THE year has begun with two successful actions by and of blood transtusion service workers.
THE anger now felt by health service workers is best demonstrated in the by all NUPE members, at North General While this not first ume nurses have taken strike action some nurses went on strike in Britain in 1982, and there have been nurses strikes in Israel, Africa and the USA in the recent past 7 January was the first time nurses in Britain have Name Address I enclose cheque/PO payable to Socialist Action for £ Revistered os g newsooner with the Posi OTTIC!
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taken action independently of other health service workers.
NUPE Central Manchester Health Authority The North Manchester was called against the government's threat to cut special duty payments for night duties, weekends and Bank holidays, replacSUBSCRIBE Inland 24 issues £10 Send 10: Socialist Action Subs, PO Box 50, London NI 2XP. ing them with a flat rate payment of £1.20 per hour. This would have meant wage cuts for many nursing staff Following the Manchester health minister Tony Newton has been forced to say these proposals will be reterred to the nurses' pay review body While the proposals have not yet been totally dropped it is unlikely in the present climate that the pay review body will support them.
Alongside this, blood transfusion service managemen cance cumstances' allowed them allowances previous levels, following RATES Overseas (Double these rates for multi-reader institutions) nationwide strikes work oute The government retreat by the was vloudit aboul threat of further strikes by NUPE, the possibility thạt the Confederation of Health Service Employees would join further action the massive public support for the Manchester strike. In fact, apart from the government the only opposition to the strike has come from the Royal College of Nurses journal Nursing Times. And whatever the views of the RCN leadership there was support for the RCN at North Manchester hospital.
Scotland
If the immediate cause of the strike at Manchester was special duty payments the root of this and other actions is the massive crisis of the NHS as a whole.
Before Christmas consultants (including former Tory supporter Nigel HarSt Mary's London) presented a petition signed by 1000 medical staff demanding extra funding for the NHS.
Since the North Manchester health workers have demonstrated against threatened cuts in Jallual, health workers, including nurses called a 24 hour strike in Lothian region of Scotland against government attempts to impose privatisation. There is a possibility that if the government continues its plans to privatise services health workers in Scotland will escalate strike action up to an indefinite strike.
In Hill End psychiatri St Alban: workers, including nurses are striking over the suspension of two COHSE branch officials.
Cuts Despite the extra £100 million the government was Will following the consultants' protest and opposition to government policy from the Royal College Physi cians, Royal _ College of surgeolls the kova. College of cologets ans Gynaecologists financial crisis of the NHS continues to escalate.
Just the latest casualties of government cuts in one SNOILI-WON| demonstrate the scale of the problems The casualty unit at Royal Infirmary was forced to turn away all cases requiring hospitalisation as no beds were available, and now has announced it is bankrupt and jobs are under threat. nODe not Pendlebury Salford Roya Children's hospital, all in Salford, are threatened with ward closures. Altrincham General hospital is under threat. General has been forced to cut 55 beds and privatise services to prevent the loss of £487,000 of promised government . money. Royal Victoria Hospital in Morecambe has closed its casualty department.
the HICS enthusiastic Thatcherite health authorities, which have made every cut the! can, privatised all possible services, face massive budget deficit at the end of the financial year.
Charges Despite claims that the NHS is safe in her hands, it is clear that the entire National Health Service is under threat. While a frontal attack is not possible due to the enormous popular support for the health service, the Tories have eroded the standard of care, introduced charges bit by bit, allowed waiting hists to get longer and longer for serious as well as routine surgery and privatised substanțial components of the service.
Quite aside from the impact on health service users, with shocking figures avoidable death being released virtually every day, this is causing large scale demoralisation among staff provide the level of care they feel they should.
Individual Tories, Nicholas Winterton, make some protest, but the government is clearly set on a course ot further cutting back funds to the NHS and imposing • charges They are now considerin 'hotel' charges when admitted to hospital.
front bench has outlined a five point plan for the health service which includes full funding ot the new pay structure 1o1 nurses, restoration of maintenance for hospital buildings and equipment and a reduction in waiting lists. But we cannot afford to simply wait for a Labour government to implement this plan.
In the past engineering workers, dockers, miners and other workers • have taken action in support of health workers and against Health clearly prepared to take ac tion to defend the NHS The nurses of North Manchester and Edinburgh have shown a tremendous example - - now the Labour shoulc organise campaigr throughout the movement including strik action in detence of the National Health Service and against further erosion of pay, jobs and services.
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health service workers which have forced the Tory government to back down on cuts in the pay of nurses
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