struggles to save jobs and services, and women also spoke about the ways in which the Tories affect our lives: cuts in social security. education and hospitals, and the need to fight them.
• International Solidarity
brought greetings from Congress of Trade Unions (SACTU), and spoke about the black struggle. She was given a standing ovation. The struggle over there was clearly not so far away: we were all part of
• Associate Membership of the
The Conference was united in feeling put down by the NUM's rejection of Women Against Pit Closures' re-
quest for associate membership of the soon? Well, we weren't going to go away, wed back next year.
Women won't be forgotten.
The campaign for affiliation was
given a boost by Mick MeGahy, who
said that as the Scottish Area had
voted for associate membership, the
Scottish Area would have it: national
policy or not, and let anyone take him
up on this if they wanted fo. This
will provide a basis to argue for other move - once we see it happening
supportive Areas to start associate
membership on an Area basis: and
the campaign can use this to gather
momentum towards 1986 NUM
Conference.
positive in the Conference: proof that
women are still organising, still cam-
despite the return to work
of the NUM. But the task of organis-
ing a democratic Women Against Pit
Closures, open and accessible to all
its members, remains.
Union leaders obstruct
fight for NHS
WEST Lambeth District Health
Authority, which in July looked
as though it might have made
against Government imposed
cuts crumbled under the threat
(not the reality - only the
threat) of Tory-appointed com-
missioners coming in to run the
Two hundred local people listened
speeches and then voted through a
cuts budget which will reverse the
community care initiatives and will
freeze most vacancies in the District.
Sadly the COHSE branches in the
District must take some responsibility
for the cuts. One member said he was
swayed by a letter from COHSE
stewards saying they would rather
members make cuts than have com-
missioners in again (six years ago the
Lambeth Area Health Authority was
disbanded by the Minister for refus-
ing to pass a cuts budget).
This is the argument which had
put forward by the full-time who obviously prefers to negotiate on jobs and services rather than back the members
The fact that Lambeth actually held out for so long is unique. The attitude however of the full time officer is not, and is being repeated in many areas of the country when a fight looks inevitable
The NHS has now been under direct attack since 1979. Every year gets worse. Two years ago we were only fighting cuts — now if is cuts and privatisation. The combination is devastating.
Private companies are gaining more ground daily in the NHS. Out of 177 domestic contracts awarded by the end of June, 107 have gone to private companies. Many of the in-house contracts have included massive job losses or lost bonus payments.
badiy, many union officials consider the winning of in-house contracts as a "victory" against privatisation. Not only do they ignore the immediate effects on jobs and pay but they refuse to see the consequences in three years time when many of the contrats will come up for renewal.
There is still, however, a determination to fight back against
By JANE GOSS privatisation
Despite a sardid attempt by NUPE to sell out the Barking strike, the women are still out on the picket line fighting for their jobs back. In Cam-
Addenbrookes Hospital workers have joined the Barking women in a long and isolated battle -they have been out now for almsot
In Sunderland, domestics took ac tion against the privatising of the community clinics and health centres. They have now been joined by catering staff and cleaners at the
This kind of action shows that it is possible to spread strike action, The members will ingly they will come out in support of other sections. One reason is because privatisation is now so widespread that most workers are realising that the inevitable will happen to them if they don't fight to defend the existing
There are of course some areas where members do not and will not fight. But there have always been districts like that and it is not an argument for refusing to link up the battles against privatisation.
At COHSE conference in June we NUPE's Bickerstafte Socialist Viewpoint, No. 7, September 1985. Poge 19
watched while the delegate from Newcastle (representing the striking cleaners at Royal Victoria Hospital) agreed to accept a remit on a resolu-
tion calling for a national day of ac
ion in support of the strike.
n tears. She had been put under in
pressure by Secretary to accept the remit or have the NEC oppose the resolution.
She described in detail how difficult it had been to get the union to give any practical support to the strike; how the members came out expecting an immediate response from COHSE and had to fight even to get enough placards for the picket line.
In Chesterfield, the workers have been on strike for four months now and are still isolated. They have made
Barking and brookes, but no thanks to NUPE.
As well as the longer strikes the list of one-day actions in all parts of the
Tis impressive - it shows determination to oppose privatisation. But there is no will on the part of the union leaderships to take up the battle and to link all the struggles
Instead, we have the manouevres of people like NUPE's Bickerstaffe and COHE's Williams, desperately ying 1o emp down the membership
jobs rapidly
NUPE's move to the right since this year's conference has been swift and 1010 EsTO CONSE
WILIAMS COSE's Williams
COMMITTEE * ACTION EMERGENCY NHS NHS standards! all known Kills 99% of PRIVATISATION not a fight we can afford to lose. to defend and extend the NHS. It is All socialists must take on the light
union structures. claim to be a replacement for trade tivists who will fight; but they do not paigns can motivate and support acAction Committee, and local camHealth Emergencies, the National
members. be pushed to defend their must vices disappear. But they can and make deals, to sell jobs, to watch serbureaucrats. They are prepared to careerist are They leaders. Bickerstaffe and Williams are not
support. ceed must be built with strong local but any opposition which will sucgive people the confidence to fight: still in its early stages and can help The National Action Committee is
local government workers. committees and interested health and strike of other together a meeting isolation by calling of the some have taken the initiative to break committeee strike Barking The
bureaucracy on their own. management and their own union very often left to fight both are and link up with health workers who towards the defence of the sevices, more they should turn operating. are Health Emergency campaigns campaigns. In areas where health to available resources and money making have a health subcommittee Every Labour Council should also
health workers in the area. subcommittee actively to help the trades council should set up a health Jobs and they must be opposed. Every cuts happening both in services and But every day there are insidious unionists and local people get closing or a strike - then trade point - for example a whole hospital many areas when there is a tocal petpback against the head cute n 'here is a desperate need for more
expensive to remedy which in the long run is much more will see that this is a ridiculous policy Even the most inexperienced planner hat buildings will be falling down. policies will mean literally
done. hospital buildings are not being badly needed in many of the old This often means that repairs building pro- capital from money. rock bottom level are now diverting
Socialist Viewpoint, No. 7, September 1985. Page 20 from services already at Districts in a desperate bid not to cuf
Labour do come to power. ding, they will not be reversed even if
some firm policies on health spenunless the Labour Party starts to make
government. under a Tory These cuts will never be reversed hospital just to met the extra costs of mended the closure of a whole In Brent the DHA have recom
300 staff will be lost. wards have to close and as many as much higher and means that whole April. In some areas the figure is amount wil have to be found before The average cut per district is This means additional cuts have to be Government is refusng to fund in full. the nurses' pay award which the they must find extra money to fund authorities have now been told that
stringent cash limits, cuts to come. Reeling from increased even more serious in the face of the to defuse action. And it is going to be pulling out and consciously working be backing their members, they are the cuts and privatisation and should COHSE should be fighting to oppose At the very time when NUPE and the union that will not fight or back its rapidly developing a reputation as "left' of the public sector unions, is usual. NUPE, once seen as the most preent climate is even worse than been involved in sell outs; but the sions to fight a local hospital closure. tempted to undermine branch deciBrent the same official has actively atforbidden them to talk to stewards. In NUPE official Mark Irvine has now help them oppose privatisation, the tively working with NUPE stewards to Emergency campiagn has been acIn Harrow, where the local Health
meant a 37% cut. in-house tender which then negotiated a contractors. purposes of specitications for private district in with the domestic staff for
housekeeping unions who wanted to keep behalf of management, offiical and leading member of the In Kingston, Sue Slipman, a NUPE
crucial stage. home open has been wrecked at a work around keeping the old people's even consulted, and effective joint been meeting for 18 months was not The joint union campaign which had told them to accept redeployment! ple's home scheduled to close, and minutes with workers in an old peocampaign. Their official spent twenty ly pulling out of a joint anti-closure local NALGO members by unilateralIn Croydon they have disgusted
Wto back any action at all. creasingly more difficult to get NUPE
Throughout London it is getting moves by NUPE, is not on its own.
dispute and the most botched of the
Barking, although the best known
membership down the drain. bureaucrats is inevitably to sell the union of trade role the that dent: but nearly all of them now see
left in their union before the July inciThe Barking women had little faith
that the letter had been a "mistake"
could after all continue to picket and around to tell the women that they reports that they sent Les Perkins this plus other unfavourable press NUPE were then so embarrassed by the full facts to the local reporter. This enraged the women, who gave
their picket duties! were tired of getting up at 5 am to do the decision and that many of them that the women had themselves made that it was not NUPE backing out, but ment to the local radio station saying Divisional Officer, who gave a statefrom Chris Humphreys the Assistant discredit the women of Barking came union. But the most glaring attempt to promised to raise the issue with the NUPE sponsored MPs turned up and Directed at up i position here There were NUPE members from
just disappear. tonwood", obviously wished it would
described the strike as "NUPE's Cor had who bickerstalle, hospital. was not one NUPE official at Barking mass picket? In fact on July 13 there to, why didn't he turn up for the final dispute which the women had agreed it was an honourable end to the If, as Les Perkins tried to make out,
union would no longer back them. the on July 13 because picketing picketing on July 9 but would end the that they would not cease saying tee had already issued a statement picket at Barking. The strike commitOn July 13 there was a "final"
continue to picket. back their strikers if they wanted to GMBATU decided to continue to the Meanwhile home. woman's around by private courier to each tactics to deliver the letter, sending it way Perkins used Pritchard's style What enraged the women was the strike pay would continue to be paid. although picketting from July 9,
sion had been taken ing the meeting saying that the deciter to all the NUPE members followLes Perkins, the official, sent a let-
called. because of the way in which it was women boycotted by most of the the NUPE members. The meeting was and decided to convene a meeting of ning the strike since the beginning. strike committee which has been runThe local NUPE official ignored the
took at Barking. they been the outrageous position fice. Their biggest gaffe so far has Bickerstaffe and Sawyer at Head Of support and to leit the hunt wingers have been Imported to witchwell known Stalinist hacks and right where London and the South East, sharp. It is perhaps most obvious in
"Troops Out"