The TUC's turn

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Then on Friday 24th it called for solidarity strike action for GCHO by all unions. It was only the second such call since 1926. The TUC leaders themselves were breaking the Fory anti-union laws that they had so sickeningly told the NGA to Now they talk about breaking collaboration with the Tories in bodies like the NEDC, ACAS and the MSC.

Last year had one of the lowest totals of strike-days for a long time. In manufacturing industry, especially, the picture is still one of declining investment, crippling slump, and deciThen on Tuesday 28th the BL car plants in Cowley out on political strike for the first time since 1974.

The appearance of everything being turned topsy-turvy is heightened by the fact that the most militant campaigners for strike action on the 28th were right wingers like David Basnett and Terry Duffy, while Arthur Scargill and the left-wing leadership of the National Union of Mineworkers remained The explanation for these turnabouts lies in the tenseness of the political situation and the contradictory position of the Those top officials form a distinct social layer within the labour movement. Their substantial salaries; their life centred on offices, committees, big cars and expensive hotels; their multiple jobs 'on the side' and links with government, civil servants, and employers, all define a way of life quite different Lack of accountability in the unions - whether through membership apathy or through undemocratic rules such as those making top officials appointees (rather than elected) and/or fixed in their jobs for life - reinforces the separation.

At the same time the top officials share - and indeed are the chief preachers of - the common philosophy in the labour movement of bargaining within the capitalist system rather The role that the top officials seek is thus one of bargaining agents between workers and employers or government -rather than leaders of working class action.

As bargainers they will settle for what they canget. If economic conditions are bad, then they accept lower wages. If jobs are going, they bargain to save a few here or get better redundancy money there. If the Tories seem entrenched, then they open talks with them and try to live within Tory laws.

But as bargainers they always need something to bargain As long as the unions retain their basic fibre, then no matter how great the union leaders' privileges or how rightwing their politics, they cannot cut themselves off completely When the Tories announced their ban on union membersip at GCHO, the union leaders tried to bargain. They offered no-strike clauses. Thatcher refused. She said there was nothing to bargain about. She was determined to leave the union leaders with no members - nothing to bargain with.

So the union leaders were pushed into militant order to defend their position as bargainers.

But - such is the contradictory position of these union officials - the militant action has implications The strike call on the 28th will have boosted the confidence of militants in many industries. As a follow-up to it the top union leaders are likely to find themselves forced into a battle Then comes the twist. When the union leaders are forced into a fight, they do not then cease to be primarily bargainers rather than fighters. They are still likely to sell out the struggle So we must never forget that trade union officialdom occupies an unstable position of balancing between classes. Never assume that all it does is fixed in advance. Never let up Never collapse into the idea that the official ment is a write-off, and that all socialists can do At the same time, we can never forget that these top officials are bargainers, not fighters. Even when they seem most militant, don't rely on them. Don't shelve the fight to get new leaders, the battle for union democracy, and the effort to build self-reliant rank-and-file organisation. JUST two months ago the TUC was ruthlessly stabbing the NGA in the back, and openly preaching a programme of collaboration with the Tories.

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attack on the unions at GCHQ. from the members they represent. The TUC must immediately bodies with the government. CAMDEN ARANG UNIT IS STRE CT VAL GO GCHQ SOUTH EAST REGIONAL COUNCIL Daily : Mail EXPRESS SUn-