[The first hospital occupation has begun at the…]

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The first hospital occupation has begun at the EGA in London. At a mass meeting on Monday 14th November the workers there passed the following manifesto:

"1. The staff of the EGA have previously declared their intention to occupy the hospital should this prove necessary. The Secretary of State has apparently supported the "interim' transfer to the Whittington hospitai, a solution which he has attempted to justify in the House of Commons by false statements. It may be now that AHA officers will act arbitrarily to close the Hospital, as they closed the EGA Maternity Home. The staff are extremely frustrated that the case for maintaining the EGA has never yet been adequately examined by the authorities, and that all kinds of tricks have been tried to disown and dishonour this unique women's hospital. The remaining step must now be taken to occupy the Hospital by a work-in.

2. A continuous 24-hour picket hospital entrances. Authorised personnel only will be admitted. We appeal: to women patients, to health workers everywhere, to the unions, and to the community to support the occupation by any means possible. Staff will fully observe their contracts of employment in the interests of the patients. A high• standard of discipline will be maintained. The EGA medical committee has already stated that medical staff will continue to look after the patients in the event of a staff work-in.

EGA patients have repeatedly affirmed their loyalty to the hoap start nd thrion will be id their interests, as the one means left to save the hospital.

The EGA work-in and occupation will continue until the Secretary of State and the AHA enable the hospital to continue on its present site, by repairing the Ilt and undertaking needed maintenance. Decisions regarding the occupation will be taken by meetings of all staff."

The occupation is supported officially by NUPE, ASTMS, COHSE and NALGO. VAKER QUIRY * KON NHS In the NHS a large but diminishing number of workers are held back by the participation of their union officials in subservient "Joint Statt Consultative Committees" which were everywhere set up at the time of the sócalled 'reorganisation' of the NHS.

Where there has been any real fight against the cuts, however, this has been led by Joint Shop Steward Committees.

The situation demands that there should be no delay in building an all-London NHS Shop Stewards network capable of rapidly mobilising workers all over London in response to any attempt by management to implement cuts in any areas.

Several London JSSC's have started to work towards a Conference of London Area Stewards in the Health Service (CLASH) in January 1977 at which the main issue will be that of how to fight the cuts.

at branch meetings by hands.

There has been no official announcement, by management or the union, of the result ol the "ballot" but the proposais have now been introduced and there are rumours that they were 'accepted" by a margin of 6:1;

The G&MWU is in no shape to act in defence of its members branch meetings - there was a five month gap between the last two, the branch has no vice-chairman, treasurer or trades council delegate. No one is clear just when the last branch elections took place. However, a fight has begun for a change in these methods of organisation"

At the centre of a fighting policy must be the need for all information to be made available to shop stewards eg. how many people are employed? How many hours do they work; How many meals are prepared now?

This information is vital if the school meals workers are to resist attempts to cut hours and speedup their work.

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interests. In Nuneaton, for example, there are no regular