HOSPITAL ancillary workers have just been given a bitter lesson in *democracy means to their union leaders.
At Monday's meeting of the Ancillary Council union side, the decision was taken to accept the offer of 9 per cent, plus £ in advance of comparability.
They did this even though the majority of ancillary workers had voted to reject the deal.
The 123,000 majority against the deal amongst members of the National Union of Public Employees, added to minority of votes against in each of the other unions, comes to more than half of the total 270,000 ancillary workers.
But although half of all ancillaries are NUPE, it only has four of the sixteen seats on the union side of the Ancillary Council.
So the other unions have given the NUPE executive little choice about whether continue the fight, even though action by NUPE members was escalating.
But the NUPE leadership have hardly done all they could to prevent these manoeuvres First they went along with the procedure which divided up the water workers from the loca government workers, and the local government workers from the ancillaries.
Now, when the other union leaders divide ancillaries in one union from those in another, and use their votes to isolate the on by NUPE members, the NUPE executive is left high and Although it recommended rejection of the offer, it failed to make a call at the same time Socialist Challenge 29 March 1979 page 6 the over to for national -the only way that members of other unions could convinced that continuing the struggle could gains.
Nurses equally have cause for concern over representation on the Nurses and Midwives Council. The no Royal College Nursing, along professional bodies, majority of votes over NUPE and the health union COHSE Whilst NUPE claim that any offer from the government will be the result of the action by local government THE action and ancillary than the RCN's begging bowl be tactics, it is only possible to prevent their sabotage of the bring further pay campaign when all nurses can see an alternative.
One small example of that their alternative strategy is offered by COHSE members in Leamington.
other At the local has hospital nurses staging regular strikes, provision of emergency cover and then picketing the hospital and leafleting the public.
They now plan to hold a strike and a march through the HALTH SERVICE workers, rather claim, and time and join the march.
the private being OBES psychiatric staffing have been facilities.
Unfortunately but the approaching march,