negotiations with the rail unions.
attack from before national strike action.
took over from the disgraced Sid Weighell.
the basis of the for the miners Jimmy Knapp has traded on his The reality betivi tre reality rhetoric became apparent in stark fashion at this year's conference - апа any doubts that Knapp intends dragging the NUR to CANS OVER the past few days British Rail bosses have launched a massive attack on railworkers' jobs and conditions of service through the stepped up campaign to impose driver only operation on the industry. This has been carried through outside any British Rail management got a go-ahead for this the Annual General Meeting of the NUR held at the beginning of the month in Ayr, Scotland. At the conference NUR General Secretary Jimmy Knapp led a bitter struggle to overturn TUC policy opposing the compulsory holding of ballots After Knapp's position was narrowly passed, he went on a further offensive to hamstring attempts by the rank and file to get more control over their union and to protect jobs. A delegate to the NUR AGM draws a balance sheet of Knapp's two years since he the right were dispelled on the very first day during the debates on the Labour opened with Knapp opposing attempts to give the rank and file more involvement and more accountability over, representatives exI BALLOT ecutive posts in the Labour He refused charges that Charlie Turnock, Assistant General Secretary, 11210 voted against union policy at the Labour rally Ie In a permanent alliance with the right wing, Knapp tion opposing witch-hunts in the party. Despite the refused to accept that any place attacked people like Socialist Action who say Graham'. (By the end of the week some delegates might have DeCI rather sorry for Graham!)
The overriding concern of the conference was job loss and unanimous decisions called for a campaign of industrial action to dePRESS decision fend jobs in British Rail Engineering Ltd, and opposed further productivity deals including driver only trains. reclosures in the Strathclyde jected rail plan and called for the renationalisation rail subsidies hived OLI under the Tories.
Yet despite the rhetoric Knapp warned the threatened Brel workers to prepared lock yourselves into your factories - many feared that the ballot question would be used by the leadership undermine any TOdI fight over cuts closures. If there is failure to link up the fight • in different sectors then the ballot issue could De alvislye The situation in the rail industry is similar to that faced by the NUM in early 1984 with management implementing their programme within weeks rather than months Unless a coherent ycals. national policy developed urgently by the leadership workers will be picked off one by one.
Knapp opposed attempts to have the position of General Secretary made open for re-election every five years — at present the job is for life. This directly contravenes his promises during his campaign in 1983. He also opposed attempts to prevent any General Secretary from holding bolside the labosi positions movement. MINERS