Hospital Workers Strike to Stop Closure
Socialist Press1976 1976-07-28Read it in the scan (PDF), scan page 1 →
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The success of the one day strike at four London hospitals against the threatened closure of the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson hospital is an important step forward in the fight against the cuts in public spending.
The strike, fought for by members of the SL, was the workers' reply to the lobby of Parliament proposed by local Stalinists in an attempt to head off growing support for an occupation of the EGA.
Instead, the day of action on the 21st July became a platform on which an occupation can now be built with strikes at the EGA, University College, St. Pancras and National Temperance hospitals, including the Royal Free (North Camden) and Whittington Islington).
These were th Le first strikes against the present cuts in public spending since railway men on the Eastern Region were bullied back to work by their union bureaucracy last March.
Their success shows the willingness of workers to fight the present policies of the Labour government and trade union leaders.
After picketing the various hospitals in the morning 400 workers marched from the EGA to the House of Commons. During the march veteran Stalinist Betty Harrison announced from the lead car that this was a "protest" march against the threatened closure of one hospital, the EGA.
This claim was in marked contrast to the high level of militancy shown by the marchers who clearly saw the fight ta "save the EGA as part of the fight against the cuts in public spending.
Thus the whole march took u the demands of the WSL - "N Occupy!,› and «Save the EGA More Cuts in the NHS - Strike Upon reaching the House Commons 200 of the marcher crowded into the lobby room t see Betty Harrison take the chai introducing a series of speakers.
In her introduction Harriso completely ignored the fact thi strike action had been take against all hospital closures, insis ing that the march was a prote against the closure of the EGA.
Amongst the platfor speakers, only Richard Shield, tr secretary of University Colleg Hospital Joint Shop Stewar Committee, put the day of actic in the context of a fight again the present policies of the Labo on