The Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists revisited
Construction workers have been among the hardest-hit by Covid-19, with profit-hungry bosses keeping sites open throughout the pandemic.
Covid-19: The ‘China’ narratives and Chinese workers
The workers who built China’s emergency hospitals are missing from the dominant narratives about China and the Covid-19 pandemic, writes Hsiao-Hung Pai.
Manchester housing workers to reballot after three months of strikes
On the last day of three months’ of strike action, culminating in a four-week continuous strike, Unite activist Ian Allinson interviewed Unite UCATT steward Bill Nugent about the dispute at Mears / Manchester Working Limited and comments on the dispute It’s not often that workers take this level of action. After striking three days’ a […]
Manchester housing maintenance workers strike
Report from the ongoing Manchester strike for pay parity and against housing maintenance on the cheap
Review: Blacklisted
Brian Parkin reviews Blacklisted: the secret war between big business and union activists by Dave Smith and Phil Chamberlain When I was a young engineering draughtsman in the early 1970s I was involved in a shop stewards and union activist organisation in Leeds. The group comprised rank and file union members from factories across the city […]
Teeside workers fight racism with solidarity
Brian Parkin reports For over a year construction workers on Teesside have been protesting about the rising numbers of migrant workers being employed at the former ICI Wilton site, where a new energy from waste plant is being built. But don’t despair. Unlike such previous disputes, this one is different. This time the protesters are […]
Remember the dead, fight for the living!
Ian Allinson reports from the Workers’ Memorial Day event in Manchester. About 150-200 people gathered in stormy weather in Manchester’s Albert Square to mark Workers’ Memorial Day. Each year around 20,000 people die due to their work in the UK, mainly due to exposure to dangerous substances. Across the EU there are around 100,000 occupational […]
Review: United We Stand
James B reviews United We Stand, a new play currently touring with Townsend Productions, which tells the story of Des Warren and Ricky Tomlinson, the 1972 construction strike and the Shrewsbury Pickets Casualisation, self-employment and agency work are all features of many people’s working lives today. In the summer of 1972 similar conditions were rife in the […]
UKIP and the deadly truth about construction jobs and safety
by Anindya Bhattacharyya and Brian Parkin “EU policy at work. British workers are hit by unlimited cheap labour. Take back control of our country. Vote UKIP 22 May.” A picture of a white, presumably British, construction worker begging for small change. But the real picture in construction is pretty much the opposite of this UKIP election […]
Sparks strike back against umbrella agencies: NG Bailey vulnerable to action
â— Deadlock at Manchester City ground Balfour Beatty job â— Scottish electricians to meet to set out next steps â— Action could generalise across country and industries by Christian C and Anindya Bhattacharyya Over 40 electricians “cabined up” (ie refused to work) on Thursday morning at a Manchester City training ground. They are demanding “jobs […]
Brazilian workers paralyse refinery construction
Ali S reports from Brazil on the continuing strike by COMPERJ workers in Itaborai, Rio de Janeiro: “Radio Peão” – a set of codified rumours between workers – has been central to the continued paralysis in the construction of Brazil’s second biggest oil refinery. Almost the entire work force of 30,000 workers have walked out. […]
Sparks strike at Three Bridges and protect jobs on the cards
report by a Unite rep Electricians in Three Bridges, Sussex, walked out this morning to defend their terms and conditions. Within hours they had forced their employers to back off and hire them on industry standard conditions. The action involved 30 agency workers hired by NG Bailey on a Volker Fitzpatrick construction site for Network Rail. Their Unite union demanded direct […]