Hull Jobs Conference

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A delegate conference on unemployment called by Hull Trades Council on Sunday 26th September suprisingly attracted only 70 stewards and delegates, reflecting the way in which the right-wing on the Trades Council had prevented any real mobilisation on the The platform of the Conference comprised an array of local council5304 and union bureaucrats who sail only offer "development are „SEICIE as the solution to the toma's 16.000 unemployed.

Homerel. this reactionary positse was strongly attacked from the 100I, with the result that the unanimously:

"That this Trades Council Conference deplores the high level of local unemployment (Hull adult males 10%).

This creates intolerable hardship and humiliation for many thousands of workers and their families.

We demand that the Labour government elected into office by a predominantly working class vote break from their present policies.

We put forward the following constructive proposals:

1. Reverse all cuts in public service spending. All public services to be protected by a sliding scale of expenditure.

2. The introduction of a 35-hour week with no loss of earnings.

3. Retirement age to be reduced to 60, paid at the average industrial wage. combat unemployment that County and District Councils be provided the finance to develop a series of useful public works. This to be done in co-operation with local Trades Councils. To be paid at Trade Union rates of pay.

5. Development area status for Hull. This to be financed from:

a) Redirection of military defence spending to useful civil projects.

b) The nationalisation of all basic industries (including profitable sectors) without compensation except through proven need. This to be directed through workers" management."

The Trades Council must nOW be forced, despite its leaders to mobilise around the demand he (NUPE) to negotiate over pay and conditions. The following morning they were sacked and locked out of their workplaces.

Where do such reactionary managers come from? The director, John Wilder, is a member of the Labour Party and ASTMS, and the chairman of the Association is none other than Peter Townsend, the famous Hampstead "socialist" academic.

Since that time the eight workers have been continuing their work at alternative premises in East London, and at an occupied PRA premises in Walthamstow.

The patients have stayed with the locked out workers despite offers by the management to take them into groups run by scabs. Local union support has been directed to maintaining local authority services such as meals and transport for the patients.

Waltham Forest NALGO ran a sed on the grounds that a strike recognised by the union does not count as union activity for the purposes of the Act!

The Tribunal chairman went on in this vein - insisting that a strike when the union was trying to call in ACAS, the arbitration board, is a strike in defiance of the union, and so places workers outside the scope of the Act!

So the Employment Protection Act, one of the proud "achievements" of the Labour government turns out to be a weapon for the worst kind of strike breaking and the armchair socialists turn out to be in the vanguard of the bosses offensive.

PRA is meanwhile going ahead with recruiting scabs to reopen all their centres.

Solidarity and assistance is needed from all workers in the health and municipal sectors in East London. Already Newham N.E. CLP has voted support for the dispute.

Donations and support to Dame Colet House, Ben Jonson Rd.,

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SOCIALIST PRESS, Wednesder 6in October, 1976 The 1,000 strong lobby of the Labour Party Conference last week called by NUPE and supported by the National Coordinating Committee Against Cuts in the NHS was an indication of the growing feeling among rank and file trade unionists against the government's policy of savage spending cuts.

This was also reflected in the show of hands vote at the Conference itself for NUPE leader Alan Fisher's resolution opposing government spending cuts and calling for support to councils which refuse to implement them.

'REFUSAL But Fisher's refusal to push for a card vote on the drawing out the posi ions of the other union leaders - linked s ith NUPE leader Fisher

INDUST RIAL NEWSI

the government's cynical declarations that, regardless of Labour Conference policy, they will proceed with their present line, show that the passing of such resolutions in no way tackles or solves the question of leadership in the labour movement:

This pull-back takes place at the same time as at local level more and more workers are showing their readiness to fight in defence of jobs and the social services:

*In London, thousands of health service workers have now been involved in various token strike actions, lobbies and demonstrations against the cuts and in particular against hospital closures. This is before the next, bigger wave of cuts gets under way. The workforce at the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson hospital has voted for occupation to stop its closure.

*In Oxford, even a limited protest call from the Oxfordshire NUT for half-day strike action shut down virtually every school in the county and brought 4,000 onto the streets to lobby the county *In all the public sector and social service unions militancy is NALGO Gen Sec Drain Nor is there any doubt that the feeling within the working class as a whole is in support of these sections against the reactionary cuts implemented by the Labour government.

NUPE and NALGO have both called for members to lobby Parliament on Noveriber 17th. It is important that in every area branches are pressed to call for strike action for that day and to mobilise the fullest turn-out to this lobby as an indication of the strength of the mass feeling and the readiness of workers to carry out full-scale strike action to prevent the cuts, both at local and national level.

DAY OF ACTION Trades Councils and other unions must also be pressed to support this day of strike action.

Two strikes by car delivery in Coventry have just ended with victory for the strikers.

At Toleman James, drivers struck in protest at the failure of the company to take on extra drivers when a new car delivery contract was won. • They • were backed by drivers from other firms in the Coventry area and the strike has now ended with temporary proposals for pro viding unemployed drivers with extra work while discussions on manning levels continue.

At Silcock and Colling the strike was over the sacking of 17 drivers. Last week's belated call for a national strike gained a; response from three other Silcock and Colling depots.

Management quickly moved to end the strike by withdrawing the redundancy notices although as we go to press the precise details of the settlement are unclear.

Arrangements for car delivery are very sophisticated with many firms involved.

The "big four" › responsible for almost 75% of car and commercial vehicle transporting, are Silcock and Colling (a subsidiary of the American RCA Corporation); Tole