NALGO's National Black Steering Group was established following last year's official recognition by the union of the NALGO Black workers conference in Leeds. There had been two prior unofficial conferences, in Haringey and Birmingham. Three hundred and fifty Black NALGO members attended this year's national conference in Liverpool. BOBBY CHAN is a member of the 32-member steering group, and an executive member of Camden Black Workers Group. He explains the group's activities at this year's annual conference of the WE made significant headway at the conference., The group had prioritised activity around three The first concerned the employment by NALGO of an individual called Paul Kingsley.
Kingsley is the trade union organiser of the British National Party, an openly fascist organisation. He is associated will LOVAISE organisation in the Six Counties. The union has known about Kingsley for 18 months, following an exposure in the anti-fascist magazine Searchlight. But nothing has been done about him, despite strong accine amongst lie tanks A motion called for a union investigation into Kingsley and his dismissal should the investigation substantiate his organised fascist activity. Despite opposition from the national executive (NEC) who argued that conterence had nothing to do with statfing matters, the motion was carried on a card vote.
The second key issue concerned the union's Positive Action Working Party. This was set up two years ago following a successful conference motion. The working party's report called for direct representation of Black members, women, lesbians and gay men and disabled members on the NEC. The NEC called for a period of further consultation. But their position was defeated in favour of implementing the report.
Both the Paul Kingsley issue and the question of positive action were the subjects of a very successful fringe meeting. The meeting, which involved the Black steering group and other self-organised groups within the union, attracted over 150 conference participants.
The third key issue was the union's stance towards the Middle East, and in particular to the Palestinian struggle. The union's policy, passed at conference, has been to support the struggle of the racoulla! people self-determination and recognition of the PLO as their sole representative. In the past conference has voted to affiliate the union to the Trade Union Friends of Palestine organisation. However, the NEC decided to act as 'peacemaker' by affiliating to the Trade Union Friends of Israel as well. The Zionist organisation was provocatively given a stall adjacent to that of the Trade Union Friends of Palestine at last year's conference. They distributed a particularly racist leaflet which basically suggested that Israel was the only civilised country in the Middle East.
Meanwhile the union nationally has established friendly relations exchanged visits with Histadrut. the so-called 'General Federation Workers in Eretz Israel'. In fact, Histadrut is itself a racist organisation which is not open to Palestinians in the occupied territories. Far from being a union Histadrut is in fact the second largest employer in Israel after the government. It controls 25 per cent of Israeli industry, manufactures arms which it sells to South Africa and other dictatorial regimes, jointly produces steel with the South African Steel Corporation. This is not an organisation with which NALGO should have 'friendly relations'. conference backed our motion to break our links with Histadrut and the Trade Union Friends of Israel.
Camden Black Workers Group called a fringe meeting on this issue. A Camden NALGO member from the occupied territories, whose father. was killed by the Israeli forces was on the platform.
Also on the platform were speakers from the New Jewel Movement and the Maurice Bishop Patriotic Movement of Grenada. There is increasing interest on the issue of Grenada within the union both concerning the death penalty passed on Bernard Coard and others and on the killing of Maurice Bishop and the overthrow of his government. The issue will be at the centre of the forthcoming conference of the Metropolitan district Black NĂLGO & group later this year. Arthur Scargill, Jack Taylor and Neil Kinnock at the head of the gala march