NATPHE THIS WINTER thousands of low-paid women workers have taken strike action against wage communities controls.
But they didn't get a mention at last week's Women's TUC Nor did women fighting for their jobs country. were passed without opposition and without political debate.
Nevertheless
Women's advance.
Michael and clear feminist challenge "traditional family breadwinner and housekeeping, wife. organised Discrimination trade union movement itself was attacked. The conference called for positive steps to be Welsh vote a setback The government has been hastened whilst a potential Welsh body of resistance has been removed.
The need for the left now is to were further Welsh realities and begin to evolve a encompasses them. paign by Socialist Challenge supporters for a Yes' vote was a small but important step in continue, it that direction.
Plaid Cymru pursued its half-hearted and uncertain attitude devolution proposals at of end. Although aware that the proposed Assembly was recognition of nationalism, they were frightened that their "independent' Wales might be discredited in an ineffective talking shop.
Both nationalists and social democrats were unable to break to address out of the phony limits of their ideologies. Neither separatism nor an evolution of WestminSUD ster politics can solution to Welsh problems.
It is the Labour Party which will suffer the more immediate mccungs, to women, to women.
up and down the activity and Worthy resolutions real changes to be made.
this year's technology was an the WaS to the of male UnKnowical lazarus dependent, within the benefits share of housework. of a Tory crisis.
understanding programme that Labour MPs.
The cammeanwhile current to the democracy! the As things emergent North and South, goal of class programme. provide any backwards. taken to overturn the male domination of unions, for creches to be organised at trade for training to be more accessible and for decision-making bodies to be opened up However, it will take a lot of organisation by women within unions for any unreal The key debate was on the those microprocessors which threaten 1½ million women's jobs in combat offices, shops and factories and which will expose women to But conference didn't call for resistance, only the sharing of cutting hours of work so men take their full It was pointed out that 25 per 1½ Not merely was machine miserably inadequate in mobilising support for its cent of fathers in Britain had never put their children to bed and 75 per cent had never taken time off to look after a sick child. Women argued that the new technological revolution should be used to change that But how can it be, if the system of profits, of capitalism, is not overturned? In the atmosphere COT the Women's TUC far removed from the workplace, the new technology was accepted anc DOC no programme of action to increasing unemployment was even considered.
The Women's TUC lacks muscle. The General Council can and do ignore it. They failed to respond to the call made in 1977 and 1978 for more (there are two - one for every million trade unionists).
This the call was repeated. since the TUC Women's Advisory Committee has more men nominated by the General Council than women elected by the Women's Conference on it, not much hope lies there.
The Women's shouldn't be written off. It can be transformed into a fighting representing women throughout the trade union movement To do that means, however, that male domination within each and every union must be fought by women organising themselves. If this were done the Women's TUC could no longer be ignored.