Unite

A year-long fight against blacklisting, victimisation, and union busting on a Crossrail construction site has ended with sacked union rep Frank Morris winning reinstatement, and contractor BFK recognising Unite on the site. Frank's supporters have kept up a constant campaign of direct action, including near-daily pickets and road-blockades at Crossrail sites in Westbourne Park and Oxford Street, as well as targeted action against other BFK clients. The victory, coming soon after Bob Carnegie's win in Australia , is further proof of what's possible when workers stand firm. For more information...

The United Left group, which commands a majority on the Executive of the giant Unite union, meets in Manchester on 31 August to discuss the Collins-Miliband proposals on the links between the unions and the Labour Party. UL secretary Martin Mayer, in convening the meeting, has made clear that he disagrees with Ed Miliband’s suggestion that trade unionists counted as “affiliated members” only if they explicitly and individually “opt in”. Jim Kelly, another known defender of the collective trade union voice in the Labour Party, is due to introduce the discussion. The UL meeting could lead to...

On Wednesday 14 August, RWE the troubled German owner of energy company NPower, announced a 60% fall in revenue, mainly to do with power generation in Germany. Buried beneath this was a plan to shut unspecified 16 out of 26 sites in the profitable British section. (See a Daily Mirror report here .) Although details are unspecified, they are talking about 3,000 job losses, or a third of the workforce. There have already been announcements of offshoring and redundancies, but mainly of management or the generally well-paid but unorganised consultant and IT-type grades. These staff are on...

On 24 July Unite General Secretary Len McCluskey told an emergency meeting of all members of the union’s Regional Political Committees and the union’s National Executive Committee that Ed Miliband’s new proposals for Labour Party structure are “not a threat but an opportunity”. “Ed Miliband has made some bold and far-reaching proposals for recasting the trade union relationship with the Labour Party. Some pundits were expecting me to reject them outright. When Ed made his speech, I saw it as an opportunity not as a threat”. Miliband’s main idea (9 July) was that trade unionists should be...

In mid-July Labour Party leader Ed Miliband proposed various ‘reforms’ to Labour Party structures and procedures. Central to these was the proposal that unions affiliated to the Labour Party switch from ‘opt-out’ to ‘opt-in’. At present, a member of a trade union who does not ‘opt out’ of paying the political levy is automatically included as a levy-payer. If that union is affiliated to the Labour Party, anyone who does not ‘opt out’ counts automatically as an affiliated Labour Party member. Under Miliband’s proposals, only union members who indicate that they wish to ‘opt in’ would be counted...

Two demonstrations of tens of thousands, repeated meetings of many hundreds, numerous stunts and direct actions, an invasion of Jeremy Hunt's constituency, union organising, a People's Commission...

150 workers at One Housing Group struck from 24 July to 26 July in a bid to stop pay cuts of up to £8,000. Workers at OHG, which manages 15,000 homes across London and southeast England, face an average pay cut of £2,000, with some workers facing reductions of four times that amount. Meanwhile, the salary of OHG Chief Executive Mike Sweeney has increased by £31,000 to £176,000 a year. Unite officer Onay Kasab said: "The employers have simply refused to listen or to sit down with us and come up with any ways to resolve the dispute. "This has increased support for our campaign and, rather than...

In a letter to the Evening Standard on Tuesday 9 July, Jerry Hicks, Len McCluskey’s challenger in the 2013 Unite general secretary election, set out his view for how trade unions should seek political representation. He believes Unite should give money to the Labour Party on a “payment on results” basis, effectively giving them financial rewards for delivering political favours in office. Hicks said this approach would “make it easier for Ed Miliband”, presumably by ending the permanent, structural (and financial) link between unions and the party. Hicks must have his tongue in his cheek when...

A workplace bulletin by Lewisham Hospital workers, for Lewisham Hospital workers. Click here to download the PDF.

East Midlands Trains workers to ballot The Rail, Maritime, and Transport workers union (RMT) is balloting train manager, conductor, and stations grades members working for East Midlands Trains for strikes over a variety of issues, including the victimisation of RMT rep Ruth Strong. The union says the company has taken a “deliberately aggressive attitude” to negotiations over ongoing engineering work at Nottingham station, and accuses East Midlands Trains of “unilaterally ripping up” a number of procedural and conditions-of-service agreements. RMT general secretary Bob Crow said: “The...