FUSE turns into damp squib
Labour Briefing1980sTranscribed by hand from the printed page.
The privatisation of the electricity supply industry is the biggest sell-off yet planned by the Thatcher government.
With assets of £50 billion it could raise in a single flotation more than all the money raised in privatisation from 1979 to 1987.
This privatisation is necessary if the government is to raise the funds for their reactionary programme.
On Saturday October 31st a Conference was held in Leeds by FUSE — the Federation of Unions Supplying Electricity — which has been set up to oppose this privatisation.
FUSE itself comprises the unions in the electrical supply industry — but the Conference was an open Conference with special invitations to the unions in industries directly involved such as coal mining and railways. Both these industries will suffer massive job losses if the flotation goes through.
Principle speakers at the Conference, in which the most prominent union was NALGO and in which the EETPU was not in evidence — were Dave Feidkent, NUM Research officer; Paul Jagger, Secretary, Yorkshire and Humberside TUC; Phil Beeley, leader of Bradford City Council; John Edmonds of the GMB; John Prescott MP; Mike Jeram, NALGO National Officer; and the Director of the Electricity Consumers Council.
Although the Conference was well funded, it had not been campaigned for and attracted only 80 or 90 people, despite the enormity of the issue.
However, it was not that those who did attend were given any kind of perspective as to how to fight the privatisation. It emerged as a typical officially-backed cuts campaign — aimed not at mobilising the workers in the industry against the move, but "influencing public opinion".
Alan Bell, a NALGO member from Essborough power station in Yorkshire, was quickly put down by the platform when he argued that if public opinion was effective in stopping privatisation of this sort the government would not be able to touch the NHS — which has massive public support!
He called for united action between Power workers, miners and railworkers — starting with a one-day strike.
The policy of FUSE, however, had been decided in advance, behind closed doors; and no decisions were allowed at the Conference.
It is hard to see where the campaign can go with its present policy, and another opportunity to start to take action against government policy has been lost.