Social workers walk out

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possible. two of her colleagues.

They brought in consul- Senior management tants Price Waterhouse to arrived and threatened the identify potentially profit- three with the sack. The able services to hand over three refused and were to their friends in private sacked at mid-day on industry. Thursday October 21.

Refuse collection, main- By 3pm, after a short taining parks and gardens, mass rally in Birmingham school meals and other town centre, 9,500 NALGO services were earmarked members were out on Birmingham's 9,000- However local NALGO strong NALGO branch full-timers moved quickly decided to refuse to co- to derail any moves towards operate with moves an all-out strike. At a meettowards privatisation; ing at Digbeth Hall the unfortunately other unions, following morning, the Strangely prophetic - only the arrow is pointing the wrong way! This cutting from NUPE News shows Oxford delegate Anne Marie Sweeney at the uninn's annual conference. Since then witch-hunting local officia.

Alf Collier and other officials have pushed a vote through the Oxford County branch to suspend her from membership, pending expulsion from the union. Her 'crime'?

Asking questions about branch ballot Marie is unable to function as NUPE delegate on a range of local trade union bodies, innhudino tha Chanty Areneintinn of Trador country should write to the NEC - which has not yet heard the case - opposing this ALL of Birmingham's non-residential social workers are out on strike in support of three colleagues. The three were sacked for refusing to go along with the council's privatisation plans.

Birmingham Tories took over the City Council last May and promised to privatise as much of the Council's activity as for privatisation. strike: especially the TGWU, cooperated even to the extent of putting in tenders for their own jobs in the refuse department!

Price Waterhouse "consultants" arrived at area 12 social services office in Northfield. Senior social worker Margaret Wooley refused to co operate, as did Lynne Davies and Andrew Porter, procedures!

officials announced programme of sele ctive strike action, leaving the workers in social ser vices effectively isolated, fighting on their own.

Voted NUPE, representing 3,000 workers in social services, met on Friday afternoon, and, less influenced by full timers, voted for strike action.

The Tories' plans to demolish local services have finally met serious opposition. Local government workers in Birmingham have little history of militancy, but their willingness to stand and fight cannot now be in doubt. But it they are to defeat the Tories' proposals to vandalise local services it is clear that control of the dispute will have to be wrested from the hands of the fulltime officials.

As a result of the suspension, Anne Councils of which she is President. NUPE members up and down the witch-hunt of an active trade unionist.