Next round to the water workers? | IMGpapers 1980

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328/9 Upper St, London N1 Editorial and distribution, tel. 01-359 8180/9. Accounts, tel.

01-359 8371 THE TORIES are confronting a series demands pay which are threatening to lead to inausurial action An all-out strike by the water workers seems likely next week, with the The effect of a national strike by water and sewerage workers unknown. year, without strike, two collapsed each day and 50 water mains burst each week in ine Thames region alone.

Contingency plans have been made for the use of troops but on the instruction of the local government union they will receive no help from supervisors other managerial staff.

First the miners, then Glasgow Water workers are in position to strike another body blow to the Tories.

Civil servants are also on the move. They are threatening one-day national strike on March after the government's derisory offer of a 7 per cent pay rise The civil servants want 15 per cent and they al c prepared to follow the one-day strike with selective stoppages.

Such action can be totally disruptive and the civil servants have a £3m tund and the success of the miners to keep them going.

Gas and electricity workers also look set to go into dispute over their wage demands. The Gas Corporation has offered an 8 to 9 per cent increase response to the unions' per mand. The Electricity Council has gone better. It managed a I 'nil' offer to the unions call for a 20 per cent pay rise The refusal to pay these in- chaployers creases comes when gas and electricity prices are soaring. The two stage gas price rise SHOP just announced, spread over 8 months, is part of the Tories' policy to bring domestic tariffs in line with industry's The 25 per cent gas price increase will mean huge bills for working class people. An average household which paid £170 a year at the end of 1979 wil pay £272 after October this year.

As spokesperson the General and Municipal Workers' Union said: 'The lal. effect of a price increase will be to push Gas Corpeak of 1, 000m a year? poration profits And they say wages are the cause of price rises..