The Social Workers Strike and its Aftermath, by John D.Beasley
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CONTENTSFOREWORDA trade union exists for the benefit of its members. They are the Union. They decide its policies, its constitution and its representatives. That is the theory. The practice unfortunately is sometimes different. Trade Unions have, over the years, played an invaluable role in developing, fashioning and representing the aspirations of ordinary men and women. Unorganised they would be without representation, without the means of protecting their interests and with little hope of achieving the justice to which they are entitled by their labour. The social, economic and political history of Britain has been changed by the growth and development of the Trade Union Movement. Changed for the better and changed in the interest of those who have to work, by hand or by brain (or both) for a living. In the process Trade Unions have developed influence, know how, and political and industrial expertise. They have also enabled individuals to develop to the full their ability to represent the interests of those they represent. Such representatives are the backbone of the Trade Union Movement often working without thanks and without recognition but nevertheless motivated still today by the highest ideals of the founders of the Movement. Unfortunately, from time to time, despite the safeguards provided in Trade Union constitutions against the usurpation by individuals of power to pursue their particular ideological ambitions, such people succeed precisely in doing this, by misleading and bamboozling the ordinary members who may know very little about Union Rules, negotiations and agreements. NALGO which has a proud record of service and accomplishments on behalf of its members, as with many other Unions, has not been immune from such influences and John Beasley in this small booklet provides its readers with a record of personal experiences, which should both warn and inspire all serious Trade Unionists to become involved in their Trade unions, remembering that "All that is required for evil to flourish, is for good people to do nothing." Sir John Boyd C.B.E. O.F. AUTHOR'S PREFACEVictimisation, callousness, vulgar language, deception, anonymous phone calls, physical assault and a kangaroo court are all part of this story. Trade unionists suing their own union in the High Court is a sequel to the main story. The social workers' strike in 1978 – 79 which hit the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, in the East End, was master-minded by extreme left-wingers. The official history of the National and Local Government Officers' Association (NALGO) admits that some observers might claim that the social workers' strike was ill-conceived and a failure. George Newman in Path to Maturity NALGO 1965-19801 also declares that the "financial drain on the union's resources was catastrophic". A staggering 2,600 social workers in fourteen areas around the country went on strike. In Tower Hamlets the strike lasted for an astonishing 9½ months. Yet the strike failed to achieve its objective of local negotiations over pay. NALGO's official history states: "There was great relief when the strike action ended. The strain on resources at all levels, the lengthening time without prospect of success, the disastrous cost... had caused growing tensions and strains." As I was expelled from NALGO in 1984 for criticising the strike action over five years earlier, I am free to tell the inside story of the strike and its aftermath. NALGO must not repeat its mistakes – and every trade unionist can learn lessons from this sordid story.
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