9.30pm Tuesday 21 September ALL NIGHT pickets begin well Ealing. Nurses high spirits desprethe cold helped by generous donations brandy and gin by sympathetic passers by. Police ask them to leaven to them unanimously passed bu unfortunately the police choose SUNG democratic wishes of the people and stay.
7.30 Wednesday September The 'great' Day finally enickerine are starting to swell with from sue local trades Local rade Council and Labour Party. Hopping from St Bernards (where I work) to Ealing it is clear that local HOW 'infamous' Ealing Nurses.
Solidarity within Ealing Hospital is impressive with almost total support nurses. porters, technical staff and ali maintenance craft felectri cians, engineers, plumbers). Al St Bernards support is far more erratic although nearly all the worktorce is involved It varies from 2 hours to all day.
Socialist Challenge 2 October 1982 Support Ten 2ng all ine time. Over nurses are now out at Ealing. The coaches have now arrived and excitement is Thatcher a little song of imminent victory has been prepared by the nurse's shop sicwards. Joinca Dy the ambulance crews, out in force for the first time, they climb onto the coaches proudly brandishing the cardboard cheque for E100 presented to them by Southall NAT FHE — 30 of whom are with them on the COTER march.
Of those left behind the support from other workplaces is impressive; HOSE Office Engineers, building workers, telephonists. social workers, ASTMS Coca govern. ment workers, even the local paper had struck for the day to join our picket!!!
11.30am.
Demand growing for speakers to address mass meetings — DHSS Ealing and Southall Offices Fairey Electronics (Hayes) Heathrow Airport nurses needed for meetings involving a membership of 26,000 workers. After mild panic due to all the nursing stewards having gone speakers are found.
1pm.
Off to Fairey
elec tronics to speak - still a lines. Money is flooding ir from local unions and ympathetic Ealine Studio from BBC £30 from local schools; E17 Southall Bus Garage plus E50 in donations from the public. NUT, loca GPO CPSA/SCPS members now arriving joined ed 1 hours in sup local factories out port.
Southall and Hanwell Bus Garage maintenance staff walk-out in support demonstrate outside their Meeting at Faireys good nurses with me speak for the first time.
2.30pm.
Return to Ealing in time hear that demonstrations still leavJubilee Gardens. Jubilant nurse returns Heathrow having scored a major success Nothing moving Heathrow for chaos Iceland to Brazil! A fair number o domestics have now joined the picket line at Ealing. Many of them feel they should have been out all day. Local NUR branch doing a fine job on the icket line much to the lismay of local polici face workers -DIner 918005 has been percent offer.
One of the most important issues is rate protection. This means that a bloke won't have to take a cut. jured, ill, or just too old to