tion to black workers at any level and in which their demands were ignored by white dominated factory committees.
When Pakistani workers at Crepe Sizes Ltd. in Nottingham joined the T&GWU they were first prosecution under the Act was of two black people arrested for demonstrating ngainst a colour-bar.
The Act fails to attack the root causes of racialsm: the exploitation of black and immigrant Part of the demonstration in London last September agains atrempts by the Monday Cluh and National Fronz to whip up racialim over the Ugandan Asians insure.
can be undermined by outside pressures unless the struggle is carried on throughout the whole of society - something the Birmingham building workers clearly understood.
schools. One immediate step which must be taken is to challenge the growing fascist movements like the National Front which provide an organisational form for racialist tendencies among white workers, as well as posing an immediate physical threat to black people.
PROBLEMS (Ei To play any effective role in combatting racialism the labour movemeat must organise far more black workers into the unions than it does at present. This will only be achieved if the unions face up to the problems of black workers and show that they are actually propured to fight for real solutions.
Such problems include the need for standard conditions in industry, adequate safety and hygiene, better eating and toilet facilities, standard break times, overfime payments, and even proper wags slips in the pay packets. Abuses in this field play an important part in the exploitation of black workers by the emplayers, and their removal would be a victory for all workers. This is also true of the demand black workers in the industry that they gained for training facilities for all workers, which was central in Loughborough, From past experience it sooms unlikely that such demands will he seriously taken up by the official union orginisations. The key role at this stage, both in pressurising such bodies question, will be playad by black workers' organisation, local rank and-file action commuttees, trades council sub-committees, etc, The unions must aiso take seriously the reality of racialism within their own ranks. It is counter-productive and dangerous to talk of unity when it does not exiat. The' study of racialism and the special problems of black workers must become part of every educational programme for shop stewards and union own languages must also be made avauable to union organisation of black workers. In some unions this process has already begun but there is still a long way to go in the labour movement as a whole.
democracy in the unions as a crucial step in involving minority groups. One black worker on an executive does not mean that black workers are represented adequately. The general problem of democracy, and representation at all levels, can only be solved by rank-and-file activity. The formation of action committees aguinst racialism, and support committees for black workers in struggle, will be central tasks for all rank-and-file militants in the coming