ISM. PART 1 right to strike in the principal

THE ROAD The rapidly accelerating progress to the right of Amalgamated Union of Engineering Workers' President Hugh Scanlon recalls the career of an earlier engineers' leader Jack Tanner.

Frederick John Shirley Tanner, CBE, was president of the Amalgamated Engineering Union from 1939 to 1954. He was on the TUC General Council from 1943 for 11 years and was TUC President in 1953-1954.

In his later years he was one of the most anti-communist of all the trade union leaders. After his retirement from union office he became a director of IRIS (Industrial Research and Information Services Ltd), an organization which specialized in 'exposing' communists in the trade unions.

Yet Tanner, like Scanion, had started out on the left. Born in Whitstable, Kent, in 1889, he moved to London when his father became sports manager of the Alexandra Palace.

began INTI-COMMU ing apprenticeship in Southwark. After a spell in the Merchant Navy, he returned to engineering during World War I and was a turner and fitter at the Royal Aircraft Factory at Farnborough.

He lost his job there after a fight with a non-unionist and spent the later part of the war with an engineering firm in France.

Before World War I, Tanner worked with Tom Mann in the Amalgamation Committees and in the International Syndicalist Education League, which in 1913 became the Industrial Democracy League and began the publication of 'Solidarity.

Syndicalism developed rapidly during the war, especially with the growth of the shop stewards' movement. This emerged as the real leadership of the working class, especially in the engineering industries, because of the collaboration of the official union leaders with the wartime government.

The official and unofficial leadership polarized in early 1915 following the bitter Clyde strike in February and the Treasury Agreement, signed by all the union leaders-except the miners-in March.

By this agreement, industries for the duration, accepted unlimited dilution and conceded all restrictions on employment of women, girls and boys, intensified speed-"of abandoned all definitions the working day and all restrictions on overtime, nightwork and Sunday working.

Safety and health provisions were also allowed to lapse.

The body which ran the Clyde strike stayed in being as the Clyde Workers' Committee. Following the 18-day Parkhead Forge strike on the Clyde in March 1916—over the rights of shop stewards and convenors—-other such committees were formed.

These linked up as the National Shop Stewards' and Workers' Committee Movement. In 1917 a conference was held attended by representatives from 23 such committees, the main ones being , in Shetheld, the Clyde, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester and Elswick.

Associate membership was established at Id a week, district committees were set and also a National Admi nistrative Council. The moven lent ran two papers: "The Wor ker' in Scotland and 'Solidarity' south of the Tweed Despite the conviction of 10,465 workers under the Munitions Act, which made strikes illegal in vital industries, the strike wave grew. In engineering there were 58 strikes in 1916, 94 in 1917 and 132 in 1918 In shipbuilding 26 strikes in 1916, 49 in 1917 and 168 in 1918.

And in coal mining there were 61 strikes in 1916, 116 in 1917 and 165 in 1918. In number of workers involved, the peak year was 1917-the year of the Russian Revolution.

In 1918 Tanner became the editor of 'Solidarity', which two years later became the official paper of the Shop Stewards' and Workers' Committee Movement.

The decisive conference in the history of that Movement was held in January 1920.

This conference welcomed the Russian Revolution; mistakenly—a significant mistake! -declared that the British workers' committees were the same as the Russian soviets, called on the TUC to lead a General Strike against intervention by the British government in the Soviet Union, decided to join the Third (Communist) International, and The Shop Stewards and Workers' Committee Movement decided to join the Third (Communist) International and elected three delegates to the Second World Congress. Lenin and the Bolshevik leaders had to be firm but patient with the syndicalist leanings of many of the best workers from western Europe. Above: Lenin pictured entering the Second World Congress of the Third International in July 1920 in Petrograd with other delegates. elected three delegates to Second World Congress of Communist International.

These delegates were Tanner, Dave Ramsey and J. T. Murphy.

At this congress the Bolshevik leaders had to be firm but patient with the syndicalist leanings of many of the best workers from western Europe. Disgusted with the old politicians, these workers tended to be distrustful of all politics, hostile to work with Social Democrats and against parliamentary elections.

While seeking to explain political. questions to these workers, the leaders of the International insisted that only political parties could become part of the International. The British section, therefore, munist Party—it could not be merely the shop stewards' movem nt.

Politburo member Vladi- equipment. Many plants are It Prèss, Tuesday May 15; 1973