June 16 Action

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Martin Barclay, branch secretary of NUPE Branch, reports on the NHS pay campaign in Cardiff.

AT THE same time that the NUPE conference was debating the NHS pay dispute, St. David's Hospital, Cardiff was on 24-hour strike action. When they heard about the decision by conference to support the Middlewood emergency resolution calling for all-out strike action, NUPE, COHSE and the GMWU held a joint mass meeting on Thursday May 27, and voted to support that strike call.

After a lightning 24-hour strike on the eve of Conference, NUPE and COHSE members at Cardiff Royal Infirmary will be holding mass meetings to decide on future action.

The South Wales miners have voted to take strike action on 16 June, making this date an obvious focus for further action after the two days of national strike action called by the TUC.The response to this has been tremendous and a massive turnout on the day is guaranteed.

We will also be pulling out all the stops for the Miners' Gala in Cardiff on 12 June. Arthur Scargill will be speaking and we intend to hold him to his promise of support for NHS workers by calling for a national pits strike.

Steelworkers and workers in local industry are also being approached for support. Other NUPE branches in South Glamorgan have called for a march from Swansea to Cardiff to publicise the dispute and raise support.

Over the last few weeks it is the rank and file that have taken the initiative. Only now are the union officials making a move. Unfortunately it is in the wrong direction!

Joint committees of all NHS unions are being set up in each county, but the first meeting in South Glamorgan was held in works time and was dominated by full-timers.

We are demanding that the Committee should become a Joint Area Shop Stewards Committee so that it can represent the real feelings of the branches. Unless this is accepted the Committee will find itself being lobbied very hard by strikers from a number of different hospitals. LAST Sunday, Health Workers for the Full Claim held their second national meeting, where a number of important decisions were made.

It was agreed that we should call a lobby of the TUC Health Services Committee on 9 June after which there will be another national meeting of the campaign.

The meeting also agreed to produce a regular newsletter for all its contacts and to organise a fringe meeting at COHSE Conference which starts on 14 June.

Special leaflets will also be produced for the conference.

The next issue of the Health Workers for the Full Claim Bulletin will be out this week and orders should be phoned through to Anna Lunts, 0942 877296.

Militants in the health service who support the call for all-out strike action with emergency cover as the only way to win the pay claim are urged to join the Campaign by writing : to Health Workers for the Full Claim, c/o Anna Lunts, 78 High Street, Atherton, Lancs.