Health workers ioi ASLEF pickets
Socialist Organiser1982 1982-07-15Read it in the scan (PDF), scan page 2 →
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ASLEF pickets at Saltley and New Street in Birmingham have been joined by CoHSE members from Wal= sall General Hospital and St Margaret's Hospital (Birmingham).
We spoke to one of the COHSE members, Gillian Walker, a student nurse at Walsall General.
"In this day and age all workers have got to stick together. The success of our campaign so far has been largely due to the solidarity shown by other workers, so the least we can do is to return the favour.
"It's a real inspiration for us coming down to the ASLEF picket lines. The blokes really appreciate our presence, and we go away feeling stronger as well.
"This type of solidarity also helps undermine the. 'special case' mentality that too many nurses suffer from. The sooner we realise that we are workers just like the ASLEF strikers, and that we've got to fight alongside other trade unionists against the common enemy, the sooner we'll win our claim.
"What's happening on the railways and what's happening in the hospitals is part and parcel of the same Tory offensive - so let's unite to defeat them! The CoHSE placards at Saltley read: Save our railways, save our hospitals, defend our unions.
A petition had been circulated among ASLEF members at Saltley, and won 70 signatures for a return to work. But after the picket ing, a mass meeting of Saltley ASLEF on Sunday 11th showed a 383 to 7 majority for continuing the strike. On the Monday morning, only four ASLEF members reported for work.
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