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Solidarity

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From: The Socialist issue 943, 5 April 2017: Resist cruel NHS cuts

Search site for keywords: Picturehouse - Protest - Workers - Strike - Cinema - Hackney - London - Solidarity - Pay - living wage

Solid Picturehouse picket and protest

A previous Picturehouse strike, 25.2.17, photo Clare Doyle (Click to enlarge)

Claire Laker-Mansfield, Hackney Socialist Party

Around 30 striking workers and their supporters gathered outside Hackney Picturehouse on 31 March for a three-hour protest and picket. This marked the sixteenth strike organised by these workers since October 2016.

Morale was high and the strike was solid. An excellent turnout from the community offered everyone a boost.

The Socialist Party took part in the action, with members of the local branch handing out leaflets and helping to discuss the issues with passers-by, as well as with the cinema workers.

This was the latest action in an ongoing campaign demanding the London Living Wage and sick pay for cinema workers at this and other members of the Picturehouse chain.

Workers at two other Picturehouses - Ritzy and Central - were also taking strike action. This coordination is helping to escalate the pressure on management to meet the workers' demands.

Outrageously, Picturehouse management had drafted in a strikebreaking workforce from elsewhere, which was used to keep the cinema open in spite of the strike's solidity.

But the lively picket, combined with the protest and support organised from the community, meant that the cinema was almost empty for much of what would normally be a very busy Friday night. When confronted with the picket and protest, many members of the public chose to show solidarity with the strike and take their custom elsewhere.

The workers are clearly preparing for a fight to the finish. A further strike is being prepared for 15 April with action at all six sites and a gathering of strikers at the east Dulwich site which has voted to join the dispute.

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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.