cast AUEW votes against talks on wage controls with a returned Labour government.

Moss Evans volunteered to go to jail, while TGWU National Secretary Mick Martin called in effect for a one-day General Strike.

Len Murray and General Council right-wingers had to fight to repel moves to break off TUC collaboration with the Tories and CBI in the NEDC and similar tripartite bodies.

Post Office Engineers' leader, right-winger Bryan Stanley, announced an unlawful 24-hour political strike against the privatisation of British Telecom, while Tom Jackson - a leading advocate of wage controls - rose in the NHS pay debate to welcome the fact that - 11 years after the postal workers were sold out by the TUC in their pay fight - at last there was solidarity behind publ ic sector workers.

NALGO leader Geoffrey Drain, too, welcomed the fact that, for the first time since 1926, the TUC was taking the lead in calling industrial action on September 22.

Even Jim 'Concordat' Callaghan, far away from the Brighton revellers, fell victim to the hysteria and made a wild statement suggesting that trade unionists have a right to break Tory anti-union laws.

As the Congress ground to a halt, it was left to an Scarcely a worker in sight in He began with a few stern words to public sector workers who might have opted for solidarity action: water, gas and electricity should be kept going on September 22, he ordered.

In addition, "continuous process" industries should not be disrupted.

And - on the flimsy pretext that the TUC's demonstration in London requires transport on September 22 - transport workers, and in particular the rail unions, were told to stay at work.

This line had been firmly answered from the Congress rostrum. TGWU spokesman Mick Martin had stressed that the union was not satisfied with the General Council decision on transport; he wanted everything • stopped. Arthur Scargill too stressed that the way to have the biggest impact was not just to travel to London, but to take 24 hour strike action -and join a local picket line. Neil Kinnock. Foot went on television at the weekend in an alcup w retrieve vaul- an attamnt in antrinza Moll aghan from his predicament as an advocate of unlawful and extra-narlia450 Tra щади mentary action.

He was careful to avoid any statement of solidarity "giving the strongest appropriate support" on September 22.

Asked if he himself favoured trade union action in Loreal M... ignore the mood of the rank & Chapple.

"No, I don't approve of people breaking the law, and I don't believe that Jim Callaghan believes in nannlo hroakine tha lorr'! pouric vicanwig we law .

Callaghan himself, still dripping from a bucket or two of cold water in the face, began claiming that his remarks applied only to the health workers.

Meanwhile former 'left' Kinnock was among the cynical Labour leaders who dismissed the setback Tory or Labour. 'It is simply a matter of presentation" • he pointed out calmly.

Indeed, despite the embarrassment of this year's mandates, the Labour leaders know that all of the main union leaders -AUEW, TGWU, GMWU and many others - have already accepted the principle of a further round of wage controls under Labour, and confidently expect to swing the formal vote for acceptance next year, despite the fact that, as AUEW (Construction) leader John Baldwin pointed women NEVER MIND the votes - let's get on with the wage controls! That is the gist of a decision by the TUC/Labour Party Liaison Committee at the weekend to press ahead with the publication of a pamphlet setting out proposals for 'economic planning', including control of wages, under a new Labour government.

Labour's General Secout, they have no support for this from their members.

Murray and the Labour leaders no doubt hope that the litter can be cleared and the carpets restored after the Brighton carousal: but the Tebbit Bill, the privatisation offensive, and the militancy that has fuelled the NHS dispute, will not fade away as quickly as the bureaucrats' hangovers. retary Jim Mortimer ha pointed out that th stands in need of ri drafting in the light ‹ the TUC vote for fre collective bargainin and rejection of tall on wage controls wit any government.

But his views - an those of the TUC Cor gress have bee brushed aside in th hope of bulldozin through the plan.

The more militant state ments that were made wer not some individual quir by union General Secretal ies, but a response to press ures in the membership.

We are more powerf than we realise. And if w organise to fight, we ar powerful enough to pus these same leaders right of the platform and build real fighting leadership.

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September

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with the NHS workers, say- ing only that he will be