TGWU Elections | IMG Archive

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Following all the hot air of the STUC meeting in Glasgow's Apollo Cinema, the Scottish Socialist public forum against the social contract on the evening of March 9th came as a breath of fresh air. Speakers included two candidates in the then current clections for TGWU General Secretary. Alan Thomett British Leyland Cowley Shop Steward and TGWU 5/293 Branch Chairman and Willie Bennett - TGWU Convenor at India Tyres, Inchinnan in Rentrewshire. Also on the platform was Walter MacLellan, Assistant secretary of Glasgow District Branch of NALGO.

Willy Bennett related how he had stood up against Jack Jones at the previous TGWU Scottish Confcrence. He explained that he would be equally happy for his supporters to vote for Thornett or Tommy Riley the Right to Work Campuien candidate. The main questions, as far as he was concerned, were clection and recallability of union officials, a complete break with Social Contract-ism' and equal rights for women inside the union and out.

Alan Thornett explained the importance of supporting the toolroom workers at British Leyland in their fight for a wage demand in excess of Phase IT. 'No group of workers, he said, "has ever received so many instructions to stop a strike".

Thornett explained the crucial need for * programme around which all those affected by the Social Contract could unite. Such a programme would have to involve centrally demands for a sliding scale of wages, opening of company books, nationalisation under workers control and work sharing without loss of pay.

This was why Bro, Riley's more militancy" campaign in the TGWU elections was inadequate. He had not previously niet Bro. Bennett so he could not comment on his candidature. The crucial question in smashing the social contract was the breaching of Phase I!. As for the elections, a big lar-left vote would make it harder for the leadership to manipulate elections and arbitrarily victimise left wing activists and branches.

Contributions and questions from the floor initiated a lively and wide-ranging: discussion on strategy in both the public sector and the industrial unions. Speakers from the floor included members of the Labour Party, the Communist Party, the SWP (formerly IS) and the SIP Left Wing.

SLP members stressed the importance of securing delegation to the Conference on Wage Control and Labour Movement Democracy and the British Leyland Stewards' wages conference in Birmingham on March 27th and April 3rd respectively.