RMT is hosting a conference on the crisis in working-class political representation on Saturday 10 January. Given the virtual absence of genuine working-class representatives in political power, and the pro-employer consensus amongst the main political parties, this is a very welcome initiative, and Tubeworker will be going along.
This year's RMT AGM agreed that the union should organise such a conference, and it is good to see a union's leadership carrying a conference instruction rather than burying it as other unions' leaders often do. But the publicity for the event has come late in the day, and there seems little clear idea from RMT's leadership as to what the event is for or what might come out of it.
We could just turn up, find that the attendees are the 'usual suspects' who attend such events because only they got to hear about it, and then spend the four hours of the conference listening to speeches about what a crap state politics is in, then go home having got it off our chests. But that would be a waste.
Instead, there ought to be constructive and democratic discussion about things such as: how to reassert the idea that workers should have our own independent voice in politics; how the unions can politically confront Brown's fake-Labour government; which Labour candidates are worth supporting; and where and how we might stand socialist candidates against Labour.
Most importantly, there should be a framework for making sure that discussions - and action - continue beyond a half-day conference. The last event like this led to the formation of the Shop Stewards' Network, a very worthwhile initiative which has helped build solidarity between rank-and-file trade unionists. This conference should set up something like a Working-Class Representation Network, which - unlike the NSSN - addresses the issue of political representation.
