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A date for your diary! Partnership or class struggle?12.00 - 6.00, Caxton House, 129 St John's Way, Archway, LondonAgendaA working conference for socialists in the trade unions. Organised by Workers' Liberty and Action for Solidarity. Speakers include:
Across manufacturing industry, jobs hang in the balance. In the public sector, privatisation is an ever-present threat and pay and conditions are under attack. The union leaderships, tied to their philosophy of "social partnership", have failed to lead a fightback. As a General Election approaches, their failure to assert themselves politically comes into sharp focus. But there have been many recent developments that the left can build on. The victory of Mark Serwotka in the election for General Secretary of the civil service union, PCS, which Mark will be speaking about, opens up fantastic opportunities for the left - and shows that, when we offer trade unionists a coherent strategy on the issues that affect them day to day, we can win mass support. Elsewhere, sections of the labour movement have shown themselves will to back challenges to Labour's dominance at the ballot box. This conference will take stock of the left in the unions, and debate the way forward. Practical workshops - such as one drawing on the experience of people involved in recent disputes - will enable trade unionists to share experiences and learn from one another. We will also look at lessons from the history of the labour movement. Vic Turner, one of the five dockers jailed by Ted Heath's Tories in 1972 and then freed by a massive, nationwide strike wave - one of the most significant episodes in British labour movement history, which saw mass action effectively tear up Heath's anti-union laws - will speak on the lessons of rank and file organisations in the 1970s and his experiences as one of the Pentonville Five. Workshops include:
Registration fee: £10.More details from Mark at the Workers' Liberty office. |
24 February, 2001 Saturday |