Campaign for a Fighting and Democratic UNISON AN UNPRECEDENTED coordination between 12 trade union iett organisation is Deing established. These union left caucuses come from a variety of industries and services as well as different political traditions. A conference to strengthen this co-ordination will take place on the | February 1997.
This initiative should be supported by every socialist who paigning organisations. At the moment, too many decisions of our nauonal leaderships are the subject of scrutiny by lawyers and campaignin too olten reducea to promouns Unity credit cards.
For far to long each union left has been through necessity concerned with the aflairs of their own respective union, yet we face common problems across the unions.
ne cocoanacoe sponse by the left in the union has allowed the new realist leadership of the TUC to drag the whole move. ment to the right.
Uver the tast 1/ years, unempioy• ment, privatisation, cuts in services and the ant-union laws have battered the unions Activists at rank and file level have had to face the full onslaught while the new realist leaders tiled to organise any concerted figheback and incresangy sosptcd to tis situOreanisine a union left wine across the whole of the movement is not a new ilea But in the recent past such organisations have been more the prop. erty oi a paracular political organisation rather than a genuine atemP o war Corcuir H oic room militants with different traditions. This may be one reason that sucn elforts nave rapaly rioundered in the past.
However the decision of 12 genuine union lefts such as the Socialist Teachers Alliance, the Print & Media Broad Left . the CommunicaEquity Left Aliance have been meerTete ala nave oecoeo a hold a conference on February I 1997 is a major step forward.
In the context of the likety election of a Blair led Labour Governmene he ei nc unor necis t discuss common problems and seek militant response across the trade UTRA IOYCCT The most immediate aspirations of union members, as embodied by ner conte cs, cn ory be met if a majority Labour government is elected and if such a govPostal workers on the march: frustration eventually led to walk-outs low pay commission drags out, welfare provision continues to deterio. rate, or a major section comes into conflict with the anti-union laws, this situation could rapidly change.
Conflict
Given Blair's programme, the arcas of potential conflict are clear -not lest to Blair himself who has been busy making plans to attempt to ensure he can carry out his programme unhindered. Blair's priority is the same as the Tories, even if it ditlers in some of the details. improving the profitability and therefore competitiveness of British To do so he has to continue their attacks. Socialists do not, however, sit back and wait for the good times to come or simply assume that an UNIONS 5 ernment is then forced carry out these policies.
For UNISON members, this woud be an endime to al forms of privatisation, a minimum wage at £4.26p, adequate funding for the welfare state and the repeal of anti-union laws and the Asylum & Immigration law.
Campaigning for these policies during and after the election woud eventually have to be backed indusu decor The task of this conference is to start planning a strategy for the unonis co hon neaiste oerc market Tories and the New Labour freemarketeers and which would have at its heart the interests of workers and union members.