After two years of solid struggle by trade union militants in the National Health Service to ban the parasite of private practice, Barbara Castle finally unveiled her proposals last week. These plans fit exactly into the other betrayals around the National Health Service being foisted on the Having done nothing about even the minor proposals on private patients she was forced to introduce last year-common waiting lists, closing 10 per cent of pay beds at a stroke, etc-she has now told the consultants that they have her full backing to go ahead and build some 50 new private nospitals. These are to make up for the private beds they are supposed to be losing from the NHS sometime in the distant future. The British Medical Association are still complaining of course, because they wanted more. But by giving Labour's blessing to a two-tier service, Castle has laid the ground for them to launch the system of a national private health service they so dearly want.
BACK & FRONT As Wilson's capitalist measures stab the working class in the front with the wage freeze, and in the back with the cuts in social services, the struggle to defend the NHS from Labour's attacks will become increasingly central for all militants. All over the country cut-backs in the sadly depleted NHS are being pushed through by regional health In fighting back against the tuts no reliance can be placed on the Labour Government, whose policies include the avowed aim of slashing COCAL WORKER ON STRIKE A small but significant battle has been won by social service workers in Tower Hamlets, London. Using the strength of a united and determined strike on 8 August, they have not only won assurances on most of the demands put forward, but have also made the first real links with trade unionists and the working class in the area to prepare for the even tougher battles ahead against social expenditure cuts.
By 1 August things had got so bad-with chronic under-staffing and threats of victimisation against Area 2 workers, who had shut the office doors telling callers to go to their councillors instead -that everyone in social services wanted immediate action.
Social workers-who are normally too guilt-ridden or inexperienced to take strike action-have begun to working class by the Wilson-Healey leadership of the Labour Government.
public expenditure. Unless health workers supported by all other sections of the working class-take up a campaign to defend the NHS against the Labour Government's cuts, and to ban all private pracSponsors for the Conference called by the Medical Committee Against Private Practice against cuts in the National Health Service continue to roll in, says MCAPP secretary Dr. Paul Stern.
Among the latest sponsors are the East London Committee Against the Cuts; ASTMS Firth Brown, Sheffield; AUEW Marylebone, London; South London National Abortion Campaign; NUPE branch, North Middlesex Hospital; Ken Coates and Ken Fleet of the Institute of Workers Control; TGWU Shell Chemicals, near Manchester: and TGWU 5/293 Assembly branch BLMC, Cowley.
tice, then the spectre of a two-tier health service with workhouse hospitals as in the 1920s will become a reality.
In two areas in London workers have given their answer to Labour's proposals. In West London, at the Hammersmith Hospital, workers have told management that unless all private patients are removed then services will be cut off from those Social workers fight Labour cuts been taken in relation to officials realise that operating an inadequate service is not in the best interests of the working class. They realise also that further cuts are on the way, and had they let this one instance go by it might have been too late to organise. It was in this context that the 8 August strike took place.
PATHETIC
However, no move had been made by the Director or Council by Monday 11 August except to issue a pathetic press statement to say that they would agree to be 'more flexible'. It was therefore decided to repeat and extend the strike action in two days time if a satisfactory reply hadn't been made. Two hours before the deadline Councillor Riley spoke to an unofficial (i.e. not one of the recognised negotiating bodies, but direct representatives of the strikers) and file body of health workers and other trade unionists in East London.
COMPENSATION This local united front action committee was formed three months ago to fight against ail closures of health facilities. It calls for all plans for cuts to be disclosed, and for automatic increases in public expenditure to compensate for the increase in inflation. At its last meeting on 11 August, it decided to produce a draft of a workers' plan for the NHS and for this to be circulated to the labour movement; and to campaign in the workers' movement for a Day of Action in East London on 9 October, centred around a demonstra tion to the meeting of the Local Area Health Authority insisting its demands be met in full. The meeting also unanimously voted to sponsor and send delegates to the conference on 11 October called by MCAPP on the fight against all Labour's cutbacks in the NHS.
ROLL-BACK
Only if this kind of direct action taken by bodies of the working class movement can be spread up and down the country will there be a successfull roll-back of capitalism's attacks on the health service, schools, etc. Such a movement can also help to lay the basis for.a united struggle against all Labour's capitalist pay freezes and cuts in the social services.
Dominic Costa body and finally gave the requested On the one hand they were only verbal, so everyone is prepared to take up the issue again if nothing really happens. But on the other hand, it is a clear victory because the concession was made in response to tne multancy of the strikers rather than through negotiations with the official union bodies.
DEMOCRATIC
Instead social workers have learnt to take the fight in their own hands through democratically run open meetings of all the staff involved. In these meetings positions have of NALGO, attitudes to the press, picketing, etc. So social service workers have not simply won a few demands but also the consciousness of their power to influence appointment of staff-which could have great consequences in the tuture.
The contacts made during the one-day strike provide a bass for a larger action committee to be built upon, involving other trade unionists (hospital workers, etc) and sections of the working class (tenants, house wives, clajmants, etc). This will be an effective means of forcing the Council to oppose the Labour Government's cut-backs. Finally, as it is only a matter of time before some similar crisis occurs elsewhere, militants in Tower Hamlets are taking steps to ensure that the lessons of this particular struggle are publicised through other social service committees and local action committees, to help lay the basis for a still wider fight against Labour's cutbacks.
The dispute involving more than 200 members of the Institute of Journalists, who are continuing to keep the paper Mail offices', and has asked the Press Association to, respect the embargo political matters which has had such an odious result in the Labour Party ban'.
working class.
vrings with regard to parole for the Shrewsbury 2-while Ricky Tomlinson has ing class attention more firmly on the barbarity of the whole parole system. A strated at Albany and Parkhurst jails on the Isle of Wight.
wrecks: to be seriously considered for parole means getting consistently good is at the mercy of the Parole Board and finally the Home Secretary.
in capitalism's labour force. They are certainly trained to accept low wagesreason that these conditions continue to exist is the isolation of prisoners from the labour movement outside. But a small chink of light was opened up when a group of supporters demonstrated outside Albany on 9 August. This weekend the national conference of the Campaign for Homosexual Equality (CHE) meets in Sheffield. CHE is the largest gay organisation in Britain and has in the past been able to exert a great deal of pressure on behalf of homosexuals. It is In 1967 Parliament removed some of the more medieval provisions from the law, but with little real effect since the number of prosecutions for 'homosexual offences' has steadily increased since then.
them) and emphasis (the law) may look good on paper. However an emphasis on of the oppression of gay people-the need for the ruling class to keep sexuality in the pattern of child-rearing tor women and wite beating Tor men crisis. It won't turn liberal if it can help it. The only way change will come about on the gay question now is if the organised working class throws its weight into the fight and forces change. The question facing gay militants at the CHE conference workers' movement to take up this question, or whether they are going to wander further up the blind alley of reformism. BIRMINGHAM LOCK-OUT ESCALATES of the National Union of Journalists locked out at the Birmingham Post and Evening Mail has escalated sharply with the decision by the Labour Party press office to refuse conference credentials to scab coming out. The Party's publicity director, Percy Clark-with tha full backing of the Transport House NUJ chapel-has also ordered that 'no copies of Ministers' or Labour MPs' speeches or other material from Transport House should go to the Post and The response of Fleet Street has been predictable. 'Frankly shocking....bigoted and bullying approach... mockery of freedom', stormed the Sunday Telegraph, on 17 August. The Sunday Times was more subtle: "NUJ members should bear this sad story in mind when they fill in the ballot papers with which they are now being circulated... If they choose [the closed shop|they will be encouraging that mixing of industrial and The Birmingham journalists were locked out after protesting against a management pay offer of just 1.1 per cent-less than E1 per week. Since then concerted efforts have been made to break the strike, including the arrest of ten pickets earlier this month. But it still remains solid. Certainly it is unlikely to be affected by the rantings of hacks whose sole concern is their 'freedom' to attack the organisations of the The outrage expressed in the Labour movement over the Home Secretary's manoeu been released, Des Warren faces the whole process again-will hopefully focus workhelping hand in this direction was given earlier this month by prisoners who demon At Albany the prisoners spent nearly a tortnight up on the main roof, while at Parkhurst 16 men were put in solitary confinement with loss of privileges and one month's remission for taking action in solidarity with the Albany prisoners. The system they were protesting against is designed to produce subservient, quivering reports from generally unsympathetic officers, and this is followed by a long waiting period during which the fate of the prisoner (not to mention his wife and children)
At the end of this process prisoners are supposed to take their place passively the average wage for the 50,000 working prisoners in Britain is 60p a week! One GAYS FACE IMPORTANT CHOICE currently launching a parliamentary bill to liberalise the laws on male homosexuality.
CHE's approach (diplomatically influencing MPs and other high-ups to support the law means an emphasis purely on the problems of male homosexuals since there are no laws against lesbianism. More importantly, it also means ignoring the causes Another snag, perhaps the biggest one, is that the ruling class is in the grip of a is whether they are prepared to get stuck into the difficult job of fighting to get the
were injured by a car bomb on the Falls Road.
*In the last week 25 Catholic The Loyalist offensive against the anti-Unionist population of the North of Ireland reached new heights last week when 48 people days of street fighting in nationalist
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ALBANY PRISONERS FIGHT THE PAROLE SYSTEM