THE SLUMP has begun. The Tories' response is to tighten the screws on the public sector éven more. Elected ón a basis of non-interference in wage bargaining, ordering all ministers in spending departments to enforce wage settlements below the inflation level.
An article Monday put it this way: 'Britain's economic future depends on the outcome of a battle of wills... it is bound to be bloody until someone down'. For unemployment means that bloody, and the Tories policies for solving ihe crisis will add a million to that number within a year or so.
The response of the public sector union leaders has been pathetic. Geoffrey Drain of NALGO has ditched the policy of defence of the services in favour of supporting any action taken by the members redundancies. The NUPE leadership has put out an impressive list of things for its members to do, entitled 'Don't let them cut us up' is a series of tips and hints for local branches to take up if they want, but it involves no national co-ordination.
The CPSA has produced a glossy 27 page pamphlet, concludes with the stunning remark that 'these cuts need to be opposed as strongly as possible' without much suggestion as to how. eight civil servants' unions have announced a 'minimum code of co-ordinated action', which is aimed refusing management circumvent staff shortages. shutting the stable door after the horse thieves have gone.
Six social security workers (members of the CPSA) in the Breckfield office, Liverpool, closing ten offices. policies gave the local branch officials all the room they needed to put an end to the strike, narrowiy winning this position meeting by a small majority.
In olner words, fight back. massive turn firefighters in Nottingham and Preston last week shows what can be achieved when a union leadership is obliged to call national campaigns of industrial action under pressure from the the Snatcherites are now published in the Guardian on 2 : million .workers already compulsory This "The case against the cuts', which co-operate A clear case of But the useless national at a mass the rank and file want to out OI the rank and file.
In NALGO a combination of organising the rank and file through the branches and joint shop stewards committees and fighting for the national officials to lead the struggle has got underway. For example, having called for a half day of action to lobby the concil against the cuts, Liverpool NALGO were mobilise a 2,000-strong picket during NALGO's North-Western and North Wales District_(the largest in the union) has now backed Liverpool NALGO's demand for the executive to immediately revert to the union's policy of official backing for all industrial action against cuts in services redundancies. This proposal is backed by a call for a NALGO one-day national strike and demonstration.
It is not being left to the officials to put flesh and blood on these resolutions. A Merseyside conference supported by the Liverpool Trades able to the leaders the well as as Council and the District Labour Party is to be held on a cross union basis. followed by a day of industrial action and a picket of Liverpool Council.
This is the best preparation for building maximum support the national day action that the TUC will be calling in the new year. If it is left to the public sector unior result could well be disappointing Too often the members have been marched to lobby Parliament and then back to the never ending series of cuts in the localities.
Thatcher's plans will only be halted by a series of national all-out public sector strikes supported by industrial workers and leading to all-out action. Building the maximum support for the lobby of Parliament on 7 November called by Lambeth Council, which is refusing to implement the cuts, and for the national lobby called by the Labour Party November will be important in this campaign.
received good coverage from the local press.
people picketed Newham polic tation in East London. Afterwards an ANI ublic meeting, attended by over 100 peopl eard Tariq Ali and Vishnu Sharma attack tl LEMAN Street police station in Whitechapel was the scene of the Blair Peach picket called by the East London Teachers' Association, belonged, and Tower hundred people attended, letter was handed into the cops demanding an public inquiry. Dan secretary of the trades council, informed the pickets of a forthcoming conference proposed Nationalities Bill, to be held by the A HUNDRED people picketed Hope Street police station in the centre of Liverpool.
The issue of police brutality in Liverpool is very much to the fore in the area after Jimmy Abortion OHLSL unions, communities for in the new vear discrimination for work' the 1980s.
encouraging.
This will ASTMS Don Cook, NEC On fund appeal, This spleen after a beating by the police.
Cover-up ot Blair reach's murde • rew Chatterjee Hamlets alraL. and a Jones, which is practised with impunity.
CARDIFF on the by the ANL, was television filmed the picket.
The main secretary of the local ANL canea Iol a disbandment of the SPG.
'FORWARD in the '80s not back to — so read the banner of this year's TUC. Women inside the unions are geting together to make sure this forward march proceeds on two strong_ legs with the needs of women not? ignored, as so often in the past The activities of the National Campaign show the possibilities. But these only skim the surface of the actions of women trade in wornen's groups, committees, and campaigns inside the workplaces, and lune The newspaper Women in Action/ provides these trade union militants with an extra weapon to take this fight liberation HILU the unions. At a meeting in Birmingham last weekend, supporters of the paper laid plans to launch it on a regular basis Each issue of Women in Action will contain the statement: "We want to promote positive action to counter. against women because formal equality alone does not tackle the roots of discrimination -instance the way responsibilities affect equality at We only have a few months of 1979 left to give this journal a good start in The response to the pilot issue is two thousand copies have been sold, and support is coming in from women's groups, and Dracke:
NUPE NALGO CPSA, SCPS, NATHE and NGA.
The CPSA and NUT women's campaigns have given their support, and a member of the NUJ Equality Working Party participated in the Birmingham meetin, sefse th is support Tee editorial increase this support. group wants more letters likethat from , secretary of the London division of the Engineering Union,| containing a financial contribution and wishing Women in Action 'every success for the future' If you want to participate in the editorial group, or can distribute the paper, or feel able to help the £1,000 Action: 190 Upper St, London Ni. contact: 'Women Kelly in Huyton was murdered by the cops, and Bernie Kavanagh of Kirkby lost a kidney and The picket was followed last Thursday by & public meeting of 80 people to discuss th Organised by NALGO Against the Nazi Committee, Colin Wilson from ASTMS, and the Anti-Nazi League, and Joe Clark an activist from the Kelly and Kayanagh committee.
Clark pointed out the link between oppression of the black community of Southall and the activities of the police in Kirkby and unemployment and problems are so acute that the possibility of an explosion is being met with police violence, THE picket of Cardiff police station, organised attended people, following a march from Cardiff Castle. Local speaker was Terry James, public inquiry and the
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what the press didn't print Action time