...continued from powerlessness and a way of avoiding confronting existing laws. But no amount of good work in parliament can escape the simple fact -that the anti-union laws will only be done away with when they have been broken industrially.
It is of course not possible to isolate the political and industrial from each other. We need to promote a fight back at all levels - building anew a grass roots movement across the unions, building a fighting culture in each union, which means fighting for control of each union and demanding organisation at the top, with serious left coordination at the level of the TUC.
Credit card trade unionism and the personal service culture of the TUC played on the clear difficulties in maintaining grass roots organisation, under an offensive from the bosses. But we should not exaggerate the problems that exist.
The biggest problem was that union leaderships were not prepared to invest real power in their members. A strong local shop stewards movement needs to be consciously built. In a climate of defeat this is no easy task.
Only a real upsurge can present the basis for building a movement to approach those of previous generations. But that does not mean we do not have concrete tasks we need to take forward now.
The National Shop Stewards Network presents a forum for discussing how to Greg Tucker The two committees established at the RMT and Respect led conferences have started to work.
The National Shop Stewards Network committee is looking to organise its conference in May next year. It wants to engage with the existing trades councils movement as a valuable crossunion resource in building for the conference around the country over the intervening months.
As well as producing propaganda outlining the practical benefits a network can bring it has recognised the importance of building active solidarity actions now, particularly in the face of the number of key national developments in the civil service and wider public sector around job cuts, attacks on pension rights etc. in the new year.
The Organising for Fighting Unions committee also wants to promote practical solidarity and is aiming to organise a series of regional rallies in the coming weeks.
The basis exists for organising the OFU at a local level We have to make the argument to link the "industrial" the perception of domination is to build the OF at a broader level involving the wider forces of Respect and beyond.
Whilst they have different remits and distinct objectives the two bodies need to be seen as complementary. It would be tragic if what was to develop was two mutually antagonistic fronts, a unionbased caricature of Respect and the Campaign for a New Workers Party.
The OFU has to be more than a cheerleader for the SWP and/or Respect's immediate concerns. It has to engage in broader practical work and debate.
We should be in favour of setting up local groups where that does not cut across existing organisation of trades councils etc. Such local OFU committees should also see as a priority building for the NSSN conference.
The NSSN needs to be taken up through existing bodies at all levels where we can. We should also look to set up conterence mobilising committees, with OFU support.
It has been argued that, in the absence of a real new radicalisation in the trades unions, the National Shop Stewards Network cannot succeed. And that we have to rely on the forces that have emerged in recent years -through the anti-war movement, represented by Respect.
It is true that the Network will be limited by the lack of a real upturn, but that does not negate the need to build such a body and the valuable role it can play.
At the same time others have argued that it has to address immediately the question of political representation. But to force the issue would threaten its basis at this stage.
We have to have more confidence that political questions will be thrown up, around the issue of the anti union laws, building opposition to them practically as well as around the Trade Union Freedom Bill campaign, for instance, which will provoke a debate for which the Network can be a natural forum.
But having said that, those that write off the Organising for Fighting Unions initiative, arguing that only a modest approach based on the existing level of syndicalist consciousness will succeed, are equally wrong. RMT leader Bob Crow: unions need politics as well as militancy
They may be right to point out the sectarian problems of a lot of previous and current organisation of the trade union left and right to point to the need to adopt modest but meaningful demands and not impose ones own shibboleths on "broad" organisations: but they are wrong to think that this is sufficient.
There has to be a challenge, not just to the bosses/government agenda but to the everyday trade union way of thinking and doing things. We have to make the argument to link the "industrial" and "political".
We need to understand the limitations imposed upon usbut engage in the process of building a solution, as part of a general plan to rebuild the trade union movement.