*The battle against bans and proscriptions in trades councils continucs de clared Socialist Worker on 10 April. It should have added without the help of the International Socialists.
After first voting against the new Rule 14 on Camden Trades Council, IS have now adopted a poliev similar to that of the Communist Party. They are asking their memoers to get delegated to the reformed Trades Council meeting in May on the basis of accepting Rule 14 under protest, instead of standing on the basis of continuing the fight against bans and proscriptions.
At Westminster Trades Council, IS split and half their members voted for Rule 14. At Greenwich a specially convened executive committee meeting voted unanimously to reverse the Trades Council's opposition to Rule 14 after receiving letters from the TUC and the Greater London Association of Trades councus disartilating them. Both the president and secretary are supporters of IS. To their credit, three IS members did vote against Rule 14 when the EC's decision was ratified by 21-7 at a full council meeting.
What makes these events doubly scandalous is that Socialist Worker has continued to present the IS's position as one or coral opposton to kule 14. A case of one line for the members. потист огле massess I may be that opponents of Rule 14 will eventually have to accept it. But the IS's actions are in fact demobilising the fight against Rule 14 before it has had the chance to get off the ground.
- Late nest month the National Conference of Trades Councils take place That at least could provide the opport unity for all those opponents of Rule 14 to make their voices heard-loudly and in unison. But if opponents of Rule 14 adopt different tactical positions all over the country, that will only heip the lUC to get away with further bure aucratic manoeuvres to control trades councils policies.
The Joint Consultative Committee which acts as a Standing Orders Committee for the Conference has already ruled out of order six of the 38 motions DCHIL HE.
All the motions attack Government conomic poncies, in parucular the cuts in public expenditure. The exact texts of the motions are not being released, but the TUC, which has a majority on the Standing Orders Committee, has decreed that the motions are "against TUC policy' or 'infringing on the province of individual unions.
Delegates to the Trades Councils Conference should argue for the referring back of the Committee's report. All the resolutions should be heard, whether they conflict with TUC policy or not, and future TUC moves to stifle democracy in the trades councils must be vigorously resisted. But to do that means not only putting a line of opposition to the new Rule 14 but also carrying it through in practice. symbolised the CP-backed Broad Left's uncritical stance towards Soviet foreign policy.
Significant verall, the elections showed that while support for the FCS has grown amongst students, and the Broad Left has now lost its automatic majority, support for the revolutionaries has not declined at all. The BL's deals with the Tories only served to highlight their weakness.
On unemployment, the conference threw out an amendment calling for import controls and backing the Tribunites' economic programme. An IS/IMG amendment calling for support for the Right to Work campaign and the establishment of action committees to campaign for a mass mobilisation by students and workers on the 26 May day of action was easily carried.
The international debate also caused the executive a lot of problems. The conference started off with a successful call for delegates to the next international meeting of European student unions to be elected from the floor of the conferof this body -Red Weekly 15 April 1976 Photo: PETER HARRAP (Report) with a similar reception at work -