International Marxist Group Archive

Magazines, bulletins and booklets of the IMG and its forerunners, 1961–1984

Lancaster Cleaners Campaign

Socialist Woman special · pp. 1-24 of the scan · 6,219 words

The scan is held in the Red Mole archive (not online).

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LANCASTER CLEANERS' CAMPAIGN A Socialist Woman Special Inadequate transport for University workers EVER since the University St Leonards moved from rate to its present site three miles out of Lancaster there have been serious problems роги. of transport to: the Univer- S1l9 workers. vacations when are essential l of money-maki there, is no vided for them fore Have to rely whien ley only • the bocc Fill leaving rigg climb the last naif during term-time tion of transport grave problem lor these workers as the the University bus 1D to 12 per cent same bus are ale to i wages. Studenrs who any fares which take up 3 per than Rrants University tries The create an image of itself al and Institution Iberal model emplovar and vel u is the way the needs of workers are ignored.

It doe not encourage the workers to organise throuco, or even join for their fieht unions To Aiming women in trade un with THE INDUSTRIAL Relations Bill will most greatly affect thi organised and Teast tn onised groups of workers. because a whole This 1s Group which of action workers now engage in to fight aminst injustice will become illegal e.g. organising strikes on the shopfloor onl a Tocalised issue such as the dismissal unfair workof the rictimisation mates. shop-stewards It is ele. essential in the *'ruggle against rrducing these basic rights of working people that the full strength of the trade unions is used, and in this context we must realise that women particularly are pooris unionised. rights; it wont allow a ciosed shop yet neither does it respond to such reasonable demands as adequate trans- Instead the repeated refor have FREE TRANSPORT Moreca Defence Lancastel 38 Dallas 1 anraster.

ABOUT 350 Lancaster University students took university's main administrative block on Wednesday of a demand by cleaning staff for free transport to th Administrative work was disrupted and staff had to move out to other parts of the uniper versity, including the Chap- Inincy Centre, S: Martin's Colfares.

Here and the university buildconcerned considerably 18 the A6.

Mrs Cabus.

TGWU, Iversity en SUPPORT CLEANERS 8 official channels to obtain pro- "Arrangeme transport and they are port to and 1 having to pay as much as 10 been approve plemented." per cent of their wares in bus They are even more He described false" vacations during a cles when the university bur service office staff w and reduced free transpor trey often have to walk from The cleaner the Universit of Audrey Lancaster. have talks of the shop steward they called c said the cleaners I stoppages, strike night the Un reuld continue their atil the University decided to were willing ve them something Men cupation was aners who work at night are Councillor porting the women's action Labour mem similar one-hour stop- Council and dent, said hi Mr A. secretary, and unreser Jeffreys, said the the student rs present claim for free cleaners' den ort from Lancaster and one and he seemed to contramembers of previous understanding Trades Union University would proport the occi sport to and from the demand was 1 He said the Univer- • The Lan consider the cleanand District at the earliest pos- ComI fence once their "unjustitheir support on had ceased. on Wednesda Produced by LANCASTER SOCIALIST WOMAN GROUP

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***FREE TRANSPORT NOW*** Lancaster Cleaners' Song Chorus We muck out the bogs for damn low wages We're going to the dogs by easy stages We don't wear clogs but it's the Middle Ages —We want Free Transport Now.

Verse 1 We don't want much but we want fair do's Most of our money on fares we lose No more wet clothes and worn out shoes -We want Free Transport Now.

Verse 2 Please Mr. Cantsfield you know it's only right We've tried too long at being polite We've got to win so we've got to fight -We want Free Transport Now.

Verse 3 Give us a hand 'cos we want to win We've started now and we won't give in Giving up now would be a sin We want Free Transport Now.

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For a long time now women have been poorly unionised, due in the main to their family responsibilities: women have only been drawn into the labour force either in response to extraordinary societal conditions (eg. war) or else through a need to supplement their husband's income. Therefore their consciousness is divided between being a "worker" and being a "wife and monther". Thus we see that women were only slowly admitted to the early General. Labour Unions of the last century, when men began to stop regarding them only as rivals on the labour market.. The whole history of their unionisation has lagged behind male unionisation during the development of the Trade Union movement.

However over the past twenty years or so the rate of unionisation of women has been much higher than that of men, but women still only comprise twenty-one per cent ofthe membership of the T.U.C. In the same period an increased number of women have been going out to work and they have figured more in industrial action? nthan before the first world war; for instance the industrial action of the sewing women at Fords three years ago started off-the whole equal pay. movement. It is interesting to note that the TUC accepted the principle of equal pay in 1885, but despite the significant gains that women achieved in this period to some extent by their own organisations, the principle has by and large The Equal Pay Act, which, only been paid lip service. will be enforced by 1975, is completely inadecuate, only dealing with limited sections of women's work.

In general, the gains of the worting class movement have been made by use of the main strength it has, its ability to take industrial action in unity.

Over the past decsde or so the working class has made

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some inroada into profit margins because of its united action in different industrial spheres.

Some spheres have a history of greater militancy than others and it is where unionisation is strongest that the greatest gains have been made.

So if we link these factors, the general "Tag" in the unionisation of women and the fact that working class consciousness (expressed in its militancy) is greatest where there is strong unionisation, together with the great potential women have for militant action, we see that the possible strength of women, if they were organised, is enormous. It is also clear that there are vast areas where women who are aware of the general subordination of their sex can work with working women. These are the numerous areas where women receive low wages and work in bad conditions.

It was these considerations that led the Lancaster Socialist Woman Group to find out nore about the conditions of worling women in this particular locality.

In Lancaster there has been little Trade Union nilitancy to oppose the prevalent low wages, eto: Lancaster is cuickly hit in a period of recession as at the present time. The unemployment rate is over 5%, well above the national average.

Of course we do not think that even full unionisation (althoug a necessary first step) of women could solve all the problems. All militant sections of the working class soon come up against the bureaucratic nature of the Trade Union or anisations, the unwillingness of the officials to act, the red tape etc.

Joining and becoming active in a union can lead to a consciousness of the conflicts in our society, but cannot by itself resolve them. Women can become aware of their subordinate position very directly in this way.

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This must then be linted with an understanding of why their position is so, together with an understanding of their role in the family, itself the result of human rel- It is this realationships distorted by class society. isation that will lead wotten to seo that their position cannot be satisfactorily changed in capitalist society.

Our work with cleaners in Lancaster University was only a small step in this direction, but we wish to document it in this pamphlet in order to show what the cleaners achieved and how we were eble to work with then.

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4 RESUME 0Z EVENTS The university authorities have attempted to dismiss the occupation by students of the Administration building last June (1971) either as an end of term jaunt or as a 'red plot'. A simple investigation indicates that this struggle by the cleaners, supported by the Socialist Woman Group, had been a long one culminating in the events of June 14 to 18. Only after all the official channels had been exhausted and the cleaners' patience worn down by the delaying tactics of the management die these actions tale place.

For over five years, since the University moved to its present site at Bailrigg the University workers have made repeated demands for transport facilities. The fact that they were so long ignored indicates the appalling nature of industrial relations in the university, a point discussed in depth later.

The Socialist Woman Group began talking to the cleaners of the residence blocks at the beginnins of the academic year 1970-1. From these talks it became apparent that the cleaners shared a common dissatisfaction with transport arrangements, which were cuite inadecuate.

No transport was provided in between student terms for the university workers and fares were eating up 10% to 20% of their income. Lunchtime meetings were arranged • by the Group with the cleaners every week. Thus the cleaners formed a good relationship with the group and through them with the student body. More importantly they began to realise the benefit of uniting to put forward their complaints. Meetings with Audrey Wise and May Hobbs demonstrated that other women worlers had found trade union organisation necessary to succeed with their claims. The Lancaster cleaners decided to join the Transport and General Workers' Union (in which

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the night cleaners were orginised) and elected Hrs.

Lancaster as Shop Stewerd. 22 out of 35 residence demands through the 'appropriate channels the cleoners, with official support from the T.&G.N.U., undertook strike action. The cleaners' actions had been publicized by the Socialist fomen Croup. The Group put out numerous leaflets to inforn the students about the situation and in February presented a motion to Federation, the students' Union, supporting the cleaners" demands (which was passed). Finally the Group drew up a petition of c.1000 signatures ... again with no movement from the management. This is the long-term con- Federation meeting. Many further mass meetings wero held during the occuration to discuss and decide on each brought to a standstill with the occupation of both the administration building and the coaputer building. meet the cleaners until they stopped industrial action, by the end of the first day of the sit-in they were willing to do so, provided, of course, that the students withdrew. Clearly both expedients - withdrawing student support and stopping industrial action would have weakened the cleaners' bargaining position. Therefore, the occupation mass meeting, after hearing May Hobbs of the London night cleaners, who called for their continued support, voted to remain in occupation. This was in spite of a court order and injunctions being taten out against individual students. The University agreed to cleaners were now members. text in which the cleaners' strite action and the student occupation must be placed. further action. The University was effectively Although the management 5 After repeated efforts to push their The decision to occupy was made by a large had previously refused to

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negotiate with the deanom but attempted to weaken them by packing the meeting with non-union cleaners and supervisors. Eventually however the cleaners were offered a wage increase of 81 20p a week to offset transport costs with a minibus to take them up and down the university hill. This was accepted and the cleaners ended their strike. (The management later attempted to retract this offer in favour of an eoual pay rise but the cleaners refused to accept this and the original offer now stands.) The students only left the occupied buildings after the Vice-Chancellor had given a written guarantee that no individuals would be victirized.

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THE CLEARS AND THE UNION When May Hobbs first spoke to the cleaners at the beginning of 1971 she warned them that any action that they wanted to take to better their conditions would have to be initiated by them. She demonstrated that her own experiences with the Union showed this to be true.

Some of the cleaners had been members of trades unions before; some were disillusioned but others recognised the importance of being unionised as a first step to impoving their conditions of work. They joined the T.&G.N.U. firmly believing that if the majority of them did so they would be in a much stronger position than before. Once they had organised themselves into a Union the next step was to maite the Union The first official, officials take up their demends. the District Secretary, decided that the simplest solution to their transport problem was the provision = of a minibus to take them to and from the University to -the A6 (a five minute bus journey) where the local public buses stop. Such a solution did not meet the cleaners' demands. The cleaners' situation is recorded in the minutes of the Joint Consultative Committee which states: a) during vacations, when the normal University bus service is suspended, there is a bus at 8.40 a.m. which costs 172p return. As this is often full they are forced to use local public transport which costs 24p return and they are furth r inconvenienced by having to walk up the hill from the 46 to the University. the University bus service is satisfactay b) except during the vacations.

The cleaners therefore made it clear to the union official that the minibus was inadecuate;

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it went no way towards meeting their basic problems, the high cost of firus and the in deguncy of the service.

Neverthless the District Secretary went ahond with the request for a minibus which the University agreed to (although they had been prevaricating about this for several weeks). So the cluanirs wrote to the District Secretory asking that he put forward thoir demand for the provision of a bus to the University from Lancaster and from Golgote. In the meantime, howovor, the District Secretary had passed the cleaners' cose over to the District Organiser, who put forward the cloners! elnim by mid-May. The union was by now under consider ble pressure from the cleaners themselves, whose militancy was growing.

A few weeks later the management had not changed its position, nnd the clunners pressed for a token strike in support of their demands. The Union official had to support this.

The cleaners mounted militant picket on the Administrotion building from IO-I2n.m. daily - their picket developed into a noisy demonstmtion which they led round the campus.

The nale trade unionists in the University supported the demands of the cleaners, and it is interesting to note that as a result of the clenners winning their case later in June the T. & G.W.U. gained negotiating rights at the University and e procedunal agreement for its members.

Thus militant action on the part of the women workers brought direct benefits to all the workers on the campus.

It is in the perspective of moro recent events that we see the nature of the union officials.

Their attitude to the cleaners was essentinlly poturnnlistic they were there to "see what they could do",

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i.e. report on what had taken place. They would negotiate with mangemunt without a representative of the cloners being there, nd when the issus of the bus had been sottled they allowed the University to institute a clocking systen, agninst the wishos of the clerners.

Before the women elenhers joined the Union, one of its officinls ndmitted that they had not prid ns much ottontion to getting workors at the Univorsity unionised as they should have Cone. In this context the women clenners, when thoy had got themselves orgenised, gave a clear lend and roceiv d support from different ports of tho I-bour movenent. They were not bound by yours of traditional trade unionism and quickly noved to militant action.

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10 THE UNIVERSITY AS AN EMPLOYER It has ready been shown that the University Management ignored the cleaners' demanda until they were forced into more militant action. On the second day of their token strikes a minibus was provided, although this had previously been rejected by We. Andrews, the staff officer, as too expensive, impractical, and unnecessary.

The failure of the Management to act until strike action was taken indicates the 'effectiveness' of its system of negstiations.

Here are two excerp from leaflets produced by the Socialist Woman Group which show how the University discourages its workers from organising in trade unions and sets up organisations which are dominated by the management and whore cleaners can be openly intimidated. "The University has claimed to welcome unionisation but in fact the Urion has no negotioting rights and the University is the only major employer of T.G.W.U. labour in the district which does not operate a check-off system to facilitate the collection of Union dues. As part of its posing as a liberal employer it has set up joint consultative committees, the structures of which enable *o management to impose ite views. When criticisme arise outside these bodies the management tries to suppress them. For example, when the Socialist Woman Group brought out & leaflet expressing the complaints of the catering staff a meeting was called by the management at which the catering staff were challenged to identify themselves individually with the criticisms. In such a situation they obviously felt that their livelihood was threatened so the management was able to produce minutes of the meeting stating that there were no complaints." June 1971 "The Joint Consultative Committee is the only body

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on which the staff are represented; it comprises about 50% neministrative and managerial staff and 50% representatives from the tradesmen and general workers. Quite fair it appears. However there are a few factors to be taken into account. The following conversation took place during a meeting of this body set up to promote University was considered to be a reasonable walking As 50% of the people present are supposed to represent the assistant staff who have constantly complained about reached conclusion (c). In fact, no voting took place, and no decisions were reached. The results from this committee go to the Assistant Staff Commottee. This is composed totally of administrative and academic staff with councillors from Blackburn, and is appointed by the Council. It has autonomous and complete power to "the free flow of ideas from staff to management".

Employer: Why do you work here?

Cleaner:

For the money Employer: Why not anywhere else Cleaner:

Cleaner:

Employer: Yes, all of you. in the minutes as for female cleaners. borne by the employees. distance. the distance, it is strange that they should have There are no other jobs Employer: Well, if you don't like it you can leave.

What, all of-us?

Also, decisions taken at this meeting were stated (a) The University should not subsidize transport (b) The cost of any transport arranged should be (c) The distance between the A6 bus stop and the

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accept and reject proposals from the Joint Consultative Committee. It will meet next weok to consider the prosent As the day cleaners have not been represented by a union and this completely one-sided system has been the only available mechanism for negotiation, it is hardly surprising that the cleaners have not had a bus service during the vacatione for the last five yoars, that they have to eat their moals in cramped utility reems surrounded by their work materials, and that they have been warned not The Management have tried to cover up their delaying tactics over the quostion of transport by maintaining that they were not officially informed of the demand by the T.G.N.U. in time for them to act before the strike.

Their claim, that they did not mow what the cleaners wore demanding, is a distortion. It is true that T.U. officials made differing demands, but the cleaners and their shop steward had repeatedly made their demands confusion was cleared up a month before the cleaners'

There are other examples which show the University's to a union mooting and found that the Management had brought in non-union members and supervisors. When the strikes and the occupation were over, the University attempted to retract the transport allowance agroed in the negotiations, which in thor basis for the ending of the strikes and the occupation, and substitute an equal pay rise to which they wore already necessarily committed under the terms of the Equal Pay Act. Subsoguontly. they had to be forced to go back to the original agreement. The Managoment have now reteliated by introducing a clocking in systom for just one section of University proposals for a bus service. to talk to students." clear to the Management. In any case, the official action. attitude to industrial relations. workere ... the cleaners.

May 1971 Strikers were called

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| 3 THE POSITION OF THE CLEANERS IN DUE UNIVIRSIIY Even before the cleaners had begun actively to make demands it was cloar that they wore very poorly paid and treated like second clase citizens in the University. .

The following is an excerpt from a leaflet written by the Socialist Woman Group: "Women residence cleaners work at the University from 9.15 a.m. to 3.30 pom. with half an hour for lunch and are paid 49-37 per wook, while students' income is approximately £12 per week and that of the academic staff is from 825 per week. Out of the £9-37 that cleaners get, at least 87p per week goes on bus fares; this represents about 10% of their income and while students and doadomic staff pay faros at the same rato, students can claim fare rebates in excess of &12 per annum, which is about 3% of their income. At the same time the bus service in geared to serve those wi o work during the academic term and ignores those workers who servo to keep the University going during the vacations for moneymaking events such as conferences. There is virtually no service during vacations for these people, although this has been requated for years.

Academic staff and students are provided with ample facilities for refreshment, refectories, common zooms and bars, while cleaners frequently have access to a small Utility room, or a corner of a room designated for another purpose; catering staff in one college have been asking for some time for a room in which to cat their lunch.

This was denied them until recently when the Nanagement became worried by the contact his staff were having with students.

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14 So in this so-called liberal university there are different conditions for peeple contributing to the university in different ways. The cleaners and other workers at the university are in a weak position because if the high levels of unemploynent in the area unless they can gain support fron the students and academic staff. This is the reason why on many occaisiens cleaning and catering staff have been told not to talk to students.

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Students are a relatively priveleged social group and are not so directly affected by economic and political developments. But in the recent period in which working class organisation and living standards have been under savage attack from the Tory government desperate to maintain profit margins, students in many parts of the country have passed resolutions and demonstrated against the Industrial Relations Bill and in support of workers! struggles.

The struggle of the University cleaners brought to many of them an issue that they could not avoid. The socialist woman group was able both to work with the cleaners in the development of their cleaners. In this way it has perhaps given a new direetion to The University has a much talked about liberal face, but what happened when this issue came up? In fact the demand for free: transport for the cleaners was supported by a large number of studacademic staff and other University workers, for example the petition was signed by about I,000 people. But the University management refused to provide it; only after the beginning of the token strike did it supply a minibus up and down the hill. On, Tuesday 15th June the Socialist Woman Group proposed to the student federation that students should demonstrate their support for the cleaner's by oocupying the University administration buildings if the Wednesday the University management had not moved; it was two weeks before the end of term, when the transport was most urgently needed and when the students would have left. It looked likely that the matter would not be settled quickly since it was already over a month since the formal request for free transport had been made.

This was why at mid-day, Wednesday I6th June the student federation voted to move into occupation of the University administnation buildings. A large proportion of those who had supported the cleaners' demands were thus brought into solidarity action. By the Wednesday Cleaners and Students struggle, and to bring the students student politics. ents, the cleaners! 5 1 full demands were not met by the following day. On evening, as reported in the next day's Guardian, into action in support of the

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LL -"The Senate made its first concessionary move..., when it sent a message to the 'occupation forces! that if the sit-in were called off over-night it would be willing to meet the cleaners 'to clarify their desire about Union representation and negotiation and the precise nature of their claim with the intention that negotiations should proceed forthwith!", There was no question about union representation, and the actual claim had been stated over a month before, so there was clearly no case for leaving the building• On the following evening, Thursday, the Vice-Chancellor took out injunctions against three students. This was an autonomous action, taken against the majority decision of a Committee set Despite up especially to deal with the issue of the occupation. the fact that the occupation was still going on the next dey, the University began negotiations with the cleaners, and & settlement of 21.20 was agreed upon to cover the cost of transport. Thus the liberal wing of the University administration was seen to be opposed to taking ledel action against students; however, the Vice-Chancellor had shattered his çarefully built liberal image by acting autonomously.

The experience of the occupation also exposed the nature of the President of the Student representative council, within the University and the N.U.S. nationally. The N.U.S, S8Ht e representative to Lancaster to express their "unqualified support" for the occupation, yet when that same night we appealed to them for legal advice and representaion for the victimised students we were told "you're on you're own". worse still was the behaviour of the S.R.C. President, Tim Hanlett», During the occupation all decisions concerning organisation, press statements etc., were taken at mass meetings of Federation, but the President took it upon himself to enter into private neggtiations with the Vice- Chancellor without being mandated by the Meetings to do so. He wished to with-hold the statement he received from the V.C., but, the meeting, by an overwhelming majority, forced him to hand over the statement for publication.

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Finally it must be recognised how students were directly and effectively drawn into solidarity with workers' struggles, and that positive links were established both with University workers and other groups of workers in Lancaster. Workers from the Trades Union Defence Committee gave their support to the student occupation and came to speak to the student meetings. Several of the male University workers as well as the cleaners thanked the students for their action at the end of the occupation. It is hoped that the good relationships nade during the occupation will be more firmly established and developed.

Students already work in the Unemployment action Group set up by the Trades Union Defence Committee, in the Tenants Associations, and have representatives on the Trades Council. Ferhaps the press coverage of the occupation has dismissed some common ideas about students 'wasting tax-payers money', and shown where their solidarity lies in the class struggle between workers and the ruling class.

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Conclusion We in the socialist women group, although we were hampered by out lack of experience in such work, consider this campaign to have been a success. Our lack of experience was shown in the occupation, where we were aware that the organisation could have been betters wei co could have orgenised meetings round the socialist woman group, and ve intend to discuss the shortcomings of the occupation ourselves.

We thin! the no? fer a socialist woman group has been established as a result of this compaign- few other groups are orientated towards working class women end develop their ideas and practice im this direction. Working class women are doubly oppressed in cines society; they provide a pool of cheap labour, which is jus- Sified by their "special" extra repponsibilities in the family..

Analysis of class society reveals vast areas where women are in such a subordinate situation, so the need for seperate socialist motonia groups is based on this. The socialist women group necestary in a practical sense because few socialists group realise that women will not be cutomaticaliy drawn into the Trade Union Movement in thie some wey as men are. vur work with Lancascer University cleaners leado us to two general conclus ons:- (a) This vork was just a first step with a small group of women.

Some of them had already been members of Unions, but they all found that in order to got what they vanted they had to organise themselves and make union representatives work for them. They are now open to all the problems which face vorkers in the Union movement._ They find that everyone - the male trade unionists, the union offécials, and of course the employers think they know what's best for them. Experience shows that only their on activity, organisetion, and determination can achieve their objectives: (b) We think that the work of the Socialist Woman Group in mobilising hundreds of students in support of a workers' struggle has given a now direction to student politics. In a period of growing economic crisis with hundreds of thousands unemployed, (over 2,000 in Lancaster) the cless struggle sharpens and students cannot remain impartial.

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The reticence shown by the University management in only going half way to meet a reasonable, demand froma small group of workers exposes the nature of a system which works for the benefit of a ruling minority. Liberalism is out - the question for women who are committed to their liberation and students is - do they want this system or a different, kind of society which is organised by people for the people who work in it? The cleaners are beginning work with them and show our solidarity with the working class.

We reproduce here an interview between Mrs Lancaster, shop stevard of the Lancaster University day cleaners, May Hobbs of the London night cleaners, and a member of Lancaster Socialist Woman Group.

It was first published in the 'Red Mole' Ist July I97I.

C. Young- The administration have repeatedly said that your demands A. Lancaster- No, it's quite simplet we want a bus to run between Garstang and the University and another between Morecambe and the C. Young- And would this be fust for the 22 cleaners who had A.L.- Well, it's us who's fighting for it, but if they went to carry on working end then to come in with us after - well, thet'g C.Y.- Do you think your claim is justified and how confident are A.L. - I know it's justifiable. I have to pay 32łp evary day, that's 20% of my wages. The Burnley-Lancaster bus' that we have to use in the vacation is very unreliable - a few times we've. had to wait • Iron 3.30 until 5 o'clock for a bus that isn't full. Sometimes the Appendix University. fought for it? you that you will win the fight? 19 to exert some control over their work situation.

ANNNA (It is produced here somewhat abbreviated) are not clear- is there any confusion about them? up to them. Je're not going to pressurise them. he must continue

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girls who live in Galgate (about three miles away) have to walk.

We're all quite confident that we'll get somewhere - you have to be.

I think we're so confident becuase it's been made into a big issue now, it's not just us and the management. Je need tre publicity.

The students are getting most of the publicity but they're doing A.L. - I just can't say enough for them; we wouldn't have got this far without thems Some people say that students don't really care about workers and that they're only messing about, but they've been really good for us. We would have tried to stick it out without them, but we would have been forced to back down in the end.

May Hobbs; It was the same in London, with the students and the Socialist Woman groups. They put such a lot of work into it.

A.L. - Yes, they've been running about here for us, arranging meetings, writing leaflets and letters to the paper - we appro- C.Y. - What do you think about the way you've been treated by A.L. - They've been really pig-headed about negotiations - we . didn't want any trouble but their pig-headedness forced us into it....... Before wo started having meetings we used to be scared C.Y. - Have the union officials been helpful in this campaign?

The administration claim that they have in fact confused your A.L. - Well, at first they were a dead loss, we were getting no- M.H. - If you push them, like you've done they have to, don't they?

AIL: - Yes - well, we've been pushing Mr. Taylorson all the time.

In future we're going into meetings with him. Were all going in to-morrow. le used to sit quiet in meetings but velve been pushed NEH: - Yes, you've really got to make the unions work for you. it's no good waiting for the officials to move while you just sit there• it on behalf of us. ciate ite very much. the management? demands. about so long that we're not frightened. 20 C.Y. - What do you think of the students' support? just as some of the other university workers are now. where, but lately they have been getting better.

SC NATIONA DER

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SOCIALIST WOMAN Trin DEAL FREE THE NATIONAL PAPER OF THE SOCIALIST WOMAN GROUPS July-August 1971 Lancaster Cleaners Strike FREE TRANSPOR FAIR 1 PORS DE AL CLEANEERS THI FREE TRANSPORT SUPPORTI CLEANERS NOW

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Socialist Woman Groups BIRMINGHAM: Phyllis Tinsley, 102 Arden Grove, Edgbaston.

BRISTOL: Viv Prior, 7 Ravenswood Road, Redland, Bristol 6.

CARDIFF: Susan Lukes, 92 Llandaff Road, Canton. *COVENTRY: Pauline Walsh, 6 Cannon Close. *EDINBURGH (area): Anne McLellan, 5 Victoria Place, Bo'ness, West Lothian.

GLASGOW: Shelley Charlesworth, 61 Fergus Drive, Glasgow N. W.

HULL: c/o M. Ball, 305 Beverley Road, HU5 1LG.

LANCASTER: Margaret Coulson, 35 West Road.

LEICESTER: Jean Holman, 7 College Street.

LONDON (North & Central): Felicity Trodd, 182 Pentonville Road, London N.1. (Ring 01-837 6954, daytime, or Jackie Hayman, 01-607 3563, evenings).

Pamphlet produced by the London Socialist Woman Group.

How the contract cleaning industry works, what the campaign is about, what the cleaners think of it, what the unions are doing.

Facts and analysis for the women's liberation movement from a socialist point of view.

Individual copies 18p including postage.

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OXFORD: Judy White, 27 Southmoor Road. the address given. a 35 West Road, Lancaster.

LONDON (West): Leonora Lloyd, 40 Inverness Road, Southall, Middx.

MANCHESTER: Sheila Cohen, 43 Brantingham Road, Whalley Range, *NORWICH: Flona Fadenburgh, 199b Unthank Road. *NOTTINGHAM: Sue Lee, 8 Derby Grove, Lenton.

STAFFORD: Mrs. Anna Booton, Flat 7, 28 Crescent Road, Rowley *YORK: Julia Baldersam, 1 Longfield Terrace (off Bootham). *If you are interested in forming a group in this area, please write to THE NIGHTCLEANERS CAMPAIGN 15p socialist woman special Lancaster Socialist Woman Group meets each Thursday evening. For details of meetings and further information contact:- Nina Thomas, Lancaster University 182 PENTONVILLE ROAD RED BOOKS, LONDON, N.I.

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