Battles ahead will test out NUR AGM swing to left

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clear that we will not support or abide by legislation which destroys effective trade unionism.

A constant theme throughout the conference, whatever the issue being debated, whether it be wages, closures or anti-union legislation, was that it was not enough simply to vote for a motion. It was necessary to mount a continuing campaign among the membership to ensure that the motion could be carried out. 'It's no good being like the LabourParty', ', decalred one delegate, 'and taking socialism out of the drawer at election time and putting it back in afterwards. We need to be campaigning against redundancies and closures all the time'.

But whilst the name of everyone from Wat Tyler through Keir Hardie to A J Cooke was invoked to underline the fact that you don't get anywhere without a fight, the contents of the resolutons before the conference - passed unanimously with an almost monotonous regularity were not fully in tune with the rhetoric of their movers.

The composite resolution on wages called for 'a substantial increase' without mentioning Stop the iboi iligi irty On has been taken a step forward in that the NUR is now committed to get a national delegate conference called and to building 'Triple Alliance" links at local level. Previously the Triple Alliance was little more than a piece of paper in each union's national headquarters.

These decisions mark a shift leftward in the NUR. But at the AGM not all was done that could have been done to push the union in that direction.

A motion opposing Tebbit's proposals on "democracy in the trade unions" was of course passed. But an amendment saying that greater participation of and accountability to the membership was a good thing was thrown out.

On the Labour Party Knapp managed to swing the AGM behind him when he argued against the witch-hunt and expulsions. But he also swung it against a motion that would have guaranteed the right of socialist groups to organise inside the party - the Greenwich amendment. He didn't like expulsions, he said, but we shouldn't try to alter the Labour Party constitution.

Defeated

resolution to make the ir Party accountable id to carry out L our policy was defeated.

Northern Ireland the AGM welcomed the Labour Party conference 1981 decision in favour of a united Ireland, and also the proposal to initiate discussions with the Dublin government to attain that end...

An obviously 'Militant' inspired amendment on this subject was defeated. This set out to delete the idea of such discussions and asserted that 'unification can ony be achieved by uniting the working class. We therefore support the formation of a Labour Party in Northern Ireland based ont he Labour and Trade Union groups, Socialist groups and trade unions, District Councils, aspiring to achieve this aim.

President

The election of the Broad Left supporter Bob Kettle as President (though by only one vote) also reflects the shift to the left in the NUR.

This shift is due for a major test, however, as a result of another decision, which marks a major change. That is the decision to reverse the policy on driver only operation (DOO).

The NUR will now accept DOO on those lines where it already exists but on no more. No more guards jobs are to go. This decision will inevitably bring the NUR into collision course with the British Rail The NUR's propaganda campaign against Serpell so far has amounted to little more than leatlets showing the skeleton of railways that Serpell described as profitable in his most extreme option.

And if tomorrow the Tories announce the closure of all but this 600 miles of railway line even the most staunch right winger will be for industrial action. closure or "mothballing" of "surplus" lines. Serpell is not going to be the Big Closure Programme suddenly announced. It is the steady drip, drip of closure that is taking place already. The time to fight is now.

The task of the left in the NUR is to make this clear and along with the issue of guards' jobs to get industrial action on the agenda.

TROOPS