As Tory axe bites deeper into NHS How to save your hospital

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their concern - and in some cases outrage - at the way the 1983 People's March for Jobs was run.

Regular readers of Socialist Organiser will know that the whole affair was run like a Stalinist state on the move. The organisers outlawed "political" siogans, denied the rank and file marchers any say in the day-to-day running of the march, and physically intimidated anyone -marchers or local supporters -who did not comply with their every whim or dictat.

The TUC leadership initially tried to prevent. the march from ever taking place. Eventually they were persuaded to change their minds - but only on condition that the event was kept strictly "non-political"

The march organisers, largely Communist Party members and Labour Party free-lance Stalinists, then took it upon themselves to enforce the TUC's wishes, utilising all the time-honoured methods of the Stalinist aparatchnik: intimidation, thuggery, slander and deals with the police.

Ón the Western leg, four marchers were expelled for chanting "Maggie Out" . They included North West TUC executive member and TGWU fulltime organiser Paul Davis, and Pete Cashman, a Socialist Organiser supporter and TGWU branch secretary.

In Birmingham and Oxford the organisers cooperated with the police in obstructing local labour movement activists who wanted to support the march. On both occasions, medical vans were driven into the support marches to separate them off from the main march - presumably because the supporters were chanting dangerously infectious anti-Tory slogans.

In Towcester this resulted in the arrest of two members of the Oxford Trades Council People's March Support Committee, Ted Heslin and Steve Akers. Chief marshal Danny Collins was clearly happy to see the arrests and appeared to be working hand in glove with the police throughout the incident.

Sexism was also rife, encouraged by the "macho" posturing of the Stalinists. A woman marcher, sponsored by Leicester Trades Council, was expelled Fighter pamphlet 10p it.!.

was attacked by "chief security steward" John Ellis, pinned against a wall and suffered a broken toe. Needless to say, a "minor incident" like this did not warrant the kind of punishment meted out to those marchers who had chanted anti-Tory slogans: Ellis stayed on the march.

But now the truth about the march is beginning to come out.

Union branches and trades councils who sponsored marchers have been horrified by the reports they have received.

The TGWU Region 6 Committee, Wirral Trades Council Liverpool Trades Council and Vauxhall Ellesmere Port Joint Shop Stewards Committee have all condemned the expulsions of marchers for chanting anti-Tory slogans. The Merseyside County Association of Trades Councils has called for a full inquiry into the running of the march.

Leicester and Hull. Trades Councils have passed resoluions protesting at the expul sion of the pregnant marcher Halifax Trades Council, who sponsored Helen Johnson, are expected to register their protest over the attack on her.

Birmingham, Oxford and Northampton Trades Councils have alli received resolutions critical of the way the march was run. Birmingham decided invite all local marchers to attend its next meeting, in order to hear their first-hand accounts.

Even bodies normally dominated Communist Party politics have been critical. The TGWU 5/908 branch, whose chairperson is Longbridge convenor and leading Communist Party member Jack Adams, has passed a resolution expressing concern at the suppression of anti-Tory slogans and at intimi dation and violence from the marshals.

The thugs and finger-men who controlled the march must be brought to book. Such people are not fit to run a whelk stall, let alone a major labour movement activity.

Fight for your branch and trades council to support the Merseyside call for an inquiry. Contact Merseyside CATC, c/o 56. The Cliff. New Helen Johnston adds:

HALIFAX Trades Council has begun an inquiry into the incident on the People's March for Jobs when the marcher they had sponsored (me) received a broken toe.

They had asked me to bring a written statement to the Executive meeting last Wednesday about the incident and also about the march.

Oddly enough the meeting wasn't quorate so they could not make a decision to have or call for an inquiry into the march as a rhole. The FicePresiceli = Crazis Pery - Juari = CLUE

THE Tory attacks on the NHS need an organised and militant fightback. There is no sign or likelihood that the trade union leadership will fight — it is up to the rank and file to build action against the cuts and closures.

This action will be linked with opposing privatisation and the contracting out of services. It is much easier to close a hospital which employs domestics. on contract and a lot of agency nurses.

Once management decide to recommend the closure of either wards or an entire hospital the rundown begins. The rundown has not been authorised by the District Health Authority (DHA) at this point - it is being done by an entirely unaccountable group of bureaucrats.

Over the last five years there has been an almost identical scenario for closures:

*ancillary and nursing staff who leave are not replaced;

*conditions for both patients and workers deteriorate;

*it becomes almost impossible to get routine health and safety work done, old obsolete equipment is not replaced;

*then, suddenly the administrators announce that the hos pital is becoming unsafe.

They create the conditions which make the hospital unsafe and then use the conditions to justify closing the hospital.

These 'creeping cuts' , nearly always preliminary steps in the closure process need to be resisted.

COHSE, NUPE and NALGO all have policies of no cover for unfilled vacancies.

Shop stewards should ensure that that policy is implemented. At St. Mary's, Harrow Road, the domestics were told to clean floors when they had never done it before. Management were preparing the rundown and did not want to hire new people. The domestics refused this additional job and provided a focus for other workers in the hospital who wanted to oppose closure.

The trade union bureaucrats will constantly try to sell out and sabotage this sort of action. It rocks their pleasant relationship with managers.

This kind of obstruction from the full-time officials to determined action by the workers will continue right through the fight to save beds and jobs.

The battle for hospitals is not just about fighting the Tories -it is just as much about fighting i made Ition leadership.

of THE DOE II Other left wing papers may urge you to fight the cuts. But only Socialist Organiser follows up last week's survey of NHS closures with a detailed guide on how to build a campaign that can fight back. JANE GOSS draws on years of experience in the key NHS battles. Next issue: on occupations and workers' control.

But, if we are to fight and win they must be built again.

Opposing the coming onslaught, particularly in London, will need just as much coordination and support as we saw in the fight for wages in 1982.

Health and safety committees are particularly important - at the South London Hospital the Health and Safety Committee has forced management to make major repairs that they were hoping to leave to use as fuel for their arguments about the hospital being 'run down' As soon as word leaks out that a. hospital is threatened (we know of 53 in London alone) the workers and community must organise: It takes time for the implications of closure to sink in. Most workers, although they are aware that other hospitals have been closed think it can never happen to their hospital.

All health service facilities are threatened by the Tories; thinking that if another hospital in your district closes yours will be okay is disastrous.

Closed

In Wandsworth five hospitals have closed since 1978 and now the South London is earmarked for closure. Management use the fear of closure and the false make it • easier to assimilate people from the hospital about to be closed.

Usually a district will only issue temporary' contracts for a whole year's run-up to a closure. So, new staff are effectively sacked in order tht workers from the closing hospital can be 'slotted in'.

The whole process undermines trade union activity and militancy and makes some workers wary of even joining a union in case they jeopardise the renewal of their contract.

Workers in the threatened hospital must refuse even to discuss alternative employment with management. They should ignore any letters or demands that they get from supervisors telling them to attend meetings (usually on their own) to have preliminary discussions.

Health service managers are now experienced in the techniques of closing hospitals. They try to do it quickly and quietly through administrative measures and intimidation. They do not like well organised campaigns with experienced people who know their tactics.

It is sometimes hard to convince workers just what rotten and unprincipled tactics managers will use. Yet, in every fight against closure there are intimidation, victimisations, dirty tricks. Only a strong and coordinated campaign can effectively oppose this kind of operation.

The most successful fightbacks - EGA, St. Benedicts, Longworth, St Mary's - have involved workers and supporters meeting together either weekly or fortnightly.

Meeting in the hospital is best because the workers will see people coming in every week to support them and the supporters

will feel part of the hospital know its layout).

It may seem too frequent at first - but managers work very quickly and things can change

on a daily basis. There is no need to ask permission for these meetings - management will almost certainly refuse.

Just pick a room and have the meetings. It is unlikely that administrators will make an issue of it as they do not want to provoke action early on!

A public profile is essential. Everyone in the community shoud know that their hospital is threatened. Leaflets, posters, petitions, pickets and demonstrations are all good for attracting interest.

Workers who are a bit frightened about fighting management and are not sure about the levels of support they will get can be bolstered by seeing a large demonstration or a lot of people turning up to picket outside the hospital.

It is important to challenge management at every step in the campaign. The administrators and consultants will constantly be putting out statements about the terrible financial conditions, weeping crocodile tears that they have to close the hospital, and saying that they really have no choice and that there is no money available.

Workers should be reminded of last year when we were given the same arguments about why we could only have a 4% increase. There was no money then, but suddenly billions were found for the Malvinas war, extra money was found for the judges and the police.

The fact is that there is money available for the NHS - but the Tories do not want to spend it on health. Workers should challenge the District's financial figures and demand to open the books and see just how the districts spend their allocations. We should use figures showing the huge profits made by the drug industry and by other suppliers.

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