up.
More than any other newspaper on the left, Red Weekly has given full publicity to building the delegation, arguing that the initiative offers a great opportunity for bringing the Irish issue into the British labour movement. Unfortunately the way in which the delegation's organisers in the lroops Out Movement are now suggesting mar me agenda and ronow-up should be organised threatens this potential, and offers TOM's opponents the chance to attack the Delegation as undemocratic.
It is undeniably the case that the leadership of TOM is attempting to restrict both the scope of the Delegation and the debate it can promote on its return. TOM is suggesting that:
* The delegates meet no Loyalist organisations or even official labour movement bodies who hold pro-Unionist views.
* The findings of the Delegation will be decided by the delegates alone rather than by the delegatThis weekend those trade unionists and Labour Party members who have been delegated to go on the National Labour Movement Delegation to Ireland will meet in London to discuss the Delegation's agenda and followWing bodies. * The public report-backs be organised mainly by the TOM rather than by the labour movement bodies who are sending the impact the Delegation could have on the labour movement in this country. By restricting the organisations which the Delegation will meet, TOM is laying itself open to the charge that it will only see those organisations it supports or has sympathy with.
Equally important, by refusing to meet any organisation which holds Unionist views, the Delegation would be missing a great opportunity of directly reporting to the British labour movement the pernicious and reactionary nature of those views.
Even more serious is the manner in which the TOM leadership suggests that the findings of the Delegation be decided. The TOM is proposing that a commitAll these suggestions threaten DEBATE Delegation. tee of only four - one of whom will be a nominee of TOM itself - should draw up the final report which will then be presented to the other delegates for approval.
What is worse is the recom mendation that the conclusions have to be approved in outline by the delegates on the final day of the Delegation's visit, without allowing those delegates any chance to consult their members. This procedure is contrary to all normal trade union practice. The delegates are there on behalf of their organisations, and it is these organisations as a whole which should have the right to decide the political conclusions based on what their representatives saw.
that:
Not only is this the normal standard of workers democracy, it would also strengthen the effect of the Delegation. By taking the debate into the labour movement the Delegation will have the opportunity of opening a thorough debate on the Irish issue involving all those in the delegating bodies and not just the delegates themselves. This cannot be done if the Delegation comes back with a hurriedly agreed line' which it then attempts to thrust upon the various labour movement bodies which have backed the The same tendency to restrict those involved is evident in TOM's proposals on how to organise the report-backs. TOM is suggesting that the main organisers of these be TOM itself. But again this gives the impression that TOM is trying to control everything the Delegation does, and it demotes the importance of the trade union branches, trades councils and Constituency Labour Parties organising and controlling the public meetings INSIST All these attempts to restrict the Delegation should be resisted. Both the delegating bodies and the delegates themselves should insist * The agenda be open to all official trade union and labour novemn groups * The report includes only whom the delegates met, what they saw and what they were told; that the political conclusions be decided by a national report-back after all delegating bodies have had the opportunity to formulate policies.
*The local report-backs be organised by the delegating bodies nemselves.
In this way the Labour Move ment Delegation to Ireland can have a real impact on the labour movement in this country. It can show itself willing to take the debate into the labour movement in a way which no other initiative on Ireland has dared to do.