Women Bear the Brunt of Unemployment!

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In July, the Equal Opportunities Commission published its annual report which stated that during the whole year of 1979 men's unemployment actually fell, while women's unemployment rose by 5%!

Unemployment amongst women continues to soar as companies and factories go into bankruntcy and liquidation at a rate of over 120 a week making thousands of women in textiles, shoemaking, car components, toys, and other firms redundant.

Thousands of other women have agreed to have their hours slashed as an 'alternative' to redundancy.

This cut in pay is also in line with the Tories' strategy of increasing mass unemployment to force down wages., Sir Keith Joseph showed this clearly in his statements saying workers had "priced themselves out of a job" and should accept a cut in wages below established union rates.

Thousands of unemployed married women are not eligible for unemployment or social security benefit and have for years been forced to work for low wages to supplement the family income.

In fact the E.O.C. report clearly shows that women's wages, despite the totally inadequate Equal Pay Act, have been steadily falling behind. In 1970 they equalled 75.5% of men's earnings, and by 1977 had fallen to 73.92%.

With wages falling, inflation soaring, and the pressures to give up the job to a man, many women are encouraged to think it is not worth their while working.

One of the biggest areas of job loss amongst women is the public sector.

80% of those working in the public sector are women and with the cuts so far massive staff wastage has occurred James Prior's suggestion that the unemployed should now be compelled to work for charity in hospitals, and schools, helping the elderly and disabled etc. is obviously key to the Tories' strategy.

The picture emerges of a completely dismantled public sector.

Hospitals, old people's homes, nurseries, school meals are to be taken over by private profit-making enterprises-while those who can't afford the costs of these private facilities, will have to go without and hope that 'mum' can cope with care of the sick, elderly, handicapped preparing lunchboxes and keeping bored frustrated children out of trouble.

Those who are really desperate can turn to charity-and hope that for example the 8000 nurses currently unemployed will return to the health service and work for nothing, along with the 10,000 nonteaching staff in schools who according to a Department of Education and Science report have lost their jobs last year.

Of course, we could always force the children themselves to clean the schools, as several county councils have suggested!

loss has taken place!

GWU and the For sackings.

But of course, they don't mention that women are being forced out of their jobs by the hundred by socalied natural wastage.

Perhaps they are fighting for "redeployment"-or perhaps like SMWU branch in Hull they are recomm ending that dinner staff take voluntary redundancy-and handing out forms at union branch meetings.

"Natural wastage"

One example of the effect of 'natural wastage' is the nurse who has to cope with extra wards on night duty now that a nurse who left has not been replaced through a staff freeze. The result is increased pressures, increased speed at which she has to work, lack of time she can give to patients. When this is combined with low wages, the prospect of more staff cuts, and more work the remaining nurse decides she can't cope and leaves. Thus another job is lost.

Cutbacks in staff and manning levels are also key steps in running down a hospital prior to closure.

It is ironic that one of the members of the Equal Opportunities Commission, Lady McCarthy, is also Labour Chairwoman of the Oxfordshire Area Health Authority, responsible for axing the Jobs of hundreds of women.

But it is hard to imagine how even the union leadership are going to explain away the proposed 300,000 jobs to be lost in the school meals service.

In Dorset the local authority plans abolish the school meals service for children under 12.

There has been not one report of anything the unions are proposing to do about this massive attack on their members.

The fact is that the government is able to force through cuts without a single public sector union nationally organising industrial action in defence of jobs.

In the private sector too the Thatcher government has been able to force unemployment towards 2 million without a single official struggle against a factory closure.

Not in one instance have union leaders challenged the "right" of the government and of the employer to preserve or restore their profits at the expense of women's jobs and wages.

These leaders should be using the strength of the organised working class to defend jobs (and create jobs for the unemployed through a planned programme of public works to answer all our needs).

If a factory or a hospital is threatened with closure, the unions should organise an occupation with supporting strike action from all its members.

On school meals for example, NUPE and other unions involved should organise full all-out national strike action in defence of the service (not 1 or 2 days of action which demoralises the membership and only achieves a loss of a day's wages).

Such national strikes should be organised by every section of the working class hit by these policies which attack their rights, jobs and living standards.

The workers in struggle should be organised into Councils of Action in each area to prepare a general strike to bring down the Tories and any government that places the needs of big business before the needs of the working class.

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Domestic workers at St. Mary's Hospital, Harrow Road, London, have come to the forefront of this struggle to save the hospital from closure.

The closure of this busy general hospital was first proposed over 2 years ago, as part of the health service cuts implemented by the Callaghan government.

Workers in the hospital, along with the district joint shop stewards committee, responded by forming a defence committee. By organising a broad campaign amongst local union branches and in the community, the Defence Committee has foiled repeated attempts by the Kensington Westminster and Chelsea Area Health Authority to close the hospital. domestics workload has gradually been increased to an almost impossible level.

Due to the shortage of nurses, they have taken on extra tasks, often having to finish feeding disabled and geriatric patients before clearing away the dishes.

As well as this, they have been continually pressured by management to move on. to other wards when they are halfway through a job and to take shorter tea and lunch breaks.

In the face of this endless harassment, the domestics at St. Mary's have recently taken an important stand, which should serve us an example to all ancillary workers threatened with manning reductions.

Disciplinary hearing

Early in July, TGWU domestic shop steward, Rita Maxim, was instructed by ORIES BU BOUR THI BRONLID WINSFURD BRANCH NUTEW