TGWU

Transport and General Workers Union

Nottingham strike

By Tom Unterrainer DRIVERS working for NCT in Nottingham struck for 24 hours on 27 May in the first of a sequence of actions planned for consecutive Saturdays. The first strike saw the city’s bus system grind to a halt as TGWU members picketed the main depot in a solid day of action. People from around the East Midlands normally flock to Nottingham to spend their money but stores were very quiet this Saturday morning. The strike took place in reaction to a miserly pay increase of 2.4% - equating to just 20p. After 95% of drivers voted to reject the offer and three meetings where management...

Decent jobs for all!

The TGWU and Amicus have responded to Peugeot’s announcement of the closure of its Ryton factory in Coventry by demanding “stronger” laws making it difficult to cut jobs, laws like those that exist in France. There was no talk of direct workers’ action — action like the French workers’ strike which have put limits to the destruction of job security in France. But, so far as can be seen, this wasn’t just a matter of union leaders being feeble: there was no confidence for a fight among Ryton workers, either. For the last twenty years at least, the union leaders have had nothing much to say about...

Trade unionists slam calling-off of local government strikes

Leaflet from Unison United Left commenting on the local government unions' decision to call off the industrial action, continuing the campaign against pension cuts, due on 25-27 April. No Time to Call Off Action Local Government workers across the UK have reacted with alarm and anger at the news that all further action in our pensions dispute has been suspended pending further talks with the Local Government Association. This despite the fact that there is no concrete offer from the employers, merely an agreement to framework talks with "nothing ruled in and nothing ruled out". The success of...

Merger

By a TGWU member The TGWU Broad Left met on 2 April and discussed the proposed “super-union” amalgamation between the TGWU, AMICUS and the GMB. Unfortunately the discussion was not very satisfactory, with several people arguing almost that the rule book / structure doesn’t matter, so long as the left is in control.Others were arguing that there should be no ballot on the merger without a finalised rule-book in place. This, it was argued by others, would, in practice, make the merger of the three unions impossible as the “window of opportunity” would only last for so long. The way forward is...

Local government unions call further action for 25-27 April

An official statement from the public services Unison on 30 March condemned the Deputy Prime Minister’s “provocative” action in pressing ahead with cuts in local government pensions. General Secretary, Dave Prentis, said: “John Prescott’s action today in laying an order in Parliament to cut pension rights is provocative, premature and unnecessary. It will further inflame the anger felt by our members at the way in which they are being treated by their Government and their employers. “We put forward proposals both yesterday and today that would have formed the basis for joint talks. The...

Good turnout for local government strike day

Snippets from the local government unions’ strike day on 28 March, when over a million workers struck against planned cuts in the local government pension scheme. The unions’ next plans now are for a week of rolling strike action starting 24 April. The rolling action will be based on geographical areas, with all out strike action in different areas on different days of the week. They also plan selective strikes by meat hygiene workers. The unions met the Government for new talks on 29 March, but no reports from that are available yet. DUMFRIES AND GALLOWAY A mass picket of 300 people took...

Amicus - Purge shows up dangers with merger

By an AMICUS member While the TGWU has started a process of consultation on the creation of a new super union, developments in the other two unions (AMICUS and GMB) could well undermine the project. AMICUS is in the middle of a major witch hunt that threatens its already weak democracy. Three officials of the union have been issued with dismissal notices. Des Heemskerk, Jimmy Warne and Cathy Willis. The charges are unclear, but it appears they are accused of being involved in a “plot” to oust General Secretary Derek Simpson. The bitter irony is, all three played an important role in helping to...

Cut regions’ power

By an AMICUS member A CONSULTATION document has been issued to TGWU branch secretaries on the proposed TGWU/Amicus/GMB merger. The document describes those structures that the three unions have in common and puts them forward as the basis for merger. The idea is for a merger on the basis of minimal disruption to the bureaucratic status quo (bar the inevitable jockeying for position and scramble for early retirement deals that will follow amalgamation). At the centre of the proposed new structure stands the power of the regions. The regions are defined as providing for “effective lay member...

tube cleaners get organised

Eight cleaners working on the Central Line face the sack after travelling to work at a station for which they had not been given tickets. Unlike London Underground staff, cleaners on the Tube do not get provided with free travel across the network by the contractors they work for. They only get travelcards for the zones in which they are supposed to work. In this case, the workers were ordered to go and clean another station, out of their usual zone, but not provided with tickets to get there. When they were “caught” by ticket inspectors and“reported” to their employer, the result was...

The right to pee!

Women truck drivers who use the port of Folkestone are celebrating a breakthrough this week in their world-wide “Right to Pee” campaign. Following pressure from the TGWU the Harbour Master at the cross channel port has announced the opening of a women’s toilet. The new facility at the HGV parking area will also be protected for women’s use by a special key system. Local T&G branch secretary Rachael Webb, said the inspiration had come from women bus workers in Bristol who started the campaign with a resolution to the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF). “It comes to something when...

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