Trades 93 Councils call for more T.U. education.
Education facilitios for all tades unionists undertaking studies of importance to the movement were demanded by the Annual Conference of Bmdes Councils at Harrogate on Iiagy 26th. The Conference called for a TUC controlled education acheme to include long and short torm courses, postal courses and branch lectures,
Mr. D. Winnard, socretary of the TUC educational trust, said the General Council of the TUC were trying to create services which for the first time would serve the educational intoerasts of the movement. The Conference urged the government to logislate for education up to the age of 18, Defeat for Gunt .er at T.3.5.A, Conferencos
“In spite of a fasvent plea that freedom to associate varries with it tho inherent right not to associate, transport clerks decided to press for a closed shop in nationalised transport, The plea waa made by tho president of the Transport Salaried Staffs! Association, Mr. Ray Gunter, MP, at the association's annual conference at Dlackpool last week.
He was apsaking against a motion to make union membership a a condition of service, Members displayed far more heat than when they discussed the Beeching plan earlier in the day. Ferhaps this waa because the closed shop issue had been .ofore the conference for 15 consecutive yoors and each year the majority against it has dwindled. Today members inflicted e heavy defeat on the executive on a major issue with a card vote 49,100-29,400 in favour of compulsory mombership,.
ur. J. Mills(Suston) led the attacks For years, he said, voluntary persuasion had been tried with such things as tea meetings end bemity demonstrations, Dut there was still a sizeable majority outside the association, Mr. H.Moore(Hull) said that out of 130,000 People in nationalised transport, there were 20,000 non-members. Hoe declared "I want to be free from working with backsliders. You cannot fight tha Besching threat with this millstone around your neck."
Mr, Gunter, opposing for the executive, said cortain principles wers basic and should not change however nuch social patterns might alter. Compulsory membership would damage the moral fibra of ths association and coerced members would be unreliable, ho claimed,
The confarence also rejected an amendemnt to pormit nonmembera to pay contributions to the aosseciation's benavolant fund and passed the motion instructing the executive to press for union memborship as a condition of service. IU Supports NaDC ~ worried by Scottish TUC.
: The General Council of the TUC gavo general endorsement on May 22nd to the reports of tha National .conomic Development Council, and welcoming it's decision to establish joint planning commissions for particular industries. These will include roprezentatives df employars and tradesunions, and they will be askod both to collect information similar to that which NEDC got in its first industrial onquiry, and to secure the effective joint carrying cut of the national plan,
The Gouncil appointed Mr. Woodcock and lfr. Prod Hayday,its Chairman, to have talks with the Scottish TUC about its tendency to bo freer in its organisational contacts in Commusist countries than is tho British TUC, The Scots, whose constitution produces = more left-wing Congress and leadership, have exchanged visits with Russia and Czecho=slovalzia, and officialsfrom sithor sides have spoken on union platforms when ‘visiting the othsr country.
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