Cardiff plans march

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THINGS SEEM to be moving fast in Sheffield. NUPE and CoHSE members have been working closely together, and on the two-hour strike called by CoHSE hospital workers from all the unions joined in an impressive lobby of Westbrook House, where the Health Authority was meeting.

Leaflets to the general public and patients explaining the dispute and asking for support have been distributed. A letter has been sent One of the larger hospitals - Northern General -has 70% of its NUPE members prépared to take all-out strike action. Middlewood Hospital is also prepared to do this.

If the mood in Sheffield matches the rest of the coun try, we will be out indefinitely if there is no improved offer after Wednesday.

ELLEN TAYLOR NHS trade unionists in South Glamorgan have shown overwhelming enthusiasm for the one-day strike on Wednesday 19th.

All the major hospitals in the area have voted to come out. The joint shop stewards® committees in Cardiff Royal Infirmary and the Heath and St David's Hospitals put out a call for a demonstration on the Wednesday morning through Cardiff, and this was taken up through South and Mid Glamorgan to such an extent that the NUPE office lent us the divisional banner to save face.

In Cardiff Royal Infirmary, management cancelled all non-emergency admissions, all out-patient clinics, and all routine surgery and X-Ray work. They have also given an undertaking that no volunteers Will be used under any circumstances, and even • the WRVS, who run tea-stalls and sweet trolleys, will close for the Emergency cover is being organised by the joint shop stewards' committee itself. We are organising our own duty rotas, and told management who would be coming in to provide cover, for how long, and exactly what work would be done.

By organising this cover, as well as the picket rotas, we have involved virtually everyone in the organising of the strike, and gained some valuable experence. The feeling now is for further strikes, one-day and more if necessary, to get the full claim.

MARTIN BARCLAY (Branch Secretarv. Cardiff Royal Infirmary) IN LINE with recommendations from the TUC Health Services Committee Health Service unions will be striking for 24 hours on OCCI Wednesday 19 May.

There has been a strong response to the call from the membership of the major unions.

In Scotland, all COHSE members will take action -with local demonstrations in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee and Aberdeen. In Oxford:

Staff at all of Oxford's major hospitals will be participating in the May 19 day of action.

The local COHSE branch, which has already given a lead with a one-day stoppage early on in the campaign, will be out at Littlemore and the rest of the country over half of COHSE branches will be involved, with major stoppages in London, Hampshire, Brighton, Maidstone, Bristol, Kent, sussex, Surrey, Leeds, Hull, the North West, Blackpool, Preston, Sunderland and Birmingham.

NUPE members have been taking action locally to build up support for the 24 hour stoppage. 60 hospitals in London have voted to come out. In the West Midlands, 2,000 ancillaries and 640 nurses are on a work to rule.

In Rugby Health District, there have been 2hour stoppages as in many other areas as part of the gradual 'escalation' planned by the union leaders.

But many health workers are already threatening to go way beyond the gradual approach taken by the officials.

Laundry workers in the North East are planning on

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WOUL LESSE