Local government workers have now reached the crossroads as far as their E400 London Weighting Claim is The NALGO burenucracy have agreed to recommend jointly with the employers an offer of t186 General Purposos Committee of Local Government Committee by a At the moment two local povernment branches, Carden and London Boroughs Joint Computer Consor branches are also taking this action but have so far received no offer.
planned for last Monday in Itington, the Pay Laws. Tower Hamlets and Kensington and So far the union bureaucracy has made every effort to ensure that fragmented. In spite of an overwhelming vote in an all-London ballot for banning overtime and not co-operating with agency staff, the bureaucrats refused to call an all-District action and proceeded to put the responsibil ity buck onto the branches to decide what action they wanted to take.
PAY LAWS
The NAIGO leadership's attitud: to the Pay Laws has always heen ambiguous. While verbally opposing Phase 3 they have allowed the claim to go the Pay Board, and now state that the 186-E216 offer is an "interim" one until the Pay Board reports in June. However, the leaderShip have also said that they would accept agreement on the claim in principle with the employers and then wait until payment was allowed by legislation. As far as the bureauc rats were concerned the struggle's aim was only to get the employers to agree, then they could happily give in to Phase 3, whetber administered by a Tory or Labour Government. Their approach to Foot will be one based on special case arguments, not one based on struggle to smash Attempts have been made by the rank and file in the union to organise for the claim. Campaign and action committees have been set up in eight or nine branches. However, attempts to build co-ordination on an allLondon basis have remained generally A demonstration through Brixton weak. Co-ordination of this kind now becomes crucial if the sellout is to be resisted. A meeting of militants is being organised this week to plan the next steps forward in the campaign.
One action which must be built on is the decision of Islington brunch Taken by an overwhelming majority, to strike from 2 April if the full claim is not offered. This decision must be used to pull in other branches to take this kind of action. Demonstrations and mallics like the one in Islington this kind of campaign. Areas of strength must be used to bring in the wenker branches where they have not been involved up to now in the struggle.
Obe turther way that this campaign could be saengthened would be if it took up question of the national claim, up to now shelved by the bureaucracy. Action in London which is tied specifically to both the national and the London Allowance claim could start to bring in other brunches of the union into national action. The dangers of a sectional struggle can be overcome by starting strike action for both the London and National claims, and against Phase 3. now.
of black organisations have met, and
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Jast Monday which was supported by 3 branches can be used to build up