Defending jobs

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Steel jobs: a workers’ plan needed

Port Talbot steel reps and supporters from Unite the Union were at Parliament on 23 January as an Opposition Day debate heard Labour call for Tata and the Government to hold back from any “irreversible decisions” and pledge to put £3 billion into saving steel production in Wales. On 19 January Tata UK announced plans to close the blast furnaces at Port Talbot and make up to 2,800 workers redundant. The knock-on effect would be up to 10,000 job losses. Ieuan Eltham, a Unite shop steward said that these plans, “will decimate Port Talbot and South Wales”. Although the steelworks has already...

Steel jobs: a workers' plan needed

Port Talbot steel reps and supporters from Unite the Union were at Parliament on 23 January as an Opposition Day debate heard Labour call for Tata and the Government to hold back from any “irreversible decisions” and pledge to put £3 billion into saving steel production in Wales.

Women and the miners' strike 1984-5

The 1984-5 miners’ strike is a moment ripe with lessons and with stories that are devastating and inspiring in equal measure. Among them is the incredible story of the coalfield women. The women’s support movement whirred into action only a few short weeks after the strike began on 6 March 1984. Support groups were set up in every coalfield by local women, predominantly the wives, sisters and daughters of miners. They would keep the strike going for 12 long months. Class In Never the Same Again , published in 1987, Jean Stead wrote about the traditional values held by those in the mining...

"Toward the zero hour": Support the GKN workers!

Workers at the occupied GKN car parts factory at Campi Bisenzio in Italy, near Florence (Firenze), have made an international appeal to support their plan to launch a co-operative producing cargo bikes and solar panels. The struggle they have been waging since 2021 is now under threat, with workers facing the sack and eviction on 1 January 2024. Update: the campaign seems to be suggesting that they have successfully pushed back the deadline; but it is not clear. More soon. The workers' statement is below, above links to more information and to actions you can take. GKN and the asset-stripping...

Union pushes plan for steel

The UK steel industry is at a crossroads. Steel production is carbon intensive. A transition is needed if the UK is to meet its carbon goals. And the UK’s four blast furnaces, which produce 80 per cent of our steel and provide thousands of jobs, need replacing over the next decade or so. Their owners have proposed a more rapid closure with the loss of up to 5,000 direct jobs and many more beyond that. Steel production has been in a long decline in the UK. At its peak in the early 1970s, the industry employed around 320,000 people. It is now somewhere around 5-10% of that. Just before Margaret...

Union’s steel campaign must reach out

On 2 November the Unite Save UK Steel campaign held a day of action in Sheffield, Port Talbot, Teesside and Scunthorpe. In Sheffield about 20 people took part, mostly Unite staff members, Unite Community, and retired members. Three students from Sheffield Solidarity Group also took part. The action consisted of a short march followed by holding banners above bridges over the roads. The main chant was “We don’t need your pity, invest in our steel city”, and most of the banners read “Support UK Steel”. There was a lack of specificity to the chants and demands, though a detailed policy report is...

Merseyside firefighters resist attacks on conditions

Members of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) in Merseyside are involved in two industrial disputes over terms and conditions. FBU Merseyside secretary Ian Hibbert and chair Lee Hunter spoke to Solidarity about the issues involved. Q: Can you give an overview of your local disputes? A: We have two parallel disputes in Merseyside. One, where we have a ballot for industrial action short-of-strike, is over imposed changes to firefighters' terms and conditions. The employer, Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service (MFRS), has unilaterally altered conditions from the point of entry. This has been done...

Brighton University workers fight job cuts

The University of Brighton wants to make 100 teaching and 30 professional services staff redundant. UoB workers are fighting back — and need solidarity. UoB Solidarity has called a walkout and rally on Monday 15 May. Meet at the Level, 11 am, to march to Moulsecoomb campus for a rally at 12, where workers will be joined by students from the Moulsecoomb and Falmer campuses. • More here . Donate here . Sign the petition here A University of Brighton Doctoral Researcher and seminar teacher told us: "As doctoral researchers, our relationship with supervisors is crucial, not only as experts in...

Action should not stop for talks (John Moloney's column)

Our national ballot closed on 7 November. We expect to have the full results by 9 November, ready for the National Executive on Thursday 10th. PCS disaggregated the ballot into 214 separate units and we are confident of hitting the thresholds in a significant number of areas, including major government departments where workers have particular leverage. Our National Executive will further meet on 18 November to discuss proposals for action. In the week between getting the results and the 18 Nov meeting, the union will write to the Cabinet Office to reiterate our demands put in the ballot: a 10...

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