EVERY STUDY has found as one would expect, that black workers in Britain are more highly unionised than whites. A survey for 1982 found that 61 percent of black workers in Britain are in trade unions compared to 57 percent of white workers. Two years later the Policy Studies Institute, in 1984, found that per percent of black workers were in unions compared to 47 per cent of whites.
But despite the fact that black workers show a higher degree of support for unions than whites, are confined by racism to jobs that are highly unionised, and despite the urgent need to combat racism in the whole of society, the failure of the TUC to take up the fight against racism, its active collaboration in racism, and its failure to take up the needs demands of workers, form one of the most disgraceful and recurring threads in its history. It is matched only by the refusal of the Labour Party to respond to the needs of the black community which it relies so massively for votes and to recognise Black Sections.
Despite the massive unionisation of black workers, and the need to fight racism in every sphere of life, there were no moves at all by the TUC until the 1970s to deal either with racism within the unions or black self-organisation within them. In 1965, for example, a TUC official could still declare: There are no differences between an immigrant worker and an English worker.
We believe that all workers should have the same rights and don't require any different or special considerations. In 1971 the TUC in its evidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee claimed absurdly: 'we treat all our members the same.
Not merely was such a position no way to fight institutionalised racism but it was demonstrably untrue. In both 1965 and 1971, despite the TUC's claim to treat all our members the same, there was not a single black trade union official in the whole of Britain. TUC affiliates had in the past supported totally explicit racist laws — such as the National Union of Seamen's support for the Special Restrictions (Coloured Alien Seamen) Order of 1925. The TUC as a whole had campaigned in favour of the racist immigration laws and had opposed MaWs LOCUCE measures into the field of employment and industry. The TUC hotels committee has made a completely central campaign one to keep out immigrant"
workers.
At long last in 1972 the first ever full time black trade union official in Britain was appointed. But by 1983 still only eight unions affiliated to the TUC out of more than 100, had even one full time black official.
The same situation tionalised racism exists at every other Black and White Britain, for example, found that black and white workers attended trade union meetings in almost the same proportions - 40 per cent of black and 40 per cent of white union members had attended some form of union meeting in the last six months. But only 4 percent of black male trade unionists had held office in the union compared to 11 percent of white male trade union members. Only 3 per cent of black women trade unionists had held union office compared to 6 per cent of white women trade unionists. 1985. traded study is tractaresi e in Trade Union Structures and Black Workers Participation, that there was not a single black full time trade union official in the whole of Lancashire. This is despite the fact that 8 percent of the population of Manchester, and 12 per cent of the population of Blackburn, for black. An exact study of companies black found the same pattern of racism at every level.
A survey of a rubber manufacturing plant found that 27 per cent of the 250 workers were black. However not one out of the eight shop stewards was black.
A survey of the foundry section of a heavy vehicle manufacturer found 19 per cent of the workers were black, but only 1 out of 9 shop stewards was black - and that one was for a section which was almost exclusively black but where the one skilled job was held by a white.
The only place of work surveyed where there was a major representation of black workers — a transport firm -was also the one where black self organisation had developed in response to racist attacks.
Thirty per cent of the workers in the company were black but white workers had consistently voted down all black workers presented for election to the TGWU branch committee. Black self-organisation, in the 'Employees Welfare Association', had then been formed when the branch secretary refused to read out at a social evening the names of Asian workers who were to be presented with satety awards on the pretext that he could not pronounce their names.' A united welfare formed only after the white workers representatives agreed to the demand that a written apology for the actions of the branch secretary should be posted on the notice board and that he should resign his post. The secretary of the black workers committee was first co-opted onto the branch committee and anti-racist then elected black branch committee member - at the next election. After further struggles by 1984 six out of ten branch committee members were black, and three out of ten inspectors employed were now black workers.
Given this pattern of racism at every level of the unions every fight by black workers necessarily has involved a clash not only with the employers but with the situation in the unions as well. It is of institu- solely this that has ever change of policy by the TUC