is one of the most democratic unions in Britain.
on its membership.
unis elecion or ine tenera secretary is only the fifth held since Be soor are enema work. ers Union was founded 55 years aro. ir comes ar a ume waen Jack Jones has been in the forefront of attempts to shove the Social Con tract down the throats of the working class.
Jones was elected to his position In 1969 by an overwhelming maiority. He came to power on the crest of the development of the renewed strength in stewards movement, especially in the car factories in the Midlands. Jones himself played a part in the Midlands spot which soon proved to be the main industrial strength of the union.
CHOSEN The present election will have few similarities. Moss Evans is the chosen heir to Jack Jones complete wit backing trom eleven Regional Committees of the un the strength of a mavering on the strength of a wave working class militanev. Evans has put in his plug for the leadership of when the attacks on workers' living standards has been severe and the tighi back iş only beginning.
The role of the union leadership in the elections is particularly revealing. A few examples help explode myth that T&GWU is one of the most open, democratic unions in Britain. Officially, the union bureaucracy claims to be neutral in elections. What this really means is that it opposes campaigning behalf of the candidates, including banning ciechon meetings union premises.
ans kind or ban was secent imposed on a docks branch of the 1 & GWU in Avonmouth. when the leadership cancelled a room COOKInE lor a cambalLn HICCUTE organised in SUDDOLL of I hornett In line with this fake 'neutrality', the union leadership seems to have adopted a policy of distribusos in unionisina workers inne election has been conducted against the background of a Alan Thornett → the only candidate to systematically draw out the relation between the lack of democracy in the union and the leadership's ability to impose the Social Contract Fleet Street conspiracy of silence which blatantly denies the existence or any lett candidates except, of course, its own tailored "left' candidate. Alex Kitson, who hadn't even uttered a word against wage controls before the election.
leadership can with inese undemocrane policies because of the help it gets from the suuctures or me union user. crea play is made amongst the bureaushop Council is composed of lay members. But this body can in no way play a day-to-day leadership role in the union; it only meets every three months!
In practice, the GEC is merely a rubber stamp for the bureaucracy. One example was the refusal of the Finance and General Purposes Committee (a GEC pay -ine imposed by the National Industrial nelations court under te lories. This stand sent Jones Tellow bureaucrats into a trenzy. was not surprising to Tamar win me uncer vine ack of democracy in the T& GWU that atter LwO-day Jones, the Committee finally saw the light and reversed its stand voting to pay.
So, despite the few lay members Inrown in lor show, executive power lies in the hands of the full-time officials. The officials commate all union committees And just to tarnish the democratic Hare one unot a outther. these officials are not elected, but are apponica for we or at the pleasure of the union'.
As if this kind of organisation of union affairs does not do enough to remoree te poston or tne bureaucracy, there are ensure that any op position to the leadership remains fragmented. This feat is achieved through the division of the union Alan into different trade groups.
A complex structure of geographical Regional and District Committees based on both geography and trade groups, provides the finishing touch to the sibility of links between rank and Against this strength of the Thornett campaign has been its insistence on the need to link the imposition of the Social Contract -to the light within the labour movement.
Thornett has been speaking up and down the country since his election campaign was launched.
In addition to Preston, Liverpool and Newcastle meetings organised with the help of Red SUDDOrLerS. InO Tel week to Scottish Socialist public forum in get away He explained the importance of supporting the toolroom workers wage demand in excess of Phase 2.
'No group of workers', he said, 'has ever received so many instructions to get back to work. Everyone from the Labour Government and the National Enterprise Board to their own union leaders and plant convenors, are Torce mem Dack to work He HICCE 10] which all those sub-commit- Social Contract could unite. This tine was why he rejected the more militancy' Riley, the "Right to Work' and his didate, with his complete failure to provide an adequate programme militants for the fightback London was the scene of one of last week's larger anised by ACTSS 1/524 Central London branch. Five of the candiGates spoke to the 120 trade unionists.
for the Chemical troub. maintamed nis let rnetoric to the hilt at the meeting. But his ICal urgent pica or a merce ponca fight against the sell-out of the union leadership in the face of the Contract when he explained that Jones was really an "honest' man who was not deliberately selling out, was merely "misguided'.
In Bristol, despite its small size a Thornet campaign meeting was successful in laying continuing to build links amongst further workers prepared to fight against Ine sociar contract in cuterent trade groups in the T& GWU Mike bude, one or the organisers. of the Thornett support committee in bristo told kee week v ina T&GWU members came from the docKs. une smenter ane tom local hospitals.
All members who attended ex pressed interest in the Campaign broken promises.
Most recently lations Bill, jobs workers, geographical dockers could work prevent the pos- Then there is for dock nationalisation throughout 1975 Labour backdrop, public ownership.
and the fight against it sure for democracy Weekly spoke last a lively audience al a closure of Preston is just the latest in a long line of there has develop defeat of the Dockwork Regu Madness wnicn cave SOME guarantes for the seen to e docks registered dock, extending it did the limits in which The otner the indefinite business, tree Party aavanced oors. is to be closee and dock workers there are thrown on the scrap heap The urgent need of dockers is to an alternative te madness WnICI means nose who work on the suffer rather than gain through technological innovation reason behind the Preston closure is the spirit o which means the shipping lines can play off One against another to get cheap solve the main • problem tace - the threat to their iobs tha containensaron represents nationalised industry controlled by the dockers them selves could answer that problem which would ensure that technological change in une cocklane. can benerit no. the employers of the docks The multi-millionaire the work • the dockers
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Voting for the post of General Secretary of the Transport and General Workers Union closes on 19 March.
continuous campaign designed to prove that the T & GWU Red Weekly looks at this myth and the campaign of