Reject the deal – restart the strikes
Mark Boothroyd, a nurse at St Thomas’ Hospital, on why health workers should restart the strikes for the sake of the NHS. This was originally posted on Mark’s blog. See also the Health Worker leaflet: Reject this rotten offer. Last week UNISON and UNITE’s leaderships voted to call off NHS strike action in response to an offer from the government. The […]
Protest against redundancies at Dulwich Picture Gallery
Arjun Mahadevan reports on the protest opposing redundancies at the Dulwich Picture Gallery. On a cold and windy afternoon at the front gates of Dulwich Picture Gallery in south London, around 50 protestors gathered to oppose redundancies that would see over half of the gallery’s visitor services team out of a job. Members of the […]
The Magpie: Can we get a political voice?
In a new column, The Magpie discusses working class political representation The feeling that working class people in Britain have no effective political voice was everywhere even before Syriza won. It is shared by followers of Russell Brand; by those who back Labour out of fear of the Tories; and those who back smaller parties such […]
March and rally against privatisation at the National Gallery
Bettina Trabant joined gallery staff and supporters braving the wind and cold for a demonstration against privatisation at the National Gallery. A group of around 200 angry gallery staff, trade unionists and regular gallery visitors marched from Trafalgar Square to the Department for Culture Media and Sport in Whitehall to hand in a petition containing […]
Standing up to media and management: London bus strike reports
27,000 bus drivers across London took another day of strike action today in their campaign for a single pay rate across the 18 different companies that operate London’s buses. There were reports of widespread disruption, and traffic analysis from TomTom Traffic said there were 1,511 miles of tailbacks across Greater London this morning, compared to […]
Protect The Art, Save Our Jobs
Workers at the Dulwich Picture Gallery in South London are mounting a campaign to save their jobs after the announcement of 19 potential redundancies. Arjun Mahadevan reports. On Thursday 15 January, gallery assistants (GAs) at the Dulwich Picture Gallery in South London were notified that each of their jobs would be at risk of redundancy. […]
Driving the strike forwards: bus strike picket line round-up
Lois JC writes: 27,000 bus drivers in London are on a 24 hour strike today over pay differences across 18 companies. Operating under the slogan “One fare for passengers, one rate for drivers!”. The last strike by drivers showed their power when in 2012 they won a bonus for driving during the Olympics, but this time there is a […]
Stop the buses to win!
Tomorrow 27,000 bus workers in London will be on strike to try and sort out the mess that is their pay scales. Show your solidarity with the striking workers by visiting one of the picket lines at bus garages around London – find the nearest one to you on this handy google map. rs21 has […]
City Link: UKIP donor Jon Moulton shows his contempt for workers’ rights
City Link boss and UKIP supporter Jon Moulton sacked 2,727 of his workers on Christmas day. Brian Parkin looks at how UKIP wants to attack the rights of working people. This piece was originally published in Northern Star – email rs21leeds@gmail.com for more details. UKIP have risen to prominence on their anti-EU stance through which they have made […]
School staff could lose jobs because of crimes committed by others
Misjudged government attempts to protect children from sexual abuse will have disastrous implications for teachers and other workers, writes Andrew Stone. Imagine a state where it is legal for you to lose your job and career due to a crime committed by someone else. It might be a partner, a relative or a housemate, and you might […]
East London bus strike: city-wide strikes to come
Roderick C and James B report from today’s bus strike at Tower Transit in East London. Today’s strike at Tower Transit bus company is a precursor to the likely London-wide action over pay disparities between the 17 separate companies that make up London’s bus service. It highlights the inequality and inefficiency of the service, whereby […]
Historical Materialism 2014: Reversing the decline
In the third of three articles, UNITE union activist Ian Allinson reports from four very useful sessions[i] learning from the North American Labour movement at this year’s Historical Materialism conference. Several speakers presented evidence of the serious decline in union membership density (the proportion of workers in a union), collective bargaining coverage (the proportion of […]
Historical Materialism 2014: Mobilise or organise
This year’s Historical Materialism conference included four[1] very useful sessions reflecting on the North American Labour movement. In the first of three articles, Unite activist Ian Allinson reports on discussions about alternative organising strategies. Workers in the North America face similar challenges to us in the UK, but generally worse: low and declining union density; […]
Strike for wages, strike for the NHS
NHS workers are on strike today from 7am to 11am over attacks on their pay. Head down and show your support at the picket lines. The rs21 leaflet supporting the strike can be found here. The NHS is at breaking point. Chronic underfunding and under-investment is putting patients at risk. Instead of ending the scam […]
Picturehouse proposes redundancies at The Ritzy just six weeks after dispute ends
Six weeks after voting to accept a pay offer from Picturehouse Cinemas, workers at the Ritzy are being faced with over 20 potential redundancies. Arjun Mahadevan reports. Update, 2 November: Ritzy management have since withdrawn the threatened redundancies. On Thursday 23 October staff at The Ritzy cinema in Brixton, South London were called into a meeting […]
Tens of thousands join parade of the labour movement
Amy Gilligan reflects on Saturday’s TUC demonstration. The large TUC demonstration on Saturday saw tens of thousands of trade unionists march through central London. Branch banners from across the country were visible in many of the union blocks, and groups from outside of the capital made up a substantial proportion of those marching. The demonstration was […]
Fighting back against victimisation
Pat Mollins is a private sector care worker who ended up victimised by management for union organising in his workplace. Here is his story of how they fought back – and won. This piece originally appeared in the Autumn 2014 issue of the rs21 magazine. There were many reasons why we began to orgasnise in our […]
Housing charity workers strike for a week to defend their services
Unite members at the housing charity St Mungo’s Broadway will be taking seven full days of strike action beginning at 8am Friday morning. Unite Convenor Adam Lambert explains why. We are taking action due to attacks on terms on conditions that have been imposed by new management. This is possibly set to be the biggest […]
First NHS pay strike for decades gets a great response from the public
by Sophie Williams (Midwives’ picket line at North Manchester General Hospital – photo by Sam O’Brien) Yesterday saw the first national NHS pay strike for 32 years, and the first strike in the 133 year history of the Royal College of Midwives. Picket lines were upbeat and received a lot of support from passers-by. In Harrow, […]
Two public sector strikes suspended: proposed council deal offers little
The local government and tube strikes set for next Tuesday have been called off, though the new deal on offer to council workers is little better than the previous one. Two key public sector strikes planned for Tuesday 14 October have been cancelled by the unions involved. The local government workers’ strike by over 1.5 […]
Public sector strikes: a guide to who’s on strike when and why
Next week will see groups of workers from across the public sector taking industrial action in defence of pay and services. The week will culminate with trade union demonstrations in London and Glasgow on Saturday. Amy Gilligan rounds up who’s taking action when. UPDATE, 10 October Two of the strikes were called off yesterday. An RMT statement […]
GMB members strike at TSSA
Adam DC reports Management at the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA) have written to of the union’s organisers indicating they do not have an assured role in their new organisation. 30 staff out of a total workforce of 50 in total are being told they will have to go through an assessment in order to […]
Scottish independence: Why didn’t the working-class Yes vote win the day?
Class was central to the Scottish independence referendum, writes Matt Myers. The low-waged, unemployed and young were more likely to vote Yes – so why did enough working class people vote No that the vote was lost? In the aftermath of the referendum one thing remains clear: the vote was neither about dry constitutionality, nor nationalism per se, […]
Dear Love of Comrades: The politics of Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners
The film Pride tells the story of Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners. It’s an extraordinary and inspiring achievement for a mainstream movie. For almost a year in 1984-5, over 100,000 miners were on all-out strike. The strike was the major political issue of the day, and Thatcher’s final defeat of the miners one of […]
Secret diary of a NHS nurse
In the first of a new series that looks at what it’s like on the ground for NHS workers facing cuts and privatisation, our correspondent under the pseudonym “the secret nurse”, describes her experience applying for NHS funding and her shock at the entrance of Richard Branson into healthcare I have been a healthcare assistant and […]
Things to be angry about and frightened of: A response to Ian A
Kevin Crane responds to Ian A‘s article ‘Anger, confidence, fear and hope in the workplace‘, arguing that the nature of precariousness at work needs to be taken seriously. Many of the things Ian has written are perfectly sensible and may, for some readers, be urgent matters. I think, however, that in stressing certain useful points, […]
Singin’ in the rain
Ritzy workers went out on their eleventh strike today against Picturehouse Cinema’s refusal to pay the Living Wage. It was also the first time Picturehouse have decided to keep the cinema open to try to break the strike. Ritzy management were planning to screen Monty Python Live from the O2, but even Monty Python star […]
Playing the Odds: How fractionals at SOAS organised and won
Today the SOAS Fractionals for Fair Play campaign announced that 95% (on a 63% turnout) had voted to reject a contract offer which fell well short of their demands. They also announced a 25% increase in the fractional population taking out a full UCU membership in July. The UCU branch is now committed to considering industrial action […]
‘We save people not banks’: FBU pensions fight continues
Amy Gilligan spoke to Cameron Matthews, FBU Cambridgeshire Brigade Secretary on the picket lines at Cambridge fire station about the strike and supporting victimised FBU member Ashley Brown.
Living Workers, Dead Wages
by Luke Evans “And, it must be confessed, that although the adoption of the enlarged machinery, in that state of our commerce which the country once boasted, might have been beneficial to the master without being detrimental to the servant; yet, in the present situation of our manufactures, rotting in warehouses without a prospect of exportation, […]