Dustmen vote to reject

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Saturday 24 February, at 3.00 p.m. Caxton House, St. John's Way, Archway, London N19. Followed by film "State of Siege" and disco. Tickets (50p provinces, £1 London) and details of transport from SYL National Secretary, 31, Dartmouth Park How did about?

As I have said in Socialist Press over the last two weeks, the fact that our' strike is an INDEFINITE action, of all the major sections. has led to the Borough of Camden gradually grinding to a halt.

This has put a tremendous pressure on the Council employers, a pressure completely missing if you only take SELECTED action.

The second major factor in forcing this concession from the ruling labour group is that the Strike Committee has not only consolidated all out strike NOW OUT-Red Youth No.8 Monthly paper of the Socialist Youth League Individual copies 5p plus 7p postage. 12 months subscription £1.44. From SYL, 31, Dartmouth Park Hill, London NW5 1HR Hill, London NW5 1HR. action, but has turned to putting demands on these labour councillors who claim to be sympathețic to our fight.

For example, it has been the policy of the St Pancras South Labour Party GMC to support our claim since last November.

Many of the well known 'lefts' on the Council such as Ken Livingstone, Phil Turner, have verbally supported. our claim.

We turned the pressure of all out strike on them and demanded they put their money where their mouths were.

KICK OUT SCAB

CALLAGHAN!

IRAN: BREAK WITH THE AYATOLLAH!

RALLY What happened last Tuesday then?

Well the Camden Strike Committee organised a lobby of the Labour Group as they went into their meeting.

I was included in a delegation that then went in to demand that the Labour Group support our claim.

As I understand it, after we left Council leader Roy Shaw pationa motion titistic with STiCi WitT was rejected 14-13.

Then Ken Livingstone put a resolution calling on the group to concede the full claim and to go ahead ahd settle locally even if it meant standing against the Labour Government.

This last part, "going against the Labour Government" was deleted and the final resolution accepted by 15 votes to 9 was as follows:

"This group agrees the NUPE claim for a basic wage of £60 for a 35 hour week and resolves to open local negotiations to implement this decision.

This new basic wage to include the consolidation of awards under earlier phases of the Government's pay policy and also the existing guaranteed bonus schemes.

We accept that this policy will reduce differentials and resolve that the reduction in basic hours should lead to an increase in employment rather than overtime.

What was the response members?

Well as you can imagine they were triumphant. The London evening papers, the television were claiming that the Council had given in.

After the news broke on the Evening News, my phone never stopped ringing asking whether it was all over.

Next day some of our blokes turned up expecting to go to work because we had Is it a victory?

NO. It is of course a crucial breakthrough for us and all public sector workers. And this Council cracking is an example of what can be done for all other public sector workers in struggle if they take indefinite strike action.

However if you look closely at the Labour Group resolution you can see that it doesn't give everyone a 40% pay rise. In what ways?

Well we thought they had conceded everything and it was a matter of getting it through the full Council meeting.

My first worries were that the right wing Labour councillors would vote with the Tories to prevent the claim going through.

But then they began arguing bonuses had been consolidated into basic pay.

So if your basic pay added to your bonus is already over £60 you will only receive the nationally negotiated settlement of say, 9%.

What was the Strike Committee reaction to this new interpretation by the Labour group?

Well we were angry, it was a clear attempt to split the workforce and make the so-called "higher paid' (like dustmen who are on the highest bonus) finance the increase for the lowest paid workers.

We rejected the Councillors' call for a return to work and are starting a new round of talks on Monday.

| have been elected on to the negotiating team and I can assure you I will fight against the offer as it stands.

How do you think the will go in the next week?

- Well as I have said, al : hough the offer as it stands is still 1165'6™Y inadequate it does represent a massive concession, a concession which would give the full claim to some workers.

When your employer shifts like that it is time to escalate the action to win the full claim for everyone. That means protecting existing bonus arrangements.

Because we have effectively sewn up Camden the important next step in winning this claim is to spread the action to other branches in the borough, such as the health service, and ambulancemen as well as to other boroughs.

We have to intensify the pressure on the Labour councillors by this method and A g 0 sa Bug.

:waging. Right wing Labour councillor Bethal "o drum.

mount a strong lobby of Monday's meeting with the councillors.

As well as giving us a weapon to force the claim onto the council this will give us a weapon to point to the NUPE bureaucrats who are busily carrying out Fisher's policy of isolating strikes and demoralising workers who are only too ready to fight.

An organised opposition has won.

The tasks remain as great, but we are on a much higher political level. now..

Pickets Brent transfer station

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that all they would do was to top up the deficit after existing

to be built following Camden's example if this claim is to be