It is now more than two years since the action by hospital ancillary workers against the Tories' Phase 2 pay policy unleashed a wave of militant struggle in the National Health Service. The experience gained through these struggles, combined with the ever deepening crisis of NHS finances, has considerably strengthened the hand of militants inside the health service unions.
This has been reflected in some of the important decisions taken at the national conferences of unions with NHS members over the past few weeks. These show the increasing attempts by militants to come to grips not only with the traditional problems facing NHS workers, but also with those caused by Tory and Labour Government policies of cutting public expenditure and refusing to stop the cancerous growth of privare pracuce NUPE (which organises nurses and ancillaries), NALGO (clerical and administrative grades, nurses and technicians) and ASTMS (technicians, paramedicals i.e. radiographers etc. and doctors) all passed strongly worded motions against private practice and cuts in the NHS budget.
NUPE called for a campaign to revitalise the NHS by abolishing private practice, building new hospitals, extending the number of health centres. nationalisation of the drugs and other supply industries, and a living wage for health workers.
NALGO adopted a resolution criticising the TUC for its failure to give practical guidelines for the fight against private practice, and proposing that NALGO members should oppose all private hospital building applications, and co-ordinate activity with building workers involved FIRCROFT OCCUPATION ENDS The mature students' occupation at Fircrott College in Birmingham, begun on 2 July, was ended by the law at mid-day last Thursday. The chairman of the governors, Christopher Cadbury (of the chocolate firm), has carried out his threat to close une couge → yu per cent unancea by the Government- because of the students alleged 'ungovernability. Now the orily occupants are two Securicor guards.
The dispute at Fircroft, which has been going on for nice monens, develop ed when the college principal refused to allow the tutorial staff freedom of speech.
It resulted in his exclusion from the college and the successful establishment of ided by the students and wholeheartedly in constructing them. Their conference also supported a call for the nationalisation of the drug industry and for a massive injection of resources into the NHS and other public services, and for the use of industrial action to resist Government expenditure cuts.
ASTMS called for an immediate injection of £1,000 million into the NHS pending a workers inquiry into it, and for opposition to all forms of private practice.
To win the support of national conferences for the need to take action on these issues which are of central importance to the whole working class, and not just the union members involved - is a big step forward.
KEY WEAKNESS But if militants forced the pace on many questions at these conferences, there was one key issue on which the union bureaucracy retained its influence. Both NUPE and NALGO voted to support the Social Contract, while Clive Jenkins persuaded the ASTMS delegates to remit resolutions opposing it to the Executive. But although NUPE leader Alan Fisher could persuade conterence delegates that their leges to join together in demanding that the Labour Government give them adequare emance to occome real weapons In furthering the interests of the working class. This will only be possible if trade union members become active on the question of adult education. They can Further information can be obtained from: Fircroft Students Union/Fircroft ASTMS Branch, 1018 Bristol Road, Selly Oak, Birmingham 29 (tel. 021-472-1490). £40 claim was within the terms of the Social Contract Mark 1, he now has to admit that the Government's £6 maximum can mean nothing other than a substantial wage cut for even his low-paid members. He has had to express verbal opposition to the incomes policy for which his manoeuvrings paved the way. THRESHOLDS How can NHS trade unionists ensure that the positive resolutions passed at their conferences are put into practice, even under the difficult conanons or a statutory mcomes policy? The immediate task is to fight for their unions to submit a claim for ancillaries this autumn along the lines of NUPE's £40 minumum plus thresholds by winning their members to all-out opposition to the Government's austerity programme.
Local campaigns must be initiated, based on unions inside and outside the NHS, to fight against cutbacks in hospital building programmes, hospital closures, and the growth in private practice. Such campaigns must also support health workers fighting in defence of their standard of living, which cannot be separated from defence of the NHS given its chronic understaffing due to low pay. And as a first step towards a national campaign in defence of the NHS, the conference organised by the Medical Committee Against Private Practice for 11 October must be supported by all working class militants who are determined not to allow the Labour Government to let the NHS collapse more support Latest sponsors of the MCAPP Conference include: Brent Trades Council; Bristol trades council, bristol frioune Group; Camden NALGO branch; Newcastle University ASTMS branch; Thorpe & St Andrews NUPE branch, Norwich; Westminster NUPE branch. For details of the conference, speakers etc. write to: Dr Paul Stern, 55 Bridge Lane, London N.W.11 (tel. 01-455-4920).
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GREEK & TURKISH CYPRIOTS