Tuc's 6-month Diary of

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been fusal Organise against the Tebbit Bill with the new broadsheet from the Mobilising Committee for Trade Rights. 10p plus post from MCDTUR, 28 Middle Lane, London NE real change and offers al lead the iries.

Yet in fact precisely the opposite is the case. The arm-waving and tubthumping by union leaders Brighton focussed mainly On -orman Tebbit's antiwon leon. and the NHS pay struggle: on both these issues the TUC policy has been, and remains one of betrayal through cynical action.

Only a couple of weeks before we saw its parade of union leaders pleage tneir adiness to go to jail!

deñance of the Tebbit legislation, a union officer, leet _St. electricians' leader, Sean Geraghty) had en dragged into court d actually threatened th imprisonment for having held a stoppage solidarity health workers. the lUC leaders didndeed the very team.

reason that nrst the rnor Act and soon the Tebbit Act have DOORS husabeen the leaders to mobilise action to defeat the legislation or bring down the Tory government which spawned it.

For this same reason, the TUC record on the NHS dispute has been mitigated scandal.

:alth workers have doro harro nitor no Taan IAt DADTI SYanDaT March: Routine protest obby of Parliament alled by union leaders, ixpecting that RCN vould accept Tory 4% offer and create condiions for union accepance.

In the event both 4% ind 'revised' 6.4% iffer rejected by RCN ind unions.

First strikes begin -pressurise TUC tealth Services Commitee.

April 14: One hour oken stoppages called 1y union leaders.

veeks stalled, spluttered, lodged and ducked from he all-out action necessary o win the full claim. Most recently the astoundngly successful 'week of ction' in August was ollowed - to the undis‚uised relief of the Tories - by a month of inaction, eading up to the Septemer 22 one-day stoppage.

Since the TUC Congress, he spread of local deisions for supporting trikers in non-NHS nions has taken place -rith notable exceptions in he print and the NUM -argery in spite or ratner male in mid--f=dh.. TEBBI stop work.

COHSE announces 'warm-up' action for April 26.

April 16: NUPE calls time wasting ballot on the offer - with no proposals for action. April 29: 1-day strike by ' COHSE Oxtord members demands TUC HS Committee call all-out stoppage.

May 5: NUPE Executive lobbied by Health Workers for the Full Claim. May 11: TGWU health service delegate conference votes for allthan because of any clear directive from the leaders at the top.

The set-piece speeches at Brighton should not blind us to the fact that if sustained strike action had been called in the NHS, and the early solidarity of the miners built upon consistently, the struggle could have been resolved long before September.

Secret

Even now, in the run-up to the Day of Action, secret talks have been shown to be taking place with the Tories on the notion of a 2-year pay deal: and still there is no call for all out action, or any hint at all as to what is planned to follow the strikes on September 22 when the lorieg 3, predictably, refuse to give further ground.

Bitter experience of over 3 years of Thatcher's rule has now made it inescapably obvious that the TUC leaders prefer to moan and groan about life under the Tories than to lift a finger to build the kind of mass action that could force them from office.

From the isolation and betrayal of the steel strike in 1980, through successive sell-outs in British Leyland, up to the brutal knifing of the ASLEF strike, the record of the TUC bureaucracy has been consistently to oppose the generalisation of struggles and any out strike.

May 19: Ignoring NUPE 99% ballot for action and TGWU vote, TUC calls 1-day stoppage and 2 hour strikes each WeeK sAAL May 20: TUC calls further 24 hour strikes, June 4 and 8.

South Wales miners vote for solidarity stoppage.

End of May: NUPE conference votes for all-out strike - denounced by GMWU official Donnet. NUPE leaders ditch policy, seizing on a 007g 110t GO ARD nead-on controntation with the government.

Jobs by the hundreds of thousands and much-needed public services have been sacrificed without a fight by union leaders who are totally committed to a policy of seeking to reform rather than to overturn the Tories. technicality.

June 4: Strong for 1-day strike.

June 8: Biggest-yet strikes, backed by miners in Yorks, Lancs, nent, and by ouner Vand AMA Lass sections.

June 14: COHSE leaders attack and defeat conference motion for all-out strike.

June 16: South Wales one day strike; backed by miners.

Tories make new offer - 7.5% to nurses, 6% to ancillaries: 40% of Ana now it 1s union block votes and union bureaucrats who form the cutting edge of a witch-hunt in the Labour Party designed to stamp out those socialists who point to the impossibility of defending the working class through the established and impotent channels of "parliaDELAY ced through cuts.

June 23: Even bigger 1-day strike widespread solidarity stoppages.

June 24: TUC calls 3-day action Tor July 19-21.

July 18: ASLEF knifed by TUC.

August 9-13: TUC calls 5 days of action.

Solidarity from Fleet Street electricians in defiance of injunctions brings papers to 24hour halt. Sean Geraghty brought to court for 'contempt.

JDUCATIN one mentary' democracy.

September 22 at least shows that these union leaders are not having things all their own way. The NHS union chiefs have been unable to kill off the pay struggle; even Frank Chapple couldn't prevent Geraghty and the Fleet St. electricians flouting to fight back against Fo not's .the Socialist Organ liser actively supports th lese campaigns as the conc rete means by which worl kers at all levels can take up the fight to build a : new leadership and a new programme for a renev ved, re armed and reinfor reed labour movement. We need a movement capi able of confronting and def eating Thatcher's governn aent and pressing home the fight for a workers gov ernment which will natione alise without compensa tion under workers' mans agement the major indust iries and the banks; disma ntle the repressive mili tary apparatus, the police the bureaucracy of the state, replacing them 1 accountable bodies dr awn from the organised worl King class; and lay the basis i for a planned socialist ecr my.

The working lass spirit which will pre •vail on September 22 confi Ims that such a perspec tive could be achieved: the spineless spirit of the leaders in Congress Ho use and Labour headquar ters confirm that the Jain obstacle remains our i OWn bureaucratic leaders.

Help break the logjam! Join with Socialist laniam! Trin mrith Onnie aliot Organiser in the struggle for a new leadership!

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Socialist Organiser no. 101 September 23 1982 Page FIGHT .. siste • . . ' ...

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

STOP TORY ROOTROY!

IN DEFENCE SOMMITTEE TRADE UNION RIGHTS

'new' money to be finan- "NIC

witch-hunt, and defend recent gains on democ and accountability.