HOSPITAL STRIKES HIT NEW AREAS

AS THE hospital unions' selective strike campaign hit new areas in Yorkshire, Counties yesterday, strikers in Scotland and the north west refused to return to work as scheduled.

In several areas, there was firm resistance to attempts to undermine the particularly effective action by laundry stafi.

GASMEN delegates to decide action UNION LEADERS in the gas industry have called off the escalation in industrial action due from midnight Sunday following Wednesday's marathon talks with the Gas Corporation. A national delegate conference meets today to consider the situation.

A. G&MWU statement said that the Corporation had put forward certain suggestions which it thought might resolve the dispute and, after discussion, a detailed document will be submitted today to the delegates.

'In these circumstances, the union has instructed its regions to postpone the proposed escalation action on gas production work to provide time for the union's representatives to consider the docuThe original intention was to cut town gas production further from Monday if the Corporation refused to reduce supplies of natural gas to industrial users.

The union leaders have gone back on this decision apparently because of possible alterations The ‹ omnoranon's redundancy programme for 1973-1974.

There no improvement in the Ody offer €2.20 more WeAR which is the the government, and has already rejected. The men want £5.50.

But the nav allow redundancy payments to be made plus per cent wage formula. And the Corporation mav aco outer to recute tre 1,500 proposed redundancies for the coming year.

None of this affects the pay and likely get action campaign called off. And it is possible the escalation will ahead neyt Mondav anvwav. unofficially.

Meanwhile the effects of th lispute continue to grow Another 100 men were off at bringing the total to 2,850.

A spokesman said that duction than 120m, sadaser more been lost.

In Wales, production problems were said a spodesman for Wales Gas.

A warning to industry to be on a two-hour standby for cuts and reduced pressure was renewed.

A total of 508 households in Wales were without gas yesterday because installations could not be repaired.

Sixty service and distribution personnel are now on sirike in areas covering 50,000 customers.

A l stoppage by 250 men Croydon (Surrey) gas plant has heen called from midnight Sunday. It was not immerate u known whether this would go Registered as a newspaper at tht Post Office. Published by Workers Press, 186a Clapham High Street, 7UG. Printed Plough Newsdesk: 01-720 2000.

01-622 7029.

Pressure for all-out strike calls both from the hospital unions and the TUC continued to build up.

New strikes in Derby, Ches Huddersfield and brought the overall number of hospitals affected by total or partial strikes to 257.

In Dunfermline, strikers who should have returned to work at four hospitals decided to Gas union OUR INDUSTRIAL The picket line at St James's Hosplal, South London, Fazdardasy. ahead in view of later developments.

If it does, South. Eastern Gas say 400,000 homes in their area will have supplies cut off. But 450,000 other homes will continue to receive low-pressure supplies from East Greenwich, London, and the Isle of Grain, Kent.

John Edmonds, G&MWU official, said he was not optimistic that the delegate conference would lead to an agreement being reached with the Corporation. If the proposals are turned down, it is likely that the union will reinstate the plan to escalate the action.

CORTINA workers in Ford's Dagenham body plant plan to stop work today in protest against the company's £2.40, government-controlled pay offer. The stoppage-in line with the sporadic strikes policy of the Ford national convenors' committee-is expected to involve some 400 men on the day shift and several hundred more on nights. At Halewood, Liverpool, duction following worker.. pro- work-to-rule is cutting turn from three- and four-day stoppages which started last stay out until Monday. Laundry workers at Whittingham mental hospital, Preston, decided to stay out for a second week.

At one of Europe's biggest hospital complexes, the Heath group in Cardiff, workers came out for their second three-day strike since the campaign began, while Cardiff's Royal Infirmary struck for a week from midnight.

Kitchen workers at the Royal Nothing will get through'Nurses back St James' picket line ANCILLARY workers at St James's Hospital in south London yesterday began a week-long official strike.

The 12-man strike committee, comprising all the unions involved in the pay claim-NUPE, the G&MWU and COHSE-issued a statement saying that an emergency cover was being provided.

Workers

Press MONTHLY APPEAL FUND IT'S PRESSING ahead, but still not fast enough. We are determined to raise as much as possible this month. Our target is £1,750 — so there is not a moment to waste.

More sections of workers are beginning to show their enormous determination to fight back against the Tories and their attacks on living standards. Railwaymen, gasworkers, teachers, civil servants, hospital workers every day, more and more are joining the fight.

But from the trade union leaders there remains no lead.

build an alternative revolutionary leadership to prepare all these Infirmary in Hull were given official backing for their strike against management attempts to shift laundry at night in their own cars.

The group laundry at the Whitely Hospital, Coventry, came out on strike yesterday as other sections of ancillary workers went back.

Mr Joseph, a laundry worker at Whitely, said: "There are too many people working for noA large contingent of pickets, mainly women workers, gathered at the gates for most of yesterday morning.

Strike committee spokesman Bill Webster said the strike had been called following an overwhelming vote at a mass meeting last Monday. He emphasized that the strike action had the fullest support even to the extent of non-unionists joining in.

"There will be no drift back to work here, he declared.

Since the fight for the claim MARCH FUND HAS REACHED £200.97 new layers of battles ahead.

Use our paper to mobilize as much support as possible. Rally thousands over the next few days to our mass anti-Tory rally and Pageant at the Empire Pool, Wembley, this Sunday. Make this the centre of the struggle to build this leadership.

There is no doubt that our Fund is absolutely vital. Raise all you can-where possible, raise more. Post all donations immediately to:

March Appeal Fund 186a Clapham High Street, London, SW4 7UG thing. Wages here are very low and you have to be running about all day.

"The cost of living is too high. Things have gone up in the shops at a faster rate in the freeze than before it.

•We have to abolish the Tory pay laws and we need a General Strike. One day is not enough to get a General Election. All the unions have to rork together.

began several weeks ago there has been a vigorous increase in union membership at St James's.

Among those groups supporting the strikers are nurses. At a Press conference, Helen Rogalska said that nurses themselves were organizing support for the strike. Ihey were drawing up a letter of support and sending it to the local newspaper.

As a further act of solidarity they are not asking for meals.

Individual doctors have also told the committee that they are fully behind the struggle for better wages and conditions.

Mr Webster condemned the capitalist Press for its wildly exaggerated stories about danger to patients. He added:

We have conceded a whole number of points in relation to emergency cover. Our interests lie with the patients. We don't want to see patients suffer any more than is necessary.' He singled out the BBC and the London 'Evening Standard' in particular.

'If the government is so concerned about morals and old aged pensioners then let them take steps to put an end to it.

If there are any mishaps because of this strike, the responsibility will lie with the government and the health authorities.' He angrily attacked consultants who 'bleed' off the National Health Service who have concern for the welfare huot suddenly started to show huge patients.

He said that these wealthy consultants only used the NHS to make personal profits for themselves.

The strikers are due to go back at midnight next Wednesday at which point the committee is expected to review the position and make another recommendation.

On the picket line the mood was determined and optimistic.

"Too many vehicles are getting through for my liking,' said one young official picket. 'But we'll see to that as we get better organized.' Most vehicles respected the picket line; those who swept through in their cars contemptuous of the strikers and endangering them with their wild driving were police and certain doctors.

There was a curious moment shortly after lunchtime. A union representative began asking pickets to 'go home' and also asked them to remove two rubbish cans from the roadway which were effectively slowing down any vehicles.

Seems like a odd way a picket line ....

A HUNDRED COHSE members from Salford Royal Infirmary yesterday voted for a one-week total strike in opposition to union organizer Eddie Lawson.

He pleaded with them to respect their co-ordinating committee's selective strike action but was told: 'It needs all out to win'.

On Monday porters will join drivers already on strike from Hope Hospital, Manchester.