National Shop Stewards Network

227: Northern Ireland workers ballot for joint March 13th strike

January 28, 2015 in Bulletins

From the website of the Northern Ireland Public Service Alliance trade union (NIPSA):- Dispute over Pay and/or Staffing Cuts – Industrial Action Ballot (23 January) You will be aware from previous circulars that the NIPSA Civil Service Group Executive Committee recommended that members employed in the NI Civil Service and related NDPBs, including Cross Border Bodies and the NI Assembly should participate in a campaign of opposition to the unfair 2014 imposed pay settlement and the thousands of staffing cuts that arise out of the 2015/16 NI Draft Budget and that this campaign would include industrial action, including strike action, […]

Tags: 24 General strike, Affiliate, Appeal, austerity, BFAWU, blacklist, bullying, CWU, DLR, fbu, general strike, GMB, housing, John McDonnell MP, lobby, napo, nhs, NIPSA, no cuts, Northern Ireland, nssn, NUT, Pay, pcs, pensions, Refresco Gerber, rmt, Strike, terms and conditions, TUC, tupe, UCU, Unison, Yorkshire
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226: July4 NSSN Conference ’15 – ‘Stop the union-busters!’

January 21, 2015 in Bulletins

The national steering committee of the National Shop Stewards Network met last Saturday. The meeting confirmed that this year’s NSSN conference, our 9th, will be on Saturday July 4th in Conway Hall in London. Our vice-chair and PCS Wales chair Katrine Williams updated us on the brutal attack on PCS by this government. The meeting unanimously agreed to send a message of support and solidarity to PCS and offer the full assistance of the NSSN in their fight to defend the union. Our view is that this is struggle, the whole trade union movement should be involved in and our […]

Tags: 24 General strike, Affiliate, Appeal, austerity, BFAWU, bob crow, bullying, cleaners, condems, CWU, fbu, general strike, GMB, housing, lobby, Miners, napo, nhs, NUT, Pay, pcs, pensions, rmt, Strike, terms and conditions, TUC, tupe, UCU, Unison, Unite
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Support locked-out Essex firefighters & hardship fund

January 16, 2015 in Appeals

Essex Firefighters took strike action from 9am on Wednesday 14 Jan. The three days of planned partial actions have been escalated as the employers effectively chose to temporarily lock firefighters out rather than accept three days of more limited strikes. The current dispute is over changes to conditions for control room staff – with the sticking point being an attempt to impose 12 hour shifts – but has to be seen against the background both of the national pensions dispute and a local war of attrition waged by a hard nosed employer against one of the best organised fire […]

Tags: Essex, fbu, firefighters, locked-out
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London bus strike in video and pictures

January 13, 2015 in News, Strikes, Video

Bus workers in Unite in London are taking historic strike action today – for one rate for the job across all 18 companies. Strikers know this might have to be just the start and are ready for a big fight, but what a start! Picket lines of 70, 100 and more, maintained all day. And the roads – gridlock before dawn. London mayor Boris Johnson claims a third of the service is running but that’s complete rubbish – reports around the picket lines are that only 10% of the service is running, if that. Public support is really high – […]

Tags: #BusStrike, Bus strike, Pay, Strike, TFL, Transport for London, Unite
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NSSN 225: London Bus Strike / Defend Union Rights

January 14, 2015 in Bulletins

January 13th London bus strike in video and pictures Bus workers in Unite in London are taking historic strike action today (January 13th) – for one rate for the job across all 18 companies. Strikers know this might have to be just the start and are ready for a big fight, but what a start! Picket lines of 70, 100 and more, maintained all day. And the roads – gridlock before dawn. London mayor Boris Johnson claims a third of the service is running but that’s complete rubbish – reports around the picket lines are that only 10% of the […]

Tags: 24 General strike, Affiliate, austerity, BFAWU, blacklist, bullying, condems, CWU, Essex, fbu, general strike, GMB, Italy, Lambeth College Strike, lobby, London bus strike, napo, nhs, no cuts, NUT, Pay, pcs, pensions, poa, rmt, Strike, terms and conditions, TUC, tupe, UCU, Unison, Unite
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From Italy: solidarity to London bus workers!

January 14, 2015 in International

We workers in local public transport and from the National Coordinating Committee of Local Public Transport Workers would like to express our full solidarity with your struggle. In Italy we are experiencing the same problems. Our national contract has not been renewed for years, our wages have stagnated and governments of all political persuasion carry out policies of cuts and privatisation at the expense of workers. In September some of us participated in a video conference with a Greek transport worker who explained to us how public transport in Athens is being dismantled. We believe that international solidarity between workers […]

Tags: Italy, London busworkers, solidarity, Strike
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Support the Gateshead Barbour 4-week strike

January 9, 2015 in Appeals

Workers from Barbour’s Gateshead warehouse are on four weeks of strike action against the imposition of changes to their terms and conditions. On Friday 9 January around 100 strikers and supporters from the FBU, Unison, BFAWU bakers union and others participated in a march to Barbour’s South Tyneside HQ. One of the strikers commented that support for the strike was outstanding. He went on to say that Barbour management keep saying that the workers have been dragged into this action by Unite the union. Today’s demo clearly shows this is not the case. On the march the unions banner stated: […]

Tags: Barbour, Gateshead, Strike, Unite
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NSSN 224: 2015 opens up with mass London bus strike!

January 7, 2015 in Bulletins

On Tuesday January 13th, over 27,000 London busworkers in Unite will be going on strike across the capital. The NSSN sends solidarity to these workers and their union. One of the workers explains why they are taking action:- “Since 1994/95 when London Buses were privatised we have seen attacks on our pay and terms and conditions by operating companies eager to increase profits at any cost. The last seven years have been the most ruthless with bus workers having to endure miniscule pay ‘rises’ which in real terms have led to pay cuts due to inflation. We arrive at our […]

Tags: 24 General strike, Affiliate, austerity, blacklist, bullying, cleaners, condems, CWU, fbu, general strike, GMB, housing, Lambeth College Strike, lobby, London busworkers, napo, nhs, no cuts, Pay, pcs, pensions, poa, Strike, terms and conditions, Unite, Yorkshire
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A New Year’s message from BFAWU President Ian Hodson

December 31, 2014 in News

As 2014 nears its end, we can take heart in the fact that God willing, we may only have to endure another five months or so of this nasty, vindictive and rotten government. During his time in office, the Prime Minister, David Cameron has dusted off all the old World War quotes and rolled out the barrel of ‘digging in for victory’ rhetoric. He even went as far to say that the UK “is in the economic equivalent of war today” – and therefore, the spirit of World War II must be recreated in Whitehall. If he’s talking about people […]

Tags: BFAWU, Fast Food Rights, Hungry For Justice, Ian Hodson, TUC, £10 minimum wage, £10Now
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Renationalise mail distribution – Save City Link jobs!

December 31, 2014 in Appeals

Almost 3,000 City Link workers are facing the New Year dole queue as the company is going into administration. The RMT union represents these workers and expects them to receive redundancy notices on New Year’s Eve! But because the firm is going bankrupt, workers will only receive statutory payments of a maximum of nearly £14,000 for decades of service while most will get far less. On top of this those workers who had to work as “self-employed” contractors with City Link will get no redundancy pay at all and become “unsecured” creditors of what is likely to be a bankrupt […]

Tags: city link, rmt
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