Fight New the Ega

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Last Thursday the bureaucracy of TGWU Region fulfilled an ambition of 17 months standing.

By a slim majority a meeting of the remaining strikers in the marathon Garners Steak Houses recognition struggle were cajoled into ending the dispute.

At the beginning of the meeting officials Cook, Shorter and Staden found themselves faced with a group of strikers which, despite all the hardship suffered in 17 months of isolation and bureaucratic sabotage, was unwilling to talk in terms of giving up and swallowing the promises of "new jobs"

But as the bureaucrats systematically attacked any notion that the strikers' consistent demands for the mobilisaFormer labour government minister Tony Benn's campaign of rebuilding his 'left' image received an unexpected setback last week at a packed meeting of London School of Economics students called by the Economist Bookshop strikers.

The strikers have been fighting for seven months for recognition of ACTSS, the TGWU's clerical section, in the teeth of opposition from the LSE Board of Governors who own the shop jointly with the Economist tion of the colossal strength of Region 1's 500,000 membership and resources would be met, the balance of the meeting was finally tipped.

The strikers had asked for support for their June 9 conference and for union assistance in building for it.

Blacking

But the officials recognised that the conference would be used as a platform to press once again for the backing they refused to give-mass picketing, finance and blacking.

For 17 months the strike had stood as a public condemnation of the bankruptcy of leaders whose support for the anti-working class policies of the Labour government rendered them incapable of mobilising the elementary right of union recognition-whether at leaders have demonstrated their PHOTO: Mark Rusher, IFL Grunwick, Desoutters, Trust Houses Forte, Sandersons or Now, despite their facade of anti-Tory rhetoric these same utter unwillingness to defend low paid workers against police harassment and vicious management.

The strike has continued so long because the officials did not dare to call it off themselves -thus committing an betrayal in the' the whole movement.

They will now say that the strikers called off the action as a fig leaf to cover their treachery.

This cheap lie must be exposed. The 'responsibility for Continued on page 11 magazine.

Governors' spokesman Professor Yarney's latest move to break the strike has been to make a direct approach to TGWU leader Moss Evans calling on his backing for the dispute to be referred for arbitration to ACAS.

This proposal has been correctly rejected on principle by the strikers as a diversion which would be used to sell out their demands.

Benn, who declared himself a fellow ACTSS member, told bracking sno• Tne Fabian Society and launched into a predictable round of left FOR rhetoric.

Stressing the importance of 'learning the lessons' of the strike he added solemnly that there was nothing like action to tell you who your friends were!

This was quite a statement from someone who, less than two months ago was crossing a civil service unions' picket line.

The utter hypocrisy of this and his other remarks was only brought out by a strong contribution from WSL member Pat Lally speaking on behalf of bookshop workers in Blackwells Attacking the refusal of the TGWU leadership to organise support for these struggles, he pointed to the link between this and the union bureaucracy's collaboration with the Labour government in its attacks on workers' living standards.

Drawing widespread applause from the meeting, he condemned those who now spouted from platforms about the need for socialism, yet had gone along with those policies without protest.

Strike fund contributions and further information from Helen Miller, c/o ACTSS, 173, Clapham Road, London SW9. • The latest moves by the government and the Camden and Islington AHA represent the most serious threat yet to the continued occupation of the EGA hospital in London.

Following the lobby and occupation of the emergency AHA meeting on May 9, two proposals have been made which would effectively end the existence of the EGA as a women's hospital in the NHS.

One is to drastically reduce the hospital to treating 40 gynaecological patients--which would mean the closure of most of the wards and the reduction of staff.

The other is that the hospital is reduced in size and is partly funded from private sources. This would represent a major tactical victory for the Tories' intentions of bringing private funding and investment into the NHS.

Opposed

The hospital staff action committee and campaign committee are resolutely opposed to these proposals.

They are continuing to call for the upgrading of the EGA on its present site, with full staffing levels, and for the repair of the lift, which woul enable several of the closed wards to be reopened.

They have called for a 24-hour picket of the hospital to prevent the imminent removal of patients and are sending speakers to local trade union branches to gain Local hospitals and other trade union branches in the London area must begin now to prepare for strike action in defence of the hospital.

A resolution passed at the NUPE conference committed the union to defend the EGA. It is now up to NUPE members to force the leadership to act.

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ett PHOTO: Chris Davies, Report

A INMOLI GARNERS OFFICIAL STRIKE

TOANC INITN OFCTGNITION