Last Sunday (3 December) shop stewards and rank and file representatives from all the Health Service unions, representing health workers in hospitals throughout the country. attended the first National Conference of Stewards for Health Workers. The holding of the conference and the decisions it took te present an important step forward for hospital workers in their struggle against miserable pay and conditions. It was also a rellection of the growing militancy (the recent series of unofficial token strikes, overtime bans and demonstrations, etc., in hospitals throughout the country and their increasing disillusionment with their respective union bureaucrats.
For years the union bureaucrats have contented themselves with 'negotiating' miserable pay rises which have, in real terms, resulted in cuts in the standard of living of hospital workers. Just before the introduction of the pay freeze, they were busy playing their familiar bureaucratic role of trying to limit the demands of their members (from a modest £8 per week rise to a miserable £4). Now, instead of organising hospital workers and other sections of the labour movement to tight against the freeze, they have been running cap in hand from the N.H.S. management to Sir Keith Hoseph, pleading for crumbs. At the same time they are trying their utmost to dampen down the new-found militancy of hospital workers. WILLINGNESS TO FIGHT By way of contrast, the discussion and decisions taken at the conference showed the willingness of ancillary workers themselves to take the lead in the fight against the freeze, and their growing realisation that only by organising independently of the union bureaucracies can their interests be effectively defended.
The main organisational decisions taken by the conference were to work towards the setting up of permanent local rank and file alliances of all sections of hospital workers in cities throughout the country, and to form a national alliance committee (National Committee of Stewards for Health Workers) to plan and co-ordinate future actions in the struggle. A national secretary was elected (Jack Sutton, NUPE, Manchester) for an initial period of six months, subject to election every six months and immediate recall by the conference which would otherwise meet once every six months. Given the history of passivity amongst hospital workers and the unevenness throughout the country (and even within one locality) of the recent growth of militancy, another important decision taken was that to work towards the setting up of a national rank and file newspaper for health workers. This could not only be a means of information and education, but would be a focus around which isolated militants can organise within the unorganised areas of the health service.
INDUSTRIAL ACTION The most immediate issue that the conference discussed were plans to continue the struggle of hospital ancillary workers. The discussion took place in the light of the call issued at the end of the previous week by the union bureaucracies of the four main unions involved (T&GWU, GMWU, NUPE & COHSE) for a half-day of demonstrations and mass meetings on Wednesday 13 December. Several shopstewards pointed out that this move by the union chiefs must be seen as a small success, but that it was basically an attempt to re-establish their tattered credibility and regain control of the rank and file militancy to limit it once again.
The conference agreed that the half-day official action was totally inadequate and voted for a national one day strike on the 13th - as a preparation for the organisation of a week of industrial action (strikes, overtime bans, demos, etc.) between 29 December and 4 January.
LEAD ON FREEZE It was continually stressed throughout the conference that health workers as one of the weakest sections of the working class have little perspective of smashing the pay freeze on their own. Their action must be a lead to other sections of the labour movement to take up the struggle.
It is an important task for socialists and militants to generalise the fight of hospital workers. They must explain to other sections of the working class that the hospital workers cannot be left to fight alone, but must be supported - not just because they are amongst the most weakly organised and most exploited sections of workers, but because they are in the front line of a struggle which is in the interests of the whole working class; the struggle to smash the pay freeze. Alan Fisher, leader of NUPE-trying to damp down rather than organise health workers' militancy