After their court appearance: St Mary's NUPE convenor Don Steadman (foreground) and steward Peter Barker (to left behind him) with supporters. (Photo: Chris Davies, Report)
talking. Only industrial action will force it to back down.
NATIONAL ACTION But so far the only real support for the hospital workers has come at a local level. Last Friday's demonstration and strike of engineering workers in Sheffield, and Tuesday's demonstration in Nottingham, are the kind of action which the TUC should be organising nationally. For if the hospital workers are allowed to face the might of the State alone, the ruling class will have taken a big step forward in its struggle to break the resistance to the Freeze.
Already the employers are getting confident.
The Economist reports: "The good news is that the Government has so far been getting the