TGWU fails test of democracy

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of regional targets set to bring in our £1,000. and started the process of raising their target £72.45 in our first week leaves us £927.55 to go, in three weeks. If every group raises their target amount, we'll be there. Rush donations to: 214 Sickert Court, London N1 2SY.

Thanks to: Bruce Robinson £35.50; Alice Swindale £10; Richard Bayley £10; Tan McCalman Published by the Socialist Organiser Alliance, 28 Middle Lane, London N8. Printed by Fast End Offset (TU). Registered amounts. Group Scotland Glasgow Edinburgh North West Rochdale Manchester Stockport Wirral Liverpool Hyndburn Stoke Yorkshire/A Huddersfiel Durham Leeds Sheffield Hull Halifax York THE NORTH London Post Office Engineering Union strike is over.

After a week on strike, the members of London North Central Internal Branch (LNCI) have returned to work, by decision of the left wing union executive.

They had come out in support of POEU members suspended for refusing to work on the privately-owned Mercury System. The Mercury system is the trailblazing pioneer of privatisation in telecommunications.

This strike was the first major action in the union's campaign against privatisation.

It now appears that the LNCI strike was never intended to last longer than a week. But this was not generally known and the sudden end, without adequate warning, has caused confusion in the union's ranks.

This is made worse because no immediate alternative action has been prepared to replace the strike. Broad Left activists in London are unhappy about it and critical of those responsible.

The union's campaign is being run for the National Executive by the Industrial Action Sub-Committee (IASC), in conjunction with branch • officials. Last month a motion of no confidence in the IASC for its failings in the fight against privatisation was passed. This opened the door to the Broad Left's victory at the conference.

The IASC now includes leading left wingers like Broad Left secretary Phil Holt. Members expect a clear lead from it.

We can't afford to lose momentum in the fight against privatisation if the members are to be geared up to the showdown which Thatcher's re-election has made inevitable.

••• Here THE START of the July Five groups have sent in £7; Bas Hardy £6.95; Aléx Simpson £3. THE TGWU conference on the Isle of Man debated the Labour Party leadership issue on Monday, its first day.

The conference was manoeuvred into support for Neil Kinnock, and has resolved nothing on the problem of the democrątic administration of the block vote. far from trying to come to terms with the challenge posed for the unions by the extension of democracy in the Labour Party, the patform simply confused the contused They introduced into the same debate two distinct issues: the choice of a candidate in this particular election, and the long-term issue of principle on how the union will decide to cast its block vote of 1¼ . million at Labour Party conferences and in the electoral college.

The issue has been hanging over the union since the 1981 conference, when the chair bureaucratically overruled any discussion at all on the Benn-Healey deputy leadership contest. This time, a debate was allowed, but it could hardly be seen as an extension of democracy.

Instead of adopting the obvious procedure of debating all the candidates and then voting on them, we were allowed to vote only on those candidates subject to emergency motions in their ! are your Fund marks the start of regic donations this week, and sta Target Received Harrogate Midlands Birmingham Coventry Leicester • Northampto Nottingham South and W Oxford 6.95 Basingstoke Cardiff London North-West Hackney Haringey Hounslow Islington S.E.London East London Others Neil Kinnock support. (Last minute emergency motions are very difficult unless you know the conference procedures well in advance or a branch happens to meet just before the conference).

Since an emergency motion supporting Michael Meacher was withdrawn at the last minute, the only options in front of the conference were the Executive motion supporting Neil Kinnock, and one supporting Roy Hattersley. There was no possibility of supporting Eric Heffer - who •.... 000.

targets!

Lambeth/Southwark 10 advocates policies far closer to the TGWU's than Neil Kinnock - or anyone else.

The Executive resolution also contained proposals designed to establish future procedures in deciding the union's votes for the Labour Party leadership. It argued correctly that the delegate conference should decide, but only if it happened to be meeting at the right time (it meets every two years). On all other occasions, the Executive would have the right to make a recommendation to the union's delegation.

I moved a motion from my branch calling on the BDC to decide, but to decide on all occasions* - meeting in emergency session if the regular conference did not fall at the right time. I stressed that the TGWU must accept that the block vote has been under the spotlight since the Labour Party conference decision to elect its leaders, and that the union-can no longer avoid establishing democratic procedures.

Debate At the same time the conference had to debate a motion from the right wing calling for a secret ballot on the issue. At first this got some support in the conference, but the mood changed during the debate as the implications in relation to currenț Tory policy were spelled out, and the competence of elected delegates to take such decisions was argued for.

Moss Evans unfortunately argued against such a ballot not on principle but on the basis that it was too costly. The conference eventually accepted the appeal 35.50 from the platform to endorse the Executive resolution and reject both my branch's resolution for full control by conference and the secret ballot proposal.

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strike called off by Pat