The National Shop Stewards Network (NSSN) says
Labour’s Spending Review has confirmed that there will be no relief from grinding cuts. The NSSN conference on Saturday 5 July is a forum to discuss what we’re facing and organise the fightback. As usual, we will be giving a platform to workers taking action, such as the Unite Birmingham bin workers, and building solidarity and support. And it’s a chance for all trade unionists and anti-cuts campaigners to speak and share their experiences and be part of the discussion on the way forward.
Why I’m going to NSSN conference
Balaka Fell-Holden, Hackney Unison (personal capacity) and West London Socialist Party
I’m going to the National Shop Stewards Network (NSSN) conference on 5 July because we need to get organised to fight back. As a worker in the public sector, I see the damage being done daily to our services, our pay, and our rights.
Years of cuts have pushed people with the least, and with the most to lose, to the brink. And while the Tories accelerated the crisis, Starmer’s Labour is offering no real alternative.
I work in libraries, and see council services drained dry. Starmer has abandoned WASPI women fighting for justice. He’s backtracked on funding the NHS, leaving it to crumble while patients suffer and staff are driven out. He’s silent on rising poverty – while pensioners are expected to gather their own winter fuel just to survive. He refuses to challenge racism, sexism, or the rise of the far right. His failure to oppose the Israeli government in Gaza exposed whose side he’s really on. Workers from marginalised communities are hit hardest – and can’t afford to wait.
The Birmingham bin strikers show that workers are willing to fight, but they shouldn’t have to do it alone. The NSSN conference is a chance to come together across unions, to coordinate action and build real solidarity.
