Two vears of intensive campaigning by the right wing inside the Civil and Pubac services Association 1s buuung Up to a climax at its annual conference in May.
The biggest civil service union has been plagued over that time by anony mous moderate' circulars, red baiting and general smear tactics. The campaign is intended to bear truit in the Executive elections to be held at the conference. A longer term aim, accorame to ue union's right-wing president Kate Los inska. is mar me present convulsions inside the union 'will bring about a situation simular to that which gave rise to the investigation (in 1962) into the security procedures in the Public SerVICC.
Among the results of that enquiry, the Radcliffe Report. was the dismissal of a number of officials by the union and a recommendation that there should be no negotiations with union officials suspected of Communist associations.
Articles in the Sun and Daily Mail recently have carried allegations of an extremist take-over - not only of the union, but also of the whole state apparatus cue erma renresents workers mu several crucial areas - Air Traffic Control, rost ounce computers, Customs and Excise).
The peak of this press campaign occurred with the publication of an article by Losinska in a symposium in the Readers Digest called The Marxist Battle for Britain'.
As the conference approaches, writs have begun to fly in all directions. Losmeo-barter Kate Losinska inska has got Mr Justice Brightman to say that the union can anly have the privilege of replying to her article it her name isn't mentioned and there is no macaron mar she nas been cunty of misconduct against the union judge also made a temporary order prohibiting the circulation of the agenda for the national conference because it contains an Executive motion of censure UIL LOSUSKa.
The intervention of the courts into the business of the union has accompanied the revelation that the Conservative MPs and trade union activists urging them to support 'moderates' in the forthcoming elections. Mrs Losinka's name, of course, heads the list.
after the Broad Left won a majority on the Executive three years ago. The CPSA was the only union to oppose the social contract at the 1974 TUC conference. The union then went on to oppose the £6 limit at the 1975 TUC Conference. And recently it has campaigned for a recall TUC to reconsider the trade union movement's support for the Labour Government's policies.
Much of this militancy has been a posture. Several motions to the next conrerence concemn me union s anure to fight the £6 limit in action as well as words. Furthermore, the failure of the Broad Left to follow up their fine words has played into the hands of the right by disillusioning many union members Their election machine, which is run on "lists and bargaining instead of on the basis of a fight for policies, has given substance to une ngat s allegatons ol vote fixing in the eyes of some of the rank and file.
being dragged into the right/left' mudslinging that will most likely substitute for a debate on the way forward for the union, with son or to coming up, the chief task must be to force the Executive to oppose any form of wage restraint and to mobilise the membership against the cuts which threaten many civil servants with redundancy, the whole membership with worsening conditions, and the deterioration of all the services in which CPSA members are involved. This frantic right-wing activity started FYLAIVO tion that profitability and stamping out unofficial stoppages come first, jobs and living standards last.
Unfortunately the 'special case arguments based on the need to protect differentials cut the toolmakers off from other BL workers, leaving them wide open to the witch-hunting attacks that they were jeopardEven at Rover Solihull
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