Democracy* on Democracy which had brances the platform speakers democracy, policies — selves to a fight.
campaign 'for ABOUT 250 PEOPLE - delegates and individual trade unionists attended the conterence on vage 23 October, organised by the Campaign for in the Labour Movement. Amongst the represented were the AUEW ASTMS, NUR, NUPE, SOGAT, NAFTHE, and NALGO. Among were Groves from Trico slinaton Labour Party militant Keith Veness The conference debated an action programme around which to fight the Social Contract. But the conference was marked by confusion as to what task it was to perform. Despite the fact that it was called on the theme of wage control and union systematic attempt was made to involve Communist and Labour Party members in the conference. The - such as the sliding scale or wages - put forward in the organising committee's appeal, although correct, allowed the Stalinist and reformist leaders to avoid committing themThey were able to argue that whilst they wanted to defend union democracy they could not support the conference since they disagreed with the action programme. Far from bullding a democracy in the Labour movement organising committee thus excluded from the conference those workers who genuinely want to fight the Social Contract and the attacks on union democracy being used to police that Contract, and Union UCATT workers self-defence against fascists, for that programme, to working class movement is presently involved -orooramme the conference But this will The conference did discuss two amendments to the action programme from Red Weekly supporters, which were accepted by the organising committee into the main resolution. . One of these called for support for black self-defence as a first step to gration controls. Another called for active support for the fight for women's rights. The end product is a fine action programme on paper — but there was next to no discussion on how to fight advance the struggles in which the The blame for these failures must lie at the door of the main political group behind the organising committee - the Workers Socialist League. Arguing that the CP and trade union lefts are not going to make a serious mign against alacks on worner democracy, they make no attempts to force them into united action against these attacks. That simply lets the Stalinists and 'efts' off the hook. It is only in the course of such united actior that broader layers of workers will be won to the action Red Weekly believes that the planned recall conference could be of considerable use in allowing militants to discuss their experiences of fighting for the action programme adopted by only be bossible when UNTE organising committee accepts that this is not a broadly based