Dhss Fight for Joe Shi for Jobs

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THE TUC leadership and the Labour front bench have intervened in the civil it.

For four months 80 DHSS workers in Oxford and nearly 1,000 in Birmingham have been on strike demanding increased staff to cover increased work.

Between 1979 and 1982 the number of DHSS staff went down by 1,500, while the number of people receiving supplementary allowances increased from 1.2 million to 2.2 million.

The special squads devoted to hounding claimants for alleged fraud have not gone short - but claimants have to queue for hours and wait weeks, or forever, to get errors or special claims dealt with. And hard-pressed staff have often borne the brunt of claimants' frustration.

Rejected

Twice already the xford and Birmingham, strikers have overwhelmingly rejected proposals by their union leaders to accept an offer of short-term staff increases and return to work. On December 9 a meeting of DHSS delegates held after the special pay conference of the main union involved, CPSA, voted for an all-out national strike from January 17. It decided on a branch consultation to be followed by a special conference on January 12.

Then just before Christmas the union leaderships called oft the consultation, cancelled the conterence, and recommended a return to work on a slighty modified offer. The SCPS circular, dated 23 December, explained that this followed "initiatives by the TUC and the intervention of Opposition spokesmen in discussions that reopened this week..

Name

In whose name were the TUC and Labour frontbenchers intervening? Whom did they consult? Not the rank and file who pay their salaries and • The story behind the settlement -whom they are supposed to represent!

Oxford CPSA branch secretary Morag Robertson told Socialist Organiser:

*I've not been told anything since December 21 from national office about the results of national negotiations."

The Birmingham/Oxford strike could have become a rallying point for a fight in the civil service and the rest of the public sector against job cuts and privatisation. Instead, the militancy is being squandered. The strikers are meeting this week to consider the recommendation from their leaders to return to work.

All the signs are that while the membership has been left in the dark, the 'left'-talking, CPSA and SCPS leaderships welcomed the TUC/Labour Party intervention into this dispute. Not a word of dissent has been uttered by CPSA President and Militant supporter Kevin Roddy, who has supported each previous sell-out attempt.

Pre-empts

Morag Robertson commented: •'The (CPSA) NEC's decision to suspend the special conference totally pre-empts any decision by the members on strike. It appears that they have accepted the offer and see it as a foregone conclusion that we will vote to return The TUC General Council was set up in 1921 after pressure from militants for a "general staff" which could mobilise the full forces of the trade union movement instead of leaving workers' struggles fragmented. But the current "general staff" does more to keep struggles fragmented.

Consider the recent record. In developing common action, like the September 22 day of solidarity with the NHS workers, The more this perspective is raised in the peace tive is raised in the peace impact the movement can impact the movement can have in stopping the war. have in stopping the warmongers. mongers.

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servants' fight for jobs to sabotage

by Stephen Corbishley and Alan Stephens

movement, the more real movement, the more real