Civil servants feel theil strengin

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civil servants last week forced management to climb down from threats to discipline four clerks in the Customs office in Liverpool.

The clerks had been threatened with suspension for blacking work covered by the action of Irish Customs staff.

Once again the civil servants have glimpsed their own potential strength in a dispute which has mobilised militancy in previously quite dormant layers.

A further side of this strength will be seen this week as Inland Revenue staff begin an all-out strike at the two main computer centres at Cumbernauld and Shipley.

Cut off

This action-if not circumvented by emergency banking procedures-could cut off the flow of up to £1.5 billion per week into the Treasury.

But it is becoming increasingly plain that to conduct the pay battle with such partial tactics is a recipe for a long and confusing dispute, when an all-out stoppage could quickly bring the Thatcher government to its knees.

The militancy of civil servants should not be switched on and off like a tap by national union officials.

Local strike committees of the nine unions should bezin to Huge attacks on local authority services-among which education seems certain to be the main victim-are implicit in Chancellor Howe's Budget proposals announced last week.

His figures include a 52% cut in local government spending, on top of the cuts already made. Thousands of teachers and other workers in education seem certain to face compulsory redundancy if these cuts are carried through.

And even worse could be in store if the subsequent proposals from Treasury minister Nigel Lawson are implemented.

Lawson grabbed the headlines by talking on ITV's World This Weekend of a possible pre-election tax cut of 3p in the pound on income tax.

But he was less anxious to publicise that this would require an addition £6 billion in public Published by Folrose Ltd for the Registered as a newspaper at the take a grip on the course action and force the pace. Amid a deafer ing silence as The unions have the power to win. But their leaders have yet to show that they have the will to conduct a gloves-off fight with this vicious govern- now been 2½ weeks on ment which is hell-bent on axing still more jobs in the civil service. spending cuts-administering a death blow to many totterine social services.

Meanwhile as workers, unemployed, housewives, youth and pensioners count the cost of Howe's measures, it is plain that the burden is designed to fall

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A huge wave of solidarity strike action by 100,000

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