WORKERS DAILY =============== Year 2001 No. 47, March 13, 2001 Education Secretary Vows to Keep Schools Open Despite Teachers' Just Action Barnet College Lecturers Strike Oxford Casualty Nurses Take a Historic Stand South London Health Care Assistants Ballot for Strike Editorial: Pushing for an Election in Order to Claim a "Mandate" News In Brief Arrests at Faslane Protest Hauliers to Stage Election Protest Women MPs Not Given Credit International News: Iraq: Sanctions Killed over 16,000 in January Iraq Sanctions Don't Work ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- Education Secretary Vows to Keep Schools Open Despite Teachers' Just Action ======================================================= Education Secretary David Blunkett pledged yesterday to keep schools in London open despite the industrial action which started this week in London and Doncaster over the teacher recruitment crisis. The action could affect as many as 1,000 schools. Teachers in other areas are being balloted today, March 13, to support industrial action to protest at increasing workloads and the general crisis in education. David Blunkett was speaking during the visit he and the Prime Minister made to Southfields Community School in Wandsworth. They took the opportunity to announce details of a £200 million package to attempt to counter the fall in teacher recruitment and retention. The package includes bonuses for "returners" of up to £4,000, which the government hopes will persuade up to 2,000 qualified teachers to come back to the classroom this year. Schools in areas of expensive housing will be offered money to subsidise accommodation. Blunkett vowed that the government would do "anything we have to" to stop schools sending children home. "Far from being intimidated we are getting increasingly iron-souled about this and we are looking at ways of dealing with the unions in a way they could be surprised about," he said, hinting at incentives for non-union teachers who could be drafted in from overseas in order to counter the teachers' just grievances. He was speaking as teachers belonging to the NUT and NASUWT began industrial action throughout London in refusing to cover for unfilled posts or staff sickness for more than three days. Action also began yesterday in Doncaster and could spread throughout the country to eight other cities. Union leaders are already claiming today's government "panic measures", the promise of more money for head teachers, as a victory. Nigel de Gruchy, general secretary of the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers said: "The purpose of the action was to draw attention to the excessive workloads where members are having to cover classes which have no teachers. If the result is that plane-loads of supply teachers are flown in from Canada and South Africa to teach these classes, we count that as a victory. But although these panic measures might deal with the short-term problem, they are no long-term answer. The chief inspector of schools has already pointed out how damaging it can be for children to be taught by a succession of different supply teachers." Teacher employment agencies have warned that the supply of temporary staff is already stretched to the limit. Time Plan, one of the biggest agencies, is reported to have said that it took more than 250 calls last week alone from heads seeking temporary teachers it could not provide. The agency has been recruiting teachers in South Africa but claims that demand has already outstripped supply. Barnet College Lecturers Strike ===================== Barnet College lecturers struck work on March 1. Two hundred lecturers from five of the institution's different campuses held a 24-hour walkout. The Branch Secretary of the National Association of Teachers in Further and Higher Education (NATFHE), Alan Clifford, assessed the strike as a success. It was supported by the majority of full-time lecturers. The lecturers are resisting the impact of the Year 2000 merger of Barnet and Hendon Colleges which has caused workloads to increase and disparities in conditions of work and pay. Oxford Casualty Nurses Take a Historic Stand ================================ Casualty Nurses at John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford are taking a stand against patient overcrowding, increased work loads, low staff levels, and a consequent high turnover of staff. The 70 nurses point out that the conditions daily endangers patients using the casualty department. The issue was first highlighted in 1999, escalating to an official dispute in April 2000. Managers have not addressed the problems, the situation has worsened and the staff may now work to rule. The vote on industrial action is due to take place today, March 13. It will be historic in that it is the first time in the Royal College of Nursing's history that staff have been balloted on strike action. RCN's Council has permitted three ballots for strike action since 1995, but each case was resolved beforehand. In taking this stand, defending their rights and those of their patients to safety and high standards, the John Radcliffe Hospital nurses highlight the need for a modern health service which meets the needs of its users and in which staff are empowered to carry out their tasks professionally - that is according to the level of development attained using the most up-to-date technology, equipment and methods. Workers will have to decide who makes the decisions in this respect and whose aspirations should win out - the health services' users and workers or those who oversee current arrangements whereby every facet of life is subject to the straightjacketed and limited aim of an economy where the interests of the financiers are the only interests which count. WDIE wishes the John Radcliffe Hospital Nurses success in their struggle. South London Health Care Assistants Ballot for Strike ===================================== Health care assistants (HCAs) at Sutton Hospital in South London are engaged in a strike ballot demanding to be paid for the work they actually do. Despite carrying out a range of nursing duties, the 25 HCAs employed by South West London Mental Health Trust are in the situation of being paid only administrative and clerical pay, although all have NVQs in direct care. The HCAs average a length of service in the NHS of 15 years and are an integral part of the ward nursing team. The national Nurses Pay Review Body stated that health care assistants who perform nursing duties should be covered by the Nurses Pay Review Body. The vast majority of NHS Trusts have transferred HCAs onto nursing grades, but it is estimated that a further 5,000 remain stranded on lower clerical and administrative grades. It was announced on March 12 that the health care assistants are to be officially balloted on strike action (with emergency cover). Their union, UNISON, says that it is confident that 100% of the workers will back the strike. Elizabeth Kiddie, UNISON HCA representative at Sutton Hospital, said: "HCAs are key members of the nursing team. We all have undertaken nursing NVQs and have many years loyalty to the NHS. We simply want justice." She pointed out that discussions have dragged on for two years. Michael Walker, the UNISON regional officer, stressed: "UNISON nursing staff will never compromise patient care and we will always provide emergency cover. However, the health care assistants staff feel very strongly that there should be a speedy resolution to the matter. The NHS must recognise the key nursing duties health care assistants undertake." Editorial Pushing for an Election in Order to Claim a "Mandate" ===================================== Speculation is now rife that Tony Blair will announce in two weeks that the country will go to the polls on May 3. The predictions are that the Prime Minister will either call the election on March 26 or on the following Tuesday or Wednesday after a final round of talks with ministers and advisers. Why should Tony Blair be pushing for an early election at this time? The sure signs are that at this time nobody can challenge Tony Blair as the champion of the bourgeoisie's preferred programme which goes by the name of the "Third Way". The election, as are all elections held under the parliamentary system of government or the "Western" system of democracy, is being held as a popularity contest between political parties of which no more than 2 per cent of the electorate are members and in which they play absolutely no role in formulating their programmes. Once the majority party is elected, then it will say it has a "mandate" to carry out this programme, its manifesto. More often than not, even the manifesto as such is not implemented, yet the government is not brought to account. The bourgeoisie is preparing this confidence trick against the people with the aim of claiming a "mandate" for whatever programme the Labour Party decrees while in office. This being the case, it is evident that there can be no legitimacy for this "mandate". There will have been no discussion or participation among the electorate for the programme which the Executive of the party in government claims it will have a "mandate" for. Whatever the outcome of the election, the programme of the "Third Way" can claim no legitimacy. A legitimate mandate could only come when a programme has been adopted by the people as their own with their participation. In actual fact, the programme of the "Third Way" is a programme against the people's interests, to serve the agenda of the financial oligarchy for globalisation, and to deprive the working class of its own independent programme. News In Brief --------------- Arrests at Faslane Protest Seven people were arrested on Sunday, March 11, by military police in a protest at the Faslane nuclear submarine base. The protesters chained themselves to a French navy frigate. Hauliers to Stage Election Protest Lorry drivers are warning that they could create chaos during the general election in protest at the access of European hauliers to cheaper diesel. The lorry drivers blame Gordon Brown, as the Chancellor is expected to back a two-year extension of the European Union excise duty exemptions that grant cheaper, subsidised fuel to French, Italian and Dutch road hauliers. The lorry drivers say the move could lead to blockades in election week and bring the country to a standstill. Women MPs Not Given Credit It is reported that some women ministers and Labour MPs are angry that they are not being given credit for measures in the Budget which they say favour women and children. The women MPs are upset that while Gordon Brown is being praised for the measures, they were only adopted because the women in parliament pushed for them. Article Index International News ------------------- Iraq: Sanctions Killed over 16,000 in January =========================== More than 16,000 people, nearly half of them children, died in January from illnesses linked to the 10-year-old UN sanctions. The Iraq Health Ministry said on March 10 that 7,813 children under the age of five had died of diarrhoea, pneumonia and respiratory- and malnutrition-related diseases. the Ministry also said that 8,212 people had died of heart problems, diabetes, kidney and liver diseases and cancers. The Iraq news agency INA said that these figures brought to 1,460,900 the number of people who have died since the imposition of UN sanctions in August 1990. The genocidal sanctions have also ruined Iraq's infrastructure and devastated the living standards of the people. The UN has offered the bribe of removing some restrictions on imports of civilian goods provided that Iraq allows weapons inspectors to return after a two-year absence. The government of Iraq has repeatedly refused, demanding that the sanctions must be lifted, and pointing out that it has fulfilled its obligations under Security Council resolutions to eliminate its weapons of mass destruction. Iraq Sanctions Don't Work ================== We are reproducing herewith, for the information of our readers, a signed article with the above title which appeared recently in China Daily. What US Secretary of State Colin Powell was forced to face up to when he made his first trip to the Middle East last month is that support for the current sanctions against Iraq is crumbling fast and that Washington is becoming increasingly isolated. Concluding his Mideast trip, Powell said he would recommend modified sanctions, or "smart sanctions" against Iraq, to US President George W Bush. "Smart sanctions" means easing curbs on the export of civilian goods to Iraq but tightening controls on materials that can be used for military purposes. The posited revision of the embargo will sharpen the cutting edge of strategies against the Baghdad government but make the embargo less painful for the Iraqi people, according to Washington. Powell's proposal for the modification of the sanctions came after the latest US-British air strikes against Iraq, which have been widely criticised, even condemned, around the world, and amid the waning international support for the decade-old UN sanctions against the regime. The United States and Britain launched air strikes on Iraq on February 16, killing two civilians and wounding more than 20 others. Egypt and Syria, both members of the US-led Gulf War coalition, have recently concluded free trade agreements with Baghdad. Although Kuwait and Saudi Arabia backed air strikes by allowing their bases and airspace to be used, Riyadh faces growing public hostility to the US military presence. France, a member of the Gulf War coalition that ended Iraq's 1990-91 occupation of Kuwait, said it wanted an explanation for the latest air strike near Baghdad, adding such assaults hindered efforts to solve the Iraq problem. Turkey, from which US-led warplanes used to take off to patrol a "no-fly zone" over northern Iraq, rebuked Washington for failing to inform it before the assault was launched. It said it hoped the raids would not happen again. Even Japan, Washington's traditional ally, drew back on its support for US military actions against Iraq, and hesitated to make a decision as to whether or not to support Washington's strikes. Differences appear among Bush's advisers, with hawks advocating a policy of "regime change", based on US military support for the Iraqi opposition, while Secretary of State Colin Powell is more cautiously seeking to rebuild international support for sanctions targeted more narrowly at military supplies. Voices demanding that the sanctions be lifted are increasing in the international community, as the decade-long embargo has claimed the lives of thousands of Iraqi civilians. Every time air strikes happen, Washington claims that Iraq is exaggerating the death toll, saying that Iraqi officials are trying to project a kinder and more gentle image to position Iraq for rehabilitation in a more forgiving world. But UN officials have confirmed the figures it has claimed over and over again. Even if the bombings did not kill anyone, but they do, they can disrupt the distribution of humanitarian supplies, and, to a large extent, have interrupted Iraq's export of oil. American and Britain justify the legitimacy of the "no-fly zones" with Security Council resolutions that call on the Iraqi Government to stop "persecuting" its people. Yet, in fact, "no-fly zones" have never been mandated by the UN Security Council. This is why many countries believed that US air strikes against Iraq, conducted under the pretext of protecting their pilots in the no-fly zones, are illegal. That is also why France, increasingly uncomfortable with the United States and Britain's policy on Iraq, finally decided to drop out of the patrols altogether in 1998. It is already 10 years since the Gulf War. However, Washington's plan to unseat Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is still a pipe dream. The only difference between Clinton and Bush is that Bush is trying to shift the primary focus of American policy from the Israeli-Palestinian process towards Iraq. Bush, it seems, has realised that if Israel and the Palestinians are not ready for a settlement, then no amount of American involvement can sway them. But apparently Bush underestimated Iraq when he decided to shift the focus. US President Bush is clearly trying to rebuild ties with Gulf War coalition members in the Middle East, which Clinton ignored. The United States and Britain cannot do whatever they like without the support of the Arab world. That can explain why the United States and Britain are considering modification of UN economic sanctions. It is a gesture to please the Arab world and deceive the public. More and more countries have distanced themselves from the sanction policy on Iraq, as the once 33-nation-strong coalition fighting against Iraq in the Gulf War has dwindled to just two - the United States and Britain. Without a total cessation of the sanctions against Iraq, Bush and Blair had no hope of improving relations with their Arabian allies. ____________________________________________ Daily On Line Newspaper of the Revolutionary Communist Party of Britain (Marxist-Leninist) 170, Wandsworth Road, London, SW8 2LA. 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