Join us today!
Printable version
Link to this page: https://www.socialistparty.org.uk/issue/978/26733
From The Socialist newspaper, 17 January 2018
Hackney school cleaners strike
Cleaner, photo Free Photos/CC (Click to enlarge)
Unite the Union members working in six schools in Hackney will be taking strike action on 30, 31 January and 1, 2 and 5 February as part of a campaign to win fair pay and decent contracts.
The employers, OCS, are subcontracted by Kier, which has a contract with the council to clean schools.
OCS have stated that they want to force all staff who remain on year-round contracts onto term-time-only contracts. They argue that staff should not be paid for when schools are closed.
Unite previously won a fight to get the workers' pay raised from the minimum wage to the London Living Wage. Now OCS are refusing to pay the new uprated amount that was announced last November.
The union response - to call for five days of strike action - has got the attention of the subcontractor, contractor, council, mayor and the Labour Party!
Up until the point of issuing the strike notice, nobody was talking to the union. Collective action certainly gets you noticed! The union is sticking to its position - the strikes are on until the members accept any offer.
Unite regional officer Onay Kasab said: "We have been approached by the employers and asked to call off the action - yet no offer has been made.
Unions now have to jump through hurdles to secure a legal ballot so having made all that effort, why would we call off action when no offer is on the table? Our members voted, with a majority of 100%, for strike action. If the employers do not make an acceptable offer we will strike."
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 January 2018:
Socialist Party news and analysis
Carillion crisis: demand action to save jobs and services
NHS crisis: under pressure from all angles - end cuts and sell-offs!
Victory! Trump's UK visit cancelled by fear of protests
What we think
Corbyn's Labour needs 100% anti-cuts strategy and fight for democracy
International socialist news and analysis
Tunisia: explosion of protests against government austerity
Stop repression in Hong Kong and China
Workplace news and analysis
RMT strikes against driver-only operation continue
Mini-strike wave continues and intensifies
Hackney school cleaners strike
PCS union 2018 elections - nominate the left slate for a continued fighting leadership
Socialist Party reports and campaigns
We must fight all council cuts!
No to the Woolwich monster block
Undercover policing legal challenge
Heating scandal on east London estate
Lobby pushes Liverpool council to oppose privatisation
Packed Newham meeting against academies
Socialist Party women's meeting brings together members to share experiences
Southern Socialist Party conference
Opinion
Opinion: foster care is work - carers deserve workers' rights
Opinion: British imperialism can take no credit in fight against Isis
Theatre: 'Young Marx' shows growth in great platform for his ideas
Home | The Socialist 17 January 2018 | Join the Socialist Party
Subscribe | Donate | Audio | PDF | ebook
2020