BOUYED UP BY their successes against the Health workers and the miners, the Tories have thrown down the gauntlet workers.
tion the Government has made.
The 29,000 manual workers in the industry are one of the most powerful groups Britain. The consequences of this strike are potentially catastrophic. Large sections of industry LaLS to electricity dependent on water supply. If the dispute goes there will be massive layoffs and power cuts.
Virtually every home in the country will be hit. There are about 80,000 mains bursts and 5,000 major sewer faults each sewer faults daily.
Alongside the economic disruption and will be serious threat to health as the antiquated Sendec system collapses.
The Tories are prepared to gamble with he health and livelihoods LoTTA 2ION210O to force down living standards. The response of the labour movement should be loud and clear: Pay the water workers- Smash the four percent.
The water workers claim is one which is aimed at bringing them out of the poverty levels that "they have endured tor vears. At crens t82 for a ba sie her present water worker week. The claim is intended to bring them into line with comparable grades in gas and electricity.
to the water This could well be the biggest miscalculaLa flat rate increase of £13.50. In adamon mey are cramme a further increase in line WILLIC LOTHE maintain that position.
The other aspects of the claim are also Ones which the labour moveshould support:
MICHL one-hour reduction in the working week and an crease to 5 weeks holiday after one year's service. These demands are fully in line with the TUC's position of reducing hours to combat unemployment.
This. is why it is essential to build the greates possible support for the water workers, the labour movement Has to reply te the hysterical can in which the unleash on the strikers.
This will mean starting now to build tours of the factories and workplaces for water workers to explain their case and win support. Local should be in the forefront ot inis - organising pubne meetings, arranging tours should on CYCLY Labour MP and Councillor give their support and to get on the DICKer Bes this is not just a matter of helping the WaLCI WOEKCIS afie OUTcome of their battle could election. If the Tories can win they will -USC It to revive the flagging Falklands Factor and go to Round-up Round-up Strike can cause chaos the country on a Resolute Government line For the labour movement it is golden oppor tunity to break the myth of To into the biection d to invincibility and to policies that defend the in TereSTs of working class.
The Tories claim that this would mean *massive burden U1. consumers' is a total lie. The cost of the full claim would abe £40 million, getting which would mean a 3½p increase average bill. It would in- week on crease the industry's costs by just over 2½ percent.
The hypocrisy the Demonstrated guest is demonstrated their plans for the industry. financial targets which they are setting according to Colin McMillan, Severn Irent Water Authority's Director of Finance, increase charges by about 15 percent. Over the last Socialist Challenge reporters have been around asking and others what they think of the pay claim and the strike. Here are some of the comments we got. eight years charges have increased by 250 per cent, far more than the increase wages, and despite a COUCHOI manual workers 34,625 to 29,393, a cut of 15 per CCHIL The Wate workers have been pursuing this claim for the last 15 months. The response the employers has been -10 refuse to negotiate. In addition the government has declared its intention to waterworkers AGER tear up existing national agreements abolish the National Water Council. The claim for comparability has been re jected out of hand.
Rank and file members of the unions in industry are fed up with the weak and hesitant response of the trade union leaders to situation. This has been demonstrated by the 100 per COll response the strike call, and by the refusal of the craft grades to cross picket lines.
Round-up Round-up From the shop floor the call must be for: No retreat on the full claim the water workers can win The reason the Tories have been successtul up to now against the strength on the part of the working class and cowardly leadership at the top of the unions Betrayals like those carried out on ASLEF and the Health workers must not be allowed to happen again