Foreign and Commonwealth Office London SW1A 2AH
To all Labour Attachés
Telephone 01-
Your reference
Our reference
LA 211/109
Date
14 September 1978
THE ANNUAL TRADES UNION CONGRESS, BRIGHTON, SEPTEMBER 1978
1. The 110th Annual Trades Union Congress was held at the new Brighton Centre from 4 to 8 September with Mr David Basnett as President. The Congress opened against a background of speculation that the Prime Minister would imminently announce the date for a General Election, speculation which was not dampened by his address to Congress on 5 September. The Prime Minister's announcement on 7 September that he intended that the Government should continue with the existing Parliament came as much as a surprise to the General Council of the TUC and to the delegates as it did to the press. The Congress had on the Tuesday adopted a resolution affirming the support of the trade union movement for a return of a Labour Government.
2.
Speculation about the date of the election and its possible outcome was reflected in many of the speeches and may have detracted from the debates which seemed to lack their usual cut and thrust. There was no surprise decision by the Congress and only one card vote on a motion aimed at guaranteeing representation on the General Council to all unions with over 100,000 members, which was lost. A second major theme running through the debates was concern at the affects on employment and on the nature of work of micro-processors and the President, the Prime Minister and many participants in the debates on employment and economic policy referred to them.
Economic Debate
3. Incomes policy and unemployment were the two major concerns of the delegates who participated in the economic debate on 6 September. The Prime Minister had the day before devoted the greater part of his address to the need for wage settlements not to exceed 5% over the next year. His speech was well received apart from some muted cries of 'rubbish' when he reproved the unions for not making greater use of the flexibility afforded by the 10% limit to remove pay anomalies, and their louder expressions of protest when he suggested that the reduction of working hours which unions were seeking should either be self-financing or should be offset against the 5% limit. The General Council disagreed and it was quite clear at the outset of the economic debate that the Congress would adopt a composite motion (No 12) which recognised the need to limit inflation but called for free negotiations without Government interûentica.
The motion