Workplace news in brief


Knowsley College

Unison members in Knowsley Community College took further strike action on 6 March, in support of their sacked senior steward Barry Dunne. The strike was solid and caused major disruption to the running of the college.

Members’ anger was high as a result of the fact that an apparent commitment by the college to re-engage Barry had come to nothing following an ‘interview’ for a post that had already been promised to another candidate!

Unison is preparing to take legal action in Barry’s defence.

Crossrail death

A worker was killed on the Crossrail construction site in London on 7 March. Unite has demanded urgent talks with contractor BFK about health and safety on the site.

The campaign against blacklisting of workers on sites such as Crossrail has always argued that trade union rights and safe working conditions go hand in hand.

The importance of continuing this campaign is shown by the death of another worker on 2 March on a site in Stratford, east London. Another was seriously injured by a crane on 7 March on a site in Docklands.

Lewisham strike

Unite members working for the Attendance and Welfare Service in Lewisham, south London, were on strike on 12 March in protest at a 50% staffing cut.

The council has cut £300,000 from the service. This follows a previous cut of £200,000.

The impact of this cut will be devastating. The service has an enviable record in combatting school truancy by concentrating on early intervention.

Now there will be less early intervention work and instead a bigger concentration on prosecution of parents – action once the damage has already been done.

Workers who attended the full council meeting that made the decision to cut the service swore that having seen Labour in action, they would never vote Labour again.

They are setting an example to council workers in Lewisham and lighting the spark to begin a fightback in the borough against the vicious cuts being imposed by a Labour council.