LAST Sunday a special conference of the National Communications Union (NCU) discussed how to fight management cuts and reverse the British Telecoms.
As we go to press a second NCU conference on rules revision is deciding whether to comply with government demands for secret ballots before strike action.
An NCU delegate reports on Sunday's branches facing the sharp edge of British Telecom's axe led demands for militant industrial action in 1986 in support of policy, which • is to 32-hour week. But militant resoludid not break with the old policy of selective industrial action and shied away trom preparlig ha tional strike action to detend lobs NCU members already striking against cutbacks notably Glasgow, and also in Birmingham, North of in Leeds motor transport division where picket lines are now oul BT, which made £1.6 billion profit last year, is trying to sow divisions by attacking minority groups first - post office, motor transport, supplies Without a lead from the Broad Left-led executive to build national action, they have been left isolated.
Differences on how to fight job cuts threaten to undermine resistance. Despite disastrous result:
fighting privatisation largely the result of unwillingness to commit the union to all out national action, many lessons have still to be learned.