Socialism In Ireland 8p.
BACK IN PRINT James Connolly - The Re-Conquest Of 18p.
Also new Penguins on Latin America, education in the Soviet Union, etc.
RED BOOKS, 182 Pentonville Road, London N.I. (01-837 9987) Nightcleaners at the Empress Building in Lillie Road, Fulham, have been out on strike and picketing the building since Sunday, 30 July. The building houses Ministry of Defence personnel and a mere 13 cleaners are expected to clean all 27 floors of it.
The cleaners are employed by a small firm, Clean Agents, which has had a lucrative contract for the building for some years and whose pay rates are among the lowest the Cleaners Action Group have ever come across. Take-home pay for a 45 hour week is around £11-12 only, and a night missed may mean through loss of pay and bonus that this falls to as little as £7 for 36 hours work. The cleaners also have to pay for certain materials out of their own pockets, get no sickness benefit, and have to use totally inadequate equipment. Most important, the contractors have over the last three years profited from a dramatic increase in productivity by reducing the workforce from 25 to 13 without any increase in wages. The cleaners don't even get any of the normal cover money for doing someone else's work when they're off work. After a meeting with May Hobbs earlier this year most of the cleaners joined the Civil Service Union to help them in their fight. A few weeks back they presented Clean Agents with a list of five demands: for an increase of £3.50 a week, union recognition, more holidays sickness benefit, and more staff to share out the work. Just over a week ago, having only been offered £2.50, the women decided to go on unofficial strike having been assured that the union would probably make it official. But at the time of writing (2 August) confirmation of this has still not been received from the union A picket of the building has been organised, supported by Womens Liberation Workshop, Socialist Woman, the International Marxist Group, and I.S. The cleaners need your suppor Please send resolutions, money etc. to: Cleaners Action Group, C/o May Hobbs, 13 Middle Lane, London N.8. All supporters are welcome to join the 24-hour picket at Empress Building, Lillie Road, West Brompton tube ( closed after 5pm, get off at Earls Court).