collectors mast alternative to is rule.
toe the line.
ACHON Canterbury housing estates joined pickets of refuse week in blocking dumping of rubbish by black-legs near their homes. The four-week-old strike was sparked off as a result of the Tory-controlled City Council's cutbacks. Plastic bags were substituted for dustbins, and Herne bay the refuse collectors told that they would no longer be paid 'bonuses' (the 'extra' amount which pushes their wages up to near subsistence level). The only alternative the Tories would offer was redunThe workers had a third alternative -they reminded the Council that it was SUITTICE breaking national pay agreements and demanded that the case be taken to the South Eastern Regional Council for arbitration. This body upheld the workers' case. The Council ignored the judgement. The refuse collectors began a work-toThe Council responded by sacking six of them, hoping the rest would then opposite. The refuse collectors came out on indefinite strike demanding the reinstatement of their sacked colleagues, no loss of bonuses, and no redundancies Iney were immeciately Joined by tne entire council manual workforce • 400 workers in Canterbury, Whitstable and The Council has needed little encouragement to carry out the Labour Government's programme of cut-backs. In fact the last major item of expenditure apart from councillors' salaries — was the huge cost of the police harassment of pop fans at the Broad Oak pop festival in the POLICE The police have been brought in again to deal with the strikers. After dumping on sites adjacent to schools and estates the pickets and local women blocked the entrances with anything that came to the Labour Party and students) th Council started to get desperate. weeks ago police attacked a peacef picket at one of the new dumps. Tw vaPe members and a bassci-by w oughed up and arrested. The pickets F been trying to talk to black-leg driver and were charged with obstruction.
So far, despite the resistance of th workers, the Council has refused to mov A top-level meeting in London on 2 October resulted in deadlock. NUP nationally has been slow to respond, ar the strike has had little publicity in th national press.
OMEN But the strike provides an omen for th tacties of councils, both Labour and To all over Britain. As a spokesperson for it local Labour Party put it: If they can g away with it in Canterbury, councils w repeat the attempt all over the country
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dancies. there is little