behind the scenes at the Scottish TUC conference were the open moves towards wage controls by Kon Todd, general secretary of the TGWU, and John Edmonds, general secretary of the GMBATU.
ing towards incomes policy in a series of speeches by Kinnock and Hattersley, but this is the first time it has been openly discussed by leaders of two of the most important unions.
Todd spelt it out initially as follows in talking about wages. 'If you want to see a Labour government in power, restoring the economy and getting pas to be for e form It is not going to be all grabs for the first two years.' He added: 'we have to accent that there will be some measures of responsibility and self-discipline in the way that we see the way forward.
Edmonds swept away the lessons the calasuroonic Labour's economic policy has been openly movof the wages controls used by the 1964-70 and 1974-79 LADOU claiming unions had learnt from the Thatcher government.
We now know much money is available, we know these priorities are very expensive, but they are very important for us as a civilised society. The unions know this very well indeed. In the last three or four vears have learned quite a bit. ' He spelt out his views: 'there are not many groups which will get much supM COOKSON Todd: responsibility and self-discipline' port for the idea that the ment should take second reduction unemployplace to an extra percent on wages Edmonds listed unemployment, public spending on infrastructure, and an expansion of welfare spending as three accept don't leave a great deal of room TOI improvements in sectional the whole movement.
Kinnock spelt out the significance of Todd's words immediately, took them up at the conference •When the leader G of the TGWU says that' Kinnock, 'it is precise Ccal definition of the understanding that exists.
Kinnock declared that Labour's priority was cutting down unemployment that: 'when say that we putting employment as the cutting edge of the next Labour government, everybody understands that there are going to have to be attitudes, practices, ments that enable us to resources the claim of in. vestment, training employment.
He said there was now . COMEO! understanding between the abour Partv leader ship and the unions regaranng income • DISCE that they can expect to claim.' While wage controls were carefully kept off the formal confernce agenda, the STUC : was in fact used as a launching pad for a for incomes policy. Todd policy. monds put forward positions Sirave ICVe been endorsed by their of every ly incomes controls as policies of a future government.
tion from some, but by no means all, the delegates.
Clearly there are still some on the left who view Kinnock's role in • the with distaste.
On South Africa the conference did not break strike action, the branch delegation to the district council reported complete solidarity within the