St Mary's climbdown. SANE SIT. MEN

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YOPs rally local bosses.

Dettie Clinton

MANAGEMENT at St. Mary's W9 was humiliated last week when it attempted to harass and victimise TGWU shop steward Rita

Maxim counselling" session

she had been summoned to

Service Manager, turned into a show of support for the fight against the union-bashing and run-down of the hospital.

On Thursday 20 August Rita Maxim and another domestic were working on ward 12. The sister in charge of the ward told them that the floors in the Labour Wards weren't clean. They examined the floors and found they were perfectly clean as they had already been washed.

Enforce

After the other domestic finished work, Mrs Slaven tried once again to entorce management's attempt to include floor cleaning in the duties of domestics who have not previously done this work. She ordered Rita to clean the floor.

Rita obviously refused.

On the next day Rita received a letter to appear before Mrs Slaven for "counselling". Some 30 members of the TGWU decided to join her as a token of support when she went to the office.

Counselling

They found that Mr Payne (Secretary of the YOPs workers in Durham, with the help of the union, NUPE, have called a protest rally on Friday August 28 at Eldon Square, Newcastle, from 11 am to 2 pm.

These young workers recently struck against the Manpower Services Commission (YOPs bosses) rule that they had to spend four pounds on travel before they could claim any money back. The MSC locally gave in.

From this experience they have seen the need to organise on a wider basis and have gone round all the local YOP schemes.

This year it looks like the YOP wage rise that has been due since last November is going to be dropped again and there must be calls from the platform for action nationally to Joe Beckles Appeals Panel from St. Mary's Praed Street) was there for this alleged "counselling session".

The attempt to intimidate Rita failed and management scuttled off, complaining that they wouldn' recognise a meeting where the membership turned up in numbers. (Which is fine by us). Mrs Slaven herself was looking very sick-faced with this angry group of workers.

Vindictive

This isn't the first case of harassment - a few weeks ago another Grade 2 was so upset by continuous harassment that her doctor put her on the sick because of her nerves.

But the response last Friday showed that trade unionists in the hospital will fight the Tories' cheap labour schemes.

YOPs is also very much on the agenda in the Labour Party at the moment. The National Executive Committee has called for the next Labour government to grant full trade union rights to YOPs workers.

But what about now? If it's good enough for a Labour government to implement then the NEC should be giving a lead now, to fight not only for union rights but for full trade union rates of pay on YOPs.

The National Council for Young Workers is currently fighting for this band for action on a national level.

More information from NCYW, UMIST Students Union, PO Box 88, Manchester M60 1QV, or phone 061-861 0317 A929 not allow victimisations by this vindictive management. And next time they try it on more positive steps will be taken to stop their attacks!

Meanwhile, the effects of the cuts and penny-pinching of the adminstrators daily become more obvious.

Last Saturday the TGWU branch secretary, Joe Beckles, was summoned by one of his domestics to Ward 8, which is a medical ward full of patients.

The refusal to provide adequate domestics on the ward has resulted in the ward and adjacent sitting room being in a disgraceful state. The patients themselves and the sister in charge of the ward complained of the mess.

An official complaint has

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been sent to the AHA and local adminstrators. Other wards, e.g. Ward 2 have also been left at busy times during the day with only one domestic to clean the wards, prepare trays, sterilise utensils and generally act as orderlies.

It is clear more staff needed.

Ailments

The rheumatology ward which has been closed for quite a while, last week received some attention from a television film crew looking into the provision of facilities for those with arthritis, rheumatism and related ailments.

The support from outside the hospital continues to boost the fight. The Licensed Taxi Drivers AssocSocialist Organiser supGOINGTONE

WORD

FIGHT THE COTS S SAVE JOBS iation are producing 10,000 car stickers to publicise the campaign. It is very morale boosting when donations and messages are received; £5 this week came from Cardiff Royal Infirmary.

Delegations are still urgently needed to maintain a presence on the gates. Get your trade union, trades council or Labour Party to commit themselves to an hour per week on the picket line and bring your banner. Saturday afternoon is an especially important time.

Contact Alyson Bunn, Ward 15, St Mary's Hospital, London W9, Joe Beckles, (TGWU office) or Cecil Campbell (NUPE office).

We will be leafletting the Notting Hill Carnival on Monday 31 and will need help. ing Committee were by Brian Howman A ROUTINE shop stewards committee meeting was interrupted late on Monday 10 August by the works manager informing the stewards at Schreiber Runcorn that nearly 100 jobs were to be cut.

The following day workers were told this news in a casual manner and rumours started to spread. At 10.30 a mass meeting was called to discuss the issue'.

A motion was passed by an overwhelming majority to fight the redundancies with whatever means available and instead accept 3 day working. (A subsidy from the government had already been offered to Schreiber, and short time working has been in operation since last summer).

On Thursday FTAT area official Jim Allen came to the factory and told us that everything was Thatcher's fault. He said that he was fully behind "us lads" and any action would be made official.

Stewards' chairman Roy Callon informed us that it was now 88 jobs to go, and IN THE shadow of the giant, empty building that once housed the Tate and Lyle sugar refinery, a six week old strike against redundancy and victimisation is currently reaching a critical stage.

The sugar refinery, a symbol of gloom and depres sion provides a fitting backdrop to the small but bitter struggle at the builders we should ignore any notices given to workers over the weekend.

I discussed what would happen after the six month subsidy ran out, with Roy Callon. He indicated that he would be willing to fight the redundancies then.

On being asked what he thought of the workers' chance of victory, he replied that he thought we held two aces.

1) That there is no redundancy payment owed to the workforce, so therefore none can be lost by taking action.

2) Schreiber (the man still exists and runs the factory) had been granted £6 million each from GEC (the umbrella company), the EEC and the British government and he could have difficulty covering up the fact that he has spent nothing like £18m on the Astmoor factory at Runcorn.

Further developments

expected soon.

Manchester workers in the Schreiber group have put out a call for work sharing throughout the group. We should modify that call and press for work-sharing on full pay!

cf- ut.

At Liverpool, a transport manager popular with the workforce was the first victim of this vindictive policy.

Only a year away from retirement, he received an instant redundancy notice.

As a result of the shock from this, he suffered a heart attack and died. He had worked 23 years for the firm.

Management refused to

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This weeks sinasnug free offer to •Me.

rearrange a negotiating meet- ing to allow senior steward