Workplace news in brief

Bucks hospitals strike

Workers employed by Medirest in the Wycombe and Amersham hospitals have voted by 90% to strike in a row over pay. The hospital trust and Medirest have failed to increase pay and conditions to the level required by the Agenda for Change agreement.

The last Labour government agreed that all staff, including those working for private companies, should be paid at these rates and it put the money into hospital budgets.

Over the last four years of negotiations, Medirest and the local hospital trust have been stalling and saying that they do not have the money.

This is despite Medirest's parent company increasing its profits last year by over £100 million to over £800 million.

Messages of solidarity for this low paid multi-cultural workforce would be great as would donations to Bucks Health Unison hardship fund.

For more information please ring the Unison branch office: telephone 01296 565568

Newsquest strike

On 7-8 December, NUJ members at the Southern Daily Echo will strike again over a pay freeze which has lasted since July 2008. This is in spite of healthy profits being made by Newsquest.

They were on strike for two days on 9-10 November.

Staff at another Newsquest paper - the Brighton Argus - will also be out at the same time as the possibility of a wider strike of Newsquest workers grows.

Isle of Man ferries protest

On 23 November, 50 demonstrators gathered at the Pierhead in Liverpool to protest about the German-owned Manx-based Kohle company, which is undercutting the Isle of Man Steampacket services and endangering the supply of goods to the Island.

Already, Tescos and other suppliers have switched to Mezzaron, which is operating two freight-only ships on behalf of Kohle. They are exploiting the eastern European workers by paying seafarers £3.78 an hour and cooks £2.90 an hour - well below the national minimum wage.

The demonstration was organised by the RMT and supported by the northwest TUC.

Fightback in Greenwich

Over 50 people attended a meeting on 24 November to set up a campaign to save services in Greenwich, south east London. The council is making compulsory redundancies and is trying to force every council worker to accept poorer terms and conditions. They are also attacking the Unite branch secretary, in an attempt to silence one of the unions fighting the cuts.

The meeting called for unity of all local unions in organising the fightback, including the local branch of Unison which is being run by regional officials, as a result of the witch-hunt against Socialist Party members in the union.

A lobby of the council is being organised in December and a demonstration in the new year.

Why not click here to join the Socialist Party, or click here to donate to the Socialist Party.

In The Socialist 1 December 2010:

Youth Fight for Education

Young people lead fight against cuts