Civil Servants must strike to stop cuts

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Civil Service jobs have been cut by 3% by the implementation of a 3 month ban on recruitment in all government departments.

This month the government will be announcing details of further cuts between 10, 15 and 20%.

These cuts will mean the loss of at least 150,000 jobs and will involve the "hiving off" of profitable sections of the public sector to private industry.

The biggest cuts will be made in the Departments of Transport, Environment, Industry, Trade, Education and Science and Energy.

Inland Revenue There will also be a loss of 2,700 jobs in the Inland Revenue.

The Department of Environment's Hydraulics Research Station will be sold to private In the Department of Employment and the Department of Health and Social Security cuts will be made by doing away with whole functions of the state.

This will include the chopping of several major social security benefits.

One option that has, been suggested is that the present waiting period of three days at the start of a Sickness Benefit claim be extended to six weeks.

Sick pay

This would take away responsibility got paying sickness benefit for this period from the state and transfer it to the employer.

The Secretary of State for Social Services, Patrick Jenkin, has issued stringent guidelines on the cuts to DHSS officials.

He says:

"We must cut out functions and taks altogether wherever we can" and "change radically the Department's approach to the NHS, to local authorities and to other external bodies."

In the DHSS, the Postal Review system, which was a means of monitoring the financial and welfare needs of supplementary benefit claimants including pensioners, single parents and the disabled, already been scrapped.

This has resulted in a loss of 1100 jobs in DHSS local offices.

200 of these have been redeployed on fraud and abuse work.

If the -proposed cuts in DHSS are allowed to be implemented, we will see the total collapse of an already inadequate and understaffed Social Security system.

Inadequate

The civil service unions must carry out a fight to defeat these attacks on the welfare state.

The CPSA's Cuts Campaign programme of action consits of a ban on overtime, a ban on temporary promotion and substitution, on person, one job and a ban on casual staff.

These policies are completely inadequate to defend civil service jobs and the public servíces.

CPSA and SCPS members must demand that their leadership organise all out indefinite strike action to stop the cuts and defend the hard-won rights and services needed by the working class.

LEAGUE

LEEDS® Monday September 10 8.00 p.m.

Room A, Leeds Trades Club, 21 Saville Mount LEAGUE Public meeting 'How to fight the cuts?

Thursday September 6 8.00p.m.

OCCR, Princes St.

Cowley Road London NW5 1HR.

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