Public sector pay battle 2007-8

The campaign against Gordon Brown's 2%% pay limit for public sector workers

Local Government Strike: reports

London: A large and lively demonstration dominated by Unison branch banners and Unite flags. Several London NUT branches joined the demonstration. Reports of solid picket lines in Lambeth, Camden, Islington and East London. A lot of my colleagues came to pickets, rally and demo. I got the impression that the propotion of people on strike who did something e.g. picketing or marching higher than previously. Our main offices in Islington were open; but it appears housing, libraries, social services were solid and there was a lot of disruption and some closures in schools. I heard a lot of people...

Fight this wage-cutting government!

Less than a week after the government’s own measure of inflation jumped to 3.3% and after the Governor of the Bank of England penned a letter warning of further increases to come, Chancellor Alistair Darling continued to insist that: “Pay awards in both the public and private sector have to be consistent with our inflation target, which is 2%”. What, exactly, will this mean for workers? It means month-by-month, pay pack-by-pay pack attacks on our pay. It means that as prices continue to rocket, the money in our pockets will fall behind. It means, in effect, pay cuts. Brown and Darling...

London Underground cleaners: Striking against poverty and exploitation

On Thursday 26 June, over 700 London Underground cleaners organised by the RMT union, who voted 98% in favour of strike action, will take on multinational cleaning companies ISS, ICS, Initial and GBM in a 24 hour strike. This will be followed by a 48 hour strike from 1 to 3 July. With no cleaners at key depots and stations, the health and safety risks of running a railway without cleaners could paralyse the Tube. Cleaners have been paid the bare legal minimum wage for too long. And now, with food, fuel and rent costs rising, cleaners are struggling to survive. They are demanding a minimum wage...

Council Worker Solidarity Bulletin

Page 1. Local government workers: VOTE YES FOR ACTION! Workers won’t pay for bosses’ losses ---- Our Pay is a Political Issue Page 2. School Support Staff: Vote Yes to Strike for Better Pay ---- Marxism at work: What is 'Fair Pay'?

Civil Service Pay

Pay will be the major issue before this year’s PCS national conference. Given the general pay squeeze across the public sector and high inflation rate everybody expects that civil servants will get below inflation offers; with many of these increases being non-consolidated. All rational activists agree on the importance of public sector unions working together. If this were to happen, or even if a few unions were to band together, it would be politically and industrially significant There will be major differences at conference as to the tactics needed to win. Outwardly the differences are to...

Action in the autumn

The National Union of Teachers Executive met on 8 May for the first time since the 24 April pay strike. For a while it looked like there would be no discussion or vote on proposals to develop the pay campaign. Although the union’s Co-ordination and Finance Committee (CFC) had met the previous day and agreed some activities for the term ahead their report will not be discussed until the next Executive meeting two weeks later. In the event supporters of the left caucus on the Executive put a motion on pay to ensure that some commitments were made. The motion, unanimously carried, agreed: 1. to...

Shelter strikes again on 24-25 April

Workers in the housing charity Shelter are on strike again on 24-25 April against enforced cuts in pay and conditions. Previous strikes on 5 and 10 March forced Shelter bosses, who at first insisted that they would never negotiate, to put the cuts on hold and talk at ACAS. But their ACAS offer was only a one-off “compensation” payment. Shelter workers rejected the deal by 64% majority, in a 56% turnout, despite pressure from TGWU-Unite full-time officials to accept. Workers have achieved a lot. l A union has been built from a shell into a reasonably well-organised majority of Shelter staff. l...

Public sector activists call for action after 24 April

Civil service by Workers’ Liberty PCS Members A number of Groups (sectors) in PCS are striking on 24 April alongside the teachers and lecturers. Our strike will make the news and will undoubtedly worry the powers that be; how much better if the whole of the PCS union was on strike. Of course it does not stop there. Where are Unison, GMB, Unite etc? Gordon Brown has a united and consistent policy towards public sector pay and employment, yet the union movement does not. At PCS national conference, which will happen shortly, AWL members have put forward motions calling on all the union to fight...

24 April in London

The picket line at the Shelter office on Old St, London, was good. On the workers' third day of strike action - after a long pause, a lot of pressure from management, and a lot of foot-dragging or worse from full-time union officials - picket numbers were still buoyant, and the mood was defiant. Old Street is the base for Shelter's top management, and employs a lot of agency workers, so some people did go into work. But, during the time I was on the picket line, only similar numbers to those on the 5 and 10 March strikes. I hear that there was some weakening of the strike in other areas. That...

Squeezing the poor: the pips should start squeaking!

For many years now, inequality has soared, but intimidation by employers and foot-dragging by sluggish trade-union leaders have pretty much kept a lid on wage battles. Back in the 1970s, the then Labour chancellor Dennis Healey promised (untruly) that he would "squeeze the rich until the pips squeak". New Labour has been squeezing the poor - and so far the pips haven't squeaked much. But squeak time could be coming soon. * Food prices have gone up 15.5% over the last year. The Tory Daily Mail worked out the figures for its own purposes (18 April), but they're accurate. * Other basic costs are...

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