(Islington NALGO) MERGER seems to have seized the union bureaucrats in their desperation to overcome falling membership, and their consequent financial difficulties.
For many, defending the ap paratus is more important than mounting a real fight against Tory attacks.
Socialists can't take a position of principle for or against this current phase of mergers The proposed AEU-EETPU merger would clearly create a sowerful, highly undemocratic misiness union within the TUC strengthening new realism. Such mergers must beopposed.
Divisions
The proposed NALGO NUPE-COHSE merger has the potential strengthen workers' ability to take on the employers, by overcomin craft and white collar workers. But only if activists within the Three men in a big union three unions can get the right rules, conditions and structures before amalgamation.
NALGO's 1991 conference laid down baseline' conditions much more positive than many activists thought possible.
The principal demands were that in the new union annual conference should remain the supreme policy making body; branches should retain similar financial control as exists now in NAL.GO, that the new union should be under lay controland membership led; and the right Women for Socialism AGM non to branch dues collection.
The left will also be fighting to guarantee the right of groups and ndividuals to organise within the union.
The fear exists that the document's references to 'unrepresentative groups within the union' and a requirement of ad. herence to the 'agreed policy of the union' might be used to atBy Rachel Newton APPROXIMATELY 250 people attended the launch meeting of the Greater Manchester Anti-Racist Alliance (GMARA) held in