Hospital workers fight victimisation
Socialist Press1979 1979-11-14Read it in the scan (PDF), scan page 10 →
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HEFIGHT BLINDFOLDA PRESS lead in the wage control, cuts and redundancies Engineers and electricians at London's Charing Cross Hospital are currently manning the picket lines after two engineers, one of them a shop steward were dismissed on 23 October.
The men were sacked for refusing to do the work of unskilled people. They were implementing the policy of their union which was made necessary by the way the management have cut back on the staff.
For the last 18 months vacancies for trade assistants have been left unfilled and skilled men have had to cover for their jobs.
The sackings represent the conscious move on the part of the district management to weaken the fight against the government's policies by getting rid of key militants.
This case follows on the heels of other victimisations of NUPE, stewards in the West London Hospital nearby.
In a newsletter issued by the workshop committee the fight to get the men reinstated is clearly placed within the context of the general fight against attacks on the health service.
The response of the capitalist press has been to mount a witch-hunt on the strikers similar to that seen against hospital workers last winter.
Shortage of oil
The employers and their friends in Fleet Street are trying to stir up a campaign against the action by claiming that lives are endangered because of a shortage of oil to the hospital.
The strikers themselves are adamant that there is no danger to the patients and essential supplies are being allowed through and oil levels are regularly monitored by themselves and stewards representing tanker drivers from Esso.
This strike is an important part of the battle against this round of cuts in London and maximum support must be mobilised in and out of the hospital to get reinstatement and continue the fight to defend the NHS.
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