Solidarity 042, 3 December 2003

N. London win Postalworkers in North London have forced a significant retreat by management over this year's Christmas Arrangements. Managers were so incensed that some of us may have been finishing earlier than our extended paid hours last year that they were insisting that we sort a huge daily diversion of 200,000 letters from Mount Pleasant for no more money than last Christmas. This would have saved them having to hire 50 casuals. They refused to offer the work as paid overtime to volunteers in the usual manner. After nearly every one of the 22 North London offices rejected the deal and...

By a London Underground worker London Underground's pay offer of 3.7% is not enough, especially for lower grades. The Regional Council of the underground union, RMT, has a policy to reject this offer and to take industrial action if necessary. Yet the national leaders of the unions are telling us we should accept it. RMT and the drivers' union ASLEF are both holding referenda with a recommendation to accept. The clerical workers union, TSSA, may accept it without even letting their members have a vote. A big 'No' vote from RMT and ASLEF members will send a clear message to the company and the...

By Patrick Murphy A meeting of National Union of Teachers activists on 29 November in Nottingham failed to reach a consensus on a left candidate for the General Secretary election next year. The previously agreed candidate, John Illingworth, has withdrawn because of illness. There were three potential candidates at the Nottingham meeting, Ian Murch of the CDFU, Alex Kenny of the STA and Martin Powell Davies of the Socialist Party. But it was neither a local associations delegate meeting nor a joint meeting of the main left organisations in the union (STA and CDFU). An indicative vote was taken...

About 4,400 workers at Short Brothers, the Canadian-owned aerospace firm in Belfast, have struck for six days over job cuts and working conditions. The striking workers were represented by Amicus and the TGWU. The Canadian firm Bombardier wanted to reform work shifts and reduce overtime payments, under threat of job cuts. The firm had already cut 600 jobs in May and has cut more than 2,000 workers since 2001. Short Brothers is still Northern Ireland's largest commercial employer with a current workforce of 5,600. The unions have agreed a deal for no redundancies before the end of March and the...

On 19 November the PCS civil service union launched a parliamentary group, chaired by left Labour MP John McDonnell. The move into politics is good. But with problems. The PCS's lack of a political fund creates procedural difficulties. It cannot, however, justify the union publicly and specifically seeking collaboration with Tory MPs. According to the official union announcement: "The Group will have vice-chairs from each of the four political parties… The Conservative and Lib Dem vice-chair nominees are awaited".