Islington NALGO
vice-chair AFTER SEVEN months the Islington NALGO strike against compulsory redundancies the Labour council is due to end. A return to work will be recommended at a branch meeting on 27 January, following further concessions from the employers.
The strike started last June with 90 Housing Benefit workers, and has escalated to more than a thousand or leader Margaret Hodge refused to nogotiato, using bulying tactics, which included sacking 700 strikers and using scab labour.
Intimidation
NALGO sucoesstuly resistod this intimidation and brought out another 400 workers. When Hodge left the council to work at Price Waterhouse, the new cound eader Derek win was elected on a pledge to negotate a settement.
tut necotations were hamoered ay the Labour council's right-wing fac bon, which wants to smash NALGO Voluntary Concessions made by the counca included a trand of the council for voluntary rather than compulsory redundancies, and on enhanced terms; and the right of redeployed workers to reThe council also agreed to re employ the sacked stikers on their old con tracts.
The sticking points remained the native job to all NALGO members, and their insistence on using sickness ab sence and industrial action as criterialor selecting those being made redunThe strike remained solid through Christmas; but after six months some weariness had set in and the level of activity was declining.
More importanty, NALGO nationally was beginning to question the expense of the strike. The branch com mittee suoceeded in getting further of January.
In this situation the council made threats of further sackings, and with. drawing its previous offers, uniess a settement was reached.
Scaled down
Win the likelhood of further sackings and a withdrawal ofstrike pay, the ment that further gains could not be BOUC Urgent negotiations were mands, while 90 youth and play wor. kers were brought out on strike.
This produced further concessions. including removing official industrial Council workers fight back By Keith Sinclair HUMBERSIDE County Council is threaten 27m worth of cuts next year, with potentially devastating effects on jobs and services. Schools and youth centres are likely to be hard hit. with every secondary school losing at least four teachers, some up to 12.
A protest lobby of 300 trade unionists of a County Council La. Dour group meoung go. me dial cuts campaign off to a flying start, members of NALGO, NUT, NUPE and the Community and Youth (CYWU), Police were called to evict demonstrators from outside the council chamber.
The next focus for the campaign Is the meeting of Humberside action as a criterion for redundancy. contracts, and further extensions of redeployment periods, which should mean no compulsory redundancies unti all redeployment options are exOn this basis the branch leadership is recommending a return to work, providing that a no victimisation agree ment is gainea Some of the left, including the SWP, argue for continuing the strike until further demands are met; but apart from calling on the national adership to agree escalation and a national campaign, they have no stralegy for making further gains from To carry on with the strike now would risk leaving it high and dry, sackings. Of course, the demands made by the SWP are almed at high lighting the inadequacy of the NALGO leadership strategy, which leaves NALGO activists are campaigning Hull and Humberside NUT have in support of Industrial action at local and na tionat level.
All unions are concerned lo prevent compulsory redundancies; but it is worrying that some branch leaderships are willing to collaborate with cuts other than redundan.
Marsh, Hull NUT secre clear that public sector workers are willing and able to locally fight acainst culs. However, what is also required is national action by public sector unions. Hull NUT Is committed to supporting all moves to unite public sector unions to mani ine curs ano she lee por cont pay freeze and to build a public branches to fight alone; but these propagandisic points are not a way to tako the strike forward.
The full demands of the strike have have been made. Strike action has been sustained for seven months; union organisation in isangton has been maintained and buit in the face cil intent on smashing NALGO once and for all.
The council has falled in its objec tive, and instead has been forced to the terms of workers facing redeploy:
@schminabon acais. those take official industrial action and avert the need for hundreds of compulsory redundancies In the current industrial climate and the lack of a national fightback this is a substantial achievement. ASIAN workers at the Burnsall electroplating plant, who have been striking for seven months against low pay and bad working conditions, have intated a support group. Filty people attended its inaugural meeting last week. und-raising social on Friday 12 Fe bruary at the Camden Centre, Bom, with Cobra and Linton Kwesi Johnson, £5/K2. THOUSANDS Birmingham NALGO workers struck for the day on 19 january in protest against the council's plan to axe 2000 local authority jobs. The council says that it has to save E40m on its budget next year.
Birmingham NALGO strike