Phone: JOIN MARKIS Ann Pettifor: challenged executive maximum room for maneouvre.
With the single exception of the wollen . conference followed the lead of the executive.
It voted: • Against incomes policy, DUl for the National Economic Assess• For opposition to Tebbit. but relected a commitment to industrial áction • ror independent trade unions but also for a camimport control. (which will mean joint with employers)
Against the antipolicies working class the Tory Government, but for continuing talks • For Kinnock as leader of the Labour Party but against taking Meacher between • Hattersley for Deputy.
As a result. Britain's largest union is set to continue the balancing act ll has maintained since Jack Jones retired • a balancing act which has always landed it on the side of the right, when the crunch has In view of the composiunion in the country, the union's executive managed The current there, was having a executive dressed spoke of need to 'whoever TOT 1987. was no exovation, Greenson, that.
hope The discussion on the leadership of the Labour adroitly manoeuvered by the ecutive to ensure that there was no discussion policy.
The choice of candidate was mixed in with a debate on two resolutions on the democratic control the T&GWU's 1.25 million strong block vote.
A motion calling for a ballot members was rejected was a motion which called for a recall delegate con. ference lo decide on the leadership question.
Instead, delegates voted to leave the decision to ine executve verwee. BDCS. CP delegates supthat should DaVO confidence in 'our left Executive'.
The decision on the Deputy leadership was left to the executive on similar grounds.
On past performance. this could well mean that the T&GWU vote going to Hatersley order 'balance' the left drift There will need to be vigorous campaign for The exerutive die =* haie everything In ihe debaie or rights was dramatically overturned. The debate on this was due to be taken on Thursday, but the executive attempted to preempt it with a procedura move on using y culicsuay u statement.
Marie Patterson made the statement on behalf of the executive a bland had done great already, would do the matter 1()I C should be left in their hands.
Despite the suprise attack, Anne Pettifor from 1/975 Branch led the counter-attack Several other women also opposed Moss Evans the statement, arguing that this was the first time the T&GWU had discussed this question.
delegate (male) supported the women on the grounds that he was able to attend Conference with a clean shirt. because of his wife. To the amazement of almost everyone Salemen wa. defeated.
Conference then went on to discuss the motions. All were passea. Marie Patterson made clear the executive's opposition to women's advisory committees, or the conference of the LP having Ine powe Conference is a very good first round. But the battle has a long way to go.
• On the issue, voted 1o supany branch which boycotted work on nuclea bases, but avoided any suggestion of the union nationally campaigning for national strike action against the missiles.
As Moss Evans said in his 'I'll go to jail' speech, in fact it will be business as usual. that will be his in tention. It is not the intention of the Tories.
Socialist Action 15 July 1983
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AMID frequent assertions that the Transport and General Workers Union was 'the biggest and best'
to fudge its way through the 30th Biennial Delegate Conference with a minimum of clarity and with the
members of the Labour ecutive. The success at the