The Trades Union Congress in Blackpool: Electricians look assured of re-admission

AN ATTEMPT to undermine the TUC's blueprint for union unity was effectively quashed yesterday after a day of manoeuvring left rebels isolated, writes Barrie Clement.

While a clash on the conference floor is still possible today, the movement yesterday paved the way for the re-admission of the electricians' union, which was expelled four years ago.

The ruling general council unanimously called on the National Union of Journalists to set aside a motion which demands tough conditions for the re-affiliation of the electricians, who have since merged with the engineers to form the Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union. If the journalists' union refuses to remit its proposition, the General Council will oppose it.

The NUJ's rival, the non-TUC Institute of Journalists, has been taken into membership by the electricians' union.

Bill Jordan, president of the AEEU, said the move by the NUJ could have jeopardised the unity of the union movement.

The motion was insulting to his union's new electricians' section, he said.

After days of wrangling, previous supporters of the motion among the big unions are now expected to oppose it, probably ensuring its defeat.