The National Blood Service delivers 'blood, blood components, blood products and tissues from our 15 blood centres to anywhere in England and North Wales', according to its website. In its wisdom, the government plans to close ten of the twelve blood centres nationwide, meaning blood will have to travel further. Quite apart from the increased carbon emissions, this will inevitably cost lives, as patients wait have to wait longer for transfusions. But hey, it will save money, so that's okay!
In Liverpool, the twenty-five staff at the Dale Street branch are considering strike action against proposed 'flexible' opening hours, which management claim will 'boost donation', but workers believe is just about cutting budgets.
David Owen of Unison told the Echo that:
“We believe these changes would affect our members dramatically and we intend to pursue this...Our staff are committed and dedicated and feel saddened at the thought of striking. However the reality is that they have been treated deploringly. They have been intimidated."But the opening paragraph of the Echo's article turns reality on its head, and makes out it's the workers who are to blame:
'The supply of blood to Liverpool’s transfusion service will be seriously reduced if staff, who are furious at changes in working practice, ballot to strike.'Of course, if there is a strike, people will suffer. But they will suffer far more if the cuts are implemented!
However, Unison can in no way be trusted to deal with this issue, since they are a New Labourite corporate union with a long record of isolating and strangling campaigns, as witnessed in the recent Karen Reissman case in Manchester. The Industrial Workers of The World are running what looks like quite an effective fightback against the cuts, and ultimately look to 'sack the boss' rather than make deals with him.
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IWW,aka the knights of labour to the rescue!
26.01.2008 22:56
Originally called the knights of labour,or Wobblies as the chinese workers
in america called them when other unions only accepted white workers.
A small but massively growing anarcho syndicalist union punching way above its weight,
join up now,
www.iww.org.uk
Utah Phillips
yep
01.02.2008 16:26
to follow "Utah Phillips' " point (a bit more eloquently though!), have a look on the IWW blood service site. that'll give you a good lowdown on the issues. we have a load of members in the NBS and generally in the health service, so drop us a line if you want to get involved. cheers...
ps. utah - although the IWW identifies closely with anarcho-syndicalist unions like the CNT-E/F, we are not an anarcho-syndicalist union. we are revolutionary, we are syndicalist, we think that governments and legal systems are pretty bollocks, we have a whole load of anarcho-syndicalists in the union, but we're not an anarcho-syndicalist union. we have all sorts, from a-s, to trots (the nice ones!), to just militant class-conscious workers who want to get stuck in. :-D
wob
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http://nbs.iww.org