What d'you think of it so far? by Gerry Byrne (Women's Fightback steering committee)

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Women workers have been in the forefront of the fight against cuts tions and launched the demands for major refweld the women's sections into a force that can lead November 27th, will be looking at. Register Now! THE Annual General Meeting is upon us. Time to pause and contemplate the past, present and future of Women's Fightback.

At times, through the general blur of exhaustion from newspaper and leaflet production, meetings and conferences, model motions and deadlines, we ask ourselves 'Is there anyone out there? Is anyone reading any of the articles and circulars?' Well, on June 5, there were 5,000 bodies on the streets, demonstrating for a Woman's Right to Paid Work. From its first glimmering appearance in a Fightback editorial two years ago, through all the battles to get the call for the demo taken up, to the flesh-and-blood reality on the streets, clearly somebody somewhere is listening and going off to organise.

Consolidation

And from the consolidation of the Action Committee into the Women's Campaign for Jobs, with ambitious plans for campaigns round benefits and getting jobless women to register, for Standing Up and Being Counted, and for a Nationwide March/ Tour for Jobs, to the mass of affiliations following the September Women's Campaign for Jobs Conference, there has been no shortage of action and enthusiasm.

On other fronts, some tentative beginnings have blossomed in a way none of us predicted.

At the first Fightback LAST Thursday in Conway Hall a meeting of 50 or 60 trade union representatives of school meals staff Conference, almost as an afterthought, we called a workshop for women in the Labour Party to draw up suggestions for what needed changing in order for women's interests to be truly represented. It was packed to overflowing.

We had stumbled on . a whole area of politics which nobody had yet taken up. Now, the women's sections steering Tich are revealing themselves as one of the most combative sections of the Party, and Fightback supporters are sweeping the board at the Women's Conference in the elections for Conference Arrangements Committee (the only elections that take place at the Conference since the appropriately-named 'block' votes at Labour sandwich and fast food sandwich Party -Annual Conference block proposals for the Women's Conference to elect its own representatives to the NEC).

Would the revival of the women's sections have happened without us? Quite likely, but Women's Fightback was in at the beginning, and helped to give shape to the whole TU process.

It hasn't all been plain sailing, even in the Labour Party, where we've made most progress. There has been chronic irritability between Women's Fightback and the CLPD Women's Action Committee. Inis nas consumea energy ML: - L-- An as soand duplicated effort which should have been directed towards what are shared goals.

One of the tasks for the Fightback AGM is to come up with proposals which maximise joint work in the Labour Party, so that wasteful competition is eliminated.

And the mood for change sweeping through the Women's Organisation has nour anmo in arrainot tha luw cunt up agaust we brick wall of the block vote. It will remain deadlocked until the fight within the unions for democracy and women's répresentation is radically strengthened.

And here we come to one of the central problems/ priorities for Women's Fightback. Despite large, gound-breaking conference of rank and file women trade unionists earlier this year, the work here is nowhere as advanced as in the Labour There is a huge pool of amorphous support among women trade unionists but so far it has not been organised. Partly because of the more difficult terrain in the Labour Part. Tu... 10Ama - and the very different problems encountered in different unions, the women's movement in the unions has not so far got clearly worked out aims and strategy for achieving them.

Vast

In some unions the problems are so vast and the bureaucracy so convoluted, it will take years. But whatever the lack of immediate pay off, all our other gains will be ephemeral if we do not build a movement of women in the unions, ready and able to challenge for power and control, and linking up with direct action struggles or women workers VI WULICH WUINEID.

One major beacon in this endeavour is the vote by NUPE conference to affiliate to Women's Fightback. Supporters in every NUPE branch must be pushing for this to be implemented, and not just half-heartedly.

It can be; used as a jumping-off point for really organising the mass of women in the union through joint meetings and campaigns, discussion of Women's Fightback and feedback from the branches into the paper.

The paper is another area which needs strengthening. Criticisms apart, it is almost universally acclaimed as readable and easy to sell. It has generTwo years ago, ated an enormous amoun of goodwill for the cam paign.

Yet it is produced by handful •of harasser , at ever-looming threat bankruptcy.

Articles promised don' materialise. Deadline: wander closer and close towards the end of nex month. Papers are taken sold, and not paid for More than any other are of the campaign, on thi paper we suffer from thi feeling that all our energ: is disappearing into somi "black hole out there' Solution The solution must be ti strengthen the loca groups; elect a committer Steering Committee ant Editorial Board; ant strengthen the link between the two..

This should produce i regular • paper whic actually reflects the view: and interests of its suppor ters and in turn enthuse: them to go out and buil the campaign, thereb: strengthening the paper.

If the AGM can generat‹ the commitment to put thi into practice, then it will br well worthwhile.

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INER LENNER, IPE OFE Y NR UPE * NO TSAR TO BITESTA JOHN HARRIS

* NE QUR

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