University staff to strike

UNIVERSITY STAFF will be on strike over pay on 7 March. This follows
a good turnout in the strike ballot, with big majorities supporting both
strike action and ‘action short of a strike’ amongst members of AUT and
NATFHE.

Thomas House

This reflects the anger at years of empty promises from the employers
to give us the pay we deserve.

Joint action between AUT and NATFHE is an important step forward and
will be a test for the success of the united union, UCU, due to form
this summer. It is important to build the broadest possible support for
our action, locally and nationally, from the National Union of Students,
and from other trade unions, particularly public-sector unions in the
middle of similar disputes.

It has been clear for years that higher education in the UK is
seriously underfunded. But some academics are making the mistake of
looking to the introduction of top-up fees as a way to get money flowing
back into universities.

As the privatisation of universities continues, it is only very few
academics in very few universities who will benefit from significant
salary increases – ‘market forces’ will drive down the pay of the
majority of university staff as they have done in all other privatised
industries.

The introduction of fees is already having a bad effect on
applications to undergraduate courses. If we seem to support fees, even
implicitly by demanding a share of the income generated from them, we
risk undercutting support from students angry at the debt they incur
from studying and from workers who will not be able to afford to send
their children to university.

Socialist Party members in AUT and NATFHE argue that we should fight
for more public funding in higher education to pay for more staff on
better wages, to abolish fees and introduce living grants.

We should approach the NUS and other trade unions for a national
demonstration for better funding and an end to cuts, closures and
privatisation of higher education.

A Socialist Party leaflet for the strike is available. Ring Ken Smith
on 020 8988 8778.


BT TV broadcast workers ballot

BT WORKERS in BT Media and Broadcast are being balloted for national
industrial action against the telecommunication giant’s plans to sell
off part of its TV business.

Pav Alam, assistant secretary, CWU London City West branch

Whilst the plan itself is suspect, what is outrageous is that they
plan to sell the staff to the highest bidder. Outsourcing is nothing new
to the union but our members will not be sold off in a cattle auction.

Over 200 staff have been declared "in scope" and are liable to be
transferred under TUPE to a competitor or even venture capitalists. BT
are bragging about broadcasting TV via broadband whilst selling off
members who have years of experience in the broadcast industry and are
responsible for the transmission of TV news, sport etc around the world.

When appointed in 2005, Director Barry Bonnet was quoted as saying he
wanted "to steer the business into new markets". Yet he actively wants
to steer clear of this part of the business.

CWU members, branch officers and NEC Broad Left supporters have given
full support to the proposed action. Over 60 CWU members demonstrated
over the sell-off last week as BT held a £500-a-ticket media event for
the UK broadcast industry. Unlike previous outsourcing attempts the
members have been given no right to redeployment within the parent
company and TUPE offers no protection to the final salary pension
scheme.

At the demo one member commented on the fact that little had changed
since the Thatcher era (in employment) and that the unions, as
representatives of the working class, had to take a stand. He had also
drawn the conclusion that maybe we needed a new workers’ party!

It is unlikely that any bidder would welcome the CWU and may be
actively hostile to the union organising. The union is urging all
members to vote ‘yes’ to action in the ballot that ends on 1 March.


Surrey CC workforce fights cuts plans

ON 7 MARCH, Surrey County UNISON will lobby Surrey County Council
against the council’s ‘Business Delivery Review (BDR)’. The BDR is the
most savage attack on council jobs and services in Surrey ever
witnessed.

Paul Couchman, newsletter and publicity officer, Surrey County UNISON

The council wants to cut £50 million this year as a result of the
government reducing its subsidy and elected members’ fears of raising
council taxes.

The most recent updates from the council suggest huge cuts in
services and up to 1,000 redundancies. Vulnerability notices are already
being served.

The workforce is angry. UNISON is recruiting hand over fist and a new
branch leadership has been elected to lead the fight back. Even Surrey’s
managers are incensed at the level of proposed cuts.

The branch AGM in January (the biggest ever – 170 attended) voted
almost unanimously to ballot for strike action in the event of
compulsory redundancies.

Understanding the political link, the AGM also voted to send
observers to the RMT conference on working-class representation.

We will also hopefully be sending observers to the Campaign for a New
Workers’ Party conference on 19 March.

Lobby Surrey County Council, 7 March, 8.30am, County Hall, Kingston.


Defend the NHS

ABOUT FIFTY health workers and members of the public attended a
meeting called by Southampton trades council to discuss building
opposition to the privatisation and cuts taking place in the NHS.

Kieran Roberts

Locally, NHS services and jobs are being butchered by health chiefs,
with the city’s hospitals currently in the midst of a cull of hundreds
of jobs and beds.

Anger amongst healthworkers and patients is sky high, with the
systematic dismantling of local NHS services.

This anger has compelled the leadership of the UNISON health branch
to call a demonstration through the city centre on Saturday 11 March.

The demo could be an important step for the labour movement in
building a serious campaign to defend the NHS in Southampton and
Hampshire. It is vital that the health unions mobilise their members in
the next couple of weeks to ensure the demo is a success. Southampton
Socialist Party will be joining them in doing this.


Demonstration to defend the NHS

No cuts – No job losses – No
privatisation Saturday 11 March, meet at Asylum Green, 11am.