Against victimisation

A ballot of over 4,000 London bus drivers working for Metroline is continuing. The vote is due to close on 9 April. The dispute centres on the company’s plan to impose a remote sign-on system, which the workers’ union, Unite, says could lead to pay cuts and decreased safety. Meanwhile, drivers working for London United, a subsidiary of French firm RATP, struck again on 17 March, in a dispute over pay and conditions. However, planned strikes of drivers at Quality Line and London Sovereign, also RATP subsidiaries, were called off as Unite began a referendum on the employers’ latest offer. Should...

A well-attended online organising meeting on 9 March discussed Tracy McGuire’s victimisation by Rydal Academy, Darlington, and since then there have been three days of strikes by NEU [National Education Union] members at Shrewsbury College in defence of NEU rep John Boken. Their strike action is to run for three days every week, over three weeks. The online meeting, hosted by Darlington Trades Council, heard from local and national trade unionists and Labour Party members about the current victimisation cases, and how they can be seen in the wider context of some school bosses clamping down on...

United Voices of the World (UVW) members at the Sage care home in north London are pursuing two legal claims against their employer. The workers previously struck in January and February to win living wages and parity with NHS workers’ terms and conditions on sick pay and annual leave entitlements. A UVW statement said: “The first claim is a group claim concerning a letter sent by the home’s trustees during a ballot for industrial action in October 2020... A second individual claim for victimisation is also being brought by a former employee of the home.” Bella Ruiz, a former care assistant...

Drivers at three London bus companies struck across 22-24 February, with further strikes planned across on 3, 5, and 6 March. The strikes, organised by the Unite union, involve drivers at London United, Quality Line, and London Sovereign. All three are owned by French parent company RATP. London Sovereign drivers will strike on 3 March, London United drivers on 5 and 6 March, and Quality Line drivers on 5 March. The dispute involves almost 2,000 drivers in total. At London United, RATP wants to impose new contracts, which would reduce wages by £2,500 for some drivers. The new contracts would...

Kirstie Paton, victimised NEU rep at The John Roan School in Greenwich Members of Shrewsbury Colleges Group NEU members are set to strike against the victimisation of John Boken, one of the union reps at the college. John is a NEU safety rep and it is clear that the disciplinary action faced by John is a result of his trade union activity before and during the pandemic. NEU members are due to strike on Wednesday 24 February, and have just announced an escalation to nine strike days in March: Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday for three weeks. John deserves our support, as do other NEU reps such...

University of East London UCU (University and College Union) held a 230-strong solidarity strike rally on Monday 22 February, the first day of a two day strike, with staff, students and other union activists speaking. The strike is over four compulsory redundancies, including the UCU branch chair (a clear example of victimisation). UCU is also fighting rising workload, drastically increased since September 2020, when 82 jobs were cut. Speakers talked about the effects of the cuts to date, in terms of insufficient services and overwork. Many called for national action by UCU over this and a...