among the most effective in the country.
Could these strikes collapsing?
By Geoff Ryan and Davidson, stewards, Newcastle authority branch The action taken by local authority workers in Newcastle during the public sector dispute was strictly in line with the policy advocated by the union leaders.
It was, in short, local and selective, and it made a sharp impact on services in the city.
NUPE school caretakers and refuse incinerator workers went on strike from 22 January and continued their action early March, shutting schools and refuse collections.
Yet only two days after a mass meeting of over 800 loca authority workers overwhelpay offer on 28 February, the caretakers followed the incinerator workers in voting to return to work.
There were problems trom the start. The GMWU refused to call its caretakers on strike, and NUPE instructed members in schools GMWU caretakers to WOrK normally.
So although over half the city's 160 schools were shut, only some 90 NUPE members were actually on strike. Many members simply sat at home.
Various attempts were made to overcome these problems. A strike committee, open to all interested members, was set up in the first week of the strike.
strike bulletin produced every week virtually entire membership. It contained both local and national reports, as well as general political articles on the dispute.
Many members were every week to collect their levies for the strike fund, and those on strike had weekly meetings. Most of these decisions came from resolutions from supporters of the Campaign Action in NUPE.
in the Labour Party. Newcastle North constituency party passed resolutions demanding that the council meet the £60-35 hour claim.
At short notice, a 150-strong.
have been prevented from Paul lobby was organised when Callaghan visited the city.
but they weren't up to the task of winning the dispute.
The weekly meetings and strike bulletins were still within the framework local action were taken to form a united strike committee with health workers, again on the initiative of CAN supporters.
The crunch in the schools the 28 February vote to reject the national offer. The Labour until council met with headteachers, down who agreed to schools with the full backing of the leadership of the National Union of Teachers.
Pressure for this had come the Newcastle Teachers Association, is largely based on middle-class areas in the city. A PTA demo scheduled for ahead as a 'victory' celebration.
The GWU had already accepted an offer council to pay worker £100 for five weeks to clear the huge backlog garbage.
School caretakers in North Tyneside proposed to return to work on 12 March after the council agreed LU demands SUCI as allowances.
Faced all
pressures, the Newcastle caretakers backed down. was almost no experience and industrial action, there was no the way they could win in isolation.
NUPE's strike fund was no doubt better off with school meals staff and cleaners laid off on full pay, but it also meant seen they played a passive role in the Virtually everyone believed that the large majority of these school workers would refuse to strike, because they for women.
And even when almost all the women voted to reject the pay The offer, only 11 caretakers were in favour of calling a branch meeung discuss action.
In a union like NUPE, with two-thirds women such reactionary male prejuLondon W2 In the Newcastle hospitals, women were — and continue to be - in the forefront of most of the action, but because of the section by section tactics of the leaders, possible to generalise experience.
The only way to have won, as CAN supporters consistently selective, although steps re-open the Parent WATCE 3 March went from the each refuse consider security these of were members, complete the dispute nationally. it wasn't this seeking who are fighting on.
STRIKING in Newcastle: above, mass meeting of local authority workers; below, ambulance staff on the picket line. pointed out, was to have had because confidence In the members and involved them in by fighting for and These are lessons we are today to raise the hospital ancillaries and nurses action evening.
NUPE Hospital Close vitriolic STUCROIS Rover, Many "All and continue that NUPE steward week strike has all-out action.
programme counci council Rubbish, The CARDIFF steward, University Hospital of Wales THE AREA health authority in South Glamorgan faced NUPE with an ultimatum.
We had to return to normal by midnight Thursday, 'or else'. This latter phrase meant a lock-out Workers at three hospitals replied to this threat on Friday with a one-day all-out strike. Mass meetings are due to be OLICI hospitals this Ambulance staff are continuing all-out action, and they have been locked-out, ambulance crews in several parts of the country are also taking all-out action.
Nurses at the UHW, which is a large teaching hospital, meet to discuss their pay claim, and we hope to set up an committee. The Campaign for Action in NUPE is By Kathy Ambrose steward, Selly Oak THE NUPE branch's plan t Birmingham General Hospital with an all-out strike was called off last week after aLLaCKS Birmingham Evening Mail and headquarters for its members to cross the picket line.
In the run up to the mass picket, pledges of supporting strike action came from othe hospital workers, while industrial unions such as those at Solihull, promised to send delegations.
members were disgusted at the instruc NUPE branch secretary Dick Hackett says:
membership agreements with COHSE are now torn up, Many approaches membership of NUPE through the Bridlington agreement will be seen favourably.
The need to build strong line, joint shop stewards committees is an obvious step towards unity in the pay campaign.
The NUPE divisional office did precious little to build support for the planned action. Overtime bans and work to rule in Birmingham's hospitals, but there is no doubt closure of the General would have greatly increased By Stewart Madewell THE LABOUR council in Tower Hamlets, East London, has some advanced ideas about democracy, it has refused to have a public debate with its manual workers, whose sevenescalated to It has denied the Tonight TV access to property. week the mayor called in the police to eject strikers from a meeting when they demanded a local settlement.
which heaped across the borough, has become a major battle ground.
council has called cowboy firms to try to shift the heaps; 24-hour pickets have so far prevented this.
The council's supposed reason for its intransigence is a desire to keep the rates down. A rate of 9 per cent has been fixed in order to attract commercis property to the borough.
Never mind that what the borough needs is homes, not offices; that having low-paid council workers is only in the bosses" interests, and that the council could cut th rates by refusing to pay the bankers interest charges.
Support and donations to the Strike Committee TGWU Offices, West India Road, London E14.
NOTTINGHAM By Eric Laverick NUPE steward THE FIGHTto end low pay will be taken into Nottingham's city centrethis Saturday, witha rally called by the trades council, and sponsored by the public sector There will be mass leafleting, aimed at winning support for the hospital workers and countering the get back to work' message of the media The Campaign for Action in NUPE is leafleting hospitals explaining the need for all-out action.
BOLTON By Chris Jones ALL-OUT strike action by ancillary Bolton General Hospital began on Monday after an almost unanimous vote. This followed the sacking of NUPE branc secretary Jim Kelly, who has played a leading role in local action over the past weeks.
Victimisation of NUPE activists now seems to be popular the employers, as is the introduction of volunteers as strikebreakers.
the General persuade volunteers to stay away, maintenance workers will DE asked not to cross the picket which could bring the hospital to a standstill.
The ancillaries are providing emergency cover, SO that cancer, intensive care, and renal dialysis patients aLC affected.
CAMDEN By John Suddaby NUPE Branch Secretary LOCAL authority workers in Camden, North London, have coupled their victory in winning £60 and 35 hours with a fight against the TUC-government Concordat.
An amendment resolution for NUPE's annual conference, passed by the Camden general branch, calls on the national executive to disassociate the union from the Concordat. and to campaign for its rejection by the Trades Union Congress.
Alan Fisher's support for the Concordat yet example of his backing for policies against the interests of NUPE members The reference In the Concordat to certain sections not being allowed to strike has major implications for NUPE members, and the suggestion for secret ballots to decide on strike action is entirely against the union's policies.
Socialist Challenge 22 March 1979
National Front's campaign in support of Robert Relf have together with a contribution from the IMG's anti-racist renewed the debate amongst anti-fascist activists over the organiser, Rich Palser. Further contributions are welcome. THE anti-fascist mobilisations in Winchester to counter the effectiveness of the Anti Nazi Leauge. Below we print two letters taking up some of these issues, LaCLICs. mass tasks of the working class cannot define immediate particularly when the of workers dIC Marxists.
In this regard the Leicester comrades do have an ultra-left position — this can be said while recognising that many of us
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LOCAL AUTHORITY strikes in Newcastle were | dices are disastrous. The majority of schools were closed from the day of action on 22 January until shortly before the unions accepted the national pay offer earlier this month, and refuse collections were halted for the same period.
GARNERS DAY OF ACTION Saturday, 24 March Support the catering workers' strike that won't go away, and join the battle against the Concordat - Garners strikers are fighting for effective picketing! AssembleSpm at Speakers' Corner, Hyde Park,
holding a public meeting this BIRMINGHAM
the chance of a better offer. TOWER HAMLETS