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when it promised women a better deal. But these promises have worn very thin indeed as women fall foul of inflation, unemployment and public spending cuts. (Areas in which Labour's Anti-discrimination Bill and Equal Pay Act maintain an ominous Since the Tory and Labour Governments introduced social expenditure cuts in the early 1970's. £460 million have been lopped off education expenditure. Women's opportunities for education, already severely weakened by discrimination, have suffered in the face of these attacks. Women's responsibility for childcare have also been increased as, already pitiful, nursery provisions come under the Government's chopper. In 1974, it was estimated that for every nursery place, 200 under 5's had to do without. With the Labour Governments cuts in education at the beginning of the year, be ditching nursery plans altogether, or else refusing to fill empty nursery buildings as Government funds for equipment and staff are whipped away. Conditions within rations of 1:30 and 1:80 and with nursery nurses suffering low pay and long hours.
trance age are introduced, women are amongst the first to suffer, as their childrearing time is increased. The bloodletting in the health service also creates untold difficulties for women, who have increased responsbilities for the sick and infirm and who are denied the health care which should be their right (such as free abortion on demand), not to mention the thousands of women workers in the health service who women join the dole queue, especially in areas of high female employment like the public sector (teaching, health services and local government workers) and industries selves "employed" in the home) or else they cannot register for benefits as they only with no increase in income under the restraints of Healey's £6 pay limit. In this situation, the woman as "housewife" has to shoulder the additional burdens, of "shoppawards for "the most economical family" and radio tips for more economical living.
the backs of the working class. Sadly, the notion that women are born to shoulder serve to veil the extent of these attacks. For too long the working class movement men in jobs and secure the wage levels of male workers. Calls to the working class to "tighten vour belts and make sacrifices', cannot be adequately resisted as long as the workers' movement is prepared to accept that women are dispensible as workers and are born to make sacrifices in the home, in order to secure the well-being of the male These notions must be challenged, and a united class-wide response built against the anti-working class policies of the Wilson Government —a response which includes a fight for a woman's right to work, for the right of women to free abortion and contraception on demand, for the social provision for childcare and the many other demands which challenge the women's ties to the family. And what is more useful in the fight than The Working Women's Charter provides an ideal tool for cosuring that the working class movement confronts the problem facing women as workers and mothers and housewives and begins to challenge her isolation in the family. The Charter was rejeeted by the TUC General Council, which clearly realised that a fight for the Charter was in complete contradictions to the policies of the Wilson Government which they had helped to cook up. However, one-third of the TUC Congress voted for the Charter, despite this opposition and many important unions have taken it up including the AUEW. NUPE, ASTMS, ATTI, CPS, SCA, NALGO. In addition, hundreds of Trades Councils and local branches of trade unions have adopted and organised around its demands.
Working Womens Charter 1975 the year of women, or so we were led to believe by the Labour Government this situation shows no sign of improvement. All local authorities are reported to the few nurseries available deteriorate, with many groups reporting staff-children PENNY PINCHING SCHEMES HIT WOMEN When penny-pinching schemes like part-time schooling and raising the school enare worn into the ground with deteriorating conditions and pay.
On the unemployment front, things aren't any more encouraging. Thousands of like retailing, services, etc. Official figures always underestimate the extent of female unemployment, as many women don't bother to register (considering thempay married women's stamps. Once these factors have been accounted for, it is thought that ¼ million women are unemployed.
INFLATION RAGES - NO INCREASE IN WAGES Women-as consumers and tenants— are also severely hit, as inflation rages ahead ing around", "home cooking" ", and mending and making clothes, and replacing the laundrette by the kitchen sink. Of course they are encouraged by national TV These are just a handful of the problems facing women, as the Labour Government tries to haul British capitalism out of its crisis by shifting the pressure onto the tasks of childrearing and domestic slavery in the isolation of the family.
has turned a blind eye to the plight of women, in a short-sighted attempt to keep breadwinner'.
UNITED FIGHT AGAINST WILSON'S POLICIES the Working Women's Charter? continued on p.i5
### LONDON NEWSLETTER NO.4
WORKING WOMENS CHARTER CAMPAIGN Angela Phillips (IFL Delegates at the "Women and the Curs" Conference, decide the way forward in the fight against the cuts.
CHARTER YOU ARE INVITED TO THE National Working Women's Charter Conference 100 anE 110 APA& 1870 #the LANCHESTER POLYTECHNIC, COVENTAT Marking Wisten's Chaner CampaiaIn many countries women's right to abortion is presently under attack. This includes not only capitalist countries, but also the degenerated workers' states. Underlying this attack is the attempt of the state to control women's fertility. On the other hand, certain women have ready access to abortion - in this country, it is those women of 'social classes 1V and IV' as Sir Keith Joseph would have it; in America it is Puerto Rican and black women in particular; in Latin American countries "forced abortion' policies have been systematically funded by the multi-nationals in the interests of imperialism. In the next 3 pages, we take a look at the abortion situation in several countries as a part of a series to be continued. We refer our readers to the newspaper Red Weekly for consistent up-to-date The month of March marks the first anniversary of the National Abortion Campaign launclied one year ago to fight against restrictive legislation anci for the right of women to choose whether or not to continue a pregnancy. Today, women's rights to abortion are more restricted than tiley were when the campaign was launched, despite important successes in taking this issue into the organisations of thie working class. The TUC and Labour Party Conferences passed a resolution in support of free abortion on request on the NHS' in the autumn on 1975-providing a good basis to begin the fight inside the workers' movement. And in February, 6 MPs withdrew from the reactionary Select Committee which was re-convened with one idea in mind- to furti.er restrict women's abortion rights.
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But the figlit to roll back this offensive has hardly even started. Since the 3 April demonstration called by the National Abortion Campaign, new tasks have been set. The projected National Forum on Women's Abortion Rights will be an important focus for the work of activists within local NAC groups, as well as for militants in the trade union movement and in the Labour Party. A successful National Forum will need the baci ing of tie entire workers' movement and this support should be gained on a clear political basis*Disband the Select Committe! Against relying on Parliament to solve the attacks on women's right to abortion!
*For a woran's right coverage of the fight for women's abortion rights in this country.
Free abortion on demand on the NHS!
ABORTION IN CANADA The Canadian abortion movement made itself public during the transCanadian abortion caravan organised to draw attention to the struggle for legal abortion. Over the last five years it has had an uphill fight, with many setbacks.
The case of Dr Henry Morgentaler shows the bizarre lengths to which anti-abortion forces will go to curtail abortions, and it also shows the complicity of diverse sections of the state apparatus.
Morgentaler ran a clinic that performed legal abortions for many years. But he was charged with performing them illegally because they were not done in hospital. Though acquitted in 1973, the prosecution made use of an obsolete colonial law to override the acquittal of the 12member jury and on 6 April 1974 the Court of Queen's Bench in Quebec substituted a guilty verdict, sentencing Morgentaler to 18 months, plus 3 years probation, In March this year the Supreme Court of Canada upheid this ruling and confirmed the sentence. This action attacked the right of trial by jury as well as attacking women's democratic right to abortion. Subsequently the attacks took a direct and brutal form against the individual concerned in this test case, a doctor who believed in a woman's right to choose and who has performed 56,000 abortions. Brutalised by his guards, Morgentaler suffered his first heart attack carly this year. A second followed after he had been kept naked in solitary confinement. On SetAn
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*BRITAIN John Sturrock (Report)
*For the removal on MPs who vote for anti-abortion policies and ref- use to implement the decisions of the TUC and LP Conferences! *For a working class enquiry into abortion facilities! Open the books to see where the cuts will affect abortion rights! Remove gynegolosists who impose their reactionary views of women and sabotage the 67 Act!