alarm the and its relation to the Labour Party.
quently which will, in consequence, arise.
The shift should CHOL overestimated, and the battle for the TUC's soul is by no means over. The block votes may have gone as the so-called 'moderates? wanted, but the rank and file are not all with them. That holds both in the white collar unions such as the Teachers Local Government Officers civil service unions, and in the blue-collar unions like the engineers, electricians, General and Municipal and Boilermakers.
But we must ask, what the right's goals are. The Frank Chapples of this world want to transform the British trade unions into an American 'business' туре trade unionism, with complete acceptance of the capitalist system. In the USA , most union leaders act like business executives - and some like gangsters.
Objectives And there is a consequence. Chapple's speech from the chair was a serious attempt to weaken the ties between the Labour Party and the trade unions, were also the speeches of Alistair Graham of the civil servants' union, despite his protestations of Party membership.
What are we actually seeing! It is Gomperism' a British context. True, the TUC's actual resolution calling for a fresh look at relations with the Labour Party was not too clear in its objectives. But it is the first step towards the depoliticisation of the unions, and the deunionisation of the Labour Party. This trend has to be opposed and defeated.
There are always voices at given moments of history who argue that things have so changed that the basic socialist concepts are no longer valid. That argued by Edward Bernstein in the Second International, and in the German SDP. before World War One. It has been argued in by Anthony Crosland and other revisionists in the 1950s and in less articulate form, similar arguments are being heard.
But the point is that while capitalism has changed to some degree, it is still capitalism. The class divisions and interests are still MANY TRADE UNIONISTS must view with TUC's serious tilt to the right at Blackpool earlier this month. What they 'have perhaps not considered are its longer term implications for the future of British trade unionism At this Labour Party conference and subsewe must come to grips the problems there and cannot be wished away. The capitalist system is basically responsible for mass unemployment. long as it exists there will be booms and slumps, and the growth of makes high unemployment capitalism inevitable. truth has to be faced, and it was hardly touched on at the TUC.
Destroy The government wishes slowly but surely to destroy the trade union movement.
It is using both unemployment and legislation to do it, and is stepping up the use of the blacklist. as in Chapple and Murray at the TUC Leyland is a publicly owned enterprise, and it is there that some of the worst black was listing and witch-hunting is taking place.
What is the objective of this offensive? It aims to turn the unions into tame pussy cats, with sible' leaders in charge, and shop floor weakened or alternatively destroyed.
There ate argue that the class struggle is a thing of the past. If that is so, then why do the Tories conduct it daily, bringing in legisiation designed perience of legislation being used against the unions which led them to decide to create their own political wing in 1900.
The truth is that everything working people have got in Britain was won by struggle. It was not given them by benevolent employers or leaders from above. When progress has been made by legislation, has been through the combination of parliamentary extraparliamentary activity. This is true, both for the unions and for measures such as votes for women.
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