Residential social workers Ranks organise

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armament movement, and rightly so.

government, lies in the hands of Washington. thing. Anti-Americanism is another. warmongers and disarming them.

ment off the hook. NOTTINGHAM provided the venue on Friday, November I1, for a highly successful conference of residential workers from ten of the twelve districts throughout the country.

With the action into its ninth week, and no movement by the employers to meet our claim for premium payments at weekends and Bank Holidays, and a shorter working week, we organised the conference with the aim of developing a more cohesive rank and file approach ot the action nationwide.

Reports from around the country clearly show that in every district represented, action over and above the basic action of a ban on admissions and a ban on overtime is taking place.

There are now over 1,000 residential workers on indefinite strike, many of them from rural areas, but the majority in city areas.

Many others have escalated their action by introducing a ban on working unsocial hours, which effectively means that there are no sleeping-in duties or weekend working in these areas.

Others are banning administration work.

The action is building up as more and more residential workers are infuriated by the actions of some authorities in the handling of the dispute.

There were strong feelings among the delegates that action must now spread to other areas and include other local government workers.

A number of the motions passed at the conference will be taken to the national delegate meeting this Thursday, including a more unified approach to the action not only from NALGO but also NUPE members with a call for parity in strike pay.

One motion seeks to safeguard residential workers from any settlement which is unacceptable by taking the decision for settlement to a national delegate conference; another calling for a one-day strike of residential workers and other local government staff on December 7 (the date of the next executive meeting of the NJC) to enable a further massive lobby of this meeting was unanimously passed.

The unity shown at this conference is a further measure of the determination of residential social workers to reach an early settlement to our just claim.' A further conference will be convened in Essex on December 6 for residential worker shop stewards to discuss where we see the action going.

The conference in Nottingham was a major step, forward in ensuring that we will win this claim and that the rank and file make the demands on the NECs of NALGO and NUPE and they are organised as a rank and file. THURSDAY'S day of action by the National Union of Students against the National Advisory Board's 'rationalisation" of public sector higher education involved over 100 colleges.

Some colleges, including the Polytechnic of Central London, North London Poly, Manchester Poly and Ravensbourne College of Art went into occupation. Ravensbourne are still in occupation, demanding that their college is kept open.

NUS left it to colleges and areas to decide what action to take and what precise demands to raise.

At the Polytechnic of Central London the occupation demanded amongst other things, that ILEA pulls out of the NAB.

The NAB is a quango which is directing and supervising the government attacks on the polys and colleges.

NAB is demanding cuts and a

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