Union leaders sitting on a volcano

Scan page 6

WHILST the union leaders sit around the rooms of the Trades Union congress in London, they are blissfully unaware that they are sitting around the edges of a volcano far more serious than Vesuvius ever was. The National Health Service volcano is ripe, waiting to erupt, and when it does, not only one town will be devastated, the whole country will be engulfed in the ensuing chaos.

For many years - too many years, Health Service workers have sat back and accepted the crumbs which have been tossed in their direction, crumbs that have been squeezed out of various governments without much effort by the union leaders.

However, this year the workers have shown that they will no longer be appeased by pittarices, and this so-called generous offer which has been made, may well be the final straw which breaks the camel's back.

On Tuesday June 8. National Health Service workers staged the latest of their one-day strikes, with the support of many other workers, notably the miners, the fire brigade and the seamen, who feel that our cause is one worth fighting for. They were interested in our plight enough to stand alongside us, but were our leaders interested in us? Apparently not, for on the following day a contingent of Health Service workers from all over the country travelled to London to lobby the TUC in an effort to draw attention to the plight of the nurses and ancillary workers, and to urge them to try to do more for us.

However, when • they arrived at the TUC headquarters the doors were barred and the union leaders declined to emerge from the security of the building to listen to our pleas. A handful of the more agile amongst us managed to slip through the police barricades, into the interior of the building to. hand a letter to Mr. Len Murray, who promised that he would read the contents out at the conference. He, the leader of the TUC at least showed a little interest, but what of the upper levels of the Health Service?

Mr Albert Spanswick, of COHSE, did not pay any attention to the delegation from Sheffield, where his members have been on strike, and he made it blatantly obvious that he was not interested in one nurse who tried to talk to him regarding our struggle.

Reshuffle Perhaps the time has come when the Health Service unions have reshuffle at the top, as does Mrs. Thatcher with her cabinet from time to time. For if our leaders are paying little attention to us, how can we expect those at higher levels to do so?

Outside the doors of Congress House, there stands a statute depicting a man holding out his hand to one of his fellow men to help him rise from the ground. is it not about time that our leaders followed the example set by this statue, which was obviously commissioned to depict the struggle the working class has had to form a body which will help him to raise his standard of living.

Poverty line

The National Health Service workers need a helping hand to raise them above the official poverty line, where they have been floundering for far too long. Surely the men to do this are, or should, be our union leaders. When are we going to see the helping hand extended to us by our union leaders?

When are the union leaders going to save the lives of the life-saving force of this country - the National Health Service workers?

D.D. Gunn, on behalf of Salford Area

Scan page 7

Socialist Organiser no.90 June 24 198? Page 1982 .ance