Cowley victory: step to build a fightback

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Martin Thomas previews the Broad Lefts Organising Committee conference (March 24, in Sheffield: credentials for up to five delegates per trade union body from George Williamson, THE 225 striking trim shop workers at BL's Cowley Assembly Plant returned to work on Monday, 20th.

The strike had closed down the North Works of the factory, which produces the Rover and the Honda Acclaim.

The strike was against a management decision to switch workers onto the new LM11 model, outside of the seniority agreement which management have not recognised for the last two years.

The strike ended with a significant victory for the trim shop workers. Management did not concede the precise terms of the agreement they had previously repudiated, but they did agree to the principle of seniority.

Workers will now be moved on the basis of seniority and the move itself will be supervised by the trade unions. Workers will have the right to return to their original jobs when vacancies arise in the future.

That is a very different situation to the one management wanted and which has become the norm in the rest of the factory outside the trim shop.

It is a significant shift from a management whose philosophy for a long time has been never to make concessions, particularly on something they regard as central as seniority.

They were, however, under heavy pressure since the strike was preventing the start of the new model.

The settlement represents an important step in the development of a fight back against the management offensive, which has done so much damage to the shop foot movement over the last few years.

Dimbleby demo

A joint NGA/NUJ demonstration is to take place on Tuesday March 6, assembling at 11 am at Richmond Green.

The demonstration is in support of the long-running strike at David Dimbleby's Richmond and Twickenham 'Times.

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Friday •mo ın Thursday Saturday Sunday THE Broad Lefts Organising Committee (BLOC) conference on March 24 will be the biggest rank and file trade union conference for years.

The Liaison Committee for the Defence of Trade Unions (dominated by the Communist Party) used to organise large events. but its conferences now are very small. Large 'Defend our Unions' and 'Rank and File' conferences were also organised at one time by the Socialist Workers Party, but they have given up on such enterprises.

The name Broad Left' used to mean narrow trade union caucuses, often semi-clandes. tine, dominated by the Communist Party and very much focused on trade union elections. Over the past few vears a whole new generation of quite different Broad Lefts has developed.

These new Broad Lefts are much more open, more democratic, and more left wing. The biggest political force in them is usualy 'Militant' rather than the Communist Party.

But not everything is different: Like the old Broad Lefts, the new ones have tended to be much better at organising for trade union elections than at organising for direct struggles.

Brake

In the CPSA and the POEU, the new Broad Lefts have won majorities on the National Executive. But the CPSA Broad Left helped to brake, rather than lead, the Oxford and Birmingham DHSS dispute in 1981 [it argued that militants should 'keep their powder dry' dor e 'bigger struggle' later]: and che Broad Left majority on tre POEU executive fell apart when the POEU came up against the law in its fight on privatisation.

The Broad Lefts Organising Committee was formed in 1981, and has representatives from some 20 Broad Lefts.

The March 24 conference, however, is not based on delegates from Broad Lefts, but on a general appeal for delegates to all trade union bodies.

Conference secretary George Williamson explained the aims of the conference in an interview with Militant on February 10.

"We have now set ourselves on a whole new direction _ into building the Broad Left movement throughout the trade unions nationally into fighting, campaigning organisations.

''The BLOC took a decision to launch a campaign around bruary 6 13 7 14 8 15 9 16 10 17 11 18 "2 19 11 Sutton Place, London E9 6EH). anti-union jaws.

The Socialist Workers Party is also mobilising heavily for the conference. They say: "Many of those addressing the conference... will argue that it is of key importance to get left wingers onto union executives ...

'But in the absence of a strong, well-organised rank and file they can only lead to defeat •.. The conference will provide the opportunity to convince militants who do want to fight that rebuiding strong organisanational rally ... with a central aim of demonstrating the collective strength of the left in the The word "rally" is worrying: will there be provision for the serious discussion that is needed on the experience of the Broad Lefts? Also worrying is the lack of indication of any future campaigning activity for BLOC. Despite the big possibilities it could have had, BLOC did nothing round the NGA dispute and has made no initiative on the tion in the workplace way forward."

In line with these ideas the SWP abstains from activity in the Broad Lefts. Its approach is, unfortunately, a mirror image of the trade union electoralism of some others on the left.

The truth is that both a firm orientation on rank and file basics; and a constant struggle to renew the trade unions' leadership at every level; and a fight to sharpen up left wing sentiments into precise policies, are necessary.

As many Socialist Organiser supporters as possible should be there on March 24 to get across this message.

42% recommended UNION leaders representing 900,000 council manual workers are to recommend acceptance of a 4½% pay increase, on the grounds that it is the best that can be won in a difficult period.

Last month an offer of 3% (in line with the government's 3% public sector pay guideline) was rejected, and as a result, for the first time ever, the employers' negotiators went

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victory Step to build a gatback