YOPs workers walk out n fares dispute

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A big development in the YOPs struggle took place last week when 200 youth from the Consett area walked out on strike with the support of their union NUPE.

The reason they walked out initially was because they were having to pay up to £4 a week on fares out of their lousy £23.50 'allowance from the Manpower Services Commission.

Under present MSC rules the YOP workers have to pay up to £4 on fares before they can claim any money back. So if they spend £6 they would only get £2 refunded.

The strike seems to have raised the issue of the wages on YOPs schemes and the strikers have received support from other schemes throughout the country.

They say they want to form a national co-ordination with a view to a one day national strike being organised.

The National Council for Young Workers was set up this year for that purpose.

NUPE are presently recruiting the YOPs workers and we should be taking that up and joining the unions. But this will bring a fight with the union bureaucracy, as the sl NUPE programme fails to call for the essential demand for full trade union rates of pay.

Struggles

Union leaders are only looking to reforming YOPs, and fail to challenge the whole basis of these labour schemes.

This action could prove to be the outbreak of a wave of struggles in the YOPS schemes.

Trade union leaders and Labour leaders alike have been happy to see YOPs become an institution like school. Now they are going to have to take a clear position who they support: the On Wednesday 1 July the first attempt to further liberalise the 1967 Abortion Act was made in Parliament.

Under the Ten Minute Rule, Jo Richardson proposed an "Abortion Facilities" Bill, which attempted to put an obligation on health authorities to provide abortion services.

This Bill highlighted the disparities between different areas in abortion facilities.

At the moment, a woman's ability to get an abortion varied enormously according to where she lives.

Since the effect of the 1967 Act is to give doctors the right to decide on whether a woman can have an abortion, a reactionary, Catholic or otherwise, anti-abortion gynaecologist can victims of cheap the exploiters.

Trade union rates

This action needs to be followed up nationally with demands for:

*Full trade union rates and rights on YOPs.

*For an independent trade union inquiry on YOPs involving YUP's workers. This can be done on a effectively stop abortions in the hospital he (or much more rarely, she) controls.

Thus in Glasgow there are only half as many abortions performed on the National Health Service as in the Tayside area in East At the same time there are many more private abortions in Glasgow than the average for England and Wales.

So many women who should be entitled to NHS abortions. are forced to pay for private operations-or go to an area where the all-powerful gynaecologists are more sympathetic to the 1967 Act.

The Abortion Facilities Bill tried to remedy this situation.

It would oblige. Health Authorities to provide abornational basis in and also through councils.

*For all unions to initiate a full unionisation programme on YOPs. Support for the NCYW.

The National Council for Young Workers can be contacted at: NCY, UMIST Students Union, PO Box 88, Manchester M60 1QV. Tel: 061-861 0317. tion facilities, thus undermining the power of reactionary consultants.

Opposition to the Bill came mainly from Tory anti-abortion campaigner Jill Knight, who claimed that the Bill woud take resources away from essential operations and facilities like kidney machines.

This argument is a red herring. The Facilities Bill was not about diverting resources: abortions are much cheaper for the NHS than childbirth.

The Bill was defeated by 215 to 139. Labour Party members should be asking their MPs which way (and if) they voted, and making abortion an issue approaching reselection conferences.

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