Industrial news in brief

Submitted by Matthew on 2 April, 2014 - 11:19

Workers at the Ritzy Cinema in Brixton, south London, have voted by an 85% majority to strike to win the London Living Wage.

Ritzy workers have waged a long-running battle for the pay increase, but Picturehouse Cinemas, the chain that runs the Ritzy, has so far remained intransigent, to the point of banning local publication Brixton Bugle from the cinema for running an article supporting the workers.

The workers are members of BECTU, which represents workers in theatres, cinemas, and the television industry.

Lambeth College strike

Members of the University and College Union (UCU) at Lambeth College in South London have voted by 95% to strike, in a fight over proposed changes to terms and conditions.

Union activists say the changes would increase staff workload, but reduce sick pay and holiday entitlement, leaving workers at Lambeth working longer hours than almost every other Further Education college in London.

UCU regional official Una O’Brien said: “Lambeth College cannot expect to simply force through punitive changes to staff’s terms and conditions.”

The union has yet to name strike dates.

Local government pay

The GMB union will consult its 220,000 members in local government on a 1% pay offer from employers, with a recommendation to reject and move to industrial action.

Workers fight halls closure

Outsourced workers at the University of London are fighting the closure of the Garden Halls, a university halls of residence, which they say could lead to job cuts.

A petition campaign has attracted support from hundreds of students.

The campaign is run by the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB) University of London branch, which is also integral to the “3 Cosas” campaign for sick pay, holidays, and pensions.

IWGB is also fighting a recognition battle, with the managements of both the outsourced companies and the university itself insisting that they will only speak to Unison, now a minority union amongst outsourced staff.

Workers’ Liberty members in the IWGB University of London branch help produce the Open Book bulletin, which provides a forum for discussing workplace experiences and union campaigns.

The next bulletin is due out on Wednesday 1 April.

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