[ISLINGTON Council has yet again panicked under Tory…]

Scan page 17

ISLINGTON Council has yet again panicked under Tory pressure and started hitting out at its workers... adopting a style of 'negotiation' that would do lan MacGregor proud. set its couly bagged her it, • naree Wiep- l that all council manual workers would receive the same London weighting as white collar workers. That mean a rise of £7.60 a week - directly helping the lowest-paid and overcoming some of the divisions between white collar and manual.

But those same councillors who posed as the workers' friends to introduce this increase took a different line in the Building Works Department, where they are trying to force through the reintroduction of bonus schemes scrapped last year.

The Personnel Committee decided in late March that the London weighting increase would not apply to the council's building workers. The councillors seemed to think that with a flat rate wage of £150-£160 a week the building workers are "too highly paid".

That message, of course, has been pumped out by the local press for months - because they want to see the council's direct labour scrapped.

To satisfy these attacks the Personnel Committee trampled all over its agreements with the unions to enforce a virtual wage cut, without even telling the unions that it was doing this, much less negotiating.

The Committee's chair, Victor McGeer, then refused even to see In response, 200 angry council building workers demonstrated at Islington Town Hall on April 5 to demand the council talk to them.

Now negotiations look set to take place. But Islington Council has taken yet another step to destroying the unity between the council and its workers that is needed to fight the Tory attacks. Barking teachers have been pic eting, as well as Jo Richardso (the local MP) and MPs Har Cohen and Jeremy Corbyn.

Information trom the 24-ho strike-line 01-595 4252. Messag of support and donations AUEW House, 588_ Rainha Road, South Dagenham, Essi RM10 7RA, cheques payable Barking and Dagenham Heal Emergency.

Witch-hunt

By Ronnie Clyde AT ITS March meeting the hear ly Militant-influenced Pollok Co stituency Labour Party in Gla gow voted to rescind Sociali Organiser supporter Stan Crooke membership of that CLP.

The complicated backgrour to this decision, told briefly, that in October 1982 Stan Crool was expelled from Queens Pal CLP for having written an artic in Socialist Organiser critical ‹ the MP, the late Frank McElhons After a series of unsuccessf appeals and attempts to rejo Queens Park CLP (now, afti boundary reorganisation, Glasgo Central CLP), Stan Crooke ap: lied to join Pollok CLP and wi accepted, having moved into thi constituency.

By late February of this yea Stan Crooke had returned to permanent residence in Glasgo Central. So he wrote to Pollo CLP asking it to write to tr National Executive Committe (NEC) for approval of his men bership, as is necessary in the ca: of the readmission of expelle members.

At the same time he wrote 1 Glasgow Central, asking it 1 approve the transfer. They wrot back to Stan Crooke, asking for copy of the NEC's letter appro ing his readmission to the Part! They knew that no such letti existed.

At the Pollok CLP Marc meeting, Stan Crooke's case cam up under 'correspondence'.

The CLP could have maintai ed his membership pending reply from the NEC, or, bette asserted his rights regardless. I stead they voted to play safe.