Join us today!
Printable version
Link to this page: https://www.socialistparty.org.uk/issue/774/17120
From The Socialist newspaper, 17 July 2013
Workplace news in brief
Strike vote Scotland
Unison members in Scotland are being balloted for strike action over pay. This is after a 1% pay offer was rejected.
Unison has calculated that the value of staff pay has been cut by 10% over the last three years and basic living costs have dramatically risen.
75,000 workers in 32 councils are voting at the moment. The ballot closes on 13 August.
Hospital strike
Pathologists at hospitals in Leeds and Bradford were on strike on 16 July over staff shortages. Management is trying to impose new working patterns which the Unite members feel put staff and patient safety at risk.
They also mean substantial pay cuts for some staff, in some cases as much as £20,000 a year.
Boris bike ballot
Workers in the Serco Barclays cycle hire scheme in London have voted decisively for strike action and action short of a strike.
This is because the company has imposed a 2% pay increase, new shift patterns and other detrimental changes to working conditions.
At the moment the RMT members are operating an overtime ban in an attempt to bring the company to meaningful negotiations.
Portsmouth
Unite members at Portsmouth International Port have voted unanimously for industrial action over plans which could cut their pay by £1,300 a year.
The Port is owned by Portsmouth city council. The management wants to reduce staff costs by 10% by cutting staffing levels.
This will have a big impact on the efficiency of the Port, which provides important revenue for the city council as a whole.
Donate to the Socialist Party
Finance appeal
The coronavirus crisis has laid bare the class character of society in numerous ways. It is making clear to many that it is the working class that keeps society running, not the CEOs of major corporations.
The results of austerity have been graphically demonstrated as public services strain to cope with the crisis.
The government has now ripped up its 'austerity' mantra and turned to policies that not long ago were denounced as socialist. But after the corona crisis, it will try to make the working class pay for it, by trying to claw back what has been given.
- The Socialist Party's material is more vital than ever, so we can continue to report from workers who are fighting for better health and safety measures, against layoffs, for adequate staffing levels, etc.
- When the health crisis subsides, we must be ready for the stormy events ahead and the need to arm workers' movements with a socialist programme - one which puts the health and needs of humanity before the profits of a few.
Inevitably, during the crisis we have not been able to sell the Socialist and raise funds in the ways we normally would.
We therefore urgently appeal to all our viewers to donate to our Fighting Fund.
In The Socialist 17 July 2013:
Socialist Party news and analysis
'We've had enough' - All strike together!
Urgent - trade unions must build a political voice for the working class
Fire cuts, pay cuts, pension cuts, job cuts
MPs' pay to rise to £74,000...
G4S tagging scandal: another failure of privatisation
International socialist news and analysis
USA: Zimmerman, Trayvon and racism
'Black July' - Sri Lanka 1983 and the beginning of civil war
Socialist Party feature
Socialist Party review
The story of the Tolpuddle Martyrs
Socialist Party workplace news
Lecturers in Wales expose working conditions
Fight Royal Mail privatisation!
Socialist Party reports and campaigns
Bedroom tax non-payment soars in Scotland: Stop evictions
Councils: Don't do the Con-Dems' dirty work!
'Sick Of Your Boss?' week of action reports
Durham Miners' Gala shows mood for new party
Campaigning against anti-LGBT bullying in schools
Lincolnshire - save our libraries
Readers' comments
Home | The Socialist 17 July 2013 | Join the Socialist Party
Subscribe | Donate | PDF | ebook
2020