Preparations noed to be made for next lucm. Derect action - refectory boycolts. occupations, demonstrations, rerusal to pay price rises - has to be organised to back.
But this deals with only one side of the coin. Inflation is cating away at the prant. With the present rate of inflation the grant Workers have beca lighting for threshold agreements to guin some protection agsinst should likewise demand that for every rhie in students cost of living they will receive an automatic grant increase - a sliding To fight for and win a sliding scale cretionary awards or for a higher grant.
gins. The sliding scale is a springboard A sliding scale of grants can unite all students in the grants campaign To fight for just the abolition of discretionary awards, hers, Cooperation heeween these bodies or merely for a higher grant will weaken and is almost nil, hence the urgent need for split the number of stadents supporting the The Labour Government's award must inflation. At the same time the grants campaign must continue and be extended Action taken locally must be beth in support of the national demands but abo to win demands in the colleges against price and rent rises, and all such oducation price and rent rises, and all such education on the cheap policies. Such a strategy for It alone offers the possibility of gaining real Index. THE FIGHT of the nurses and other hospital workers has placed them in the front line of the fight against the social compuct.
The intensity of their struggle has taken the powers that be by surprise. From Barbara Castle at her well paid ministerial post down to the burcaucracies of the unions and the Edwardian satraps of the Royal College of Nursing, there has been a reaction akin to horror at this unprecedented militancy Nurses Action Committees have shot up in innumerable hospitals throughout Britain. These commit SIDEL. tees are an expression of the nurses' determination to fight for their claim and show the need for organising the struggle in a coherent way.
The aim of these committees must be to unite all nurses. There are 12 bodies represented on the Whitley Council, all competing in the bospitals lot mechunifying Action Committees. The Com these diverse forces and at the same time involve other hospital workers. Further mare, the Action Commilies car, and In many areas are, effectively being used to got support for the nurses" claim from other workers.
The Action Committees prosde an excellent opportunity to involve ibembers of the Royal College of Nursing (ReN and many ourses not get in trade unions in direct action.
Despite the presence of NEPE COHSE and the GWU, late numbers of nurses are not members of trade unions The low pay and poor conditions has not exactiv been a boost to the wons precise. trorses nave also nau drummed into their heads that they are not workers, hut members of a profes it would be criminal ba ignore these Dunes. Involving thei in the Action Committees and winning them to play an active role in the struggle to win the claim, is the bese way to win them to trade union membership. Moreover, they will he won to the unian on a basis ol strucele.
The Action Committees, by the raie: they play in the present dispute, can also give a big impetus to the growth of a strong joint-shop stewards committee in the hospitals.
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But equally inportant is the fight inside this year sinion confercoes to ensure a unirco struggie to the dardol and winter by every trade unionist in the country for full protection of wapes This will be an important opportunity to extend the exciting threshold agroements, which are tolaily inadequate to protect wages against rising prices. Any effective tiresbold scheme must at least have the following provisions 1. It most provide automatic increa ses as the cost-of-living moves up: there must be no monthly negotiations of periodic reviews.
2. The threshold must move up as long as prices do: there must he no "celling -3. It must from now on be a nil norm" threshold: there must be po fixing of a new threshold level, in place of the 75 that has already been passed. before further rises will again be forticoming 4. Threshold rises must be incorpora ted into basic wage rates, providing pratection for all earnings-bonus and overtime included.
5. The amount of the threshold rises must be more than the present miserable sum: they muat be safficient to provide full compensation for rising prices, allowing for such things as increased BANGA Demands such as this, coupled with 1 campaign to fores the Government tr provide similar protection for all forn of state benofits (dole, social security pensians, grants), could unite the entire working class and many ochor sections Bi the Donulation in a common strOLEle Every union conference should be * programme of demands to bo put forward, and for the preparation of a campaign af mass and industrial actionup to and including a general strike, if bocessary -to win them.