to Heath's pay policy, but the local government officers section of the NALGO exeutive has dug in its heels.
It decided last weekend to submit a pay daim for increases of 20 to 26 per cent, backed up by a programme of industrial action in support of its London allowance claim. This will begin on 25 February and Involve an overtime ban in six London boroughs. NALGO are ignoring the effect on the administration of the clection on 28 February.
FIGHT REVIVED
This is the most dramatic among a number of signs that the miners strike is begianing to revive the fight for other sectors of workers who thought themselvos defeated.
Last weck, over a hundred teacher militants picketed the meeting of the NUT executive which signed a 7 per cent settlement, and on 4 February a meeting of the Edinburgh Gas Branch No. 11 passed a vote of censure .Heving obolisted the colour bar the bock workers, guided by a lead will proceed to conquer tee commesding heits of the ecomony and gasmen's claint under Phase Three. was passed, maintain living standards. Hospital workers' march last year — 'the experience of groups like these was that isolated struggles by those without hefty industrial weight are doomed to failure' on the GMWU executive for settling the The gasmen's branch, in which several unions ane represeated, also called for a joint regional conference uf shop stewards to discuss the fight for the full claim, and asked branch secretaries in the arca to seck members" opinions on the seltiement. Finaly, # resolution sopporting the miners struggle OPEN TO MILITANCY The memhers of the NAL.GO executive are open to the militancy of the runk and Ne becavse as local government munagers they are led up with the mountain of ad ninistrative problems thrown up by local government workers continualiy switchine posts within the sarvice to The claim was foreshadowed in a pamphlet entitled Pay strategy for the future puhlished two months ago, ll delied th deterioration in the salaries of Jocal poverrient officers relative 1o other groups, and condomned a Phase Three settiesent as uselcas. The pamphlet woled that the Fire Brigades Linon had won 19 per cenl without mentiening however, that this was achiered by the unofficiai action of the Glasgow firemen.
The pamphlet declares: "The correct lesson lo draw from these developments is obviously that militancy pays and that if local goremment officers are not prepared to take industrial action to heip themselves no one will do any thing for them... The ong hope thar local government officers' puy con de improved wil be if rafficient individ uri unions sueceed in inaking nonsense of Phase Three.
This last sentence might almost have been lifted from Red Weekiy! Almost, hecause the NALGO policy in fact amounts to unions going it alone. Yet the experience of groups such as hospital workers and gasmen in 1973 was that isolated strugges by those withoul befty industrial weight are doomed to failure. And the 'special case' approach is ever designed to ensure this isolation The lendershins of all these public secter workers should take these lessons intoraccasni They should take stops Lo ensure the maximun coordination of these strugeles and link up by solidarity actions, with the miners strugele land other secticns moving into opposition