Committee for constitutional reform to increase women's power in the Labour Party will dominate this year's Labour Women's Conference, as they have done for the past few years.
at the issues involved.
The role of miners' wives in supporting the miners sunke nas received Conduc ul.
THIS TWO-ACT play, showing at the Riverside Studios will do more to bring home the actuality of what it is like to be black in apartheid South Africa than many a tract published by the Anti-Apartheid Movement.
only competent actors but because they have lived what they are portraying on the stage, they are able to transmit some of the trauma of their lives to the audience.
At the end of the per:ormance, Tne audience spontaneously rose to their : eet ana applause almost brought the house 10wn. Many. this reviewer, were openly ying. The emotional atnosphere could literally be :elt.
Store Nor ena Back Black SLOT living in South today Only her ze is invented, and is -zied on a book originally Ankaans. une gage of South Africa's Elsa African Africans Forty per cent of all resolutions submitted to the breaking the myth that women's role in strikes breakers.
Recently LICI erside stu The seven black actors who form the cast are not multi-racial Market Theatre, three-quarters of the audience were white.
Reviewed by Charlie van Gelderen It must have come as a reve anon many of lne white 'Madames' in the black aucence their kitchens who did their household chores, looked after their children, cooked and served their food were actually people.
Poppie black. thirdacc alien the Western Cape. edict comes tha:
'surplus' women return their dispelled the similar myth that women constitute ine right wing or the labou by adopting a series or lent poncies was the only major section of the Labour Party to oppose the Malvinas war. for example.
This reflects an important change in the wa! Tha women see their own role in society. Today only one in tive men are the bread turns out to be rugated shed with no ceiling and no running water. millions of women work, ano exact WOrK throughout their lives. This Ilas already transformed the membership of many unions and is beginning to change the whole face of the labour movement This changing role of women has been shown not only policy adopted by organisation. but in the rising support for the proposed structural changes in the Partv.
The question that confronts the labour ment is whether it can rise to the challenge of this new consciousness among create powerful alliance between the traditional organisations of the working class this force of women. This not guaranteed.
There is another lesson learned women's support for the if you women to support walll you, you have to support women. The NUM may be male-dominated (which it ls), out ll nas lakell some important steps on policy before many unions with a higher female membership.
Sexism The NUM supported DUSL WAC demands al Labour Party conference, one of the few unions that did. . Eric Clarke, secretary of the Scottish NUM, is a supporter helped organise the NUM's Labou delegation the organisation resolutions.
Of course. sexism still exists in the NUM, even among the most militant the striking miners.
There was a problem of sexist comments at Labour But the Scottish \Ll is organising a weekend school on women's rights later this year, at which Jo Richardson nas been invited to Women are surging through — like this woman fork-lift driver at McEwans in Edinburgh speak. Ihis is not enough but is an important step towards win all g to take demands seriously The NUM's support for WAC is a tremendous lever to use in winning other unions to a similar position. Bur previous years all WAC's will probably resolutons be opposed by the platBut these demands cannot be resisted forever.
Neil Kinnock opposes tion of women combined with the support of key unions will actually win WAC's demands, then the policy of the organisation becomes very important. Thus combinthe constitutional changes a more serious attempt being made this year confuse fudge the conterence many policy questions.
III ed off the agenda (with on ly four resolutions in), and the absence of any resolu tion defending Liverpool council, all indicate the danger of policy concesSONS tron Kinnock his LC C On the other hand nine resolutions on Ireland are a sign that women's conference is not about to become a tool of the Kinnock leadership. coupues. emergency resolution on the miner
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conference, to be held in Swansea on 12-13 May, are resolutions sponsored by WAC on the question of constitutional change. JUDE WOODWARD looks