Borders.
Whilst the Tories conrun down the railways, other countries are re-stocking and modernising. So the workshops which deal export orders are being kept whilst those dealing with British stock are to close.
This situation will conAnnual General workforce meet give tunately this is not the case.
leadership.
Thus, and the union still backs BR's plans.
ship's strategy of the against the traindrivers.
decide.
portunity to look at with a card vote.
belongs.
Socialist Challenge 21 May 1982 page 14 Wing taken by the workforce at both places and rejecting outright the job losses. We should collect money for a tour convenors at the threatened workshops, that every depot in the country can be made aware of the extent of the Tory attack, and the need for solidariDemocratise the NUR NUR guards and IN THE build up to the National Union of Railwaymens Meeting (AGM), conferences of the - the 'Grades Conferences'.
You might think that such conferences are designed to membership opportunity democratically put forward policy for the union. UnforThese conferences have no authority with the union They cannot mandate the leadership or even send resolutions to the AGM. They have a purely consultative role through a system of liaison committees.
last year, for example the traffic grades conference unanimously voted against the 'open station' concept, a 'productivity' exercise which will decimate jobs by getting rid of ticket collectors as we know them. In spite of this outright rejection, two pilot schemes are continuing The NUR leadership uses these conferences to reinforce the divisions in the railway workforce. Such divisions act as a brake on the united fight-back against the leaderapproach' between management and the unions — something which has led to closure of 'collected and delivered' parcels; the openstation concept and one-person operation of trains. These led to the loss last year of 9741 jobs. Attachment to this same strategy found the NUR backing the Rail Board This year's AGM is a rules revision conference. This gives an opportunity to change the structure of the union in order to make sure that the views of the membership Delegates at the grades conferences will have the opthis lack of democracy inside the union. Key here will be the two proposals which militants have been campaigning around: that the general secretary should face regular election every five years and that the AGM should be restructured to adequately reflect the views of the membership to allow one delegate per branch A campaign around these sorts of reforms in the framework of the rising tide of militancy and action by railworkers can lead to a transformation of our union and by giving control to the ranks of the union where it By R Brooks, NUR guard to ches to the Guards and Shunters ference in Brighton on 21 and 22 May.
Nine of the 48 resolutions fostering and they are take against it. The resolutions refer to the anger and concern' felt , and ask for the agreement renegotiated. Streatham branch has put out a call for special meeting to consider cancellation of the agreement.
Drivers are not the only railworkers to stand by a guaranteed working Birmingham 4 branch's resolution demands that all future negotiations are based the fixed guaranteed day.
Other resolutions like Dundee's point to the lack of consultation at brancr level and the loss of jobs to flexible rostering leads. The lack the functioning of the NUR, and the the 1OI JOSSCI al C key issues faced by the conference.
grades conBoth the 'open station concept' which has led to huge reductions in platform staff, and the 'one operation' of trains rail which directly guards jobs are rejected. be Tinsley branch calls on the NEC to refuse any discussion with BR on one man operation. the Streatham wants the NEC to honour grades terences and AGM decisions which are all solidly against it.
day. flexible The rostering al calcull which guards, including the Guards Action Com mittee in the London area, have been having with the NEC shows that the strucundemocratic. LuTe the If the NEC NUR had referred flexible rostering to the branches, of and had wide discussions at depot level, their mandate would clearly two been not to agree to it. But the NEC is out of touch the branches, with the different sections of railworkers.
Two branches have put forward resolutions which try to deal with this problem. Bridges branch wants agreements which fundamentally change the conditions work to be reterred back branches, whilst resolution wants future proposals to change the working day voted on by all NUR branches.
The strong feelings the resolutions conwhich will be discussed are summed up by the statement of the Nottingham and District branch over their resolution opposing flexible rostering, grade of guard is being us ed as a scapegoat for traf fic losses over the past 20 vears' Guards shunters know only well that with all other railworkers they are being asked to pay in wages and Come tons for the crisis created and ide Tories management support have for resolutions at this concarried terence forward to the AGM of and the NUR.
NUR Supports ding British observers.
war continued murdered, including 17 munication 'the and flexible rostering. El Salvador Campaign The NUR NEC was against the recent deci sion by the government to lend authority to the elections in El Salvador in March by sen They sent a letter of protest to Lord Carrington explaining that the could not reflect the democratic views of the El Salvadoreans whilst the civil They drew particular note to the number of trade unionists who have been members of the ex ecutive committee of the Salvadorean ComWorkers Union and the General Secretary of the International Council of the Federation of Transport Unions all of whom were opposed to the present dictatorship. Guards besiege NUR headquarters to protest
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SIDNEY Weighell's oft repeated statement that 99.9 per cent of guards support flexible roster- ing is not reflected in the resolutions put for- ward by National Union of Railwaymen's bran-