Flogging off the National Health?

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THE 1,400 TGWU process workers at Shell UK's biggest refinery, Stanlow (Cheshire), voted on Thursday (December 8) to reject a recommendation by shop stewards to continue their eight-week strike, and accepted the company's 4.5% over 15 months basic pay offer package.

This follows the acceptance by the 1000 AUEW craft workers at the refinery on Wednesday of a similar deal, and by the workforce at Shellhaven (Essex), who settled at the weekend.

Workers at the three other refinery and chemical sites, Teesport (Cleveland), Ardrossan (Scotland) and the Carrington complex near Manchester, who have been operating overtime bans and work-to-rule procedures seem certain to accept comparable settlements.

However, Shell's 1,750 TGWU oil-tanker drivers and depot workers have still not formally finalised their settlement due to legal snags arising over possible breaches of existing contracts of employment.

The decision at Stanlow to return to work ends this round of strike action and secondary picketing against Shell, and concludes the oil industry's most serious dispute since the end of the 1970s.

AFTER re-opened tall ks between the TGWU and Ford UK management on Thursday [December 8], the offer made to the company's 44,500 hourly paid workforce was accepted.

Ford made no concessions to union proposals for a shorter working week and improved pension schemes, despite the union argument that last week's plant-by-plant vote [covering 24 plants] in favour of accepting the offer disguised the fact that a substantial majority of workers [24,000to 16,000] had actually voted against the company's deal.

TWO announcements were made in the Commons this week by Tory ministers concerning privatisation plans. Norman Lamont, Minister of State for Trade and Industry, said that parts of British Leyland - particularly the most profitable parts for instance - would begin to be handed over to private ownership during 1984.

And the Transport Secretary, Nicholas Ridley, said that the first steps to the privatisation of British Airways would begin on April 1, 1984, when it would become a public limited company, ready for the flotation of its shares to the private sector early in 1985.

A SERIES of regular meetings besortes the TIE ead the CBI a place probably carty desi peas sa a ralpe of intres. Sesiax Tereact Becies be con Direcson Gezeral: - Mill discuse dhe relae of exploring possible areas of accord such as health nad safety, education and raining. This step will comple.

est the already existing collabwive links that exist between • TUC and the Tories anety the NEDC and the direct tails with the Employment Secretary. AFTER the collapse of the fight against the privatisation of British Telecom, the next target for the Tories will be the NHS.

Last January, the DHSS issued a circular calling on District Health Authorities (DHAs) to put catering, cleaning and laundry services out to tender, but the whole issue was sat on in the run up to the General Election.

Now, claiming a new mandate for privatisation, the re elected lory government has lost no time in sending out instructions for DHAs to come up with a timetable for privatisation by mid-April 1984. With the bit between Tory teeth, it is likely that the crunch will come sooner rather than later for most Districts.

The response to this from the TUC has been disastrous. After telling the Post Office engineers to accept a court injunction to stop 'blacking' of the private Project Mercury, their advice to health workers is not much better. They suggest we try and get as much publicity as possible and if that doesn't put the Tories off, compete for our own jobs with the private contractors!

This masterplan has just been issued by the TUC Health Services Committee with the agreement of all the NHS unions.

Basically, it consists of two sections, the first of which, two pages long, calls for a public campaign against privatisation.

Quite sensibly it suggests the re establishment of the local NHS co-ordinating committees set up in the last pay dispute, but the high spot of it all is to be series of meetings and marches! Apart from a vague mention of "other action"» there is no mention of strike action and, important though meetings and marches are, it is only strike action that will prevent privatisation on a large scale. British Telecom is the best lesson for us all.

The TUC's campaign is to focus on the threat to the "quality; of staff and service" and the "standards of care and treatment" and nothing else. Again there is no doubt that a orvatised NHS would have lower standards and the labour movement must be alerted to that. However, by far the most immediate threat is to the pay and conditions of health workSCOTLAND Edinburgh.

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We get page after page of useful advice about clauses protecting pay, conditions, trade union membership, negotiating rights, sick pay and so on.

All this is vital if it actually comes down to putting a department out to tender, but it is no substitute for a real fight. What it does is take the initiative out of the hands of the members and leaves it with the full time officers.

This strategy reinforces the idea that the government and the contractors can be beaten at their own game as long as the rules are 'fair' • It encourages health workers to cut back on their own pay and conditions by accepting bonus reviews, unfilled vacancies and new working practices.

In the absence of a strong national campaign which can come up with realistic answers, the feeling is growing that 'we must make ourselves as efficient as possible so we can compete for our own jobs' • This is something that is anticipated by the DHSS in their circular - heads you lose and we privatise, tails we win and staff are cut.

Unless the rot is stopped quickly the ancillary services will be easy meat for the Pritchards and Grand Met sharks next spring. The fight back can start if action is taken now against unfilled vacancies and bonus reviews, but defensive action is not enough.

It is likely that particular departments and particular hospitals will be targetted as guinea pigs for contracting out - in this case the rest of the hospital and other hospitals in the District must be prepared to take immediate action in their support.

We must not allow the contractors to 'case the joint' - a walk-out is the only answer if they are given any guided tours by management. It is only when health workers themselves are taking action that we can expect others in the labour movement to support us. It is then that the public campaign set out by the TUC will be useful.

Health Authorities in Wales have already made it clear that "they do not welcome the possible disruption that privatisation may bring to patient services". • In other words they are going to steer clear of any department or hospital that is going to make life difficult for them. It is our job to make them wish they never heard of privatisation.

return THE LAND Registry civil service strike is over after 4% weeks. The members have accepted an agreement between the section strike committee and management.

Clerical officers had been asked to take on extra responsibility, doing work previously done by executive officers (the next grade up), without extra allowances or trade union agreement.

According to the new deal, for the next eight weeks clerical officers will work to contract. After eight weeks the situation will be reviewed.

Many members regard the situation as vague. In some branches they wanted to reject the offer, but the section officers recommended acceptance and members received the return-to-work arrangements and dates before many of them had voted on the offer.

The main feeling is resigned disillusionment, although the section officers regard the deal as a victory.

It remains to be seen what happens at the end of the trial period. Whether members will have the stomach for further action at a time when the union is occupied with pay negotiations, also remains to be seen. CPSA officials should say that this is not an outright victory, and acknowledge it as a compromise.