Full speed in retreat: saga of saga 01 Da SHN fight

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kerelare etini- ci.AL MS arts, Edwardes and ORC point out that to beat a larger and more .. poweful opponent is a question of singling out the most vulnerable point to hit.

That vulnerable point on each occasion is the trade union and Labour bureaucracy. And we can only protect against such tactics by eliminating that weak point - fighting for the fullest accountability of our leadership, and developing a principled revolutionary to mobilise mass action to defeat the employers and the Tory government. DIMENAL ANU MUNIGIAL WORKERS* UNION THE pay battle in the NHS is one which the union leaders at first thought they had escaped.

The routine protest lobby of Parliament was called in and it was expected the reactionary leadership of the Royal College of Nursing would once again use its deadweight of membership on the staff side negotiating body to force the unions kicking, screaming: and smiling into a 4% deal.

What went wrong for the leadership was that the offer was too low even for the 'professional' strikebreakers of the RCN to stomach -indeed their membership rejected both the original offer and the Tories' divisive 6.4% increased offer.

As for the health unions, the rank and file was incensed. And as actions began to be called on a local basis the extent of the militancy was revealed.

An unofficial half-day strike in the Manchester and Salford area called to pressurise the March 23 meeting of the TUC Health Services Committee fired a shot across their bows, and confirmed that it was impossible to accept either the 4% or the 6.4%.

But the officials called only the most minimal action: one-hour token stoppages on April 14. Undeterred by the temerity of their leaders, thousands of health workers all over the country took action. And the COHSE leadership announced a programme of "warm-up" action - to begin two weeks later on April 26!

The action - banning non-emergency admissions, admissions of private patients to NHS hospitals, selective two-hour strikes 'and work-to-rule remained at the level of a pin-prick to management particularly since branches were not instructed but simply "authorised" to carry it out.

Many - led by right wing convenors and secretaries - didn't. But in some areas there were one-day and even longer selective stoppages. And despite everything done to throw cold water on the dispute: the movement was gaining momentum.

NUPE attempted to apply the brakes - and decided on April 16 to begin time-wasting ballot of members before taking any action - thus leaving the COHSE action isolated on April 26. The struggle was becoming a contest for the most invisible union leadership leaving divided, isolated membership to "do it yourself":

But pressure was stil building up. In Oxford, COHSE members called a one day strike to lobby the TUC Health Services Committee on April 29 demanding an al-out stoppage.

A rank and file grouping, 'Health Workers for the Full Claim' took up the fight for national strike action and began a regular bulletin, and lobbied the NUPE executive on May A TGWU health workers! delegate conference voted on May 11 for all-out strike action - but was vetoed by the union leaders. Instead the TUC Health Services Committee -pressurised by a 99% NUPE ballot vote for action called for a one-day strike on May 19, followed by two-hour strikes every week.

Meanwhile - no thanks to the NHS union officials - South. Wales miners voted for one-day solidarity strike action to back the NHS struggle.

The fight was growing - despite the leadership. And the NUPE conference at the end of May voted unanimously for a policy of all-out strike action - only to be immediately denounced by GMWUofficial Donnet.

The NUPE bureaucrats seized upon a poorly drafted clause which gave them an excuse to ignore the motion.

Instead NUPE went meekly along with the next rounds of token action called by the TUC Health Services Committee.

As miners and other sections of trade unionists demonstrated in practice their willingness to strike alongside NHS workers against the government health union leaders were looking for a way out of a growing confrontation.

COHSE leaders stridently attacked, and secured the defeat at conference, of calls for a policy of all out strike action.

And the next meeting of the TUC Health Services Committee put off any further action for nearly a month - to July 19-21. And since then COHSE, following TUC policy, has issued a circular making it clear that what is called for is not three days of all-out strike action.

In the meantime, the Tories, plainly worried at the scale of the movement, have already increased their offer well beyond the original 4%. An all-out push could force them to concede the whole 12% of the common claim.

Only our official leaders have consistently stood in the way of a maior victorv!