Conference pledges to support only candidates and parties that will stand up for the working class

Dave Warren, Swansea Socialist Party

Over 50 trade unionists from 11 unions attended a conference hosted by Cardiff Trades Council on 18 October.

The ‘Wales Trade Union Conference on the Crisis of Political Representation’ was endorsed by five trades councils, the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union (BFAWU), civil service union PCS Wales, and a long list of trade union branches, along with Disabled People Against Cuts and the campaign group ACORN.

The conference was promoted as a forum for trade union reps and members to discuss “the way forward for our movement after 15 years of austerity, cost-of-living crisis and racism.” It was prompted by deep concerns over Labour’s continued austerity programme, its scandalous attacks on the Birmingham bin workers, and inadequate response to the horrifying massacres in Gaza.

It was originally conceived before Zarah Sultana and Jeremy Corbyn’s announcements, but the developments concerning Your Party obviously gave this event even greater relevance.

The conference was intended to facilitate a “full and free discussion”, and that objective was achieved, with a long procession of speakers from the floor rather than platform speakers dominating. One view that was entirely absent was the idea that unions should continue to affiliate to Labour. Because some unions are affiliated to Labour and because they are the party of government in the UK and in Wales, Cardiff Trades Council had specifically invited Labour to provide a speaker at the conference to try and defend their record. That did not happen.

Much of the discussion centred on whether trade unionists ought to affiliate to any political party. A member of the BFAWU for example, stated that disaffiliation of his union from Labour had freed up funds for many other purposes directly benefiting members. Speakers from ACORN were particularly prominent in arguing against political affiliation, advancing the slogan “no permanent enemies, no permanent friends”. They were wary of association with any political party that might attack working people at some stage.

This is an understandable sentiment given the betrayals of Labour and the cuts carried out by Plaid Cymru and the Greens when they have led councils in Wales and England respectively.

However, these arguments were countered mainly by members of the Socialist Party, who pointed out that an opportunity now exists to create a new party based on the working class and fighting for socialist policies. The character of Your Party is not decided, and the trade unions must take part in the process to help shape its direction. It is essential to robustly defend workers at work and in the community, but it is also necessary to have a political strategy. The two things are not mutually exclusive, they go together.

The conference ended by agreeing for those in attendance to take a charter of demands for political representation back into their organisations. The introductory paragraph stated: “The working class should not pay for this crisis. Instead make the rich pay. Trade unionists in Wales need representatives who will stand up for the working class and not surrender to the demands of big business”.