No sackings!
CWU members in Coventry held a protest on 26 October against increasingly oppressive management. The bullying and unfair sackings resulted in an unofficial walkout on 25 October in response to the latest sacking of a CWU member.
The protest, which was supported by CWU members from across BT, Socialist Party members from the CWU postal section, and Unison is only the first step in the campaign.
CWU members were quite clear they have had enough. They will continue to fight and strike if necessary to end this punitive management approach and get this dismissal reversed.
North west NSSN
An excellent meeting of the north-west Shop Stewards Network in Manchester on 27 October brought together stewards and members across Greater Manchester and Lancashire.
There were workers from Unite, UCU, NUM, Unison and BFAWU bakers’ union. The main discussion on “next steps towards a one-day general strike” affirmed widespread support for the demand that the TUC name the date now for a well-prepared 24-hour strike.
For more details see: www.shopstewards.net
Cleaners strike
Rail union RMT members working in four different areas will be on a 48-hour strike over 2 and 3 November.
This affects cleaners working for London Midland, East Coast mainline, Transpennine Express and the Tyne and Wear Metro.
These are all long-running disputes with private contractors over poverty pay and poor working conditions.
RMT general secretary Bob Crow said: “RMT is committed to a national fight to both expose the reality of the profiteering on our transport services that bullies and exploits the cleaners and also to securing living wages that keep pace with the true cost of living.
“All of these individual companies know that RMT members are determined to push on with the fight for pay and workplace justice and that they have shown rock-solid solidarity on previous strike days.
“The train operators and Metro authorities who give a green light to exploitation by these parasites should be using their clout to force them back to the negotiating table.”
British Museum
Cleaners and maintenance workers at the British Museum were on strike on 29 October against privatisation plans.
Around 50 members of PCS and Unite had voted overwhelmingly for industrial action against plans to outsource cleaning and facilities management to a private contractor for next April.
Workers fear their already low wages will be attacked in the name of profit and their working conditions worsened.
Blacklisting
The scandal of the blacklisting of workers seems to grow every day. It is now clear that workers in the rail industry have also been blacklisted by employers.
Now the rail union RMT is demanding full disclosure of these files and action against all those involved in this conspiracy.
