FOLLOWING the huge demonstration on Monday, many puonc secior manuar workers are taking action for their pay claim.
Union leaders have not called for an all-out strike, despite strong reeling in Tavour of Enis among the membership, but many branches are striking Across the country disruption of services continues, and public SCCLOT WOrKCIS showing their determination to Ignt it out wHn uneir masters the Government.
Here is a checklist of some of the action.
Schoolkeepers in Sunderland, Newcastle upon Tyne, Hillingdon in Middlesex, and the London borough Haringey are on macame strike.
In Gwent in Wales schoolkeepers are likely to stay out. They are angry because Gwent wasone of three Welsh areas not to close its schools on Monday.
Six hundred water workers walked out on unofficial strike in the North-west on Monday night only colleagues in another division had voted to accept the 14 per cent offer Several other large branches of the water workers have voted to come out and reject the offer, including South Wales In Birmingham, laundry workers in central hospitals will stay out all week.
Southwark and Barking branches of NUPE are all-out indefinite strike action.
The ambulance service across London is on emergency cover only. This situation applies in many areas of the country.
On Merseyside, the ambulance officer threatened to lock out drivers taking limited industrial action, and there's virtually no service there at all.
NUPE members were sittingin on Tuesday at Queen Mary College in London because workers had been brought in during Monday's day of action.
In various parts of Britain a number of hospitalsand schools drastically reduced services.
Everywhere public sector manual workers are striking, working rule, handling CALO only, working CHICTECICICS *without enthusiasm' banning overtime.
In addition to these public sector manual workers, Manchester Airport faces closure again because of a 20 per cent pay Transport Union members.
Power workers leader Mick Barwick has warned that they will not accept 5 per cent.
Train drivers are due to strike again today for more money. And we ve yet to hear from the miners and others...
Socialist Challenge 25 January 1979 page 4 since 1926' The subsequent Westminster ended in uproar when the audience drowned out the speeches leaders with chants of 'all out strike' But the leaders involved -Fisher of NUPE, Basnett of GMWU, Spanswick pay and Evans TGWU - will need a lot more pushing before they agree to such a tactic.
According to last Sunday's Observer, the union leaders 'hope to keep a firm grip on the activities of their local action of committees which wil run the disruption campaign, but they are worried that militants will escalate the action'.
This IS committees are beine recom mended to look at a variety of tactics for pursuing the claim, all of which stop at an all-out strike by all the unions and all the workers involved. circular suggests "total strikes selected groups, overtime bans, on chief now and For many of those on strike the limited nature of the action did not go nearly far enough.
rally in | lightning work to rule. unwillingness The leadership to make strike action effective as illustrated by their attitude to the strikes by school caretakers.
Both Alan of assistant Bernard informed pickets that it is not their function to close down the SCHOOIS. but "persuade' teachers not to do work normally done by the strikers.
Accordingly, on Monday the National Union of Teachers reversed their previous decision and sent out instructions their members to picket lines the action which was approved by the NUPE leadership.
Similar attempts to limit the action are evident ambulance service, where the unions have told their members o diswer cuerrercy services.
NUPE despite the by provocation of sending in the army to strike break at the first Hand in now. strikes by others, Thus COHSE's Times: possible Government Fisher and his Dix have productivity haps attendance bonus, merely to into basic rates.' appeared to on 'the cross the - an instruction in the the region followed by a Government's Their suggestion standable, hand with such contain action, some of the union leaders have already made pubac teir aestre to drop the demand for £60 minimum Terry Mallinson, Ancillary Council negotiator, told the Financial *The basic increase might not important were ready case for payments, perthe form an -country and for evident consolidation of supplements rally.
Similarly, when Alan Fisher on the Tonight programme on Monday night, he made it obvious he would recommend a settlement based Despite going rate, that is around 15 per cent, or less than half what the pay claim actually quite apart the demand for a 35-hour week The union leaders are most enthusiastic for a settlement in increasingly of 14 per cent the possibility governmental emergence inquiry into public sector pay.
is underand pathetic. The spectacle of moving one and a half million workers into action to gain an inquiry might amuse the partisans of pay policy It would also deny the lon paid their one sure means of hoisting themselves to a f60 militant action now for the full claim So, on the one side there are the union leaderships, striving to limit the action and publicly staling tem aesure to compro mise on the claim, while on the other side there is the militancy evident in many sections of the rank and file up and down the vocally at the Westminster The outcome of the tensions between Fisher et al and the rank and file will be decided in how and who controls the strike having lost the initiative in many areas around the country. the union leaders still have ultimate control at a national level.
But at a time when their collaborationist schemes are being challenged, exists for the or rank bodies to control the struggle.
Elected strike committees, joint shop stewards committees, and the organisation of flying pickets can be fought for and won — and the leaderships obliged to recognise such bodies.
Such a fight needs organising. The E60 and 35 Hours Low Pay Campaign Committees can do this job. The Campaign for Action in NUPE can wage the struggle in that union.
But they will only be effective if the small number of initial supporters can channel thei efforts in a united fashion and in the right direction In London, for example, 11 meetings have been called using ine tou-so name but under the title 'Rank and File Action Campaign', and these have called for workers to unite through Rank and File groups.
Such groups and Low Pay Action Committees cannot be the organisers of the strike They are too small and do not pose any serious alternative to bodies based on the structures of the unions.
Their role should be to get their supporters to fight inside the union for their line as to how the claim can best be won.
THE ROAD Haulage Association has so far met the lorry drivers' claim of £65 for a 35-hour week with an
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sector action
THE "Daily Telegraph" described Monday's Day of | opportunity. Action by public sector workers as 'the biggest strike