right winger.
The details of this evolution have
Cowley strike 1983: Braggins (inset) has switched from "left" to "right" in 2 years. some implications for the movement as a whole.
After Braggins was elected there was general agreement amongst the left on immediate priorities. The shop floor movement had been almost destroyed by repeated and sustained attacks on it from both the TGWU officials and the management, particularly during the Michael Edwardes era. The emphasis had to be
strengthening the trade structures in the plant and rebuilding the shop stewards movement.
Agreement at that level, however, meant very little since in practice it could be interpreted as emerged that the way Braggins saw avoid strikes or any other form of action at all costs.
The first clear expression of this was when Braggins conspired with management to break an overtime Socialist Viewpoint No. 11 March 1986 pi]
ban imposed by the membership over low bonus earnings.
Braggins had not wanted the overtime ban anyway, but it had been imposed by two militant mass meetings. Production was disrupted because of the lack of essential overtime in the Paint Shop. Braggins called a shop stewards meeting and pushed through a resolution to exclude those particular people from the ban and therefore allowing the plant to run. The resolution was to be recommended to a recall mass meeting.
At the mass meeting the resolution was defeated, overwhelmingly and the ban continued. Braggins then went into the paint shop and persuaded the group concerned to dely the mass meeting decision!
The activists were shocked. But most of them shrank from drawing the conclusion that Braggins had changed his spots. They preferred to give him the benefit of the doubt and hoped that it was a one-off mistake.
What we were seeing was the collapse of a militant trade unionist once he was elevated to a position ot pressure and responsibilty without either adequate political equipment himself a disciplined marxist movement to give direction or act as a counterweight to that development.
His attitude was better over the wage claim in February 1985. But it was a comparatively safe issue being dealt with by national officials and much easier to support.
In November 1984 management had sacked Bob Cullen, a left wing activist and a TGWU deputy senior shop steward. Even by Austin Rover standards the sacking was outrageous. He was sacked for an alleged picketing offence which happened when he was not even there. Management eventually had to ac cept that it was a case of mistaken identity, although they still refused to reinstate him. Braggins was determined right from the start that there would be no fight over it. His attitude was "keep it quiet and rely on the discipline procedure machinery". He refused to meet the membership or even have with them over it. In the months during which the case proceeded, he never made a single public statement about the case. If Bob Cullen had not eventually publicised it himself, no one would ever have known about it. Hight up to the present day not one union statement has ever been issued defending Bob Cullen. The only statements issued, by the Trades Council and Bob himself, were condemned by Ivor Braggins.
The only public statement Braggins made - after the procedure was finally exhausted was that he thought Bob Cullen would be going to an Industrial Tribunal. And that was before Braggins had discussed the issue with the membership.
When he eventually met the membership, 3 months after Bob
Cullen was sacked, meet Bob's c Ther shift. meeting aft hausted. agreed with Bob telephone for ing an Bob's own altered by specific, and less as a left winger. pace management demanded on the tracks. By the second half of 1985 it had become extremely difficult to see Ivor Braggins as anything other than a all the time. plant and At are in the same
it, Cullen on the delayed the the trade leader- with the the meeting of the and The
Braggins and Andy Brown. They branded it as a direct challenge to Ivor Braggins which would be regarded as an act of "total war". Left wingers replied that since it was now clear that Ivor Braggins was right winger, candidate from the left was needed.
The Braggins' response came at the November meeting. Alan Thornett and Bob Cullen were barred at the door. Brown announced that they were in arrears of contributions. Both had had special arrangements for the payment of their union dues started on the initiative of Andy Brown since they had been victimised. Brown had now cancelled these arrangements retrospectively without their knowledge and used this to declare them in arrears! They
arrears: Brown refused to take the money.
At the same time Braggins and Brown began moves to disaffiliate the TGWU branch from the Oxford Trades Council and all other outside bodies"
They used the involvement of the Trades Council in Irish solidarity work to justify their moves. (The people change but the issues and manoeuvres remain the same). They set up an inquiry into the "activities"
The response stand a against Braggins as convenor. He faced a difficult task but a stand needed to be made.
As the series taken place for all the various positions this has led to a systematic erosion of the democratic balloting procedures established in the plant.
Othe first balloting the
General Executive Council and other constitutional the previous scrutineers both can
didates in the election was abandoned. The scrutineers and all those ad-
ministering the election were sup-
"Roving"
porters of Ivor Braggins.
allot boxes were introduced in order
that pressure for votng could be in-
creased in areas that had most sup
port for Braggins. Not even the
TGWU's inadequate
balloting rules were carried out.
Membership cards were not checked
or stamped, and no record was kept
of who voted. Braggins got a huge
vote and is now on the national Ex-
ecutive of the union.
Complaints about ballot rigging
were at first ignored by the union on
the basis that indivudals do not have
the right to complain - only bran-
ches! Some kind of an investigation is
now taking place
hallmarks of a whitewash.
When it came to the balloting for
convenor it was not so bad. People
feel more strongly about it since it af-
fects them directly and ballot rigging
would more. Some Socialist Viewpoint No. 11 March 1986 p12
Bob Cullen (beard) with pickets outside the plant in boxes were introduced to give Brag-
ins LO
ast - which
Des
Br
otin re
ere le convenors elections than the totals claimed in the one for the constitu-
Tel strongly about who is convenor and
1e constitutional committees the dif-
1g
It was in the final round of balloting for the 6 deputy convenors where the most outrageous moves were made. A
The ad nirst deputy - was handed to people as they voted by those ad-
official TGWU Region 5 headed notepaper, and said the following:
"On Thursday February 20. day and night shift will have the opportunity to determine by ballot from a
Tce them become dempersnip 1n refor Senior and First Deputy senior shop steward. so decisively rejected the alternative candidate I feel it is crucially important that I recommend for your consideration six stewards who are dedicated, sincere and experienc-
Jast, short-lived, pay strike. ed in all aspects of trade union work.
It is therefore essential that the deputies who are elected are committed to fulfilling their legitimate role. The candidate in this election who has already been rejected by you in the election for Senior Shop Steward and Deputy Senior Shop Steward is standing for Deputy Senior Shop Steward.
This raises the tollowing obvious question: is he seeking election to undermine the recently established unity within the TGWU in this plant? Or is it to represent the views of the non TWU members who issued the recent unrepresentative and grossly inaccurate leaflets at the factory gates?* No and against more democratic rupt and against all democratic norms than attacking a candidate in the name of the union, although on past record it will be hard for anyone to get a complaint upheld.
There is an obvious reason why the right wing are prepared to go to such excesses. On recent experience they are entitled to assume that they will be protected from above as long as they are attacking the left. While the right wing at Regional level are welcoming these new "converts" into the fold with open arms, they are going to be very reluctant to criticise them.
The problem in the TGWU is that rules covering balloting procedures appear designed to allow this kind of
thing. Bulk consignments of unmarked, unnumbered ballot papers are sent to Branch Secretaries with a form on which to record the result and send it in. Ballot-rigging is endemic in the union. To their shame the left has never taken the problem seriously, and many left wing candidates cyncially fit in with this aspect of the "system
This has changed to some extent in the most recent balloting for Trade Group representatives on the Executive, which is taking place at the moment. Unfortunately this change comes not through pressure from the rank and file - which has always been Ignored on the matter - but from reactionary Tory legislation! Even then there are no signs that there will be any significant ongoing change.
The Andy Brown/Ivor Braggins syndrome of one-time militants collapsing to the right when being elevated to positions of influence is unfortunately nothing new for the Marxist movement.
The problems of constructing a consistently revolutionary tradition in the British labour movement with any real influence in sections of the working class, and trying to give leadership under the difficult conditions of the capitalist crisis are enormous. The extent to which the still small and isolated forces of Trotskyism can provide support and enforce discipline is necessarily limited. It is true that there will always be renegades from the Marxist tradition. There are the adverse conditions faced by the Trotskyist movement. The pressures from the employers and the labour movement right wing exploit every Socialist Viewpoint No. 11 March 1986p13
THE MRACIE MAESTRO BORK weakness of the individual.
At the same time renegade exmilitants are consciusly used by the right wing. You have to look no further than Jock Haston who became an "education" officer for the EETPU. Or Jimmy Reid, one-time leader of the Upper Clyde Shipbuilders "work-
, who left the Stalinists and who is now used regularly by the media to witch-hunt the left. Or the way Reg Parsons was used and manipulated by T&G officials in Oxford and the Midlands.
That there have been so many renegades, however, is connected to the political crisis of the Trotskyist movement in the post war period. Outside of a prerevolutionary situaion and real development in the working class requires the consistent application of Marxist programme
Sover a prolonged period of time. The movement has not been able to this. Where atempts have been made they have been frustrated by opportunist adaptations to the mentality of the militants (theorised as "rank and filism" by the SWP, or the "follow your leader" politics of Socialist Action) or stangi-
sectarianism
The resolution of the political crisis of Marxism has an immediate everyday relevance. A new development of Marxism has to take place which Stalinism and Social Democracy. A leadership is needed which can base itself in the working class and arm
analysis and enable them to give leadership under the most difficult conditions.
Why no cervical canc
Women against the medical hierarchy WHY WENDY SAVAGE MUST
By a Special Correspondent OBSTETRICIAN Wendy Savage faced her accusers and her judges in full view of the press and media on the morning of February 3rd. It was billed as an inquiry. but the chair of the "three wise men" summed it up when he said in reply to a comment from Tower Hamlets Health Authority's counsel "Wendy Savage is the only person on trial here today."