SMTUC Secretary THE FIRST year of the Tory government saw the highest number of strikes for 50 years. This year had the least.
Vicious anti-union legislation has made it almost impossible to hold a legal strike -while "new realism" has made the union leaders unwilling to even try.
The Fight for the Right to Strike Conference on 26 November wants to turn this situation around. Despite all the restrictions it is still possible to fight to defend the interests of working people. At least five groups of workers have confronted anti-union laws in the past year.
• College lecturers -walked out in spite of a legal SPEAKERS: Jointly organised by the Socialist Movement Trade Union Committee, Socialist Campaign Group Supporters' Network, Public Sector Alliance, the Birminaham. Oxford and Lambeth Trades Councils. • £20 sponsoring organisations • £8 delegates • £5 individuals • £3 unwaged • Send cheques pavable to 'Right to Strike Conference' to PO Box 6498, London N1 1QW. judgement forcing NATFHE to give a completely accurate (and therefore impossible) list of all balloted members before going on strike.
• Postal workers - massive walkouts in Liverpool, Milton Keynes and all over London and the south-east in a battle against casualisation and excessive part-time overtime.
• Firefighters - new contracts withdrawn in Merseyside after spontaneous "emergency only" industrial action and a mass demonstration of 10,000 FBU members.
• Local government workers Sefton UNISON action against privatisation leads to a withdrawal of council plans despite two branch officers being taken to court.
• Signalworkers strike — despite legal restrictions hampering the broadening of the disTrade Union News and pute it becomes the longest in the history of the union and wins a partial victory.
Our movement is far from dead.
With Tony Blair's back turned on working class struggle, and Tory talk of banning strikes in "essential services" it's time to get organised.
The Socialist Movement Trade Union Committee has joined forces with Lambeth and Birmingham Trades Councilsto organise the Fight for the Right to Strike Conference. It will provide a unique opportunity to discuss a strategy to unshackle the unions from Tory laws.
Barriers
In plenary debate and workshop discussion the conference will discuss how to overcome the present barriers to action and how to build solidarity action despite the anti-union laws.
We will be debating what sort of legal alternatives we wantand how we get a future Labour government to give us them, as well as how we block future Tory plans to impose further restrictions on our rights.
The conference is not just a talking shop. It aims to build a network of supporters taking up our demands and organising solidarity across our movement.
We urge all trade unions to promote and support this conference. Set the unions free! TONY BENN has presented a Bill to Parliament which would give an incoming Labour Secretary of State the power to remove any laws or regulations which impose unfair restriction on trade unions.
As Benn says:
"The wording of the Bill follows exactly the wording of the present De-regulation Bill which confers similar powers on ministers to remove burdens on business.
Benn is sending the text
SOCIALIST OUTLOOK No.71, 3 November 1994, Page 6
KEN CAMERON Gen sec FBU DOREEN CAMERON Pres NATFHE BOB CROWE Ass Gen Sec RMT BILL WEDDERBURN LSE