More than tokens

Scan page 8

MANY Labour Party and trade union organisations will now pass resolutions on lesbian and gay rights. That'saia step forward - but one that usually falls far short of action on the issue.

This problem was the centre of the discussion in the workshop on 'Gay Rights - coming out in the labour movement.

Bob Cant, introducing the workshop, pointed out that while on many issues the labour movement challenges prevailing values as a matter of course, generally it continues to accept conventional heterosexual relations as a norm.

A comrade from Coventry cited a striking example of the often tokenistic nature of labour movement support for lesbian and gay rights. In the discussion on conference resolutions in her constituency Labour Party, a lesbian/gay rights resolution was carrfed almost without controversy. But when it came to deciding which resolution would be the one that the CLP is entitled to send in for conference, overwhelming preference was given to another - advocating more capitalist investment in the Third World as the road to development there...

And when the City Coundil had prevented a Gay Festival from taking place locally, there had been no effective response from the Labour Party.

The lack of resolutions and amendments for Labour Party conference this year on lesbian/ gay rights shows that these are not untypical experiences.

We still have a lot of work to do to convince the labour movement that lesbian/gay liberation is an issue demanding more priority than occasional conscience-salving resolutions.

Scan page 9

WOMEN and the Labour Movement was a very well-attended workshop, and the few outlandish interventions from ultra-left sectarians did not prevent positive and thoughtful discussion.

In her introduction, Liz Philipson said that while the move to increase the representation of women on the Labour Party National Executive had won backing from the Constituency Labour Parties, it still had to jobs' has led them to see the need to preserve those jobs.

Mary Corbishley said that she was afraid that issues of special concern to women, such as sexual harass nent at work, will be squeezed out under pressure of a push from men for a united fight to get a Labour go ernment re-elected. But for many women the choice is to put up with sexual harassment or to lose their jobs Jenny Fisher reported on the work being done to unite the struggles of black and Asian women with the Labour Party in East London. On a recent demonstration against deportations, one third ot the partıcıpants Gerry Byrne commented on how many women were frightened of getting involved in trade union and Colin Talbot of the POEU pointed out that telecommunications is a Labour Party politics because of the constant threat of violence by men at home and in the street. fast-growing industry. If the miners' economic position is getting weaker; he said, telecoms workers will have to take over as the shock cK 2 Such issues cannot be ignored.

were Labour Party members. troops of the labour movement.

----- pull-quotes -----

men that they, tony trade unight or wame to persuade women to be see most magnate method ade gettine sisted spoke of the current the residential care sukers dispute. The role of women in 'caring