The Socialist 22 May 2019

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What lies behind the US-China trade war?

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Birmingham home carers victory

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Woolwich ferry workers begin ten days of strike action

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Anger and frustration at the establishment

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Pouring cold water on the Riverside estate

Worcester Tories stonewall action on climate change

Day of action against cuts to special needs education

Opinion: socialists must link climate struggle to power of organised workers

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Woolwich ferry workers begin ten days of strike action

Woolwich ferry photo BL2002/CC, photo BL2002/CC (Click to enlarge)

A Unite the Union member

Unite the Union members employed by Briggs Marine - which has the contract to run the Woolwich Ferry on behalf of Transport for London (TfL) - have begun ten days of strike action.

The action, in support of a pay and conditions claim, is also in protest at reduced staffing and serious safety concerns linked to non-functioning fire extinguishers.

The first day of action on 17 May was magnificently well supported - with only one very sad looking scab going into work. This individual must now know how pointless this was - one man cannot run a two boat ferry.

The action by the strikers means that no ferry runs on strike days. Briggs has stated that it will only negotiate if money is not part of the negotiations. It claims it has no money. But the reality is that the company run the service for a profit.

The answer is simple - TfL must take the service in-house. Workers are demanding that a layer of senior managers are dismissed and, instead, workers are given the chance to run an in-house service.

Workers also made clear on the picket line that they are prepared to escalate until a victory is won.

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International socialist news and analysis

What lies behind the US-China trade war?