Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory

by Sue Knight

The defeat of Reith and Howard's attack on the Maritime Union represented a 
significant victory for Australian workers in the face of reactionary 
attempts to dismantle working class organisations and to considerably 
weaken Australian unionism.

The working class is currently facing a critical period in which the 
ideological struggle is of particular importance. A disciplined response 
has occurred in the major sectors of Australian industry to the 
provocations and attacks of the reactionaries on trade unions. 

The tactic of limited engagements of a defensive nature and the 
concentration of the united forces of the union movement at these points of 
engagement is the correct tactic for this period.

Some are arguing for a generalised offensive calling on the union movement 
to launch into a series of assaults or are preaching processes which will 
create disunity within the working class forces. 

There is no doubt that the period of the Accord and the development of 
social partnership theories had a weakening influence inside working class 
organisation including the forces of the left. 

The left forces are still predominantly weak in a numerical and ideological 
sense and an understanding of this position still has a way to travel.

The danger exists of premature attempts to take workers into action without 
developing the necessary level of unity amongst all working class forces 
and developing a formidable united front of the left and social-democratic 
forces within the union movement. 

Level of unity

It was this level of unity, achieved in a perhaps imperfect form, that 
helped win the maritime dispute. 

There is now a push by a number of Trotskyist forces and some militants 
within the maritime industry to unseat the leadership of that union. This 
can only play into the hands of the bosses and will disunite workers during 
a time of struggle. 

Workers are understandably disconcerted by the position that faces them 
with loss of jobs and some conditions, but it is easier to inflame the 
situation than to set about developing a proper united response to the 
bosses.

There is a tendency towards the "heroic death syndrome" among some, rather 
than undertake the serious task of strengthening communist leadership 
within the union movement and of uniting that leadership with the 
progressive social-democratic forces within the union movement.

Progress made in this direction could be aborted by the destruction of 
sections of the union movement through defeats brought on by premature 
actions.

The anti-trade union industrial legislation of Federal and some State 
governments, enterprise bargaining and individual contracts and other 
attacks by monopoly capitalism will only be defeated by systematic work to 
develop and defend the ideological position of unity of the working class 
directed against these attacks. It is not fostered by sectarian attacks on 
sections of the leadership of the working class.

Another attitude being encouraged by the capitalist media and by left 
sectarian forces (including Trotskyist organisations) is to separate trade 
union officials from the union membership. It is anti-unionist to play off 
membership against leadership irrespective of the proven commitment of the 
leadership. 

This sort of activity ultimately leads to de-unionisation and the overall 
weakening of working class organisations.

The correct activity for communists is to build working class unity. This 
may require some compromise on our positions from time to time. It is not a 
method of communist struggle to reject taking the hard decisions that are 
sometimes needed to take the movement forward.