Week two of the Newham 7 trial began with five arshop steward organisation.
Three residential social workers had been sacked for attending meeting. Last Friday appeals were heard by a specially convened committee of councilors.
The sackings WEIG quashed the social Galle workers will De back at work in their old jobs from Monday this week. However the three will all have "final warnings' on their records.
means mutually agreeable union facilities agreement must be negotiated as soon the DESDIC DELWCCI council.
This would open the door to a speedy review of these final warnings' and their complete removal the files of these union activists.
Both the council and the unions must now put this whole episode behind them and organise foi mass campaign of resistance against the lorv rate-capping which is sure to hit the borough like a cyclone next year. Hundreds of redundancies and massive slashing of the services was only averted this year Dy eating into reserves and setting a rate well that mended by the Tories.
There will be no hiding place UCAL year. Some councillors and departmental Hialiasel were well aware oI Inis some months ago when NEWHAM's overwhelmingly Labour council drew back last week from its previous position of backing the attempt by management and hard right councillors to break up the local NALGO branch and its they started the whole sorry business of ting a full frontal assaul on the Newham NALGO branch. The attack started in October last year when The left lost the branch elections.
Carolyn Sikorski, Newham NALGO They blocked the progression of social service. convenor and Socialist Action supporter Barry Giray. It was a blatant attempt to frighten off further development of the stewards system in the rest of the branch victimise a leading union acA Yigorous campaign was launched in support of Barry the shop stewards committees while the newly elected branch committee watched trom the sidelines or in some cases actively undermined support. There were two VIIC day i strikes, weekly campaign broadsheets and series of shop meetings Crucial however trom the point of view of forcing the Labour councillors to off the fence and support the union was a speaking tour round every Dizia ward the borough.
But it was NALGO activists who were also active members of their wards general committees who majority of the party. Support built up ourside the and Barry won his regrading.
But at the very which Barri was regraded the council set a rate and launched the attack residential the three workers. This time as well as touring the Newham party yet again Ine newly 'Reinstatementr Campaign' into across London and also • nationallv.
The majority of 'left' councillors NALGO.
ALLACK Ul were in the lead-up to the group elections in which, hoped to win the key posi tions of leader and chair of personnel.
They known better. Having provided "left' for their dirty work the right said 'thanks a lot' and far giving them their votes kept a firm hold on the key positions in the council as well. The decision of the appeals com mittee has corrected this error.
There can be no unity with those in the party who don't really want to fight the Tories except of course unity in the graveyard of smashed services. smashed unions and thousands jobs lost hose who reall] see Council stand and fight the orles next vear mus begin to organise now in Labour Party and the whole borough.
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