By Bob Smith and According to the 1 February Independent, councils throughout Britain are bracing for "harsh cuts in spending"A sample of 78 local authorities told the paper that they expected to make E850 million worth of cuts with the loss of 15,000 jobs - the worst cuts of recent years. go much further - suggesting up to 100,000 local government jobs may go nanondity though fight-backs are happening. battles, in Islington and Newham NALGO were isolated bastions of struggle.
This was because indsutrial struggles have been at a record low in recent years. It is clear that local governously threatened in many parts of Britain.
But there is resistance developing in some places already, notably Birmingham, wherea successful one day strike on January 19 is to be followed by a NALGO day of action on February Thisone-day strike which is technically separate from the TUC call for action in icy." support of the miners, but is a defence of both miners and local government workers.
Martin Tolman, Birmingham NALGO branch secretary, told Socialist Outlook that "the council has told us they need to save E40 million. Todo this, they need to cut 3,000 jobs, including throught compulsory re dundancies.
"This contradicts our redeployment agreement allowed openings for corruption.
Cossary projects could be cut, to defend essential services.
"No houses are being built, the education system is demoralised, social services cannot cope with demands placed by the community. We are asking the council to stand shoulder to shoulder with us, mounting a joint campaign against the ores untair spending pot• 3,500 teachers, NALGO members and others marChed throuch Bristol on January 30 in a joint protest planned by Avon council.
• 1,000 protestors from negotiate. ocal government and Trust hospitals joined a massive NALGO organised demonstration through the centre of Truro on January 'Save under the slogan kers Party. ( Cornwall's Services".
out work to subbies. Services should threatening to sack large numbers of strikers on the spot, while giving others notice that they too were threatened with dismiss.
According to Brian Gardner, Istington NALGO branch secretary, the new pressure made a reassessment of the position A number of concessions had been won trom the Council management including a search of people prepared to take voluntary early retirement and redundancies, and a avolding many compulsory redundancies.
It was I lolt by strike leaders that staying out would endanger the hard-won concesslons already gained while putting many, perhaps all, strikers at the mercy of reprisals by Islington Council management.
The 6 February edition of Socialist Worker clalmed that Islington NALGO leaders had been too concerned with nego. tiations with management and had not tried to escalate the dispute.
Gardner's response is that both negotiation and escalation had been on the agenda. But MALGO members would not have accopted a tailure by their representatives to Documst rorker claime thet the eroine of the strike was "unnecessary and coward. throughout Britain shoots down in flames the ultra-left fantasies of the Socialist Wor-