labour movement. In particular it exploits women's real difficulties in working full-time because of child care and forces them into the workforce at cheap rates.
The future, even under a Kinnock government, looks as if it will hold more part-time work. This would mean more unemploy ment for men, and for women low wages and bad conditions with little if any union 14 orgamisation.
„FORDS ING 1967 INS IS Too! TOo WAI
There was real excitement in October 1979 when the women's and trade union movements together defeated the Corric Bill with its attack on women's abortion and contraception rights. The record of victory since then is not so impressive. Noncholess the experience of that campaign agamst Corrie proved not only that the women's movement and the trade unions could work together but also showed what an effective and victorious unity it could be.
Where has that unity gone? What does the Labour Party and trade union movement offer women today?
'the economic reality of
women's lives has
changed drastically since
the seventies'
The Equal Pay and Ser Discrimination Acts introduced under Labour previously have proved woctully inadequare, while the gains of the 1967 Abortion Act are slowl being whittled away. The time is well overdue for radical cconomic and social measures to ensure women's cronomic independence and their fundamental right to control their own bodies.
In response tothese demands, Jo Richard son, women's righes spokesperson for the Labour Party, has recondly initiated a discus sion within the party and its National Executive Committce (NEC) on the setting up of a future ministry for women's rights. The proposal fora women's ministry offersa
way of integrating the demands of women, their needs at work and within the home, into the coming election manifesto of the Labour Party and of providing a mouthpicce or women under any future Labour govern nent. But if it is not to be a half-hearter attempt to co-opt a section of women in the party and in the unions or to win the votes of women without actually doing anything, some hard questions need to be answered.
For example, Labour's national women's conference has virtually no decision-making power. So how would a women's ministry have more power? Would it have its own budget and, if so, who would control its funds? Would the ministry beaccountable to the women's conference in any way? How would it give a voice to women in the affiliated unions? What mechanism would be used to integrate women in unions which are not presently affiliated to the Labour Party? How would the ministry be accountable to, and serve the needs of, women throughout the community?
Feminists in the labour movement must insist on a wide-ranging discussion of the ministry through all the structures of the Labour Party, the unions, and the broad-based women's movement.
It is possible to win women's support and their votes, but only if attempts to meet their demands are followed through. Women can hardly be blamed for their suspicion when Neil Kinnock spends much of his time explaining what the Labour Party cannot promise to fulfil if clected. For example, while stressing Labour's commitment to addressing unemployment he has gone out of his way to warn against expectations ol a sharp reduction in the number of jobless people. And he is ambiguous about whether Labour would renationalise all the industries sold off by the Tories.
These sorts of non-policies are bad news for women. Only radical cconomic and social measures will reduce unemployment, rebuild industry and public services, and produce a crash programme in nursery and creche facilities to allow women with children to work
The contemptuous attitude of Labour's leaders to the existing forms of self-organisation of women in the party and in the unions hardly provides grounds tor optimism about any future Labour government's response to the demands of women in general and to a ministry for women in particular. If the National Conference of Labour Women can be patted on its head and its views ignored when Labour is in opposition, how seriously would Kinnock in Number 10 treat a women's ministry?
The powerlessness of Labour women's conference was clearly scen at this year's gathering. A card vote supported Irish
INTERNATONAL No a. Otober:November 1026
thorny question. The idea that the trade trade union delegations are democratically The debate goes on and at present it is Labour women working right now to forge the-board solution. But at the very least trade union women and women actively Interview with sacked print worker "The strike is still Liz Short believes the EETPU should be towards trade unionists on their own door-
self-determination, opposed the Anglo-Trish Accord and called for a national demonstra-
Tin November this vear practice of strip searching Irish women held
What happened exemplities the real situation of women in
Opposition to strip scarching is official party policy. There is genuine support for it among women and the Irish community in Britain. The proposal was forwarded to the women's committee of the National Executive which in turn took it to the NEC itself. The Nec: not only opposed the demonstration but even rejected the idea of organising an 'appropriate event' instead as moved by Mr Audrey Wise. It agreed only to issuc a statement on 15 November! (Despite the lack of official party backing a rally will take place on that day and the fight for a demonstration as agreed by Labour women will continuc, aiming for International Women's Day 1987.)
'Labour National Women's
Conference has virtually
Ono decision-making power'
If the National Conference of Labour Women is to become an effective lever of accountability for a future women's ministry the relationship of the trade unions to the conference is another issuc which must be resolved. Trade union delegates to the conference hold many less votes proportionally to the vast number they represent. At this year's conference women from NUPE did in fact put forward a resolution defeated on a card vote - which partly addressed this problem. Unfortunately the resolution also included an attempt to water down the existing policy of Women's Conference that it should have the right to elect women members of the Nec. It proposed as well giving more power to the predominantly male, predominantly right wing Labour and trade union leaders in selecting the delegations.
The blame for this situation cannot, however, simply be laid at the union's door. It is a product of the existing division between trade union and constituency delegates — a division which is dangerous and damaging for the strength of women throughout the labour movement and the community.
Labour Women's Action Committee (WAr), while being in favour in theory of integrating trade union women has in practice still to organise effectively in the unions. Nevertheless, this year's women's conterence reaffirmed itssupport for WAd's demands. WAC is now campaigning for the clection of the five women on the NEC to be organised through an electoral college representing 50 per cent women from the constituencies and 50 per cent trom the unions. This should be supported as a step towards giving trade union women more power within the Labour women's conference.
Whether or not the trade union bloc vote should apply to women's conference is a
proportionate to the number of women within their unions seems fair enough. The trouble is, who then would decide on the delegations and policies taken to the conference? So long as women are still completely under-represented in the leadership of their unions there is a real danger of the Labour women's conference being handed over to the men at the top of the right wing trade union bureaucracies — the last thing most women would want. virtually impossible to advance one acrossconterence itselt must be satistied that the campaigning in the community. winnable' Liz Short THE PRINT DISPUTE grabbed centre stage at the first day of the TUC Brighton Conference. Delegates voted by 5,823,000 to 3,132,000 to condemn the failure of the TUC General Council to order the electricians' union (EETPUto instruct their members not to work at Rupert Murdoch's Wapping printworks.
The Conference decision was both an expression of the wide-spread support which has been built up by the print workers and the failure of the TUC leaders to deal decisively with scabbing in the trade union movement.
The evidence against the electricians' union was overwhelming. Sacked Sunday Times journalists writing in the Wapping Post of 30 August 1986 provided conclusive evidence that EETPU offices in Southampton and Glasgow directly recruited scab labour
Tat Wapping and Kinning Park, Murdoch's Scottish plant.
should get the number of votes elected by the women in those unions.
There is every sign that women will go on striving for the kind of measures — socialist
— that will make a real difference in their lives. Because these are so far-reaching, would affect every area of policy and would cost money they are unlikely to be won as a matter of course even under the Labour government. Similarly it will take a