80p per hour wage profit!

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J0 fund By far our worst week so far fund - £10 from a reader in Anti-war campaigning, the health workers' pay fight, mobilising for the Women's Right to Work' march, organising against the Tebbit Bill - it's Workers' Socialist League easy to see how fund-raising can get The total so far is £1808.80, shown Send contributions to Socialist Organiser, 28 Middle Lane, London N8 Sun 25 July - Sun 1 Aug movement, Poland, Ireland, the world Trotskyist movement, and Spend the week in a rural setting in the East Midlands. Only £32.50 for accommodation, breakfast, tea, coffee and subsidisedtransport As we go to press, council manual wo. are due to vote on a compromise deal union officials. Report next week. and not a penny more.

lost in this stream of activity But for campaigning we paper. And for the paper money.

by the hollow section below.

8PL.

PRIVATE

CONTRACTORS OUT OF LOCAL AUTHORITIES on the Leeds, need the 'WHAT are we on strike over? Wages... and conditions ... and union rights" explained a woman picket outside Sandhar and Kang wholesale warehouse in Birmingham where 30 black workers have been on strike since May 18.

'We're not a bunch of people who've come out at the drop of a hat", she went on. "It's taken a long while to reach this stage. Some of the lads were working for as little as 80p per hour. A woman in the packing department was getting £1 an hour after five years service!

Insulting

"When one of the customers asked about the poor wages he'd heard about a manager said "It's not a bad wage for someone who doesn't speak English"

«But' the wages are only part of the story. We have no heating in the canteen all through winter. There's often no hot water, no soap and no toilet paper. Safety gear like gloves and shoes are unheard of.

"And then there's the attitude of management At this point, as though 1o prove the woman' s агдиment. a (while) manager came up to the picket line and in the presence of the police began insulting the pickets in very personal Terms. "That's Ken James." said the woman. "He's the one who said it was a good wage for people who didn't speak English. You can see for vourselt what kind of a man he is."

We were goined by an Islandian. Balinder Sinch. He explained hou as hoad cashier in the food department, he had been sacked on the spot after 3½ years at S&K without a single complaint or warning:

"In one week I received three warnings for no good reason. It was obvious that management were out to get me. They've always been terrified of the union moving in here and they knew that workers had been joining the Ringleader "They reckoned that 1 was the ringleader so I had to go.

"On the Friday (14th) I was called in by a director, Mr. U. Kang and sacked on the spot. They refused to even discuss it with Mr Partridge, the TGWU official and on Tuesday the whole workforce walked out."

S&K's response was typically arrogant. They issued a letter to the employces saying: "Any employee who wishes to take strike action is free to do so but please note that he will be automatically dismissed and will not be reinstated under any circumstances."

But the strikers are in good spirits: the action has been made official and all TGWU drivers are turning back (as are the majority of S& K's customers - mainly Asian small business people).

Spreading

S&K (who made a L40 million profit last year) recently opened two moro warchouses in Coventry and Wolverhampton and the strikers are now spreading the pickering to these.

Donations, messages of support elc.. lo: S&K Striko C'ommittee, c/o TGWU, 211, Broad a Street, Birmingham many other issues. Films, socials etc.

Claimants £21.

Further detarls front: 'Summer School' PO Box 135, London N1 ODD

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