Gasmen want all-out strike

BY ROYSTON THE GASMEN'S union has finally given in to mounting ressure trom workers to escalate the campaign ol strikes and other industrial action. But it has still refused to call an all-out strike as demanded by several areas.

The Gas ,Corporation will be told this week that either it cuts off a whole new number of industrial users from natural gas supplies, or else further restrictions will be imposed on town gas production from next Monday.

The town gas cuts would mainly affect domestic consumers and thousands of households throughout the country would have no more gas indefinitely. The shut-downs will be carried out with all due safety, precautions.

Spokesman for the General and Municipal Workers' Union, John Edmonds, said the union wanted to stick to its original intention and hit industry and commerce rather than householders.

If the Corporation Hospital campaign strong in ANCILIARY workers at 263 hospitals up and down the country were on total or partial strike yesterday against the Tory pay laws. The campaign built up particularly strongly in the north, and in Northern Hospital workers in Manchester told Workers Press: "It should be all out'.

Workers at eight Liverpool hospitals walked out, although not scheduled to do so by their union.

Late yesterday afternoon a sit-in was still going on at Bradford Royal Infirmary over attempts to bring in volunteers and contract labour to carry out laundry work. Earlier workers at seven Yorkshire hospitals had sat-in.

One hundred men and women Registered as a newspaper at the Post Office. Published by Workers Press, 186a Clapham High Street, 7UG. Printed Plough Newsdesk: 01-720 2000. Circulation: 01-622 7029.. GASWORKERS In the north -east yesterday stepped up their strike action which will almost certainly mean the cutting off of home supplles in some areas.

Pressure at the main town gas station at Hartlepool was slashed by 15 million cubic feet to 90 million after a call for national strike action by shop stewards.

Gasworkers delegate Joe Scollins told cut off natural gas supplies to industry, the union will give guarantees about maintaining domestic gas supplies for the duration.

Most industrial and commercial consumers using town gas have already been cut off, but they are not numerous. Most industrial users are on natural gas, used either for heating factories or directly in production. Few of these have been affected so far.

Major cut-offs in this north at Hope Hospital, Manchester, have been out on selective strike since last Thursday.

Arthur Oliver, transport driver, said: 'We drivers are out indefinitely. We can't pussyfoot around. I agree with Joe Gormley.

'A one-day stoppage is not much good, but it's better than nothing. We should be all out like the gasmen should be' Bill Memory, a porter, said: 'All the other Press is a load of propaganda. All our patients aren't dying. With £14 a week take-home pay, some of us are.

We should have a national stoppage.' The workers had believed that the porters would be out on strike next Thursday but Eddie Lawson, NUPE district secretary, sent a letter yesterday telling them not to take unilateral action 'as at the best it could only be a failure'. mass meeting of 200 strikers at Walker Gate, Newcastle, that they were determined to cut off all town gas.

•We want gas to stop throughout the whole area. We want Hartlepool and Blaydon completely shut down. We have told this management and we have told our officials.

'The gloves are off Medical support gle of ingly to STEPHEN JOHNS now as far as we are concerned. Until now we have been fighting with one glove on. But from now on there will be no holds barred.' Output reductions at Hartlepool and later Blaydon could threaten up to 3,500 homes with a complete cut in supplies. militant follows would have a considerable effect on industrial production, but the union has not yet announced officially how large a cut in supplies it is demanding, or by how much they will cut town gas supplies as an alternative.

Any town gas plants closed down will be kept in a 'warm' condition, ready to be reopened quickly.

A national delegate conference will consider the proposals on Friday.

Council of the Socialist Association has voted to in full the wages strugthe hospital ancillary and has written accordall the unions involved.

hospital news, STEEL cutbacks planned for Shotton, north Wales, will mean the closure of the whole works —which employs 13,000the government task force studying Shotton's problems was warned yesterday. 'No one believes that the finishing processes will be kept going indefinitely if the steel-making and hot-rolling plants are closed', stated the works branch of the Steel Industry Management Association. Almost 2,000 off-duty steelmen will leave Flint by train today ny amen! the They want delegates to support a national steel workers' conference on March 13. action meetTENAN area of s stage a Saturday Wing of shop stewards on Monday where G&MWU officials were severely criticized.

Yesterday's meeting expressed a universal determination to press ahead for a national strike. All eyes were on the talks at national level in London.

The national today council meets today and all gas delegates meet again on Friday.

Asked why the executive had turned down an all-out strike, Edmonds said: 'We think we can achieve sufficient effects safely within the bounds of present policy.

We would not necessarily achieve much more with an all-out strike.' Several hundred manual workers in the Essex area of the North Thames Gas Board will begin a one-week strike from today. Greenwich tenants stage weekend rally 'S in the Greenwich outh-east London will march and rally on against the Tories' Finance Act.

Students from the nowoccupied Thames Polytechnic at Woolwich and delegates from Clay Cross, Liverpool and Manchester will take part.

The demonstration has the support of local tenants' associations, political groups, the Trades Council, Kent miners and trade union branches. It is being organized by the Greenwich Tenants' and Residents' Campaign Committee.

A spokesman for the campaign said: 'Our ultimate aim is to destroy the Tories' Housing Finance Act. We see this Saturday's demonstration as a warning to all tenants that the Act is still very much in business-rents are going to go up again.

He said that many people did not realize that it was the Tory. appointed Rent Scrutiny Board which was now setting rents. 'In the next three years rents can go up by as much as £2 or £3, he added. • Left-wing Labour councillors in Camden, north London, have joined Camden Action Committee and tenants' associations in urging tenants to withhold the 85p rent rise introduced when the Labour-controlled Camden Council capitulated to the Tory rent Act.

Pickets were out at rent offices in the borough this week and the Camden Action Committee has distributed 20,000 leaflets calling for withholding of the rise.

A deputation is to attend the council meeting on March 28 to demand that no tenants be evicted for refusing to pay the increase.