Reception party for the cuts commissar in Scotland MILITANT ACTION by workers in West of Scotland Supplementary Benefit offices recently turned a prestige tour of offices by Deputy Secretary R.S. Matthews into a fiasco. Matthews, a key figure in the Whitehall team implementing the current f95 million round of cuts in Civil Service, Airdrie and Coatbridge offices on Tuesday 10 August, and then went to the Glasgow offices of Maryhill and Bridgeton the following day. The tale he had to take back to his masters was a sorry one.
Walk out His prestige' took its first dent at Airdrie. Fifty members of the Civil and Public Services Association promptly walked out upon his arrival. Worse was to come at Coatbridge, where CPSA members were joined by Society of Civil and Public Servants members in the 90strong strike. After a day spent dodging pickets and placards demanding No Cuts-No Redundancies, dorsed a joint letter of protest from the two unions, they had voted against coming out. But several replied DHSS to Matthews' attempt to "fraternise" by going out on a rota of urgent visits!
The picket outside, never less than forty strong during the threevisited hour visit, carried placards saying 'No Cuts Here' and 'Cuts in Staff Mean Cuts in Services'. Pickets not only explained their actions to waiting claimants, but gave with problems.
Matthews was besieged not only by angry civil servants, claimants who supported the strike.
There was no more joy for him at his final stop. CPSA North Glasgow Branch officials who had joined the Maryhill picket raced ahead and succeeded in pulling out over 20 of the staff in this small office. Mr Matthews quietly departed for top level talks in Edinburgh the following day-talks which no doubt included a post-mortem on his disastrous tour.
day of the Lobby Labour Party conference called by the National Coordinating Committee Against Cuts in the NHS (NCC) has been changed to Tuesday 28 September. NCC Organiser Janet Maguire told Red Weekly:
NUPE is calling for a lobby by its members on the Tuesday. NCC of course is most anxious to the biggest contingent to fight against cuts and to ation resolution on the NHS incidentally was moved by Alan Fisher on behalf of NUPE. * Ban on Statistics and Activity Sur veys land walk-outs will play a vital role action and *We have been informed that possible demand the implementof last years conference which Actions such as the West of Scotthroughout the DHSS. And proposals of the DHSS Section It is not the trade union leaders *We have therefore written to NUPE declaring our support for its suggesting that we organise a joint lobby. It appears that NUPE will mainly be organising its own members; whereas the NCC is directing its call to Constituency Labour Parties, the health unions, shop stewards committees, trades councils men's groups, etc. The NCC has written to all unions affiliated to the Labour Party asking them to CARDIFF to these *The AUEW and ASLEF have both replied saying that they have referred this matter to their executives; the AUEW also say that it will be referred to their delegation attending the conference. A number of Labour Parties have already told the NCC that they have mandated their conference delegates to go on the lobby, and in all the major centres support is being built for this action.
*Readers of Red Weekly should make sure that this is brought to attention of their organisations and should make every effort to get delegates elected from them to the lobby health housing hygiene libraries
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