AT A LOW key Annual Meeting, the rail workers union, RMT, has made modest steps forward in elaborating a strategy to defend its members from the ravages of Tory transport policy. A right-wing backlash, expressed in a series of resolutions attacking policy put forward by the national executive, failed to materialise in a any significant vote. Instead key debates at the AGM were within the left, focused on how best to fight rail While reconfirming the resolve of the union to work towards a Labour victory, delegates agreed to fight inside the Party for a ranid renationalisation of the pail industry.
Waiting until "economic circumstances allow" would not suffice. At the same time it was resolved to do everything necessary up to and including industrial action to secure a nationalised railway, regardless of the party in Turning that policy into practice will, of course, be another matter. It was always union policey to organise industral action in the first place - but that didn't happen and today we reap the "benefits".
Instead of a generalised campaign of action, the RMT has ended up being dragged into a series of small scale disputes around the country as different sets of workers come up against offensives by their new private employers.
Some of those disputes have been successful. but too often ballots have been lost as workers have doubted their ability to succeed in isolation.
This was highlighted in the case of First Engineering, the new company in Scotland responsible for rack maintenance. Having decided to withdraw existing messing facilities, they then sacked one of the union's reps, Jąe Morrison, for trying to organise a campaign to defend existing conditions. The AGM pledged full support for Joe's campaign for reinstatement.
But a subsequent ballot has failed to produce a majority for action. A new Rank and file members need to be given the power to fight in their own ballot is now to be held on a more restrictive mandate.
Facing up to the reality of the division of the railway into literally hundreds of new companies, the AGM took practical decisions, both to reorganise the internal structure of the union and to accept the devolution of some powers to representatives at the new companies' eve.
While some on the left wanted to try and hold on to outmoded centralised structures, this is a positive move forward, but only if it goes hand in hand with a more forthright political campaign to build unity between the workers in different companies.
Rank and file members need to be given the power to fight in their own areas and we need coor•inate demands and timing of disputes at a national level. A clear example of this is to be seen in the current train crew dispute, which this week saw the national executive sanctioning ballots for strike action to be held in thirteen train operating companies.
Over the last year, a propaganda campaign has been waged to popularise our two demands - for proper meal breaks and for an 11 percent pay claim to cover past productivity. It is clear that our demands are broadly supported by train
Socialist Outlook 105 July 13 1996. Page 5.