DHSS strikers tour for support

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SINCE the unanimous rejection by the Oxford DHSS strikers of the offer recommended for acceptance by CPSA president Kevin Koddy at their mass meeting on Wednesday L/th, the strıkers have started vısiting other offices to get support for their strike.

At the moment the CPSA section executive advice is that this is only to waste money.

Paul Howarth, SCPS branch secretary, told us on Monday, 'This week we'll be visiting other offices in London and on the south coast. We had a good response from Kensington and Paddington, who asked what action they could take to support us.

'Next week we'll be sending people to. South Wales and to the south west. At the recent SCPS special conterence, we raised a magniticent £500.

We've extended the picketing to all three gates of Government Buldings, Marston Rd, frem bam to 5pm, and we're trying to stop post going out between 3pm and Spm. We need support on this.

We're stopping the post for the tax and map offices THE 'Nottingham Campaign Against Rayner' was set up in June on the initiative of local activists in the DHSS, Dept. of Employment, and Manpower Services Commission branches of CPSA, including SO supporters.

It came partly from the lack of decisive leadership by the Militant-dominated DHSS section executive of CPSA. The campaign was joined by Claimants Action Nottingham, and together we produced leaflets for the Trades Council and Labour Party branches.

We argued for opposition to:

* closure of job centres, * introduction of empl oyers' statutory sick pay, * ethnic monitoring, and special claims control.

The group is now trying to form effective opposition to the postal claim form due to be introduced on September 6. Faced with no leadership from the section executive committee, we are likebecause management is sending DHSS post out through these offices. We are leafletting IRSF, IPCS, CPSA, SCPS and POEU members there to explain the developments in the dispute, and why we're picketing their gates. Management have forced us into this escalation.

'At the last Trades Council our calls for support for mass pickets on Monday and Friday between 7am and 9am was very well received. Personally, I see escalation as crucial to winning this dispute' Rally CPSA branch committee member Roger Bunting told "At the mass rally in Birmingham on Friday, I got the impression that the SEC NIR ON October 27, members of the Air India strike committee met with Moss Evans (general secretary of their union, the TGWU) and some regional organisers.

At the meeting it was agreed that the dispute, which has lasted four months, needs stepping up. By spreading the dispute outside the airline to the docks and other places, and starting a general boycott of trade with India, the strikers doesn't want to see an escalation of the dispute. However, at our meeting on Sunday the Oxford strike committee was unanimous in its view that we need other offices out if we are to see this dispute going anywhere' At the Oxford strike committee meeting on Tuesday lunchtime, they supported the national meeting being organised by the Socialist Caucus group of the CPSA for branch reps and reps in Birmingham on Saturday week to discuss escalation to other offices in the DHSS and making it a national dispute. * Messages/ money: M.Robertson, 24 Beechcroft Rd, Oxford.

Alan Stephens hope to force the Indian government to intervene in this dispute - which so far it has avoided doing, though it directly owns Air India.

Meanwhile cases for unfair dismissal have been lodged for all 91 strikers. The cases probably won't come up until February or March next year.

The strikers are keeping up their pickets at Heathrow and New Bond Street. They desperately need financial

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-igntin Rayner