Solidarity in Southwark

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AN all-out strike by NALGO members of Labour-run Southwark Council in South London, has prevented victimisation of residential social workers taking action in the current dispute.

On 1 Monday morning, 24 October, 32 residential social workers were sent home from work and, in the Council's words "taken off the payroll" - in effect, suspended. The 32 had, following national NALGO guidelines; refused Council attempts to redepioy them.

Following these suspensions, there was a complete walkout -first by the social services section and then by the whole of the Council's NALGO workforce.

The same evening, a Labour Group meeting - lobbied by over 200 NALGO members voted to back down and reinstate the 32.

After the group Southwark NALGO members described the day's events to Socialist Organiser.

"The 32 who were suspended all had letters delivered over the weekend instructing them to arrive at Social Services head office at 9.00 this morning. They were seen by senior management and asked whether they'd abide by management instructions and agree to be redeployed - against union instructions. When they refused, they were immediately 'taken off the payroll' '. The management even had someone in the meeting noting down the exact time at which each one was suspended.

"Each member involved went in with a section or branch officer. As soon as 12 had been 'taken off the payroll' NALGO members in all the residential homes, all the Social Service fieldwork offices, and the administrative sections were told to walk out. It has been section policy that this would happen if there were any suspensions.

"Immediately all other sections of the branch - borough engineers, development, housing, planning, town clerks and so on began to walk out; again in accordance with a branch decision. By lunchtime the whole council had come to a standstill.

'The next thing that happened was that there was a section meeting, which agreed to come out on indefinite strike until the 32 were reinstated. We all stayed out on strike for the rest of the The terrifie response by the NALGO branch and the lobby of the group meeting shocked the Labour Group into ordering the reinstatement of the 32: The Council is still, however, using scabs and 'volunteers' to do the work of residential staff taking industrial action.

Some Labour councillors are threatening to 'smash NALGO' in order to be able to make cuts and redundancies when the Tories By Jeff Slee and Steve Macarthur 'rate-capping' comes into effect.

A NALGO member said about the strike: "This leaves NALGO in a stronger position in order to secure a better settlement for the residential workers, and in a stronger position to fight any action that may be coming in the future." * As we go to press, it appears that local-level talks aimed at a settlement are making progress between the Labour council NALGO representatives.

AN ORGANISATION of children campaigning for improvements in Southwark residential care has come out strongly in support of the struggle. A delegation was sent to lobby social services chief John Briggs - who attempted to placate the leaders by taking them to a local MacDonalds at cost of some £37. The youth were not so easily dissuaded.

NALGO militants are now sporting badges proclaiming "Mine's a Big Mac, John!" discussing the dispute.

Lothian IN LOTHIAN region, 169 residential social workers from children's and old people's homes have been on all-out strike for two weeks.

Their move to escalate the dispute came earlier than other parts of the country because of their ban on overtime which was met by the use of "temporary workers" over weekends - and the social workers refused to work with these strikebreakers.

An additional demand in Lothian is that nine workers on temporary contracts be offered permanent status: management withdrew an offer of permanent contracts as the dispute began. residential workers' claims.