YOU MAY have been women's debate at conference, to speaker called was a man. Indeed some delegates on the floor of conference booed and hissed.
composites arguing for women's greater participation in the decision-making process.
The women who prepared the composite composite meeting which is attended by all delegates to thrash of wording resolutions and to decide who will move and second.
women's delegate, Greenwich CLP As new delegates most of us were unprepared for this procedure, unlike who SUDDO LCIS came with a prepared composite.
The Committee had done good job in circulating the passed by COLOIS women's conference but there was no organisation compositing leeting then on re had to do it ourselve The women decided to meet to prepare our speeches, but quickly became clear that there were many other tasks to fulfill. We had to lobby delegates, get out a leaflet explaining our case, and even lobby the standing orders committee.
When it looked like the debate would, be cut and the composites taken, we argued with standing orders that composite 56 should be the one to go. This was the resolution put in by the Militant supporters didn't ference policy. On this issue we won our position.
Throughout conference met sometimes twice daily, and no organisation at all, we developed an effisurprised, watching the see the second But the NUM delegate spoke in favour of the cient and effective lobby.
The NEC recommended opposing two of our composites and reference back of the other two. We decided to have a card vote on all the composites as we needed to establish exactly where support was coming But the card vote did not at all reflect the sup. port that actually existed on the floor of conference. Many union delegates personally supported us bound by decisions taken at union conferences.
Photo: JOHN SMITH (IFL, Mandy Moore The AUEW delegation were 'passing the pad' to see vOte the delegation as they had no members of the delegation were in tavour oI WAC: positions. Even though we ost on the card vote, the orinciples were not lost. We probably had a majority on the floor of conference itself. Photo: PAUL MATTSSON Next year WAC will have to be much more well-organised right the beginning. WAC did get involved in helping us from mid-week, Dil WeR important for the women delegates to go through the experience of organising ourselves. We learned practice that sisterhood powerful.