Covid on campus: rent strike at Bristol university
Universities have brought students back to expensive accommodation and subjected them to inhumane living conditions, with Covid-19 still a risk on campus. rs21 spoke to Connor Nicol, a first-year student involved in organising the Bristol University rent strike.
‘I can’t fathom how bad it’s going to get’
The Covid-19 pandemic is combining with further government attacks on the health service to push the NHS, and its workforce, into unprecedented crisis.
Obituary: Mike Cooley, architect and bee
Brian Parkin pays tribue to Mike Cooley, a modest and inspiring trade union leader with a lifelong vision of a liberated technology, redirected to serving human need.
Video: Popular Uprisings from Belarus to Lebanon
Mass movements around the world are continuing to upset the status quo. We were joined by activists from Belarus and Lebanon to learn more about the struggles unfolding in both states.
Video: Fighting back and building power during the Covid crisis
Three separate activists draw lessons from fights to defend working-class lives and livelihoods inside and outside the workplace.
‘The fight of our lives’ | Interview with Marian Mayer
Marian Mayer, candidate for Vice President of UCU, spoke to rs21 about the fightback in the higher and further education sectors
Thousands march in first move of NHS pay battle
A wave of actions by NHS workers opens the door for a major struggle against austerity and poverty pay
Nurses strike back against attack on pay
Nurses and health workers are fighting back on pay – and kicking off a battle to defend our health and care services
NHS workers facing redundancy in a pandemic
While Matt Hancock was clapping for NHS workers, plans were going ahead to make a large group of them redundant.
Johnson’s 1 June plans in tatters – how do we build our strength?
Rob Owen argues that the NEU has won a convincing, but not complete, victory over the government and addresses how we develop workplace organisation in the coming weeks.
Educators meet the challenge
Education workers have shown creativity and determination in embracing virtual organising methods to strengthen their opposition to the government’s wider reopening of schools.
Rent strike in the Covid conjuncture?
As the knock-on effects of the Covid-19 pandemic make it impossible for many workers to pay rent while meeting their own basic needs, Allan Struthers examines the prospects for large-scale rent strikes in Britain
Video: Not safe to return to school or work
The government is trying to force people back to unsafe schools and workplaces. Parents, school students and workers are resisting.
Strikes in the time of coronavirus
How can workers respond to the unfolding coronavirus crisis, without forfeiting our collective power? A UCU member reflects. Originally published on Notes from Below.
Organising in response to COVID-19
As criticism of the UK government’s response to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic mounts, rs21 members highlight the flourishing grassroots responses that aim to provide support and to demand more effective action from government and employers
Acting on COVID-19
With cases of the pandemic rising rapidly, we cannot rely on government or business to put health before profits. rs21 members have produced a set of actions and demands to campaign around and a summary of the safety legislation can allow workers to take action or leave work.
Film review: The Plan that Came from the Bottom Up
Steve Sprung’s retelling of the story of the Lucas Plan provides an inspiring lesson in how workers might build a sustainable future for all, writes Zareen Taj.
A crucial week for the university strikes
With negotiations reportedly going well, but the current wave of strikes ending alongside the climate strikes on Friday, rs21 members explain why this is a crucial week and explore some of the debates among strikers.
Solidarity needs rebuilding, urgently
The university strikes provide an opportunity to relearn traditions of collective solidarity which strengthen both the strikers and those giving solidarity.
Motion: climate strikes and COP26
rs21 members have produced a model motion to popularise the idea of a climate strike on International Workers’ Day, 1 May 2020 and mobilise for the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow in November.
France on the march: Macron vs. the unions
The movement against Macron’s pensions reform is at the crossroads,. Public support remains high, but it will have to spread to other basic services and key industries to defeat Macron.
Hong Kong: opportunities for the movement
A new union organisation drive in Hong Kong might hold the key to breaking the deadlock, argues Colin Sparks.
Workers’ and union rights in #GE2019
The Labour and Tory manifestos could hardly be more different when it comes to workers’ individual and collective rights, but there are also important implications for what happens after the election – whatever the result.
Labour manifesto – what the grassroots membership demands
Hanna Gál reports on the campaigns of the grassroots Labour Party membership for a progressive election manifesto.
Motion: Support the YouthStrike4Climate on 29 November
On 29 November 2019, pupils and students are going on strike for the climate again. We encourage all workers to stand in solidarity with them. The following motion outlines some practical ways to support the youth strikes in workplaces and trade union branches.
When is it illegal to strike?
In the UK, never. But it’s often unlawful. The climate strikes have highlighted the draconian British anti-union legislation and exposed confusion about the law and the consequences of striking unofficially.
Hong Kong demonstrations continue despite police violence
In his latest report from the Hong Kong protests, Colin Sparks describes the convergence of police violence and business opposition against a tenacious and evolving mass movement.
Hong Kong: mass protests in the rain
In his latest dispatch from Hong Kong, Colin Sparks reflects on the significance of yesterday’s illegal mass demonstration.
Tensions rise in Hong Kong
Colin Sparks reports on the latest developments in Hong Kong, where the movement on the streets is showing impressive resilience as direct pressure from Beijing builds.
200 years after Peterloo, do we face a new wave of repression?
As we approach the 200th anniversary of the Peterloo massacre, Ian Allinson argues that the right are pressing Boris Johnson to introduce a new wave of repression.