| Description | This file includes transcripts of taped interview with Public Sector workers. These interviews were incorporated into the performance ‘Dr Healey’s Casebook’. Interviewees were NUPE officials from different service areas in a variety of public bodies. A questionnaire is included, to assist interviewers in directing the nature of the interviews.
The secretary of the NUPE Birmingham Social Services Branch provides details of the size, scope and composition of the Branch. He discusses his reasons for leaving NALGO. He also examines the potential for concerted industrial action by NUPE, given the diverse range of occupations represented and perceived failings in union leadership and structure. Relations with politicians and other trades unions is also discussed. The impact of public spending cuts on services for old people and children is considered. The NUPE cuts campaign is discussed and particular attention is given to the campaign against the closure of Quinton Hall Old Peoples Home. The existing system of ‘elite bureaucratic hierarchies’ is contrasted with the need for ‘industrial democracy’ in the workplace. Attempts to build links between social workers and other manual and non manual workers at ground level are discussed. Various practical aspects of working in care homes are discussed and there is also a discussion of economic theories.
A transcript of the interview with the Branch Secretary of the Birmingham Accident Hospital Branch is contained in this file. He describes how he arrived in England as a seaman from Calcutta in the 1950s and gained employment in the National Health Service [NHS] as a porter [in Birmingham Eye Hospital, Children’s Hospital and then the Accident Hospital]. An insight to the altered attitudes to ancillary staff in the NHS from the 1950s to the 1970s is provided, as is a brief outline of the development of the Accident Hospital. The merits of the National Health Service are considered, as are ethical considerations over dealing with victims of head injuries. Reference to the provision of accident ward provision in Birmingham is given. The proposed closure of the Accident Hospital is also discussed, as is the campaign to retain it, and also the support received from medical teams and ASTMS, COHSE and NALGO. Attempts by NUPE to recruit nursing staff are mentioned, as is the different approach to responding to cuts by the RCN [Royal College of Nursing]. The branch secretary’s views on budget cutbacks are recorded. Cleaning materials are affected, as are catering services for patients and staff [the Ancillary Staff Council agreement is referred to]. A contrast is drawn between union solidarity against the threatened closure of the Accident Hospital and the perceived ineffectiveness of unions to resist budgets cuts imposed more generally on the NHS. Dialogue between the Branch Secretary and a second person is recorded in the transcript. This primarily concerns a criticism of the Labour Government’s economic policy, but there is also a description of a consultation meeting between management and staff over the proposed closure of the Accident Hospital. Changing union attitudes to racism and immigrants are also mentioned. Reference is made to the foundation of the NHS, and also to the Moral Re-Armament movement.
An interview with a NUPE official with West Bromwich Ambulance Service is recorded. A discussion of the reorganisation of the Ambulance Service in 1974 is noted and apathy observed in the current ambulance service is attributed to this reorganisation. The loss of local identity, postponement of vehicle and equipment replacement because of budget reductions and increased response times to emergency calls caused by operational changes are considered. Increasing hostility to ambulance crews is noted, as a result of service cutbacks. The official’s views on the effectiveness of altered mental health treatment is noted, as is the role of the Ambulance Service in transporting patients suffering from mental illnesses. His opinions about the impact of working mothers and high rise estates on family and community life are recorded.
An interview with a school meals cook supervisor in Worcester is noted. She describes her motivation for forming a union branch for schools meals staff in the area and how she established NUPE representation, as well as the School Meals Social Club [her union responsibility now extends to cleaners and caretakers]. Attitudes of members of other unions are considered. The revision of menus is considered, with a move away from providing fresh food to ‘instant’ convenience foods affecting both children [less appetising meals] and staff [less hours and altered working patterns]. Details of menu content are provided, as is a description of the consequences of ‘sandwich children’. The negative impact on working conditions caused by the transfer of her school meals service to Hereford and Worcester County in 1974 is noted. A description of her working duties is given.
An interview with a charge nurse at Romsley Hill Hospital is recorded. A description of its establishment as a tuberculosis hospital is given, and also of its change to caring for geriatric patients. Originally from Wales, he refers to his employment as coal miner, undertaker, soldier and health worker. Reference is made to the creation of the NHS in 1948 and the pressure placed on the new service by people seeking assistance for medical problems previously too costly to have treated. The closure plans for Romsley Hill Hospital are discussed and mention is made of the poor physical condition of Birmingham Eye Hospital. The apparent anomaly of Sir David Perris’s position as secretary of Birmingham Trades Council whilst also being Chairman of West Midlands Regional Health Authority is mentioned, at a time when local trades unions were campaigning vigorously over hospital closures. |