RAY VARNES, member NUPE London Divisional Council public sector workers.
sector workers.
Council, NUPE.
Public sector workers, and| NUPE in particular, have had clear demands right from the beginning of £60 SLEULLIC mum wage and 35-hour week are the key ones. Militants have fought for settlement date for all public and SCIVICC workers.
These demands are the only way to meet the real needs of the public sector. Unlike some groups in industry majority of WOLKeTS do not economic muscle to win locally. Without the national fight, and pulling out on strike all the groups which SO IC overwhelming public sector win.
The key aim government and the employers all along has been to avoid THE NUPE Executive voted to reject the 9 per cent offer, but without making any call for national action. The key question of how to wage the struggle faces Some militants, determined to win more than the national offer, are continuing to struggle — some for local deals. But only spreading all-out action for the national claim offers a way forward for all public the present national mini- than else, and it health SCIVICC more out of them, the vast public sector have the sector fight as a whole.
pressure of Fisher, Callace. majority of wing policies. workers can't support the of the claim.
government London Divisional They have facing such united action. This is why the government settled first with the water workers sector workers. group. course the government would It is have preferred to give the water workers no more than anyone was only the beginning of a militant struggle in the North West which got but the boroughs, government above all wanted tionally to get the water workers back to work because they would have given real muscle to the public The union leaderships have aided this government policy.
Basnett and Co. politically rejected any central The fight against Callaghan's rightIndeed they concordat. They recommended acceptance of deal and return to work by the water workers and not a united fight in the public sector. They action. adopted a policy of selective local action, and not an all-out national strike, which had no chance of winning the national easy Now they are splitting local workers hospital workers by refusing to count the votes in the national ballots together and instead insisting on counting the votes separately in each sector to decide on a return to work attempted every- back thing possible to prevent the national all-out action that alone can win for the overmajority of public clear that local oi sectoral settlements and returns to work cannot provide a way forward for the overwhelming majority, over 90 percent, public sector workers. A few which are excepmilitant or face particularly left-wing councils, can, in the middle of a national fight, win a good local deal. But the overwhelming majority of workers don't face these conditions.
London Divisional Council of NUPE, which has called an area stewards rally which will discuss the call for an area all-out strike, shows the way. So does the fight among ambulance workers for national ALL Fighting for area and national all-out action for the national claim isn't going to be of Fisher is opposing it. The GWU and TGWU leaderships have campaigned to get their members out of the struggle. If there is going to be any chance of a successful fight it is going to have to be the strongest sections who will have to lead it. If the most militant areas were to go after negotiating deals then the overwhelming majori ty of the public sector workers will be left to the government's 9 per cent.
A common national struggle needs common national demands and a united fight with all workers in the public sector supporting each other. Breaking up that -UTHLY will bea disaster for all public sector workers. The employers will triumphantly face a divided public sector whose wages they hold down indefinitely Only by the strongest, and all public sector workers, comin OUL HUW, U SLaY LE OuL. all helping to lead the struggle of all public sector workers for the national claim, can the vast majority win a rise over the 9 CCHIL SULULLES defend their gains.
OUT FOR THE NATIONAL CLAIM!