Nupe Membership: Another Year Older and Deeper in Debt

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addressing May Day rally two years ago Police defend "free speech" for fascists It is now a year since NUPE members received any information from their national office on how to fight the cuts.

In a circular headed Action Against the Cuts in Public Expenditure last August Alan Fisher and the EC sanctioned the use of working to rule, refusing extra workloads, demonstrations, etc., as 'direct action' to strengthen: the position of the negotiators.

On the section headed 'Strike Action', , however, he wrote the following.

"In a situation where public expenditure is under severe pressure, extensive and/or prolonged strikes might be counterproductive if, by reducing wage costs, they provide the employers with the savings they are seeking. But circumstances may arise where it is necessary to engage in full scale strike action to demonstrate the Union's determination to safeguard members' interests.

"In such situations the strike action must be carefully organised so that it has the maximum impact and must be conducted within the provisions of the Union's Rules, which require the sanction of the EC."

'Circumstances'

If the circumstances warranting all-out strike action have not arisen in the year since this advice was given, it is difficult to assess just what the circumstances are that Fisher is alluding to.

Obviously the demolition of the school meals service is not one of these 'circumstances' nor the loss of six thousand non-teaching jobs in schools last year. Nor the attack on nursery provision (136 nursery, nurses" posts in Nottingham alone!), nor the hospitals cuts (3,000 fewer beds in Greater London), nor the ending of direct works and the wholesale replacement of public employees with private contracts. • The four were fined £40 each and Bidwell is refusing to pay his fine although he expects it to be paid for him.

Bidwell, George Guy of the TUC General Council, Alex Ferry of the CSEU and Roger Butler of the AUEW spoke to the meeting on May 14 as part of the TUC's Day of Action. They were deemed to have been in breach of a local by-law that banned anything but religious meetings in the park.

Court actions

At a time when they are making some of the most savage cuts in the country the council is prepared to spend tens of thousands of pounds on court actions to prevent labour movement meetings.

The NF obviously has more right to free speech than trade unionists in the eyes of these Tory "democrats"

NUPE has given official backing to an occupation!

Laundry workers at the Royal Gwent Hospital in South Wales are occupying the former linen room in the hospital grounds. They are protesting that the new linen room, in the hospital basement is hot and dark. Alan Fisher The list of circumstances that have arisen attacking NUPE members interests and jobs is endless but it is still not enough to qualify for full scale strike action 'to demonstrate the unions' determination to safeguard members' interests' So what is the NUPE leadership doing in fighting the Tory attacks?

Whatever it is it's costing them more-they've just asked for a 10p subs increase, telling the membership about it in a charming letter from Alan Fisher which starts:

•Dear Member, You will know from your own experience in balancing your household budget just how much the cost of living has gone up over the last few years." and ends:

"In the present economic crisis with unemployment and prices rising and the government intent on cutting public services and holding down public employees pay-the union needs to use all of its resources to defend members' interests. Your contribution to the union enables it to do that job.

With best wishes Yours fraternally Alan Fisher."

The membership of NUPE have yet to be convinced that subs of even £50 a week each would enable the union leadership to protect members' interests.

Where, after all, does this money go? It's obviously not being drained out of NUPE's coffers by strike pay-with their policy during the low pay strikes tor example ot one-day strikes which didn't qualify the strikers for a single penny, and a national levy to cover what strike pay was needed.

Glossy posters

Admittedly high wages and pay increases for NUPE full times must take their toll as must producing endless glossy posters as part of the TUC Campaign for Economic and Social Advance but the remaining funds from NUPE's members must be considerable even after NUPE's large administrative costs.

Is it lying there waiting to be used as strike pay when the circumstances arise"?

Or is NUPE looking around for projects to spend some of its money on? It seems to have found one in the decision to give £80,000 to Lewisham Council, the borough that houses the NUPE head offices.

And just why have they donated this money, none other NOMEN MUST than to establish a social services day nursery-a local authority nursery not state funded but paid for by NUPE! Does this reflect a concern among the NUPE leadership over creating more nursery provision-a concern certainly not reflected in their defence of existing nursery provision as the list of cut nursery schools, classes and staff grows.

Abandoned

There has not been one single attempt by the leadership to organise for their defence and they have abandoned those struggles that have taken place, When many of the NUPE members are trying to fight the private sector taking over, business sponsorship and charity funding as the state funds are slashed to ribbons, the NUPE leadership steps in and give its own little contribution.

What precedent-as schools, hospitals, old peoples homes are shut down!

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NUPE BACKS OCCUPATION