Duffy won't go away!

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BOB BROUGHTON (Socialist Organiser no. 47) is spot on when he says Duffy and Boyd have stabbed the Laurence Scott strikers in the back by signing a blatantly sell-out agreement with Arthur Snipe. Only six or seven years ago it would have been unimaginable for top union leaders to carry off such a stunt.

So why has it happened?

One reason is that Boyd has craftily calculated that while the right is outnumbered by left activists at the base of the union, there is no serious challenge to his complete control over the union apparatus.

As long as struggles can be localised at the level of the plant, and not translated into a political campaign to remove Boyd and Co. from the top positions, then the Executive could comfortably crap on a dozen Scotts occupations and get away with it!

Duncan Hallas in Socialist Worker (8th August) tells us that "the spectacle of 19 full-time officials, including some 'heroes' of the Broad Left, urging Laurence Scotts workers to accept a sell-out, is typical". ' Fair enough.

The SWP tell us that over the last few years, we have seen the increasing incorpotation of convenors and stewards into the official structure - particularly through growth of centralised negotiating procedures. The task, the comrades say, is to 'reforge new independent rank and file links' and in this way go round the bureaucracy.

And as far as this goes, it is vitally important. The Laurence Scotts workers are doing exactly this at the moment by renewing contact with Doncaster stewards after Duffy has made them unofficial.

However, while this work is essential, the real danger is that some stewards are drawing the conclusion: it's pointless bothering with the official structures - that'll get us nowhere' In a period of growth of centralised wage bargaining and the role of confederated unions, a real dilemma is posed for socialists in the working class movement. Can we afford to ignore this - and bypass it by just building rank and file links at the base and leaving it at that?

It is clear that those who control the union apparatus at the top will - at the end of the day - always defeat the 'tank and file' struggles on the ground unless there is a real fight to wrench this apparatus out of their hands. The building of rank and file movements has to be integrated with a strategy of replacing the right-wing leaders.

Conference

A usetul start would be the calling of a labour movement conference of workers to discuss how the lessons of Scotts can be taken into the battle in the unions as a whole.

PAUL RAMSEY (AUEW)

JOE ROURKE, Manchester. JOHN Lister's article (Socialist Organiser 48) brings out well the trend to a paramilitary and openly political role for the police.

As he points out, some police chiefs are worried by the risks and problems of this trend. John Alderson, Chief Constable for Devon and Cornwall, has openly criticised it.

But we should be aware that this 'liberal' wing of the police is none too liberal. Alderson's reaction to the recent riots was to tut-tut at the tactics of Oxford and Anderton - and say he favoured a new Riot Act!

COLIN FOSTER, London

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Not so liberal