Watershed foi CPSA militants

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CPSA conference 1983, held last week in Brighton, was a watershed for the left in the union. After a year of an overwhelming Broad Left majority on the National Executive Committee, the right wing 'Moderate' group swept back to power, leaving the union once again with right wing leadership and left wing conference policies.

Despite a clear Broad Left majority in the conference hall, affiliation to the National Abortion Campaign, and the constitutional amendment to affiliate to CND (which required a two thirds majority) were lost. These two defeats, with the election result. showed the jature of the Broad Left to organise in the branches throughout the year.

Large Broad Left branches, such as the DHSS Newcastle complex, were mandated against affiliation to NAC after AGMs which concentrated far more on nominations for elected positions than. debates on the issues.

Left-talking

That this left-talking executive had also capitulated to management over the Birmingham/Oxford staffing dispute, sealed its fate. The right wing mobilised in Even in the conference itself, the only serious attempt to organise the left and orientate to the rank and file was made by the Socialist Caucus within the Broad Left (which includes SO supporters). A fringe meeting organised by the Socialist Caucus attracted a number of activists who rejected Militant's programmatic blockbuster approach to the conference but wished to distance themselves Kevin Roddy from the 'Labour Left' approach.

The conference itself, chaired by the 'Militant' outgoing president Kevin Roddy, was conducted, for the first time in four years, an orderly and dignified manner. A wide range of bread and butter issues on pay and conditions were debated. But when conference moved onto the key political issues, it became obvious that Roddy intended the debate to be between Militant and the right wing. The rest of the organised left was squeezed out.

This was most glaringly obvious in the debate on the proposed merger with the management union SCPS, where no left opposition speakers were called, despite the fact that much of the non-Militant left opposes a merger. Ford Bain, Again, the debate on the Oxford and Birmingham sell-out was smartly curtailed, Although Militant supporters were lined up to vote for the censure on the executive, no analysis of the dispute or reference to Militant's dubious role in it was wanted. This bodes ill for the strikers in Liverpool DHSS, again fighting staff cuts, and at Hackney DE and DHSS, locked out after protesting at over crowding.

The fight in the CPSA on women's issues is only just beginning. Although the setting up of a women's rights committee by the Broad Left NEC, and minor steps taken to increase representation on it, are advances, Militant lined up with the right wing to block attempts to introduce women-only schools into the union's education programme and to bar any mention of positive discrimination or separate organisation.

Yet the need for these steps was graphically illustrated within the conference itself. In a union which is three-quarters women, on an average day 68 male speakers were called and only 18 women. In some debates no women at all were called, although there were (a few) women on their feet.

Broad Left attempts to cooperate with the Civil Service Women's Rights Group seemed doomed to failure after they forgot to book a room for a creche at the Broad Left/women's rights meeting. In a union so dominated by women, and in which so few are active, taking up women's problems and drawing them into the activities of the union has to be a major perspective for the left. It arises directly out of the need to orient the Broad Left towards rank and file - instead of allowing the current factional heat to force moves to turn the Broad Left into nothing more than a delegate meeting which draws up an annual election slate. OFIT run as Rowtons or worse. Some of them are death traps. The

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Penny Barnett reports on CPSA conference ARRIS PHOTO: JOHN H