Mersey health

Scan page 10

cuts In a new wave of health cuts planned for Liverpool, the Area Health Authority has voted by a 1 vote majority to axe 115 geriatric hospital beds and 30 dermatology beds in Newsham hospital, and a total of 300 beds in the area as a whole.

The Area Medical Officer, in a predictably puny protest, has threatened to retire carly if the cuts are forced through.

But NUPE Divisional Officer Colin Barnett has nothing more positive to offer.

He has proposed not strike action to stop the cuts or occupation of the threatened facilities, but to set up joint union/management working parties in each hospital-to investigate alternative savings "without cutting jobs or services"

Insofar as this means anything, it must point towards speed up for ancillary workers and still further collaboration between unions and management, destroying the basis for independent working class action to stop the cuts.

Scan page 11

O'Fishall is on holiday - attempting to recover from the wild excesses of the Brighton TUC, where he was one of those with a private bar in his hotel suite!

Meanwhile his place has been taken in this issue by Albert Spanswick, General Secretary of COHSE, offering a song on the lips of so many bureaucrats in Workers at Hotpoint's plants in Peterborough, Swinton and Llandudno have been banned from smoking by management, who argue that it interferes with "new production techniques"

The attack comes alongside the axing of a number of fringe Brighton last week.

10th, benefits for the 5,000 strong ultimatum, nata moductiny ultimatum must be increased by 30%.

This is at a time when the three factories are on short-time working - Peterborough and Llandudno on a 3-day week,and Swinton on 2 days.

Management of the GEC subsidiary claim that their package of cutbacks will save £500,000 per year; but it is clear that they intend to make far more through a growing programme of speed-up for the already reduced workforce.

Meanwhile a similar attack is underway on BL workers at Pressed Steel, Swindon, where management have attempted to drive up production by ten per cent for no extra money.

A package of measures flowing from Michael Edwardes' notorious 92-page document has been rejecetd by a mass meeting of 400 press shop workers.

Particularly resented is the new "chit for a shit" rule, requiring press shop workers to obtain written permission from a foreman before they can go to the toilet!

Workers who work faster to complete their work assignments in less than the allotted time now face an official warning if they are caught sitting down for a few minutes' rest!

One worker was even suspended for three days for havıng a cup of coffee withou permission.

Others complain of being A delegation from the 12-week struggle at Birmetals in Birmingham lobbied the TUC last week demanding action to force their reinstatement.

700 workers were sacked after they refused to fill the jobs of strikers.

But it has become clear that the sackings were deliberately arranged by management to avoid making redundancy payments.

Since then, the sacked workforce has been refused social security payments on the grounds that they are on strike' Their picket of the plant demanding reinstatement has been strengthened by the TGWU District Committee call on drivers to respect the picket lines. So, even though management and office staff continue to do the work of sacked shoptloor workers, no completed plant.

The struggle is an important one in the fight against redundancies and the Tory offensive on union rights. As one lobbyer told Socialist Press:

"If the union leaders let Thatcher, win this one, they may as well wrap up and go home."

Donations and messages of support should be sent to Birmetals Action Committee, 357 Adams Hill, Berkley Green, Birmingham 32.

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