Socialist Party Wales Socialism In Wales
By Dave Warren, Delegate from Swansea Trades Council
The biennial congress of TUC Cymru (Wales Trades Union Congress) took place in Llandudno 19-21 May against the background of the political earthquake of Labour losing control of the Senedd (Welsh parliament) for the first time ever.
The conference provided a timely opportunity to reassess the political orientation of the trade union movement in Wales under a Plaid Cymru government and map out a way forward.
Under a Labour government in Wales, the tops of the trade unions have been heavily embroiled in ‘social partnership’, whereby unions, employers and government seek consensus and allegedly work together to achieve common goals. The Socialist Party has always opposed this approach.
Social partnership didn’t help steelworkers
Several speakers opposed this strategy from the rostrum, including Socialist Party members, pointing out, for example, that social partnership had not prevented the loss of thousands of jobs at Port Talbot Steelworks, where Tata Steel closed both remaining blast furnaces while opening new blast furnaces in India.
As the Socialist Party pointed out at the time, nationalisation under democratic workers’ control and management was the only realistic option for saving primary steel production in Wales. The truth is that multinational firms like Tata do not have common interests with their workforce. They are interested only in profit and care nothing for the communities that their decisions affect.
A motion from Swansea Trades Council sought to prepare for future battles by calling on Congress to “prepare to mobilise the support of all affiliated unions to resist any future attacks or undermining of living standards by the Senedd.” This motion was carried, but a statement from the General Council of TUC Cymru reaffirming “a commitment to social partnership and fair work in Wales” was also carried.
This cross-class approach to industrial relations muddies the waters and it is evident that the leadership of the trade union movement in Wales is set on building the same cosy relationship with Plaid Cymru in government as it had with Labour. In fact, a ‘memorandum of understanding’ has already been signed between Plaid Cymru and TUC Cymru.
While it is obvious that trade unions must engage and negotiate with both employers and government, they must do so free of any illusions of common interests and goals. Plaid Cymru has already shown in the leadership of councils that it has been no different from Labour when it comes to making cuts to public services.
No-cuts budgets
Most of the motions were uncontroversial and positive. However, when any motion introduced a note of dissent to the position of the General Council, they moved to delete it. More than once the General Council supported a motion “with a reservation”, with the speaker proposing to delete and/or add wording with no written amendment having been circulated to delegates. Congress was then invited to vote on the reservation even though there is nothing in the rules and standing orders which allows the General Council to amend motions in this way. This was a democratic deficit that needs to be campaigned against in order for it to be corrected for future congresses.
However, when discussing a motion from Caerphilly Trades Council to preserve local libraries and leisure centres, the General Council (mistakenly?) failed to call a vote on a reservation to remove reference to legal no-cuts budgets. Therefore the motion was carried as written and a commitment to legal, no-cuts budgets remains TUC Cymru policy.
Nationalisation
The final debate of Congress was on a motion from Unite to support Welsh manufacturing, and an amendment from Swansea Trades Council calling for “Opening the books for inspection, and the option of nationalisation by the Welsh government under democratic workers’ control and management, with compensation paid only on the basis of proven need, should be a major demand in order to save jobs and services.”
This amendment was opposed by the General Council and by Unite. The speaker for the General Council stated that while there is a case for nationalisation of natural resources such as water, that does not apply to manufacturing industry. He said that we need the competition and innovation that private ownership provides!
This was nothing short of a defence of the capitalist system that produces such inequality and misery all over the world. Socialist Party members of course supported the amendment, and although the vote was lost, several delegates approached us afterwards to say they agreed with us.
The attitude to motions is decided in delegation meetings beforehand and lay delegates were mandated in advance. Nevertheless, Socialist Party members made a significant impact at this conference and won considerable support from the rank-and-file delegates. We made a total of 30 interventions from the rostrum over the three days of conference and sold 28 copies of the Socialist.
The debate to arm the trade union movement to defend workers will intensify in the months to come.
