Labour women's organisation since the Newcastle women's conference which first passed some of the Women's Action Committee (WAC) demands. The realignment of the Labour Party membership that Kinnock achieved in the Labour Party at last year's conference was introduced with a vengence into the Rothesay women's The mechanism for this realignment was resolution introduced by NUPE organisation. The resolution proposed introducing a trade union block vote into women's conterence. dressed up with worthy promises of a consultation exercise aimed at giving more significant say.
Support for this resoluunholy alliance of NUPE wun tre a man els that have traditionally been totalv hostile to anv strengthening of the organisation ASTMS, AUEW and the EETPU for example. Indeed Mel Read of ASTMS, who nas frequently taken the platform the vanguard of the opposition to WAC, was once more to the fore — 7316 arguing for NUPh resolution She made sophisspeech talking. about the advances that women are making in the unions, and how this experience needs brought more centrally inTHE 1986 LABOUR women's conference which unions and sections of the to the women's conference in order to strengthen it. Her speech swayed number women from the women's sections.
It might perhaps have had less effect had ASTMS's real hypocris been reveaco ASIMS has steadily Its delegation conference over the last few years, so that this year its delegation consisted of Keno dool other woman. This is what ASTMS thinks decorate to reflect its 77,000-plus when it could members, send up to 20 delegates.
Rather than wollicu from the women's sections and councils ignoring the -views of Mores like ASS re unions ASTMS concerned that rank and file union delegates women s conerence mcml well start to apply the WAC approach situation of women in the unions nemse ves.
The final piece in the alliance of forces behind the tell into • LIC NUPE Indeed ed Dinning representing Glasgow member in Scotland. used her first time opposed the positions of WAC's key initiative was the places NEC. The LLL Calle that brought LOSCUICI whole last These 256 against. weakened in that strong left unions which support WAC, like the NUM, do not send-representatives to women's conference.
This will be used to strengthen the hand of all those ranged the NUPE resolution over the next year to argue that women's conterence is not representative the unions up momentum the proposal block vote.
Callthe year. plaining • actual v the ed in.
for years. the the But They did the bureaucracy, the male union bureaucracy, over wolnel The impact is going to be verv great. Because the problem women face is not the involvement of unions the 'conference. The problem how the vote of women in the unconfereepressed ill conlerence. or men and the women COntro et eftect of this Collfer that the pushed the into unions selffight une Women adopt ing selt of women WAC within movement, organisa• Self own unions was the number of isolated, of ship they purport to represent. of and parcel of capitalism - inequality.
against the next strata in the pyramid. lacht/Republican News, carried an editorial marking an important Sinn Fein statement. I looked at the weaknesses of the Republican and the bureaucratisation of these THE trade union movement has made a major contribution to Irish society over the years in defending the interests of workers against the Folk memories of the Great Dublin Lock-out in 1913 are alive and well, as are memories of the general strikes during the Tan War and a host of though no less heroic gestures workers' solidarity and commitment to achieving a The Irish trade union movement has been fortunate in having had the services of remarkable as James Connolly, James Larkin, The story of trade unionism in Ireland is the story of a struggle against an establishment which stands with the interests of capitalism. Yet, unfortunately, it has all too often been the story of compromise between an out-of-touch trade union bureaucracv and that verv same establishment While the trade union movement and the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU), in particular, remains the only mass organisation of the working class, it is difficult to see what the long-term objectives of the ICTU are and whether its leadership are on the same wavelength as the union memberCan union personnel who earn up to £40,00 plus perks, realistically represent the interests of the ordinary union membership, not to mention The ICTU leadership and the entire profes sional bureaucracy which ordinary union members support financially is clearly operating along the same lines and the same standards that are part 'aristocracy of labour' which would divide craftworkers from labourers and so on. Yet today the trade unions are divided along those very lines. The situation is further complicated with the managerial unions all negotiating on their owr
----- pull-quotes -----
took place in Rothesay this weekend marked the most significant turning point in the development of the
will pay focus of We will hae