UP en inousand beople marchee unrouer London last saturday in support or "free abortion on demand - a woman's right to choose' and against the return to backstreet abortions threatened by the reactionary Parliamentary Select POORTION DEMAND womar to thou Committee Jo Richardson, speaking at the final rally in Trafalgar Square, supported the refusal of the National Abortion Campaign to submit evidence to the Select Committee (which now consists solely Pampa, astms group of anti-abortionists). She said she was glad that the Privileges Committee had found NAC not guilty of a breach of privilege, although she "would have liked to have seen all these thousands of people on the march before the House, bringine une issue mont into une chamber le self.
orner speakers includeo reacine coc CELIA PUGH reports. pared to delve International support was represented The maioritv of the The Working Women's Charter has been adopted by 12 national unions and by hundreds of trade union branches, trades councils, Labour Party branches and women's organisations in the two years since it was first drafted by the London Trades Council. More than a third of the delegates at last year's TUC voted for the Charter to become the basis for the fight on women's rights. Now the Campaign set up after the 1974 London Trades Council meeting is holding its first national conference this weekend This conference can mark an important step forward in drawing all supporters of the Working Women's Charter into a nationally coordinated fight for women's rights.
Since the Working Women's Charter was first drafted, the Labour Government has announced the dawning of 'equality' with the Sex Discrimination and Equal Pay legislation. These Acts are a clear response to the increased demands and struggles of women, and will increase expectations of equality and indep endence. However, the legislation itself only skims the surface of an oppression which goes much deeper than the Labour Government is preASSAULT In reality the Labour Government has presided over an outright assault on women's rights, through cuts in social expenditure, unemployment and attacks on abortion rights. Between January and September 1975 the rate of unemployment amongst women rose by 121 percent (compared with 48 per cent for men).
At the same time, Healey's cuts in social expenditure increasingly thrust the weight of responsibility for health and welfare onto the shoulders of those 'naturally destined' to service the needs of children, husbands and elderly relations.
The surface nature of Labour's legislation was highlighted last week in a research study published by the Labour Research Department, which concluded that 'one of the main obstacles to the proper working of the recent sex discrimination legislation will continue to be the lack of places where pre-school children can be looked after if their mothers go out to work'.
These attacks affect the whole WWC/Abortion of any fight-back which proceeds in unity and undivided strength.
The demands of the Working Women's Charter are particularly important in taking up this fight. Unlike the Labour Government's legislation and the TUC's own Char ter, the Working Women's Charter goes to the roots of what denies women independence and equality - their position and responsibilities in the family