As was shown by the 1982 wages dispute in the health service, in order to defeat the Tories plans for run down of the NHS, sy ll pathy transformed into sc tion will have be particularly by fellow trade unionists.
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Thatcher and Friends by John Ross Hard Times by Bob Sutcliffe or Over our Dead Bodies Women Against the Bomb Introductory offer for new readers: Eight issues for just £2! TWO HUNDRED and fifty angry people marched against the health cuts trom Leamington to Warwick on Monday 7 November. Locally the cuts mean 250 jobs lost in the South Warwickshire health authority along with the closure of a vitally needed maternity hospital.
(COHSE)
The march ended with a petition of over 10,000 signatures against the cuts being given to a meeting of the district health authori ty.
People queueing up to sign were made aware of the 5500 ob to be TOSLHT the West Midlands Regional Health area as a whole.
march was organised by the local health service defence campaign, backed by the health workers unions.
The Leamington Warwick saave beet ver acuveymr volved, setting up its own This ONCELi group has already staged SIL-S orallilll. future action. The loca LOUC counci have set uD a public service alliance to fight privatisation.
The march was also supported the local Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament group under their slogan of 'hospitals not bombs'. Several woles douos were ası on the march.
Large numbers of health workers took industrial action and joined march, galleu confidence as Much danaye has OCCI done by the sell out of th TUC Health Service Com mittee during the pay dispute last year. Health workers are aware of the lack of national Gender ship.
All we've had locally is tul time union officials visiting hospitals to try to increast recruitment. Their view that they aren't going to seriously fight the attacks and so the unions have to replace the income members they are about to lose with new members Regional TUC Health Committee member told us not demonstrate publicly because we would get bad publicity!
The local campaign is now planning action on 2 November when the DHA will finally decide on the cuts. We making public demands on them to defy the cuts, supported by our petition We are also looking to link up with other local defence tionally to put pressure on the TÚC Health Service . Committee to mount a real fight for the National Health Service - a fight which we can win.