Department of Health London HQ, (personal capacity) MORE THAN a quarter of a million civil servants stopped work on Friday 5 November against privatisation and 'market testing' in the first national strike for 12 years.
Over half the benefit offices in the country were closed along with hundreds of other government offices. Ports, courts, Whitehall offices, museums, art benefit offices were picketed.
The 24 hours stoppage also saw Yeoman warders at the Tower of London join the stoppage which united the five civil cervice Ions.
Public support was high as was support from other trade unionists particularly those working in local government.
TRADE UNION NEWS In Leeds, union members reported people were asking to join the union in the previous few weeks so they could join the strike. There was a real mood change with workers feeling the time had come for something to be done.
7,000 jobs have already been lost in a process designed to attack union organisation and to undermine current pay and conditions already weakened by the creation of 'agencies' such as the Child Support Agency and the Benefits Agency.
'Market testing' is part of the relentless Tory drive to privatise in the name of better quality galleries, employment and * services and 'choice ' for the consumer. It is the same process as Compulsory Competitive Tendering in local authorities.
Job losses
In fact contracting out of services results in more workers thrown onto the dole, under resourced services, union derecognition and those still lucky enough to have their jobs working harder, for less money and no job security.
The response of the union leadership so far has been poor.
OFFICIAL PICKEL LINE MARICIAL DISPUTE Until they were pushed into this strike they had put their weight behind winning "in-house' bids as the strategy to fight market testing'.
This is doomed to failure -local council workers and NHS manual workers have found to their cost that winning an 'in house' bid often means the same assault on pay and conditions. Reliance on "in-house' bids plays into the hands of the government.
Though fighting 'market testing' on the Tories' ground will not work, without strong leadership from the unions many workers see it as their only chance to save their jobs. The Civil & Public Services PUT PUSIC COILION Association OFFICIAL DISPUTE (GHAN