THE LABOUR Women's demanding that women in the Labour Party have real power. viously, is through Labour women's conference. At this year's national women's conference, first time, we asked women in the party — both constituency and trade union women the women's representatives on the Labour Party national executive committee.
unions decide who their representatives are on the NEC. WAC is demanding that women are able to do likewise.
conterence held 'shadow elections' for the women's section of the party's national executive.
Delegates from the constituencies and from many Action Committee is The democratic engine for that, obfor the who should be trade unions took part.
That gave us a slate of Diane Abbott, Margaret Beckett, Frances Morrell, Joan Maynard, and Clare Short. All democratically elected bv women to represent us within the party.
WAC's demands, and WAC's slate, are logical, fair and democratic. Trade In the Labour Party and the trade unions, women must have the right to choose their own representatives. unions would object if others elected their representatives. Women are asking to be accorded same measure of And all the evidence is that women they come up with radical and progressive policies. Those policies are in the interests of the whole labour movement. Trade unionists in particular have an interest in supporting the demands of Labour women.
In the themselves women organising in a parallel way. Let's not forget the reason there's a women's 'officer in the TGWU, the biggest trade union in this country, Is oecause wonnel demanded that. One of the original constituent parts today's transport workers union was an allwoman trade union.
There is a tradition in the trade unions, that goes back to the nineteenth century, of women organising in the 1980s should take cognisance of that • 2170 support the demands of Labour women especially choose their representatives on the NEC