UNITED FRONT

Grey River Argus, 28 May 1935, Page 2

UNITED FRONT

DECLARATION BY SCOTTISH TRADE UNIONISM. An important statement on the “United Front” has been issued bj the Scottish Trade Union Congress. A summary of the statement, which contains conclusions of interest to the organised working class movement generally, is given as follows; “The Trade Union. Labour and Co-operative Movement has been, and is, engaged in a ceaseless agitation against all social evils. It stands firm in the belief that the security and social welfare of the workers will be made possible only by a system of society based on Socialist principles. It is sufficiently embracing to include within it all who are anxious to assist in its historic mission, and who are willing to accept all the implications of decisions democratically reached. This combined movement represents a real, and the only possible united front against injustice and oppression. The industrial section of this common movement is represented by the trade unions and the Trade Union Congresses, with which this declaration is primarily concerned. The Trade Union Movement is governed by a general policy decided upon democratically at representative conferences. These conferences determine the discipline-required by a niov?ment reaching for power. The CommunI ist Party does not accept the authorI ity of these representative conferences I within the Union Movement as supreme. The Communist Party claim® the right to give allegiance to a policy, and to employ tactics, decided upon by a governing body outside of the movement, and consequently not responsible to it. The Communist Party claims the right to impose policies and tactics upon members and sections of unions in defiance of their national decisions: its members are expected to adhere to a discipline not determined by the unions. Communist activities must, therefore, inevitably result in the undermining of the belief trade unionists have in their organisations, in the weakening of the unions in their struggle against capitalism, and, by no means the least important, in making it more and more difficult to attract unorganised workers towards the unions. The Communist Party at tempts to widen its influence by creat ing subsidiary organisations and either it, or its organisations, repeatedly call upon the Trade Union Movement to form a United Front with them. Experience has again and again demon strated that, this so called ‘United Front ’ is sought for the sole purpose of providing an official platform for communist speakers to discredit official policy. Such an unreal ‘United Front ’ can only create confusion among the workers, and so weaken

their resistance or impede their advance. Trade Councils are particularly prone to become the arena for the activities of delegates intent on carrying out a communist instruction, to impose a communist policy. If the joint trade union work in the localities, for which the Trades Councils are responsible, is to proceed in a useful and efficient manner, then there must be a clear appreciation of the specious k pleas of those who, under communist inspiration, would inveigle the Trades Councils into a spurious ‘Unite! Front.’ The General Council therefore emphasise that demand for any so-called ‘United Front of all Work-ing-class Organisations,’ if conceded, can only result in crippling the Trade I nion Movement in the pursuit of objective. The General Council strongly declare that any co-operation of either a temporary or permanent character between Trades Councils and communist organisations will severely prejudice the stability of Trades Councils and thus render them less effective in their legitimate work.”