Labour to axe Gay Centre?

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Next Socialist Organiser delegate meeting: Saturday March 5, 11am to 5.30pm, Co-op rooms, 57 Micklegate, York. (Phone 0904 425739 for accommodation or creche). Please make plans to choose and mandate your group's THE Tory Council in Bury, Lancashire, has spent the past 12 months considering privatising the refuse collection service. The unions have been put off their intention to fight this move by the Council agreeing to discussions.

Last Monday, the unions came up with 2 ways of saving money with minimal redundancies, but the Tories announced they would be discussing inviting private tenders for the service at a meeting on March 2.

NALGO and AUEW have called a strike against privatisation for March 2, and will be lobbying the Council.

People in Bury believe the Council is hell-bent on privatising the service - even though it will probably cost them more - because of their Tory philosophy and pressure from Tory Central Office.

Sue Arnall WITH mass unemployment and an extensive blacklist at work, the Lump is once again rife in the building industry.

Over a number of years branch activists have been putting pressure on UCATI to start a campaign to unionise the sites.

The London region now supports such a campaign, which has at its centre direct action to unionise one of the major jobs in London.

However, the Executive Committee of UCATT has failed to give its support to such a campaign.

Friday Saw the opening shot, with London UCATT members attempting to get the leadership to take action, with the lobby of an E.C. meeting.

Whether the E.C. do grace the membership with support in demanding basic trade union rights or not, the campaign against the Lump has begun.

Mick O'Sullivan IT'S still irresistible force versus immovable object at Arlington House in Camden, North London. hostel workers, on strike for higher wages and then against sackings since September last year, are determined to hold out until the local Labour Council forces the hostel's owners, Rowtons, into selling.

The council's Environmental Health officers are working in the hostel as part of an effort legally to force Rowtons to make expensive improvements -or to sell.

The strikers are getting only the most minimal help from their union, and need donations from the labour movement to help them stick out. Send to: Arlington House. Strike Committee, c/o 8 Camden Road, London NW1.

The report last week that the 28 miners sitting in at Lewis Merthyr had been sacked was misleading, though strictly speaking correct. The Coal Board dismissed them to avoid legal responsibility in case of accidents, but reinstated them immediately they ended the sit-in. THE ruling Labour Group on Manchester City Council decided at their Budget fixing meeting last night to reverse all the proposed cuts to Voluntary projects in the City except the cut to Manchester Gay Information Centre. They agreed to continue to fund 20 Social Services projects which the Department of the Environment has agreed to support for a further four years.

Of the three remaining projects they agreed to fund directly from the rate the Commonword Writers' Co-operative and the Neil Pearson. Day N rsery. This leaves the Gay" Information Centre as the only project which will be cut.

Paul Fairweather, the Centre's Liaison Officer, said after the meeting:

'We are shocked by the blatant discrimination shown by the decision. The Labour Group is prepared to fund from the rates every project which the Department of the Environment will not continue to support except ours.

'Last year the three phone lines, Gay Inforwh THERE ARE Socialist Organiser groups in most major towns and cities. See below for details of your area. -and if you want more details, or if there is no group listed for your area, fill in and return the 'Get Organised' form.

• SCOTLAND Glasgow. For details of meetings contact paper sellers or Stan Crooke, 114 Dixon Avenue, Glasgow G42. SO is sold at Maryhill dole (Tuesday mornings) and Rutherglen shopping arcade (Friday lunchtime). Edinburgh. For details of meetings ring Dave, 229 4591. SO is sold at. Muirhouse (Saturday 10.30-12) and the First of May bookshop, Candlemaker Row. • NORTH-WEST Liverpool. Contact 733 6663. SO is sold at Progressive Books, Berry St, and at News from Nowhere, Whitechapel.

Wirral. Contact Colin Johnstone, 1, Wellington Ruad, Wallásey. Next meeting: March 10, 8 pm, The Labour Club, Church Road, Seacombe: 'The History of the organised unemployed' Liverpool. Contact 733 6663. SO is sold at Progressive Books, Berry St, and at News from Nowhere, Whitechapel.

Manchester. Public meeting, Thursday March 24, 7.30 at the Millstone pub: 'Workers' Democracy or Tebbit's Democracy?" -Speaker: John Mellroy. Business/Educational meeting: March 17, 7.40 pm, UMIST -Students Union. mation, Lesbian Link and Friend, had over 10,000 calls from people desperate to have someone to talk to about being gay. The Centre has been a highly successful project which has received a great deal of national and local publicity for its work. The cost of continuing the service will be around £11,000 over the next financial year: one of the cheapest projects funded by the Council.

'We challenge the Council leadership to tell us why the Gay Centre is the only project they do not propose to refund. (It is a total red herring to say that helping gay women and men is a luxury when old people are suffering. This Council have been prepared to close Old Peoples' Homes and make massive social service cuts over the past three years.) Their decision is based on nothing but blind prejudice.

The Centre is resting its hopes on a Special Meeting of the Social Services Estimates Sub-Committee which Councillors who supported the Gay Centre delegates now.

Topic: 'Social Democracy in the British Labour Stockport. Contact c/o 38 Broadhurst St. Meetings every Sunday, 7.30pm: phone 429 6359 for details. SO is sold at Stockport market every Saturday, 11 to 12.30.

Rochdale. Meets on the 2nd Monday of the month, at the Castle Inn. March 14th, 8 pm: Public meeting: 'What future for Palestine?' Hyndburn. Contact Accrington 39573. Meetings weekly - see SO sellers for day, time and venue. SO is sold at Broadway, Accrington, every Saturday from 11.30 to 1pm.

Stoke. Contact Arthur Bough, 23 Russell road, Sandyford (84170).

• YORKSHIRE AND NORTH-EAST Durham. Meets every Tuesday, 6.30pm, Students Union bar, Durham university. SO is sold at the Community Coop, New Elvet.

York. Contact: 425739. SO is sold at Coney St on Saturday mornings, at the community Bookshop, outside the dole office most mornings, and at the University on Friday mornings. managed to persuade the labour Group to hold. This meeting will consider whether to .. reverse the decision to cut the Centre's grant.

Support has already come from Manchester Central MP Bob Litherland in whose constituency the Gay Centre is based. He says in a statement:

"To decide not to continue would deprive gay people of an essential service. Their application should be considered with the same priority that is given to other minority groups in the City of Manchester.' The final decision will be taken at the Council's budget-fixing meeting on Wednesday March 16. Manchester Gay Centre is calling on Labour and trade union activists to help by letters, resolutions, or phone calls to Cllr William. Egerton, Leader Manchester City Council, Town Hall, Albert Square, Manchester 60 - 061-236 3377 (Leader's office). Send copies to Manchester Gay Centre, 61A Bloom St., Manchester 1 (phone Paul Fairweather 061-226 2443).

Leeds. Contact Garth Frankland, 623322. SO is sold at Books and Corner Books, Woodhouse Lane. Bradford. Contact Barry, Turner, 636994. SO is sold at the Starry Plough bookshop.

Sheffield. Meets every other Wednesday, 7.30pm at the Brown Cow, The Wicker. SO is sold outside Boot's, Foregate (Saturday 12 to 1), and at the Independent Bookshop, Glossop Road. Contact: Rob, 589307 Hull. Meets every Wednesday, 8pm: details from SO sellers. Childcare available: SO is sold at the Prospect Centre (Saturday 11-12). March 10, 7.30 pm, Trades & Labour Club, Beverley Rd.: Hull Labour Coordinating/Hull SO public meeting: Support the Miners'. Speaker from Dinnington colliery.

Halifax. Contact 52156. SO is sold at Halifax Wholefood, Gibbet St, and at Tower Books, Hebden Bridge. • WALES Cardiff. Contact • MIDLANDS Birmingham. Meets alter-. nate Fridays, 7.30, the Labour Club, Bristol St. Next meeting Friday March 3; Discussion on Bermondsey.