London Labour Briefing no. 94

On Tuesday April 26th, at a meeting of Middlesex Polytechnic Students in North London, a decision was made to occupy the All Saints site of the

Poly.

Hundreds of students backed the decision and the occupation has continued since then, despite court actions and other threats.

The occupation came in response to the proposed Tory cuts instigated by Dr. R. Rickett, the Polytechnic director, in particular the planned closure of the All Saints site and the transfer of the humanities and social science faculties.

Students are demanding:

@No cuts in educational provision

@No closure of the academic programme at All Saints

© Full consultation with Middlesex Polytechnic Student Union on planning proposals

@No privatisation of education

@No victimisation of students.

The Poly has openly and repeatedly stated that the transfer is happening because of external pressures and

Middlsex Poly Oc

STUDENTS

By students occupying Middlesex Polytechnic

cutbacks; it is an attempt to make the Poly look like a good financial proposition in readiness for “vesting day” when the GERBIL becomes law. There are no clear academic or financial grounds for the closure of the All Saints site. The Assistant Director of Finance, Prof. Bob Perks, has resigned over the lack of proper planning.

The truth of the matter is that this move is totally politically motivated and in line with the government’s attitude to education in general, which is geared towards commercial enterprise, i.e. industrial and business orientated courses in line with the proposed corporate status (Middlesex Poly plc.) objectives of the Tories.

Despite the despair of many, perpetuated by an apathetic Student Executive Committee, the feeling amongst students is still strong and confident, and has been given collective organisation.

Inspired by our actions, North London Polytechnic, Central London Polytechnic, and Paddington Further Education College have also gone into occupation. We’ve had messages of support from over 35 colleges nationwide. We have also had the support of the local Labour Parties and of 16 MPs, including Tony Benn.

A summons was served on twelve individuals (mostly officers of the Students Union) on Thursday May 5th. They have since appeared in court where some failed to stand firm and actually disowned the occupations (which have spread to the Enfield and Trent Park sites of the Poly). Though we know the court will eventually send the police down to the occupations to try to enforce Tory policy, the strength and unity of the occupying students, and our determination to fight the cuts, remains intact.

Like the miners, the P&O strikers, and the healthworkers we believe the only way to defeat Tory policy is to take a direct stand against it. We ask all trade unions and student unions to support our actions.

London Labour Briefing No. 94 May 11th-24th 1988 page 2

Principle begins to

pay

The last six months have seen turbulent times in Haringey, but the left finishes this period in a stonger position than we could have hoped for at Christmas.

True, £46m. cuts. havens gone through. But agreeing the cuts in abstract is one thing; implementing them is another, as resistance grows . in the community and the Party to the Council Leadership's strategy.

This Leadership is a mixture of LCC and exCommunist. Party _ fellow travellers, together with the soft right. They receive further support within. the Labour Group from a rump of the old right and the soft left.

The only issue that truly unites these individuals is that of legality at all costs.

Council Leader Toby Harris’s strategy of hanging on to “‘power’’ at all costs is beginning to wear thin. The coalition—built within the Group on the basis of a fear of surcharge: is:beginnil

By"Glir Peter Doble Haringey

———

The right’s inability to complete its strategy is largely due to continued public opposition to cuts and to the fact that the 12-16 Councillors Against Cuts have stuck together and continue to form a solid voting block against the Leadership.

The Party, too, is beginning to fight back. After a short period when both CLPs — Tottenham and Hornsey & Wood Green — were controlled by LCC hacks, Tottenham GC now has an effective left majority, as shown by a number of recent votes.

In Hornsey & Wood Green, the LCC are stronger and have built on a, more established base of older rightwingers. However, there are indications even here that the same people are worried about the wider effects on the Party should the LCC Young Turks, through their manipulation — of meetings and their wilful cynicism, succeed in alienating a large and active part of the left from the Labour Party itself.

Rapprochement

There is now a move for rapprochement being led by the soft left on the’ Labour Group. They reject the left’s opposition to cuts, but they also reject the determination of the right to witch-hunt us.

Since September, there have been at least four attempts to discipline the left, resulting in the left being removed from all committee chairs, but not from membership of the commit-

off

tees themselves.

This was not enough for Toby Harris and his clique, who cannot be sure of getting their own way unless they remove a number of left Councillors from the Group.

A plot was therefore hatched between them and the

subsequent reductions in teacher numbers. Tremendous — opposition

from parents, teachers, and Party members was mobilised at a speed and to a depih which belied all those people who argued so adamantly that it was impossible to

EGC-EC:-—-firmly-in LEC. saul support hands — to remove six left to defend Sopp sector.

Councillors who had moved or seconded, albeit unsuccessfuly, various _anti-cuts motions at the March 7th Council meeting.

Emergency

Without prior warning the LGC on March 20th passed an emergency motion to suspend the six (Craig Brewin,

Peter Doble, _ Vince Gillespie, Kevin Hargreaves, Steve ‘King, Narendra

Makanji) -from” the»Group for three months unless we signed a statement to abide by the Group Standing Orders.

This motion came to a joint LGC _EC/Group meeting on April 28th, and at last the soft Jeft, after

‘witch-hunte

In its place, a motion was passed setting up a panel of Councillors and Party officers to sort out, in effect, how the two wings of the Group can be reconciled.

The centre, of course, remain confident that a ‘“‘middle way’? can be found — one which would enable them to stay within the law but without having to put up with the arrogance and hectoring of the current Leadership.

In the long term this poses questions for the left. Do we accept the olive branch or reject it as naive apolitical sentimentalism, make no _concessions, and push the Party into an almost inevitable split at local level?

Failure

In the short term, the failure of the Leadership to remove us from the Group means we were still there at the Group AGM on May Sth, The left put up an anticuts slate — which did not win, but which demonstrated once agin that we enjoy the solid support of a substantial minority of the local Party.

Of course, the real struggle, as ever, is outside the Council Chamber and the Group — and here too the cuts strategy is running into problems.

Haringey Fights Back! continues to meet regularly, and though it has not succeeded in the disparate an campaigns as effectively as it would have liked, these individual campaigns are vigorous and getting results.

The most notable of these was a campaign opposing the amalgamation of the 46 Infant and Junior schools into 23 Primary schools with

The Council leadership cannot stomach any oppositions against them (there were hundreds of people at both Education Committees whch discussed the amalgamations) cannot happen of their own accord — by definition! They must have been whipped up by the far left!

Nonetheless the mass opposition forced the right to climb down and reduce the number of schools to be merged.

Stormy

At the Education. Committee on April 22nd seven schools were still threatened,

‘ z Co cillors (Kevin Hargreaves, Peter Chalk, Davina Cooper, Nicky Gavron) taking the lead with the cooptees in opposing the mergers. In the end, the stunned pro-merger Labour Councillors abstained thus themselves breaking Group policy!

The left have also mobilised well to maintain the Council’s commitment. to defend lesbian and gay rights and oppose the implementation of Clause 28.

At the Special Council meeting on April 25th, called by far right Tory Councillor Peter Murphy, a motion was passed pledging continued support for the lesbian and gay unit, Reading Matters bookshop, and our election pledges to defend lesbian and gay rights.

But this motion had to be fought. for in the Labour Group. The Leadership’s strategy was just to make a statement and not even put forward a concrete motion. And the statement was written in the bureaucratic cotton-wool of the ALA (whence it originated).

Defiant

We were told we had to’ agree this because of the egal ramifications if we adopted a more defiant position. Fortunately, these scare tactics failed and the Group adopted a motion incorporating support for the statement, but with a stronger line defying Clause 28.

Victories have also been won in stopping the introduction of charges for playgroups, and a strong campaign is gaining momentum in opposing cuts in the hours and wages of playworkers.

NALGO has __unsuccessfully taken the Council to Court over its failure to meet Social i statutory responsidi yet the Social Services Chair, Peter Clarke, has himself admitted that some 97 children ‘‘at risk’’ are currently. not allocated a social worker and that there are more social worker posts vacant than there need to be, even with the cuts.

Significant

Finally, significant delays and amendments have been forced onto the Leadership’s attempt to restructure the Council’s committees.

In Haringey the Councillors Against the Cuts have shown that a continued principled opposition to cuts can win victories, can isolate the ardent cutters, and give heart to the continued struggle in the community against the Tories and their policies.

|. The emergence of right wing, racist and sexist elements in the Direct

Labour Organisation was expected.

The first indication of

Workmen on the maintenance and repairs teams were egged on by an operative to withdraw support from the craft committee.

This came. precisely when the government had forced 80% cuts in the funding for rehab, new: build, and other

ital projects, thus en-

works and building. Cohesion

The attacks have helped to destroy the cohesion of the Craft Committee and drive wedges between the Repairs and Maintenance side.and the

ital and. Building Works division.

Exploiting issues such as the policy of employing women operatives and the different contractual conditions applying to different works teams, the wreckers hope to help the Labour Council run down the Public Works DLO

and thus render it helpless

dangering the future of capital —

Divide and rule in the Council workforce

against competitive tendering.

These divisions also_help mask the effects of the Council's programmes of cutbacks and voluntary redundancy, which will inevitably weaken the position of the entire

workforce when it faces privatisation. Responded

responded quickly and has tried to renegotiate on the issue of contractual overtime, conceded to the Capital Works Building Division some years ago, but leaving maintenance without any guaranteed ‘overtime.

With the reduction in overtime available to the operatives. many now find they are taking home no more than their basic weekly wages.

Overtime

Distribution of overtime is in the hands of managers and supervisors who can allocate it to their own favourites. As a result some men get over 40 hours overtime a week incuding of. course some of those making the most noise over athe es of the women operativés in the Building Teams!

Initially, the managers of the PWS agreed to the union formula, but then rejected it, doubtless. after the intervention of right wing Labour Councillors. The Craft Committee has since voted 22 to four to rewrite the agreement maintaining the principle of levelling up the.conditions on maintenance to that of the other Division.

Operatives

This will give operatives 35 hours basic plus seven and a

half hours.overtime, which for maintenance would be conditional on productivity. Given the nature of repairs service, there is no clocking on or site supervision.

The Craft Committee is also boycotting industrial relations meetings and has expressed no confidence in the managers. They will be going direct to the chair of the PWS.

Clearly, the amount of overtime available during a period of cuts must be controlled jointly with the agreement of the entire workforce, not dictated by the personal whim of

Traditional

Efforts have to be made to unite the workforce, overcome. traditional differences, and maintain the principles of no compulsory redundancies and no changes in pay and conditions over the heads of, the workforce and its elected trade union representatives.

Other manual —_ union representatives have’ ignored the issue of racism and sexism in the DLO and have given the Craft Committee _representatives no support. They have also caved in on other issues, such as cashless pay.

“ Setbacks ne

Such setbacks cannot be hidden from the workforce for long and will result not in the victory of one faction or another but in the loss of prestige and —_ negotiating power for all the Local Authority trade unions.

The time is now overripe for a Joint Shop Stewards Committee across the Borough, where problems raised in the DLO and elsewhere can be discussed, divisions _ ironed out, and the malpractices of management brought to the attention of the shopfloor.

Haringey

he Labour Party NEC ecided on January 7th to refer campaignig anti-cuts activist landy Mudd to the Naonal Constitutional ommittee for possible xpulsion.

She is charged with “a ustained course of con-

uct prejudicial to the arty’. . The referral followed a

ries of outrageous allegaons cooked up by London gional Officers in collusion ith local Party rightwingers. The “Haringey Against t fitch-hunt: Defend Mandy judd!” Campaign was launned in February by local tbour Party activists to fight ¢ Mandy's right to remain in ie Labour Party. The Campaign was soon in p gear: within weeks a four age printed bulletin outlining charge: st Mandy ad their detailed rebuttal had pen sent to every Constituen- ¢ Labour Party in the country. A fund-raising social recent- ‘raised £200. This, and a rge number of donations and filiations have helped get jandy’s case Widely known belying the London Evening tandard’s claim that the camaign was bankrupt. Support for the campaign as built up steadily over the st couple of months. Mandy 3s spoken at meetings across e country, including at a meeting at UT Conference; Greater Lon- ¢n Labour Party Conference; omchurch Labour Party; Finley Women's Section; olbon & St Pancras jomen’s. Sections; and faltham Forest CLP. Hundreds of _ signatures ave been obtained on a pe!

Mandy

Mudd

By Ian Lund Secretary, Haringey

Against the

Witch-hunt

tion defending Mandy's right to stay in the Party, from a wide cross section of Party and trade union activists as far

afield as Cumbria,

Burnley.

Tamworth and Brighton. Both CLPs in Haringey are

now fully behind the c: — the LCCers who the

instigated

wi

were reduced to a tiny isolated minority when votes were taken at the GCs.

Tottenham

Party officers

are now bound by policy to ‘act and speak at all times’’ in

support of the Ci places the CLP’s Vice Ch

an uncomfortable position as

the author of the

accusing

“intimidation”.

useful breathing space to build jign further. ‘meeting has been organised in Haringey for May 19th to rally support (see box). When the NCC finally meets further activities cluding press conferences are planned to spotlight the true motive behind Mandy's expulsion charge — to silence all political opposition to the Leadership and those who are most effectively campaigning against the Tories.

22 Haringey Against the Witch-

hunt

Defend Mandy Mudd

PUBLIC MEETING

Speakers: :

Bernie Grant MP Sharon Atkin Jeremy Corbyn MP Mandy Mudd

Thursday May 19th, 7.30pm Winkfield Road Day Centre (off Lordship Lane N17)

Sponsored by Tottenham Labour Part:

PHOTOS: Martine Stead

London Labour Briefir

ig No. 94 May 11th-24th 1988 page 3

PHOTOS: Lobby of Haringey Council, April 25th, as the Tories try to close Reading Matters Bookshop — the first use of the not-yet-quite law Clause 28. Left: Labour Councillor Vince Gillespie addresses the lobby while Tory thugs look on, and the SWP signal their presence in the back row. Above: Haringey Lesbians and Gay men make their presence known with a huge

banner.

was somewhat Gsappomied and surprised to learn that

yet again I am being forced

1 was particularly keen to attend, as many of the speakers I know well and admire. I am also committed to left socialism, and have been expelled from the Camden Labour Group for being so.

Naturally, knowing that in this country, and particularly at conferences, I cannot take for granted that the venue will be accessible, I checked this out with the organisers.

I was told that it was — in so far as I could get through the door; but there was no wheelchair accessible toilets or car parking provision —

Dear London Labour Briefing,

A poser for you — why isn't there a high-profile London-wide campaign against the Poll Tax yet?

It seems. imperative to me that the left set the agenda on this issue. But the only campaign aiming at wide audience is the People’s Petition Against the Poll Tax. Frankly, petitions are even less likely to defeat the Poll, Tax than a strongly-worded letter to the Times.

From next April, we shall need a unified approach to registration, involving noncompliance by Local Authorities, supported by radical grass roots direc tion action.

From April 1990, we shall need agreement on non-payment, and sufficient organisation to translate community anger into disruption of the collection process.

A viable campaign will not develop unless we start building the

How would you feel if ! locked all the toile

Poll Tax

tials for me.

Phone that & was accessible. had booked the venue on that assumption, but didn’t

irksome because I had offered sometime back to help ensure that an accessible venue was found. lam getting rather tired of being expected to continue to show my commitment to the left when little or no commitment is shown by the left to people with disabilities. :

I don’t believe it's my own responsibility to always make sure I can go to conferences. It’s as much other

necessary links now. @Vigorous focal campaigns (such as in Greenwich) need to be put in touch with other, less vigorous campaigns @ Agencies such as the Local Government Infor mation Unit and Shelter need to be tapped for the information needed to campaign effectively @Tenants’ Associations and manual workers’ trade unions, whose members will be impoverished by the Poll Tax, need to make contact with left Councillors and town hall unions which have the power to stop implementation. @Londoners must draw from the experience of Scottish activists presently organising in the same way we'll have to next year.

A directory of all local Poll Tax Campaigns would be an_ excellent start. Perhaps then a Londonwide convention . could give the — disparate

ing and brailling, and information in ethnic minority

provided at

seual use for suck servaccs_

i scndx shez aticbodied people sould feel they arrived at 2 Conference to find that al the todets were locked and they could not gain access? This in ef fect is what you are doing to people with disabilities.

You are creating apartheid for people with disabilities — and yet we on the left are supposed to be committed to equal opportunities. | wonder?

Yours in limited socialism,

Clir Karen Newbury Camden

lities

elements more cohesion?

For my part, |. .am prepared to provide free copies of material produced by Edinpurgh Labour Movement Against the Poll Tax, detailing their campaign for practical opposition to registration and collection

Finally. for those worried about the legal implica tions of non-payment, it would appear from Schedule 73 of the Gove ent Finance Bill moved by ‘Old Nick” Ridley on April 25th, that the likely consequence would be attatchment of earnings. This would deduct the amount payable directly from earn-

ings/benefits plus an allowance for administrative and court

costs. We really need a lawyer to research this. Fraternally yours, Mark Hill Islington LGC Poll Tax Working Party (personal capacity)

London Labour Briefing No. 94 May 11th-24th 1988 page 4

Support the seafarers!

Join us on the picket line!

and Eric Heffer are being set up. Barnet, the Benn-Heffer Campaign meets next on ues May 17th, at 8pm at the East Finchley Neighbourhood Centre, Church Lane, off the High Road, between the North Circular and East Finchley. In Haringey, 45 people attended a meeting to launch a local Benn-Heffer Campaign. After debate, it was decided to conduct a public and open campaign. Working groups on the Labour Praty, the trade unions, the community, publicity, and public meetings have been

set up.

N22.

In Lewisham, a local Benn-Heffer Cmapaign will be launched on Sunday, May 15th at the Lewisham Labour Club, all Benn-Heffer supporters welcome.

In Hackney, a Benn-Heffer Campaign has been set up and is planning a public meeting at Hackney Town Hall ‘on May 3ist. Contact Jim Thain, Hackney for Benn and Heffer, 4 Heathland Road, London N16.

Victimisation in ILEA

NALGO

steward sacked

—————— By MARK SEATON

the cuts and in plementing the policy of his trade union.

All [LEA members, including Deirdre Wood, are supporting the sacking, despite the clear evidence that it has been done Marriott's tc trade union activities,

ILEA NALGO has raised a number of vital questions: ILEA abide ACAS code of practice?

In an unprecedented move, ILEA has sacked a NALGO. Shop Steward in the careers service.

Both ILEA NALGO and the national union have denounced the move and sporadic. industrial action against it has taken plac

‘As a _tecently employed member of staff, Tony Marriott was on probation. His first pro:

bationary report. — before he became a steward — was positive.

His second —~ after he became a steward — was abysmal, He

was given one week’s notice and dismissed on May’ 4th

During negotiations with Chief Officers the real reasons for Tony's sacking became

clear. A careers officer with years of previous experience with other Authorities, Tony

has been active in org

nising

tastic. Practically every ferry port, the supply ships in the North Sea and now,

‘A meeting is planned in the occupied Haringey site of Middlesex Polytechnic. Next meeting, open to all BennHeffer supporters, Tuesday May 17th, 8pm, Winkfield Day Centre, 33 Winkfield Road, off Lordship Lane,

established

procedures? @ Does ILEA abide by equal

opportunities policies?

grievance

union’s fight against abolition in defence of education

The answer appears to be > on all counts.

The P&O strike has been led from the beginning by the rank and file.

The response was fan-

we've just heard, two deep sea ships docked in

Cluskie called up our strike committee and asked us to to out to the ports — a sort of pump priming for the national strike call. Thirty of us went out all over Britain, to Stanraer, Felixstowe, etc.

For example, the P&O crews on the Belfast route were reported to be shaky. Dover has not been well thought of in the past so we needed to go there and persuade them that it was for real this time.

So we went and discussed with them, and then you had the union being derecognised by P&O, the sequestration of our funds and the fine and they were out!

Support from the ports in France and Belgium has been very important. The French dockers have refused to handle any scab crews. French crews have Kept their sailings to the normal, not _ increasing them for the holiday period or for increased traffic.

We had tremendous solidarity coming in for the strike. The phone hasn't stopped ringing this week with offers of money and help on the picket line. Midland Bank tried to freeze the funds of the Deal Women’s Support Group, but we stopped all that.

Financial support has been great. All we've received from the union has been two payments of £50, so we desperately needed money just to feed the families. That's what we've done. Local stores and farmers have given great help too.

The strikers are really holding firm. We continue to hold mass meetings every week, to which we get 1,000 people. In Deal we sent out a weekly newsletter to 400 people.

STEVE POTTER spoke to JASON

GROOMBRIDGE and DUNCAN DENNY, two The calling of the national strike was a major boost for our dispute — now 's fourth month.

With the calling of the national strike we're getting people coming to our meetings who never came

before. Dunlop (the P&O manag-

ing director) is pretending he has a majority for a return to work, but that’s rubbish. For a start, man:

Our branch secretary has already received 210 letters from those who want to change their decision and take back their forms. And we've had 50 of those who returned to work rejoin the strike.

Dunlop is making up the numbers by re-employing people who have been made redundant and those who are in the middle of applying for medical severance — that’s how desperate he is!

Even the scabs have turned militant. When the Pride of Kent came in (one of the two ships P&O are trying to operate) the crew walked off demanding their leave.

Another sign of the company’s weakness is that they are not operating the ships according to the new Red Book agreement of 24 hours on, 24 hours off, that started the dispute. To keep the scabs happy they are operating the old agreement!

But the ferries are unsafe anyway. They are still ballasting the front of the ships, so that double decker boats can fit into single decker berths at high water. That means water coming two thirds up the bow. That, plus the ‘open doors of course, was what sunk the Herald of Free Enterprise.

Safety remains the key issue in the strike — not money. That’s why we would say stuff any deals with Sealink and Sherwood = (Sealink’s _ chairman). He's offering to employ people made redundant by P&O in exchange for lifting the action. His idea might be to rake in the summer profits and then throw us on the scrapheap in the autumn.

Besides, Sherwood isn’t

the issue. P&O employ

members of the rank and file strike committee based in Deal, about the major

developments of the past two weeks, and

about how we can support the seafarers in this important dispute. _ zi

about 70 per cent of the total NUS membership. Their action in derecognis ing the union and saying all previous deals are null and void means that the NUS must beat them to survive. The way to do that is not

make... deals... with

unions. We put that question to Ron Todd of the transport workers at a meeting we spoke at in Dagenham, asking him straight, what instructions was he giving to his members in Dover. One of his members has just been suspended for refusing to tie up a scab crew.

He replied that in any family there were people who would not obey instructions. He said he wasn’t going to give his members an_ instruction, but he would send a telex

side the shipping industry is what is needed. John McCreadie of the CPSA called for a 24 hour general strike in support of the seafarers to be organised

PHOTOS: Nick Hazelwood in Dover

by the TUC and that’s exactly what is needed.

Nobody took that sort of action during the Miners’ Strike to defend trade union rights. Now people have a second chance.

Of course the aim must

t rid of.

Gut to do that we have to defeat the enemy within The TUC is frightened of calling a’ general strike, in case they lose control. We are relying on the rank and file to come to our support. People who helped us like the sacked miners and _ particularly Terry French, have been slagged off by the press. But if it wasn’t for him and people like him, we wouldn‘t have been able to feed our children; certainly not on the funds we got from our unions.

We completely defend his rights and others to become involved in our dispute. Join’ us on the picket line!

The strike committee can be contacted at Magnus House, Mill Hill, Deal, Kent. Tel. 0304 367840.

Support the Seafarers!

London Meeting Monday May 16th 7.30pm

Tolmer Square Community Centre

{close to Warren St tube, corner Hampstead Road, and Drummond St)

The above meeting has been called to promote and co-ordinate support work in London Representatives of Support Groups and individuals who want to get involved are invited to attend.

Ground floor meeting, no steps Ground floor toilet, not specifically for disabled use Some carparking nearby; none reserved