EDP pickets curbed

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Around 50 people responded to the call for a mass picket to prevent scabs, deliveries and customers from crossing into EDP in Sheffield on Tuesday 6 July. The police were there from the start and played a highly political role, strengthened no doubt by the government's curbs on picketing.

The six picket rule was enforced as soon as they arrived, and others were pushed aside "right away from the gate"

They divided us up into two portions. The first was a group of EDP strikers. They were the six, so graciously allowed by the government at the gate. The second was what the ASTMS official called a demonstration of support.

But it wasn't a demonstration in the mould of the CND demonstrations have seen so far. We were all active pickets. We were all showing • disapproval of management's behaviour in victimising Jenny Wright and sacking the 21 who struck against her sacking.

Donations and messages of support should be sent to the ÉDP Strike Committee, c/o 61 Wostenhome i Road, Sheffield S7 ILE.

by Stepher IN 1981 the "Pay Research Unit" • system of settling civil service wages by comparison with wages elsewhere was unilaterally scrapped by the government - and a major pay battle followed.

The official Megaw inquiry, set up to formulate new pay bargaining system, has just finished its report.

And this inquiry headed by a judge and including leading representatives of industry and finance, with a token right wing trade unionist - has reached predictable conclusions.

It tells the civil service trade unions: stand up again as you did in 1981, or accept a pay bargaining system that will:

*be based on pay comparison only with private enterprise (especially small, low-paid firms), orbishley omitting major employers of clerical labour like the nationalised industries.

*'link pay to individual merit' - i.e. give local managers more power to discriminate, *step up job evaluation, *start moves to cut take-home pay by increasing the amount to be paid to pension funds, *make access to arbitration conditional government agreement.

Some of the unions organising the higher professional and administrative levels in the civil service will welcome the report, but it would destroy living standards for the vast bulk of civil service workers. Well over half of the civil service workers get less than £80 a week before tax; under Megaw things will get worse.

Militants in the CPSA, CSU and IRSF must start