Unions must break the law - Scargill Block vote under fire 7 Scargill both called for break the anti-unions laws at the May Day launch of July's ° Unshackle the Bakers' leader Joe Marino and Furniture Trades (FTAT)
general secretary Colin Chrisat the topher born spoke launch, together with leading member of the Haidane Society and industrial relations expert The conference, at Conway Hall on 18 and 19 July will focus on bosses' offensive through "Japanisation' new working practices, as well as the anti-union laws.
The Saturday of the conference will coincide with the special Labour conference to elect a new leader. A rally addressed bv Benn and Scandill will take place at 6pm that evening.
Election defeat
unions has been launche domination of the party. It was the boxx vote wiieh stoppoo benn born deputy leader and installed the Kinnock-Hattersley 'dream ticket. it was the block vote which steam-rollered feat of radical policies in the 1980s.
But the repeated defeats inflicted on the left have effectively sanitised the party from any radical challenge for the foreseeable future. The block vote is unnecessary, at least in ts present form, to ensute right-wing domination.
Liberal link
by the Socialist Movement trade union committee.
In his speech Arthur Scargill traced the general election de feat to the domination of the labour movement by new realHe argued that the 1984-85 miners' strike should have been turned into a general of the labour movement fatally underestimated the possibuity of anti-Tory advance through the poll tax campaign.
The new Tory anti-union LA BON political arena.
But defending Labour's union links must also involve campaigning against the farce of union general secretaries wieiding milions of votes.
In the short term, there is little chance of a complete rupture between Labour and the unions. Labour becoming a simple capitalist party like the US Democrats is a long way off. But the process of attacking Labour's position as a party of organised labour is gaining momentum; & should be resisted. law will abolish the check-off enforce full postal ballots, cooling off periods before strikes and introduce the right of individuals to sue unions for loss of service.
The Unshackle the Unions campaign was backed unanimously by last week's No) ADM. And building the conference was a theme of speakers at May Day events Southampton, Manchester, Birmingham, Oxford, Chesterfield and Newcastle.
The July conference is the culmination of a long campaign to gain support for the Unshackle the Unions statement, launched by the STUC, the Haidane Society Employment Committee, the Solidarity Network, Labour Party Socialists and Trade Union News.
The statement, pubished below.
of labour movement activists. in the build up to the July conterence, oforts should be redoubled to gain support for this Initiative.
Get your union or political organisation to sign the statement.
Signatories so far include MPs Tony Benn, Dennis Canavan, JereCorbyn. Eddy Loyden, Alice Mahon, Alan Meale, Dawn Primaroo, Dennis Skinner.
Union secretaries presidents include: Arthur Scargili, Ken Cameron (FBU), Joe Marino (BFAWU).
Colin Christopher (FTAT, Ronny MacDonald (OILC), Peter Heath Seid (NUM). I Dozens of union branches and regions have signed the statement.
Last wook's NUU conference supported it unanimously.