It is clear that building workers are not happy with the latest offer. What is not clear is whether they have a strategy to beat any attempts by the bureaucrats to cool off the developing national confrontation with the employers. One way to ensure a cooling off would be to move back to concentrating on regional settlementa. It has always been the case that the employers' strength lies in the way the industry is organised. By preventing the militant areas from being used to aid the less militant (through regional deals) the unions are partly responsible for the building workers Jousy rafes. Such • move must be opposed.
EFFECTS OF THE STRIKE The Financial Timer reckons there are about 90,000 building workers on strike. It was the first paper to break silence on this issue. In a front page article on 12 August, it said that the strike should go to the new The strike of nightcieaners at the Ministry of Defence (Empress Building) in Fulham is over So too is that at the Old Admitalty Building in Whitehall, where the cleaners came out last week for the same demands against the same contractor, Clean Agents, In both cases the cleaners have won an increase of basic pay to £16,50 per week plus 50p night allowance. They have also won union recognition, and talks are still going on over the demands for more holidays and hiring of more staff.
The settlement came as strike action was having an increasing effect, with the picket of the Empress Bullding so effective that the Minstry was warning that it might have to close, In this situation the Government was forced to intervene through the Department
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VICTORY FOR NIGHTCLEANERS