Socialist Limited response for Organiser fares campaign

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A VICTORY in the fight Lo, Ardeena, Daccinn

The Socialist Organiser delegate meeting last Sunday, 21st, supported a proposal originating from comrades in Coventry The €6,000 will do two things. It will clear a backlog of debts which hangs over us and hinders everything we do. And it will enable Socialist Organiser to take and To start the fund we have £495. That's the little red splotch below. Money has come from: Dave and Anna Lunts £25, John Cunningham £80, Andrew Hornung £10, Peter Flack £60, Alan Clinton £15, OPEN TO WOMEN ONLY (all events) as delegates or individuais £50, Charlie Sarell £10, Geoff Williams We're offering bundles of & FIGHTING FOR Followed by films and discussion, and late bop with TOUR DE F We also have definite promises of CRECHE will run all day up to the end of the bop, including Hur about £1,000 more. The deadline for the DISABLED ACCESS: The building is not well equipped but we : £6,000 is July, but we need a good chunk go in free. Readers and sign language interpreters available if rec of it - £3,500 at least - by the end of rates are £5 for three all for lobour movement solidbrity..? paid) includes lunch and films and gives reduced entry at £l to th REGISTRATION: £3.50 (£2 for non-delegates who are unwaged SPEAKERS include Hilary Bird (Lambeth Nalgo), Jan Pollock an Helen Allison (War on Want), Hilary Land, Harriet Harman, Andr Siobhan Lanigan (Foyles strike) and a speaker from Lucy Gaskelt, Winnie Murphy, Christine Bickerstaff, Helen Flack Plesseys occupation, plus many others to be confirmed.

INFORMATION: contact Women's Fightback, 41 Ellington Stret THE underlying savagery and violence of the Zionist occupation of Palestine emerged once again this week with street riots and military violence on the West Bank of the Jordan.

Troops fired shots and teargas and mounted baton charges against Arab youths who had set up barricades, thrown stones at soldiers and raised the Palestinian flag.

By Wednesday this army violence had brought a toll of 3 dead and many injured.

Refused The Palestinian revolt had come as a result of the Zionist dismissal of the Arab mayor and town council at El Bireh - who had refused to cooperate with the occupation forces.

Palestinian workers and shopkeepers began a general strike and youth took to the streets in riots which underlined the strength of their resistance to Zionist oppression.

In East Jerusalem police ordered shopkeepers to reopen their closed stores -but few complied.

Tied vote

Fanatical Zionist zealots added their contribution, taking to the streets in armed vigilante action against the Arab militants, producing an unknown number of casualties:

Meanwhile the Begin government has run into its own crisis, have maiden te defeat a motion in the Knesset.

After a humiliating tied General Election. But he was defeated by a 2-1 majority.

The dispossessed Palestinian masses can draw little comfort from this new crisis among their Zionist rulers: in seeking to reassert his political authority and placate his opponents, Begin is quite likely to undertake new and brutal military action on the West Bank..

tor a d6,000 special fund drive.

fit out new offices.

April.

Please send iser, 28 Middle LEADERS of 460,000 nurses yesierday voted to rejec! a divisive 6.4% pay offer designed to split their pay claim from that of other Meanwhile protest strike action by nurses and ancillmoney to Socialist OrganLane, London No. ary workers in the Manchester area (see page 13) underlined the mounting anger on wages in the héalth service.

Other public sector workers involved in pay struggles include teachers and civil servants.

Women are a maj rity of the workforce in each case - and are al the forefront of the struggle to limits.

Bui in each case they find themselves at loggerfive each week for f1 post free, and bundles of 10 for £1.75 post free.

That's £12 for three months for bundles of 5, and £21 for bundles of ten. Regular subscription months, £8.75 for six months, and £16 for a year.

From: Socialist Organiser, 28 Middle Lane, London N8. Please make cheques payable to Socialist Organiser Please send int.

same.

Address.

Prost to: Socialis riser. 28 DI

A VICTORY in the fight against the Law Lords' judgment was won last week by Tail crews on the London underground. They forced London Transport to postpone the planned cuts in rail services.

The cuts, up to 25% on peak hour services, were due

to come on Monday 21st,; the day when fares doubled on London Transport. Rail crews had been instructed by the NUR not to work the new timetables, and rather than risk confrontation at the same time as the fares went up, management backed down - for four weeks.

LT, GLC leaders, and transport union leaders are to visit the Department of Transport to request a large subsidy to avoid the cuts. This mission stands little chance of success, and railworkers will have to be prepared to take industrial action to stop the cuts in four weeks' time.

The postponement, and the one-day strike on March 10, have shown that LT workers have the power to win.

But opposition to the fare increase has been very limited. Can't Pay, Won't Pay, led by two GLC councillors, was campaigning for passengers to continue paying the old tares. Management has refused to say how male-dominated union bureaucracy which is running scared from any serious action against the Tory government.

• Health union. leaders have repeatedly disavowed any prospect of calling strike action. NUT leaders are restricting action to token levels. And civil service unions have offered no serious response to Tory blackmail. The fight for a new leadership, prepared to confront and fight the Tories, and prepared to struggle for the interests of women FUND issues of Socialist Organiser. I enclose Middle ti ne. London Ns DOC•

with additional reports from Mick Woods and Pete Firmin

many people have done so, but campaigners put the numbers at no more than a few hundred.

This will have little or no impact, since London Transport carries around three million passengers each day.

400 people did attend a rally at County Hall on Sunday afternoon, 21st, to give a defiant two fingers to the new fares. Most of them had travelled at the old fares. Large contingents from Wandsworth and Brent Labour Party (including eight members, is a crucial one.

The Women's Fightback trade union conference this Saturday in London will discuss a wide range of issues affecting the involvement of women in the unions, and. map out proposals to increase the influence of women workers in policy-making and leadership.

We urge women readers to attend.

at films only: £1; to the bop only, £2)

London N7. (607-9052 or 607-5268)

prospective councillors a prospective councillors an two members of the Londo Labour Party executive were most prominent.

On Monday, a group ‹ about 50, led by GLC tran port chairperson Dave Wet

protested by travelling fro County Hall to Poplar at

back by tube at the o prices, followed by a bevy camera teams and reporter!

Threats

No attempt was made l LT staff to prevent the pr test. At Bow Road statio ticket collectors took pro issory notes.

On the buses, howevi drivers and conductors ha been under strict instru ions not to allow people override. They have be told the stop the bus and c the police to have the fal protestors removed, thou not arrested.

Although a few condu ors have turned a blind er most are obviously intim ated by managemen threats of disciplini action.

Defeated • In hindsight, the c paign was effectively def ed before the fares went when a busworkers' dele conference on Tuesday 1 refused to back a call fi some shop stewards for ‹ ductors to issue tickets the money they were of ed, and not to throw any off the bus.

If the union leaders argued for this tactie f the very first, it could been possible to secul commitment from other workers to take action it conductor were discipli As it was, conductors hostile to being madi bear the brunt of the a aign in isolation.

GLC counciliors -those who did make a test by refusing to pay new fares - also bear :

of the responsibility fo failure of resistance.

If they had taken the positive step availabl them in the struggle af the Law Lords, by ref to yote for the new Lo Transport budget which fied the fares increase confidence of both workers and passenge fight the increase coul been boosted significan KINGSWAY PRINCETON Sidmouth Street, WC1

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vote, Begin called a cabinet meeting, proposing a new

defend living standards against Tory cuts and cash

heads with a conservative, Spread the

ITS LIFE! sell!

el, six other GLC counci oIs, and Les Huckfield MI