Socialism With A ?
HEALEY By a POEU member THE right-wing leadership of the Post Office Union has trick in the book to ensure that our union The POEU conference in June saw the opening shose aest POEU's votes. Eve of conHICCUITCA ed by the Broad Left and the right-wing Mainstream were addressed by Benn and Denis Healey respectively, The Broad Left had offered the meetings into a debate, but the right wing declined.
They also declined to debate the issue on the the conference itself. no the National on- conference the ecutive Council majority came up with a scheme to ensure that tne union's vote goes to Healey, while dirty maintaining of democratic respectability. Their answer was a "consultative ballot' ballot has been organised by distributing voting every single member through their local union branch, regardless of wnetnel not they pay. the political Icvy le over 35,000 POEU members having opted-out of the political levy, that means that more than one-in-four potential voters in this ballot is anti-Labour.
The general treasurer of the union, David Norclaims that the POEU has been forced to include every member because of the 1913 Trade Union Act. He claims that LIC UNION vice which said that every member Was entitled vote, but the membership has never seen this reputed advice.
these circumstances least local branch, Westminster. has taken it's own advice. Their counsel has said that far from forcing the union to include every member in the ballot, the 1913 Act allows the union to exclude those who don't pay the political levy.
Consult Just to make absolutely sure that if all else fails entirely their as the entirely their way, NEC and Stanler nave made it quite clear that this consultalve ballot and the delegation to Labour conference is in no way bound by the outcome. clear case of 'heads you lose, , tails we win'.
In response to this blatant attempt to hijack the union's 78,500 Labour conference for Healey, the Broad Left has tried to campaign to ensure the maximum support for Benn.
A national leaflet calling on members to back Benn included a special statement Benn himself.
He outlined his port for the repeal of the British Telecoms Act. for renationalisation without compensation of any parts of British Telecom hived. off to private industry and for an immediate reduction in the working week to 35 hours to share out Tune benefits of technology.
Countering the union journal's call to 'vote for the leaders who can win' Post office engineers union the Broad Left leaflet called on members to «Vote for the policies that can win' clear many POEU members that the NEC and Bryan Stanley have put their own narrow sectarian interests above itself. It is obvious that backs the policie that by and large correspond Coll ference decisions, yet they have done everything possible to ensure a volc for Healey opposes them.
• the outcome of our farcical ballot, the : the democratisation of the labour • movement and the fight for socialist policies has to go on.
The days of the rightwing domination of the Labour Party and the POEU are numbered. The next election we're after is
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casts its votes for Denis Healey in the Labour deputy leadership battle.
for the post secretary of the Poetera.