North Wales and Cheshire Labour Briefing, March–April 1985

WHO VOTED FOR THIS?

LABOUR COUNCILLORS...

For over six months

now, the Labour Group on Clwyd County Council has been at the centre of an

increasingly bitter dispute concerning the strike action

taken by Clwyd nursery nurses in support of their modest pay claim. During

this time, in spite of the fact that public and media attention locally has _ been to a large extent. diverted by the Miners' strike,the plight of the nursery nurses has won a considerable amount of public sympathy and support,extending as far as the editorials and letters columns of the local Press.

Of course,there will always be those right-wingers who refuse to accept that low-paid workers employed in providing a useful public service have a right to use strike action as a means of winning their demands, because of the inconvenience or hardship that it may cause. But it was both disturbing and ironic to find some of our own Labour County Councillors advocating this view - when it had for a long time been within the means of the Council to put an end to this hardship by conceding the nursery nurses’ just

«+ TORY ATTITUDES

claim to a decent living wage in line with their training,special skills and responsibilities - a claim which even they dare not dispute,publicly or within their own ranks.

JOBS FOR THE BOYS?

The record of Labour Councillors such as Alf Jones and Ron Drennan on this subject is disreputable and cowardly in the extreme, In 1983,to forestall strike action threatened by NALGO,an assurance was given that,failing a satisfactory

CONTINUED OVERLEAY )

(Cont. ...)

‘outcome of negotiations with the National Joint

Council, local negotiations would be recommended. This assurance was later to be denied and rather than face the embarrassment of having to lie to the faces of Union officials,the majority of the Labour Group "on the Council immediately took refuge in a declared ‘policy’ of not entering into discussions with Union officials during a dispute. This is certainly something we would expect of Tory or Alliance councillors,as representatives of political parties that make no secret of their contempt for workers' struggles and hatred of Trade Unions. But since when has hiding behind locked doors been part of

Labour Party policy?

** % HM *

The truth is,of course, that the Labour Councillors in question are no more interested in Party policy or the wishes of the electorate than they are in the welfare of their employees or the quality of service provided for the public. There can be few Labour Party members who have not at some time encountered the typical careerist Labour politician arguing that,since the Labour Party exists to give them a _ seat on the Council (or in Parliament, or whatever )s then obviously theit wishes should be respected and Party members should, for the sake of ‘unity',behave accordingly. So much for accountability and democracy!

This can best be illustrated by considering the statements of Alf Jones (Chair of Personnel with Clwyd cc) = and Doris

Griffiths (Secretary-County Labour Group) to the effect that they would only support an agreement with the nursery nurses made at a national level. Why? Because - in the words of a

statement approved by_ the Labour Group -"... if we

have a breakaway agreement with NAICO,we would face the danger of other breakaways." Nothing disturbs the tranquillity of these ‘old guard‘ Labour hacks more than the prospect of workers becoming ‘militant' in pursuit of decent wages and conditions and taking part in the kind of struggles that the Labour Party is pledged to support. Especially if these workers are women!

FIGHT BAKE

Unfortunately for both the Tories and self-styled Labour representatives on the \Council,neither cajolery nor ‘tthe pressures of hardship land finance forced the nursery nurses to abandon their struggle. Inspired by the Miners' struggle,which Ithey have supported in jexemplary fashion, they held out long enough to show the Public-=~ ~ and in particular rank-and-file Labour Party members - the way forward in standing firm against blackmail and |treachery. A Labour Group which originally took refuge in token verbal support of the nursery nurses'claim,has now been forced to _ show itself in its true colours by supporting the use of scab labour in an attempt to break the strike and failing that,voting to sack all those who did not return to

work by a certain date.

It can be surely now only a matter of time before these traitors are expelled from a Party to which they do not belong,or leave to join their friends and co-thinkers in the Aliance. We in Briefing are calling on all Labour Party members to bring that day forward by demonstrating their support for the nursery nurses and repudiating the stance taken fby Alf Jones,Ron Drennan & Co. of outright hostility and contempt for the

struggle of low-paid women workers.

Questions need to be asked at your branch, General Committees, workplace branches,Womens Sections and LPYS meetings - how has the Labour Party arrived ata situation in N.Wales of having to support Councillors whose contempt for Party policy and struggles of the Labour Movement is plain for all to see?

We suggest

passing resolutions of the

{kind already passed by Delyn

CLP,Chester CLIP etc.(copies obtainable from Briefing) and sending them to the County Council,as well as raising the issue in the local Press. Only then can we start to build a_ genuine \democratic, campaigning Party ensuring maximum opportunity lof participation of members and full accountability of Party representatives. Such a restructure in N.Wales is klearly long overdue!

oo Oy ‘ON of EWO, ¢ MINEW vt fe * witEWor, ° , ~- = G & ee & te. PM ~%, . Oe my a a & Zz 2 o 3 F4 il > miners still need support! z i vw <j z 3 wg “A @& 4 2 Shee <n ~ 2 ca Se. ONAL Un, > Throughout the \NEWOF worked hard in N.Wales, = country,the miners’ strike «* = there are groups in = has shown how magnificently ° (s} Deeside,Mold, Flint, Wrexham é the Labour Party 2 - as well as Chester- none rank-and-file are capable of 9 eo of these groups were 2 NATH, responding to the call for Z 9 exclusively Labour,though a % solidarity with workers in > strong Labour Party 9 ~ struggle,and North Wales is 4 representation was to be by no exception. Like many 4% seen in all. Since the _ Places,we have had our share %, miners’ return to work they of "lukewarm' Party by have pledged to continue { officials who havebeen more their work,both inraising notable for their energetic vital cash to help those denunciations of alleged miners who have stayed out ‘violence’ by pickets than until the end and supporting for any concrete ‘those miners who were demonstration of support for imprisoned or sacked. Whilst the miners - they have the Tories plan to close constantly bemoaned the ‘bad pits,privatise the industry effects of the dispute'on and oversee the sacking of the Party,whilst most of us 700 miners - one thing is have accepted that any loss clear,the fight is far Tcomn of support for the Party over! during the dispute is as a For this reason, the result of the pathetic and [involvement of Labour Party farcical attempts by the members is still zs Party Leadership to 'sit on important as ever, the the fence’. Anyone who collections at meetings equates the Party solely should continue and the with Kinnock,is bound to lessons from the strike must

feel disillusioned after the

spectacles of the past twelve months. The \Leadership should be

‘pointing out the strengths within the Party that showed throughout the strike, the qualities of courage, resourcefulness, integrity and determination that were displayed by striking miners and their families and the Parties rank-and-file. We expected our Leadership to display all of these qualities throughout’ =the dispute - it is to our great. disappointment that the ‘Leadership seemed lacking in every way.

However,the Miners’ Groups still have a play. Many have

Support part to

be learnt.We must make our plans for the future.

Our first edition of Briefing will include

discussion on what we see as the priorities for Labour in the coming months with reference to the miners' struggle. in the meantime,we urge supporters to get involved in Support Group activities~further details are available by contacting

Briefing at the address given.

NO TO PIT CLOSURES!

NO TO PRIVATISATION!

AMNESTY FOR ALL SACKED NUM MEMBERS!

LVN

VAL “,, &

UNIO, ph 'N c

EDITORIA LIV

The Nursery Nurses However, this Leadership of the Trade issue (front page) contrasts strongly with the Union movement crawling to highlights the need for a disgusting attitudes of the new journal of the Left - Leader of our Party and his Thatcher to present a and more importantly,a cronies. If Kinnock had surrender document on behalf campaigning Left. The spent one tenth of the time of the NUM, a document behaviour of certain Labour that he used to attack which, to their eternal Councillors towards their _'violence' by striking credit, the NUM firmly own Council workforce is an miners,in explaining the NUM rejected. indication of} how certain case (which he claimed to ‘leading' Labour politicians support! )and using his might behave (and how many authority as Party Leader What has our Labour Governments have to show clearly that the movement done to deserve behaved) towards workers in Labour Party backed the Leaders like these? The struggle when these miners all the way,instead supporters of N.Wales & politicians take government of constantly trying to Cheshire Labour Briefing power. We have to. ensure distance the two,then the intend to take up the fight that the next Labour tasks of those arguing for for a genuine, Socialist Government is not permitted solidarity would have been Labour Party, for the to act like the last made far easier. election of a Socialist

Labour Government, Socialist.

Callaghan Government. ; Labour Councillors and for

The same goes the developement of a

If the Labour Party for much of the Trade Union leadership in the Trade fails to support workers in Leadership. If any one Unions that is at least as their struggles,if it reason can be given to good as that of the NUM. betrays them,then it is no explain the defeat of the better than any of 'bosses'’ strike,it surely is parties - SDP,Liberal or BETRAYAL. The TUC did not Briefing supporters Tory. Fortunately,with the use the authority it had will be producing the first majority of rank-and-file been given at its 1984 issue of our journal by the Party members this is not Annual Conference,it backed begining of May. We invite the case. The miners' away from direct action all those interested in its dispute has seen | which was needed when the promotion to magnifig:ent solidarity | NUM funds were subscibe,contribute in any action carried out by seized,Scargill was nearly way (see below ) or sell ordinary Labour Party arrested and we saw the copies. All help would be members. disgusting spectacle of the welcome.

OO el

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COMING SOON.....FIRST BRIEFING MAGAZINE.....WILL INCLUDE ARTICLES ON HEALTHY SERVICR, MINERS, YOUTH.CND, TRANSPORT... ..

LABOUR— TAKE THE POWER!