PETE BURNETT takes up the debate with the TUC unemployed centres combine THE DECISION by the North West Regional TÚC to back Euromarch 97 is a real breakthrough. At a meeting in Manchester on February 1, seventy delegates voted overwhelmingly in favour of supporting the British plans as part of a European-wide mobilisation Participating in the key debate, marca organiscr wican vons sard 'trade unionism does not stop for The decision in Manchester is yety sigmiuicank. Local Iuc sup port opens the way for a major ap. make winning support cisewhere those who continue to claim the Buromarca is isotaica from the working class movement.
It sharply focuses attention on of a small grouping around the TUC unemployed centres combine who are bitterly opposed to British plans for the Buromarch.
Formed in the late 1980's to fight for a strong campaigning role for the centres, the Combine, led by the Liverpool and Newcastle centres has largely abandoned its carlier militancy. They say that there is no enthusiasm for marches and that terc nas ocea such & down-turn they are no longer possible.
More tellingly they argue that the Euromarch is a diversion from the clection campaign to get Blair into No 10. They suggest a program of local 'roadshows" to be staged when the election is over.
The combine has held a series of meetings in the Midlands and Wales to promote the roadshow idea as well as fighting a rearguard campaign to reverse support for the march, using their bureaucratic positions and special relationship with the TUC.
The most detailed defence of the Combine position is contained in article by Kevin Wynn. Co ordinator of the Newcastle centre against unemplovment and Vice. Chair of the Combine.
Writing in the Newcastle based journal Trade Union Revieto, Flynn been a downturn reflecting "major defeats, 20 years of mass unemployment* to argue a steady reaction in the size of and enthusiasm for marches. From this he draws the conclusion that the Euromarch campaign, at least here in Britain is utopian.
The real heart of the case comes latter. "The election" he writes "will have implications for the labour morement. Everybody in the labour movement wants the Tories out and, in the absence of anything better, Blair's New Labour in. The trades union movement and the Labour party will put all their energies into that clection and will regard anything eise at best a diversion and at worst opposition". In other words, don't upset the Blair's clection campaign.
However while Flynn is correct to suy that tere nas been a down• turn since the carly 80s when thouSas colleoe mobilised it certainly doesn't follow that the Euromarch is doomed to failure.
Elections are times of heightened political awareness. What betcer time to raise demands for full employment and an end to the social scrap-heap. What better opportunity to take forward the debate on the consequences of Europcan integration than by engaging in a ing workers and activists in counhave taken inspiring actions over Behind the political retreats of the combine lies the anxiety of the Blairites and their relentless pressure to close down independent movement. Such pressure must and CaT OTIse Flynn accuses the Euromarch of sectarian hostility towards "others in the movement" attacking " left and right oponents of their march proposals for being cither splitters of Blairite traitors"
This is simply not true. Indeed the opposite is the case. The campaign around the marches in Britain has been marked by continuing strugale to include all forces including the TUC and the Combine itself.
Letters were sent by march organisers to the Combine secretary. Jamshid Ahmadi inviting his organisation to participate in the recent national organising meeting in Sheflield. That meeting kept a vacant scat on the national committee for a nominee of the combine, as the previous meeting in Manchester last year had also done. Attempes to integrate support for the marches with roadshows have been rebuffed