Kids fee brunt of Tories nev cutbacks

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Already the social services in Birmingham have been cut to the bone but a • press announcement on 27 September by the ruling Tory group gave a taste of the cruelest cuts to date.

Without any prior consultation with the two main unions involved (NALGO and NUPE) the Tories made a clear statement of intent that, to quote their report:

•Whatever the City Treasurer requires, we are putting a cash limit on the total net budget" in the social services department.

In other words no matter what money may be available, the budget is frozen at this year's figure.

Cutback

Because of inflation, this will mean for 1978-9 a massive cut in provision.

The brunt of this cut will be borne by children's welfare services.

The Tories' intention is to close eleven working children's hostels, three residential nurseries and four children's homes as well as making further cuts in the remaining pathetic day nursery provision.

In total this entails a loss of 200 beds in children's establishments.

Youth in hostels will be dumped on the street and only the most basic day nursery provision will be maintained.

Alongside this there will be forced redundancy, "reLeague Conference Document 'Behind Today's Crisis Available in Trotskyism Today No 3, price 60p (plus 20p p&p)

London NW5 1HR. deployment" and compulsory premature retirement affecting over 100 workers who man these homes.

Women's rights

This is not only an attack on children's welfare but also a further attack on the rights of working women.

But of course the report cynically states that:

"at all times we wish to put the interests of the children first and we are also concerned for staff involved."

Only a week after this press statement 250 social services staff attended a lobby of the social services committee which was to ratify these proposals.

Police were called in to prevent these workers exercising their democratic rights to attend this committee and forcibly restrained them.

Eventually the committee adjourned to a smaller room under police escort and ratified their closure decisions after timid verbal opposition from the minority Labour group.

The scene is now set for a direct confrontation with the workers involved and the council.

To fight these closures, the workers have already set up a joint NALGO-NUPE 'Children's Committee" which will invite other unions and workers to get involved.

Plan of action

This committee must ensure that a correct plan of action is undertaken to prepare the workers involved to continue operation of these homes and defend these essential services.

WSL supporters will fight in this committee for:

*Defence and-if necessarv- occupation of these home: to prevent closure, with supporting strike action from other sections of workers.

*Restoration of the cuts already made.

*Protection of public services by a sliding scale of public expenditure.

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from WSL, 31, Dartmouth Park Hill