AN IMPRESSIVE LIST of speakers addressed the Institute of Workers Control (IWC) conference on industrial democracy last weekend. MPs Audrey Wise, Michael Meacher and Neil Kinnock were present, accompanied by Ken Coates of the IWC and Ernie Roberts, Assistant General Secretary of the AUEW.
The IWC is not a political party. or an organisation aspiring fo become a party, Rather it sces itself as a "service' organisation for the general labour movement, organising a series of open forums and running a publishing house which produces pamunion bureaucrats and left MPs.
The Institute also sees itself as something of a marriage-broker bet ween the left-wing of the Labour Party and the lelt trade union buresucracy. Their forums are places where the leading lights of the two can get together to work out ways in which the weight of the trade unions can be used to put pressure on the Labour Party leaders and push forward on "progressive policies, mainly on the vaguely defined suhjects of "workers' control', and "industrial democracy". It is not surprising, therefore, that the most prominent figure of the IWC is the present bogeyman of the ruling class, The WC has not grown in recent years and it meetings and conferchocs have been attended by a selection of lowerechelon trade union bureaucrats and menTAIC WAS HIME WICH CALIA an opportunity to reach a wider layer in the labour movement it is now.
The slightly more left wing noises being made by the Labour kaders, and the activities of Tony Benn in publishing his "plan" for nationalisation of certain key industries have undoubtedly had an impact amongst trade union militants. Albeit in vague and confused ways, the control are being discussed by wider and wider sections of the labour moment so why were there so lew trade union militants at last weekend's conJerence? The answer must be in the lact that trade union militants ure not especi ally interested in abstract debates, and the IWC makes no effort to orginise struggles on the key issues of the day the crisis in the health service, the Con or at brin Teyno.
'PRESSURE
The abstract approach of the INC is not just un oversight, It is a direct result of their overall political ideas. The indivSduals that are involved around the forums and conferences are not concerned with can be transformed through demands for nationalisations and workers control into struggles for permanent solutions to phiets mainly written by leading trade as the INC concurs itself with existing strugeles at all it is only to put "presure" on Labour. As Neil Kinnock told the con ference, the right to open the books" can only be effective once it las been lepalised!
That explains why the audience at last weekend's conferonce had to suffer Michael Meacher extolling the virtues of the National Enterprise Board which, so we were informed, was going to "compel nationil and multi-national companies to discuss with the Government their plans for investment, turnover and profit rates etc. What we were now told was what the Government will do when li benevolent employers refuse, when they boycott Government machinery (like they have done in the past over the nationilisation of stoel and supit), or even sabotage the economy.
Even worse was Ernie Roberts comr plete confusion in attempting to confuse workers" control with sample veto" powers aver safety conditions, spood of line, Barbara Castle's recont statement that convenors should have the permanent "workers control.
A ra debate on the struggle for workers control must be linked to the carlier thus month.
for example position of the President and the date for democratic elections. Its of the postal workers strike by the racy!
ernment. But its prospects are no better.
oeuvre in the old Government are tion.
affairs (retained by Socialist Party leader Mario Soares).
all the "hot spots" in the new Government directly into their own of the Portuguese Communist Party.
Their first attempt to smooth the geois democracy in Portugal through a coalition with the ragmonopoles and the milita y crunibled into dust That Government fell because of a manocuvre by its most right-wing members nimed at strengthening the Prime Minister and moving back the sole 'achievements" were the breaking threatened usc of troops and the reintroduction of strict control over the - hardly big gains for democONCE AGAIN