Works staff ht 5%
Socialist Press1978 1978-10-07Read it in the scan (PDF), scan page 12 →
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ALCO LINCOL 45p10Another combative NALGO section: striking social workers in a rally at Friends Meeting House, Euston Small mention has been made in the capitalist media of the effects of industrial action by Area and District NHS works staff, many of whom are members of NALGO.
But the dispute has contained within it a challenge to the 5% wage. control of Callaghan and Healey.
Works staff are not maintaining sterile laundry or disinfectant departments beyond an output of 10%.
This is already causing massive cutbacks in admissions lists for "non-urgent" operations.
And the staff are also taking other action including the nonmaintenance of health centres, ambulance stations and administrative offices.
PHOTO: Andrew Wiard, Report The form the dispute has taken has some parallels with the toolroom workers' action in that the workers are themselves fighting over differentials and restructuring between themselves and the craftsmen they supervise.
But a demand for enhanced bonus payments similar to that recently achieved by electriolans has been rejected by Ennals who has warned it would be "unfortunate" if works staff became the first victims of pay policy.
This has put the NAGO leadership into a real quandary, for despite the fact that NALGO at the TUC still called for wage control, the bureaucracy is now faced with a small section objectively fighting the 5% with emergency committee approval!
There is no question that the union bureaucracy must move to sell out the action., The task posed now is for this action to be stepped up together with a campaign for a real fight against this government's wages policy throughout all sections of NALGO.
AGEY NALGU