Against victimisation

Defending victimised workers and trade unionists

Industrial news in brief

National Union of Teachers members in sixth form colleges will be striking on Tuesday 15 March after a ballot over funding which returned 86% in favour of strikes on a 44% turnout. NUT deputy general secretary Kevin Courtney said: “This strong ballot result shows the strength of feeling amongst sixth-form college teachers. Sixth-form colleges provide a vital service to over 150,000 young people, many of whom are from disadvantaged backgrounds. “Funding has already been cut in real terms by 14 per cent and further real-terms cuts of 8 per cent are now planned. Colleges are dropping courses and...

Industrial news in brief

On Wednesday 24 February, workers in Further Education (FE) colleges in England will strike over pay. University and College Union (UCU) members struck in November but this time they will be joined by workers who are organised by Unison. The dispute is in response to the imposition of a pay freeze by the employer organisation, the Association of Colleges. Imposing a pay award without union agreement is an unprecedented action by the employers, but to be expected given the confidence of the employers. Why are they confident? There has been no serious challenge from the unions to a year on year...

Industrial news in brief

Teachers at Small Heath School in Birmingham have won significant successes in their campaign against academy status and in defence of the suspended NUT rep, Simon O’Hara. In fact they appear to have defeated the academy proposal entirely and can now focus on lifting Simon’s suspension. On 28 January school unions the NUT, ATL and NASUWT received a letter from Birmingham City council informing them that the proposed academy sponsor, The King Edward Foundation “has confirmed in writing …that the Foundation is not in a position to take on sponsorship of Small Heath School”. The letter went on to...

Support the Tube strikes

London Underground workers in the RMT, TSSA, and Aslef unions will strike for 24 hours, starting on the evening of 26 January. Tube workers are fighting for a better settlement on pay, terms, and conditions after unions rejected London Underground bosses’ latest offer. The deal promised pay increases which barely kept pace with inflation, and which would be all but negated by impending increases in employee National Insurance contributions. London Underground also refuses to make concrete commitments on improving work/life balance as it attempts to introduce 24-hour running (“Night Tube”)...

Industrial news in brief

Lambeth Libraries staff have voted overwhelmingly for strike action to save jobs and keep all ten Lambeth libraries open. Staff voted 89% to strike against plans to close libraries and cut jobs. Unison will now be discussing extended strike action with the library workers in the borough. This strike vote follows a community campaign to keep the libraries open, as well as a walk out by staff in December when news circulated that books were already being taken out of one of the libraries. Several Labour Party wards have passed motions criticising their own council’s library closure programme and...

Industrial news in brief

Cleaning and security workers on London’s Docklands Light Railway (DLR) won a big victory before Christmas, settling a long-running dispute over terms and conditions for a deal that represents a 75p/hour pay increase, backdated to April 2015. The workers, employed by outsourced subcontractor Interserve, struck several times throughout 2015. An RMT statement called the deal “a massive breakthrough”, which “gives some much-needed Christmas cheer to a group of London transport workers who have fought long and hard for pay justice.” The statement continued, “this pay victory proves that low paid...

Industrial news in brief

UCU and Unison members in FE colleges struck on 10 November in a dispute over an imposed pay freeze. In the last six years FE lecturers have seen their pay decrease in real terms as employers have offered a series of below-inflation pay rises — totaling less than 3% since 2009. Both unions are also seeking a guarantee that workers won’t be paid below the living wage. The pay freeze comes in the context of ever tightening budgets for FE colleges, with many colleges having already gone through many rounds of course closures and redundancies. Workers held picket lines at colleges on the morning...

Industrial news in brief

SOAS Unison branch secretary Sandy Nicholl has been suspended from his job, leading to staff and student protests for his reinstatement. Sandy spoke to Solidarity : SOAS students have been in occupation for over three weeks against threats to cut up to 180 courses, one third of those on offer, as part of a £6.5 million annual cuts package. These cuts could see up to 50 academic jobs going together with a similar number of support staff posts. The students also oppose the proposals by SOAS to sign a new contract extending the outsourcing of the cleaning staff, demanding instead that these...

Industrial news in brief

Workers in Further Education will strike on 10 November after college bosses have imposed a pay freeze. As report in Solidarity 381, both UCU, representing lecturers, and Unison, representing support staff, have voted for strikes as college workers have seen their pay decrease in real terms for six years. The pay freeze comes in the context of ever tightening budgets for FE colleges, with many colleges having already gone through may rounds of course closures and redundancies. The UCU FE executive passed a motion on 17 October which, as well as setting the date for the strike, called for a...

Industrial news in brief

Strikers at the National Gallery, London, returned to work on Monday 5 October after 111 days on strike. They have secured a deal which protects members’ terms and conditions and sees their sacked PCS rep reinstated. The deal, which was made on Friday 2 October, does not stop the privatisation of gallery services but is a big climb down by gallery management in most areas, and the gallery has agreed to review the private contract after one year Sacked PCS rep Candy Udwin will be reinstated. Staff will be paid the living wage, which will also be uprated on basic pay in future years. Guarantees...

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