Against victimisation

Defending victimised workers and trade unionists

Industrial news in brief

Security staff at the University of Leicester are currently in dispute with management, who wish to cut their working week to 35 from 37 hours, with the loss of two hours’ pay. Effectively this works out to be about £800 per year. A large sum for relatively low paid workers but a tiny sum for the university, especially when the team they are targeting is very small. A consultative ballot was held last week where 100% turnout achieved 100% in favour of industrial action. This, from the 100% unionised team, should send a very clear message to the bosses that a cut in wages will not be tolerated...

Workers close Ivy House for job security and union recognition

Workers at the Ivy House pub in Nunhead (South London) have been on strike since the morning of 30 September in a dispute about four sudden, unexplained dismissals, zero hours contracts and union recognition. They want reinstatement or at least suspension with pay and a proper process for reviewing the cases; secure, fixed hours contracts; and recognition of their union, the BFAWU. The pub has remained completely shut down, meaning that its normal extensive Sunday lunch crowds got not their normal meal but conversations with the pickets – who got overwhelming support, as they have from the...

Tube drivers in strike vote

Members of drivers’ union Aslef on London Underground are balloting for industrial action to win safer cabs. Unions say a recent incident on the Northern Line, in which passengers broke into the cab of a female driver and attacked her, vindicate long-running union complaints about the lack of security of drivers’ cab doors. Aslef’s ballot began on 4 September. RMT says it is also considering balloting its driver members. Unions are demanding a safe locking system for drivers’ cabs. London Underground has claimed this would be too expensive to install, with unions countering that they shouldn’t...

Wildcat strikes against racist boss

On Tuesday 31 July Indianapolis welder Antoine Dangerfield filmed what became a viral video, watched over 2 million times in two days, of a wildcat strike by Latino construction workers building a new UPS hub. In the video and in a subsequent interview with Jacobin magazine Dangerfield explains that some Latino workers, working for a different contractor but in the same hub were ordered to go home (effectively sacked) by a white boss he calls racist. Dangerfield explained to Jacobin that workers had disobeyed an order from this boss: ″We have safety meetings, and we usually have a translator...

Picturehouse workers strike again

Picturehouse workers will be on strike again for the Sundance film festival happening at Picturehouse Central from 31 May to 3 June. They will be striking during the opening night on Thursday 31 May, and again on Saturday 2 May. The strikes will hit several premières taking place at the festival. Behind the scenes at several workplaces, despite no strikes for a while, tensions has been running high. Many of the striking sites are being deliberately understaffed. The company is refusing to hire new staff either due to fears new staff will simply join the union Bectu, or as a way to punish and...

Industrial news in brief

Lecturers strike over pensions Staff at 61 universities have voted to strike in a dispute over pensions, beginning on 22 February. University bosses want to remove guaranteed pension provision, in favour of a “defined contribution” scheme where the eventual pay-out is dependent on performance of investments. Staff face losing up to £200,000 over the course of retirement. The ballot achieved a 58% turnout nationwide with an impressive 88% vote for action. The universities involved are primarily the older “pre-92” universities, and the affected workers are academic and academic-related staff...

Crossrail electrician strikes

Electricians working on the Crossrail development in London struck on Wednesday 10 January after contractor Balfour Beatty refused to pay industry standard project completion payments. The electricians, organised by Unite, are working on the Woolwich section of Crossrail. Workers are demanding a four week finishing bonus to be paid when they are made redundant at the end of the job. According to Unite a “finishing bonus is standard practice on comparable major projects. It allows workers to give notice on their lodging without suffering financial loss. All the electricians employed at Woolwich...

Strikes at Fujitsu over victimisation

Workers at Fujitsu in Manchester will strike for 11 days over victimisation of union reps, breaches of the company′s redundancy agreement, and compulsory redundancies. Unite members at Fujitsu have been fighting job cuts and a victimisation culture for over a year. The latest round of strikes comes after a Unite rep of 26 years standing, Ian Allinson, was sacked. Ian Allinson said: “On Tuesday (9 January), while I was on compassionate leave for a family funeral, Fujitsu sent me a letter telling me that I will be dismissed tomorrow (12 January) after more than 30 years’ service, including 26 as...

Industrial news in brief

On Saturday 30 September, workers and supporters protested outside the HR Owen car showrooms in London. HR Owen sells a number of luxury sports cars, including Maserati and Ferrari, some of which sell for over £250,000 each. Last year it made a profit of £400m. Yet it only pays the minimum wage (through an outsourcing company) to its cleaners for the last five years. The inequality between rich and poor could not be clearer. Workers have been balloted by their union, United Voices of the World (UVW), to strike for the London Living Wage (£9.75 an hour). After the ballot Freddy Lopez and...

Industrial news in brief

July has seen a number of interesting and potentially important developments in the ongoing dispute between rail unions and the Train Operating Companies (TOCs) and the government over Driver Only Operation (DOO). Since RMT strike action on July 8th (Northern, Southern and Merseyrail), 9th (Northern only) and 10th (Northern and Merseyrail), the union has moved closer to a dispute on the issue with South West Trains and has declared a dispute with Greater Anglia. It now seems increasingly likely that we will see co-ordinated action by RMT members across huge portions of the national rail...

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