(Left) The Central Hall rally (with empty spaces during lobbying): above driving force John McDonnell PCT Chair backs fight Pia Feig The fight against job losses and service cuts in NHS in Greater Manchester began in earnest on Saturday June 24.
A union branch, unused to industrial action, is faced with the threat of 800 job losses in one hospital - North Manchester General - and a further 400 sackings in other hospitals in the Pennine Acute Trust.
But the health workers were buoyed up by the range of people who joined them on the demonstration against the cuts and against privatisation, in Manchester city centre.
UNISON private health = NHS cuts Capio grows as Horton shrinks A massive 5,000-strong demonstration marched through the streets of Banbury to defend the local hospital against cuts and the threat of closure.
Health workers were joined by community activists and concerned patients from around the Greater Manchester area - faced as they are with the immediate prospect of a closure of a Baby Unit in Bury and the shutting of two wards in Altrincham General, besides a steady deterioration of services with an on-going, haphazard jobs freeze.
The demonstration received unusual media attention, on national TV and radio, because of the presence of the Debbie Abrahams, chair of Rochdale Primary Care Trust. Hardly a political radical, she was driven to resign by what she saw as the "destruction" of the NHS by the Labour government's policy of privatisation and cuts
A GP from Derbyshire also came to Manchester to protest about the multi-national private health care firm that has been allowed to win the contract to provide primary care services in that area.
Although the demonstration was small it was seen as a beginning of the fight; we know that it is part of a wider protest movement do and down trie
The conference will have three main sessions with the first focusing on the antiunion laws and the trade union Freedom Bill, the second on building the fightback in the public sector and the third on the question of political representation.
Socialist Resistance supporters along with other Respect members will be working hard to maximise the potential of this important opportunity to focus the undoubted anger against Blair and his neo-liberal attacks which exists in our workplaces and union branches. • Leaflets and sponsorship forms for the conference can be found at: http://www.respectcoalition.org ... State clearly if support is in a personal, or official capacity Amount enclosed