London Underground unions are lurching towards confrontation with management and the overnment over Company Plan The Company Plan would smash up one of the few remaining bastions of old-style trade unionism and parcel up the Underground system for Restrictive working practices' would be abolished -for example the 8 hour day. which is obviously a Victorian relie! Unskilled staff would be trained in welding, eiectrical, technical and carpentry work.
Enthusiastic workers are of course excitediv discussing the prospect of walking down the platform with a broom tled to their bum, pausing to weld together an essential piece of signalling equipment, before dealing with the queue of customers waiting happily to buy a ticket.
Underground Managing Director Dennis Tunnicliffe has announced a big publicity drive tosell the plan to the public and thestaff, explaining that it will improve safety. quality and efficiency. This will mainlv be achieved by dumping 5,000 statf, a quarter of the vorkforce. Whole areas o cleaning and maintenance Organised by the Committee for British Withdrawal from Ireland. Tel: 071 609 1743 for transport/creche details.
would be ending to lo and evitable loss of safety in signalltrain and track main tenance. 600 train operators and guards jobs would go, with the remaining staff expected to run the same level of service, much to the horror of the elitists and sectionalists among operators. Lines would become and would run as businesses. to steep rises in fare unless the government hoids them back The whole plan has an air of unreality about it. It has clearly been drawn up by the Tones as the rice of further investmen Rather reluctantly, the workers are getting ready for a big confrontation, with one eye on the Labour Party With the general election just over the hill, public support for the underground network is an important card. But will Labour London Underground plan? The fact that DenTunnicliffe is actually a Labour parhamentary didate does not bode well. With friends like that, who needs enemies! Activists therefore preparing to fight on the political front as well as laving the basis for an all out strike by all the workers together.
Demonstrate For British Withdrawal From Ireland on 20th Anniversary of Bloody Sunday Saturday 25 January 12 noon Hyde Park, London, Marble Arch Tube Rally: Quex Road, Kilburn University, Middlesex, City London, Thames, Brighton, Bristol, and North Polytechnics Goldsmiths College and Luton College of Higher Education, have caught caught college directors on the hop.
There have been numerous for example, the principal was forcea to resign other colleges have seized the demands for action.
At Middlesex Poly in Tottenham, London, in occupation since 21 November, students are demanding no victimisa tion; a return to at least 1990-91 staff: student ratios te. restoring all posts that have been cut; the re-opening of one teaching site and the assurance of no further closures; improved educational and student support facilities; overcrowding is reduced; a public acknowledgement manasemen: that educatone ----Socialist Outlook without delay.
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given by sympathetic lecturers and post graduate students Students have sent delegations support from workers, trade unions and the local com munity as an essential part of their fight for education. Shop stewards at the Ponders End Bus Garage have provided coffeeat 5.30am for the all-night picket and invited students to address their branch meeting. Shop stewards at Edmonton Ambulance Station and Church Street Fire promised to raise the occupaAt the City of London Poly on 3 December. Committees were formed to deal with security, health and safety catering, information and entertainment, and a committee established with epresentatives from all Here, students are demand ing no victimisation, coiter housing; support from their : A Xmas present from In an unexpected fit of generosity, Socialist Outlook is offering a once-only. never-to-be-repeated, special Xmas offer. If you take out a 1 year subscription, we will send the paper to a friend of your choice for six months absolutely free! To take advantage of this amazing deal, just fill in the form below and send it back Socialist Outlook will be putting up its subscription rates in the New Year. So here Yes! I want to subscribe to Socialist Outlook. Please send me: 1 year's subscription (24 issues): 6130] Six months' subscription (12 issues): €7 O Europe: lycar 618 C 1 Six months £10 7 Rest of the World: 1 year 622 J Six months E12 0 I would like to take up the Socialist Outlook Xmas offer Please return to Socialist Outlook, PO Box 1109, London N4 2UU bers; the guarantee of wages for canteen staff who cannot work during the occupation.
City of London students are also taking up national demands. They want to see oc cupations on a national level poing of caused by the freezing withdrawal of benefits and lack of investment in education.
City of London Poly Occupation Committee (OC) are cooraunting an inquiry about she national issue of student poverзу, апаетапать. and past present and imminent occupaWith NUS conference deciding not to call for national action, and a month to go before next term begins, it is even more important now to City of London Poly OC will be drafting a document based on replies to sum up the mood and demands of the occupation movement as a whole.
Fax or phone City of London Poly OC on 071 247 1441 - ask for Occupation Press o No. 13 Dec. 14, 1991 Page 15
Published fortnightly Solidarity price £1 Strikers and claimants 25p No 13 Dec 14, 1991 A thousand demonstrators LE socialist