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Workplace news in brief
HMRC jobs deal
In the current climate of cuts and attacks on working and living conditions, PCS members in HMRC (revenue and customs) have been able to secure significant agreement from their employer on jobs, privatisation and sickness absence policy. Strike action that was due to begin on Monday 3 September has been suspended for two months in order to implement the deal. PCS will monitor this and will not hesitate to resurrect the action if management reneges on the agreement.
A PCS member
DWP contact centres
A strike on 13 August by workers in the Department for Work and Pensions working in Contact Centre Services has resulted in significant progress in negotiations. The dispute is over privatisation and working conditions. The strike originally planned for 3 September was therefore called off for further negotiations to take place.
Remploy strikes
Workers at Remploy's two healthcare factories - Chesterfield and Springburn, Glasgow - started a week's strike on 3 September. Chesterfield GMB steward, Antony North, Carl Chambers and other GMB pickets spoke to Jon Dale: "For a year we've been trying to get answers from Remploy about the future of the business but have kept being told that was all confidential...
"Under our old terms, anyone with more than two years' service made redundant got a year's wages plus £5,000. That could be £19,000. But the new terms could see us lose our jobs and get just £1,800. 60-year olds with disabilities will have great difficulty ever finding any other work."
- Send solidarity messages to: GMB Chesterfield [email protected] GMB Springburn [email protected]
- Donations can be made out to 'GMB' and sent to GMB, Grove Hall, 60 College Grove Rd, Wakefield, WF1 3RN.
Sheffield
Despite last minute attempts by Sova management to bully Sheffield's recycling workers into calling off their industrial action, the strike on 1-2 September went ahead as planned.
The 30-odd tip workers at Sheffield's five Dump-it sites took 28 days strike action earlier in summer against council cuts.
Their indefinite strike won the re-instatement of three colleagues and the promise of "serious" negotiations over bonus and increasing hours.
But the Labour council and Veolia and Sova, the private operators and sub-contractors, have just stalled for the last eight weeks, so workers voted to strike again every weekend in September.
- Please send messages of support (email: [email protected]) and especially financial donations to: Peter Davies (Sova Strike Fund), GMB office, 188/190 Norfolk Street, Sheffield, S1 1SY. Please make cheques payable to GMB.
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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.
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.
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