Jane Goss reports or the fight by women in COHSE

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national officer. Having been appointed as national women's officer she then renounced the title insisting that a women's officer was not necessary! Out of an NEC of 26 members there are only two women. • There is no shortage of women activists at branch level, as was certainly proved during the 1982 dispute. When it comes to strikes and picket lines, women are in the forefront: but wresting control from entrenched branch secretaries is another matter.

Group 81, the Broad Left, held a very successful meeting this yéar on women in the union. It is the first time that the issues of women's rights; positive discrimination, childcare arrangements, etc., has been discussed in an organised way by the broad left.

The meeting was chaired by a young woman who attended conference for the first time last year as a member of the youth course.

This year, because her branch took a positive step in deciding that a woman should attend, she was back as a delegate.

The fringe meeting highlighted quite a few unresolved probgagged 'postponement' 'Women have a long way to go in CoHSE' lems common on the left. Everyone at the meeting supported more involvement by women but few of the men would have been prepared to give up their place as a delegate to prove it.

Absence

The absence of resolutions calling for steps to be taken to facilitate more involvement by women shows that we have a long way to go.

However, conference finally settled the issue of abortion. It rejected a paragraph in the NEC report and forced the NEC to carry out the conference decision of 1981 to affiliate to the National Abortion Campaign.

This marks a major step forward for COHSE both in terms of democracy in the 'ünion and in recognising that women have a right to choose whether or not to have a child.

No doubt the anti-abortionists backed by SPUC and Life will again attempt to reverse the - = purs decision: But, the left have shown that we will not give up fighting for conference resolutions to be implemented and that we can win that fight.

The fact that the standing orders committee was willing to recommend special time to debate the affiliation to NAC was significant.

Previously the standing orders committee had squeezed it into the smallest possible time on the last afternoon. This year with the standing orders committee not under the control of the right the situation was different.

Valuable

That shows that getting sympathetic people onto committees, whilst not an end in itself, can be very valuable in the fight for democracy.

The union machinery under the control of delegates and not the bureaucrats is a very powerful weapon for winning on even our 'mock' elections democratic issues.

Also debated this year was a comprehensive resolution on childcare.

It called for extension and improvement in maternity leave and for negotiations to press for paternity and parental leave with no discrimination against part time workers and no "qualification" periods.

It also called for COHSE to affiliate to the National Child. care Campaign and to support national and local campaigns against nursery closures.

It said clearly in the resolution that these demands are not to be bartered away in return for a few extra pence. We need both better pay and better conditions for working parents.

Women have a long way to go in COHSE. We need a stronger and more powerful voice. The crisis of leadership affects us doubly and we need to fight twice as hard to change the UK!