THE NATIONAL Broad Left has lost control of the union's National Executive Council to the right wing "Centre Left" rouping Colin Ö'Callachan. lan Cuthbert, and Paul Moore, all on the hard left of the BL, lost their seats in the Engineering Constituency, reducing the BL majority to 15-6, while the right wing Clerical matia" maintained their 100% grip on their 12 NEC seats.
The drop in support is due to the NEC majority's failure over the last year to confront BT management over a whole series of issues,.
Failure These include time and motion study, failure to ballot the membership on last year's pay deal, and most important of all agreement to performance based redeployment of staff. These successive retreats combined with a generally 'business as usual' approach, have reinforced the already widespread demoralisation amongst BT staff.
While there was a general decline in support for BL candidates reflected in a lower turnout, the three "hard lefts" had obviously been targetted by some some branches who otherwise supported the BL slate.
Though they have made serious mistakes, in particular by supporting the redeployment agreement, their loss will weaken an already directionless BL grouping.
BT management will now seize the initiative on amongst other things compulsory 6 day working for field staff, and further marginalisation of the NCU through systematic application of the new management techniques.
Merger
The NCU bureaucracy will reassert itself over the forthcoming merger with the Union of Communication Workers, which is under solid right wing control. But the major failure over the last year has been the Broad Left organisation. The Steering Committee has only met twice and has failed to take amy public positions on any of the key issues, let alone campaign on any of them amongst the members.
It has even failed as an electoral organisation, the recent (unsuccessful) General Secretary campaign having been run completely independently of the BL.
A major inquest needs to be held if lessons of this defeat are to be learned.