A carefully orchestrated campaign in the national press over the last three months culminated in the announcement on 26 January of massive redundancies in the Civil Service. The figure of 100,000 has even been suggested in the Guardian. It has also been made clear to the unions that these are not going to be made through 'natural wastage.
Every national paper without exception has joined in the campaign against the Civil Service workers mainly attacking their inflationproof pensions and relative job securWhitehall's Happy Laughing Boys' and "Too Much for Too Many were the headlines of two leaders in the Guardian in three days in December. Organised Trade unionists in the Civil Service knew that the campaign was too well organised to be spontaneous, and suspected that their employer the Government - was behind an attempt to turn public opinion against them. The proposed job losses are the result. ly hopes that a huge loss of jobs in the Civil Service will be an 'acceptable cut-back in social expenditure.
Inflation-proof pensions have been one of the perks of civil servants that have most angered the Pension funds procapitaust press vide around £11,000 million for investors in the City to play with on the Stock Exchange supposedly being invested to provide security for the employees contributions, but in reality making small fortunes for a few.
Since the civil servants' employer the Government - theoretically cannot go bankrupt, there is no real compulsion for it to keep the kitty topped up. But une capitansts are scared stiff that their own employees might demand the same inflationproofing, which would leave them with fewer funds for playing the Stock Exchange.
One of the most outspoken critics of inflation-proofing is Tory Shadow Minister, Sir Geoffrey Howe. Ironically it was he who actually introduced the pensions scheme in 1971, when it was considered cheaper to relate pensions to puces than to wages.
* The myth of the over-paid, lazy civil servant is the image being used to justify the lay-offs. The Civil Service is in fact drastically understaffed; in a written parliamentary answer in the tirst week in December, it was stated that legislation already enacted by this Labour Gövernment will require 6,500 more civil servants by 1 April 1976 and another 4,000 by 1 April 1977.
Demand This of course does not take into account the greater demands caused by the economic crisis: the Department of Health and Social Security needs more staff to cope with increased benefit claims and the Inland Revenue is currently being inundated with tax rebates for unemployed workers.
At the last TUC the Civil Service unions provided the core of the leftwing forces - both the Civil and Public Services Association and the Society of Civil Servants opposed the £6 limit and supported the Working Women's Charter. The Civil Service Department has admitted that 86 per cent of civil servants Brian Sedgemore addressing the IWC car conference. On his left is Audrey Wise. Barbara Castle surrounded by striking civil servants from the DHSS headquarters at Longbenton, Newcastle. They were protesting against the attacks on their jobs of whom will be women clerical workers 1 the level of national earnings. The proposed redundancies will provide the leaderships of these unions with the opportunity to back up their rhetoric with action.
of the TUC should be echoed by the rest of the Civil Service unions and campaigned tor.
Staff Association's overtime ban will achieve nothing if it is limited Wages — it must be extended to disnext budget proposals.
opposition to voluntary redunand unity with other white-collar and manual unions in the fight for the right to work.
is the fight against the Wilson Government. When that Government is most way to tackle it: head-on.
policy. unemployment. class on that road.
are paid on or below