Is a women's strike possible? | IMGpapers 1980

Uncorrected machine reading. This text was read by machine (Apple Vision OCR) from a scan of a newspaper page, and the page was cut into articles by machine, at the headlines found by their type size. Nothing has been corrected: expect misread words, text from a neighbouring article, and titles that are the machine reading of the headline, some of them only fragments. Quote from the scan, not from this page.
How this article was cut and titled: headline found by type size in the OCR geometry (split_tabloid.py); 5-7 of 7; machine-segmented newspaper page; uncorrected Vision OCR.

page 8 of the scan

ON 24 MAY women's peace groups are calling for a day of European-wide action against the missiles. They have asked that women from all occupations - paid and unwaged _ strike for the day and participate in various protests and activities.

Is a call for a women's strike The experience of • the 1981 women's strike in Holland is the most striking example of how effective such actions can be Holland has fewer l onger faet en ral country. thousands or women lelt their jobs for the day on 30 March 1981 The strike was response lo bill being discussed by the Dutch the following day on abortion.

t ne cali lor a genera. women's strike nounced on 8 March during a celebration of Interna OHd Women' s Day and advertised mainly by word mouth via c Cononc caul around 8 March strike committees - were formec up and down the country Help to aid the success of anc sunke callc Ironl socia. welfare organisations anc sympatheti who organised childcare.

The trade unions. however, refused to enthe CUISC NeSllIKC. savlll, was a 'political issue and thereforè no concern of theirs! But womer inside the various unions got organise and subport the action Women of all ages and backgrounds joined the strike which took on a carhundreds of local activities oreanised over LO f Anh o ge the strike couldn't Coultcu economic. success : because it didn't bring industry commerce to a nalt. ll was very successful in other ways.

It sparked off a big debate in the trade unions about their attitude such issues as abortion and whether they could really neatly off the the And although the bill did get through • TOE by a majority vote of one the strike showed that yy Uslicil OL LOHSC together to fight for their demands in a big way.

A majority of women in Britain are against the siting of cruise and Trident missiles here this year Greenham captured the imagination everyone fighting nuclear weapons, and has the direct support of many women never before active on political issues.

pcnea women'. strike could be a big suc cess in broadening the ac tive involvement of WOLCHD ana aown ine country in the campaign to