Hailed as ‘moderates’ by the bosses’ press, the right wing have won a significant victory in the AUEW. The CP/Labour Party left has suffered a significant defeat with the election losses of Bob Wright and Jimmy Reid.
The bosses were given even more cause for jubilation when the recent meeting of the AUEW National Committee (NC) accepted the Labour government’s £6 wage limit. The Committee (its composition unaffected by the national elections) had held a position of verbal opposition to the government’s pay policy and the TUC General Council’s acceptance of it. But at the meeting the vote in favour of accepting the £6 limit was 32 to 20.
With the left outflanked, Scanlon was able to say that the NC’s new position reflected the mood of their constituents, and that the decision “must be good news for the government and the TUC”. The severity of the defeat means (for the union officials) there will be no further national increase until next August even though the present agreement expires in May; next year’s agreement will be “conditioned by the pay policy of that time”; and demands for a shorter working week and longer holidays will be dropped.
We know the direct interest the bosses have had in these results. Their press campaigns on the AUEW and EEPTU elections do not surprise us. Around the country bosses and management openly encouraged a right wing vote.
But the left can’t blame it all on the bosses. Their leadership of the union, their policies and their methods must be examined.
The highly democratic structure of the AUEW is divorced from the shop floor. The present branch structure has produced a special layer of AUEW militants with their own milieu; and District Committees with little immediate pulling power. Whereas the left has been able to dominate the branches in many areas, it has not managed to develop policies and a leadership to meet the present crisis and win support among the union membership at large. It has relied on manoeuvring and string pulling at the top to keep its control.
Not only are national wage claims not relevant to the stronger sections of workers in the union, but in recent years the ‘left’ leadership has not been prepared to lead a serious fight for those claims. In 1972 Manchester and Sheffield engineers were left to fight for the National Pay Claim on their own. The 1975 agreement included no provision for the shorter working week, for a sufficient minimum wage throughout the industry, or for adequate compensation for the effects of inflation.
With such a feeble record and such a fragile base, it is not surprising that the left were so vulnerable to the recent press campaign. In the atmosphere of ‘national crisis’ and orchestrated cries for ‘moderation’ and ‘restraint’, the left clung to low-profile manoeuvring over the postal ballot rather than coming openly to the factory floor with clear alternative policies to meet the needs of the members faced with short-time, unemployment and inflation. They have now come unstuck. The Broad Left’s policies and perspectives have been shown to be inadequate.
A united left offensive against the right now has to be launched. It must have policies that meet the real needs of the members, it must campaign for the union structure to genuinely represent the needs experienced by the members on the factory floor. If the right are to be pushed back, militants must unite around a clear programme that can take the union forward and galvanise the members. It must be able to link the struggles of engineers with the struggle of other sections of workers.
To this end we present the following programme which we consider offers relevant and clear policies.
1. A clear goal — the thorough transformation of the union into a body capable of mobilising AUEW members (as a leading section of the working class) in the fight against the effects of the crisis, and the bosses’ offensive on their wages and working conditions.
2. Policies relevant to rank and file engineers meeting their needs and uniting them in struggle; and a wages policy and national claim which mean real across the board gains for all members.
- For £60 minimum time rates to bring up the weaker sections.
- For a rising scale of wages compensating for every rise in a worker’s cost of living as the result of inflation: £1 for 1%.
- For equal pay now and equal job opportunity for women; preservation of health and safety legislation, and where this applies to women only, its extension (where appropriate) to men.
- Use of the union journal and district bulletins to publicise and agitate for the claim. Regular district stewards’ and mass meetings during campaigns.
- Real national guidance and strategy in the fight against unemployment, redundancy, layoffs and short-time working.
- Official opposition to all closures, layoffs, ‘voluntary’ redundancies, job reduction by natural wastage and short-time working. For the maintenance of all jobs.
- For a 35-hour week with no loss of pay. For work sharing on full pay under trade union control.
- Officially supported occupations to force nationalisation with no compensation of all firms attempting redundancies or closures.
- For the 100% closed shop, strong shop stewards organisation on plant and combine basis. Control by shop stewards of manning levels, of hiring and firing, and work speed.
- For the extension of workers’ control. Inspection of all areas of ‘business secrecy’ — the account books, the board committees etc should be open to workers’ inspectors (stewards and any ‘expert’ advisors they might need), who must be answerable to and recallable by mass meetings. The right to veto all management decisions not conducive to the workers’ interests — but no participation, no responsibility for conditions (profit and loss) imposed by the capitalist market.
- District committee registration of job loss and leadership of the fight to prevent or restrict it.
- The fight to transform the union into a completely democratic organisation — rank and file workers’ control of the union.
- Transformation of branches from a geographical to a factory structure. Fight for mass union meetings in work time.
- Joint shop stewards committees uniting all unions in a plant. For official support for combine committees on an all trade union basis.
- For majority shop steward representation on district committees and for bi-monthly stewards meetings.
- No postal ballots.
- For branch voting for all official positions and circulation of election addresses and results.
- Average engineering wage for all full time officials and re-election every three years; a system of re-call.
- A campaign to improve the conditions and rights of women, young workers, apprentices and immigrants.
- Equal pay and equal opportunity for women.
- A fight for creche and other facilities at work.
- A woman’s right to work. Official opposition to any attempt to put women first on redundancy lists.
- Women’s caucuses or committees in factory and district where they request it. Official encouragement to women workers to play a full part in union life. (Special schools for women shop stewards, creche facilities and union meetings in work time.)
- 100% trade union membership for apprentices.
- Full adult rate at 16.
- Junior worker committees in each factory, representation on joint shop stewards committee and the right to direct negotiations on wages, conditions etc.
- Opposition to all racial discrimination — equal opportunity for all jobs.
- Black/immigrant workers’ committees/caucuses in factories and districts.
- Expulsion from the union of all fascists. No National Front members as stewards, district committee members or trades council delegates.
- A consistent political line for the union nationally. It should include: support for all other unions in struggle against the bosses and the government. In particular the forging of an anti-incomes policy/wage freeze alliance with any union pledging itself against the so-called Anti-Inflation Policy. The creation of inter-union solidarity and where possible formal alliances against the cuts in the Social Services and government spending, and most importantly, against redundancies.
- The fight for this line in the TUC. No acceptance of class collaborationist policies even though the majority of the TUC Congress holds such policies.
- International solidarity and links. Solidarity with Chilean and Portuguese workers. Fight to build international Combine Committees on a lay delegate basis.`
