National Shop Stewards Network

232:IWD’15 Fighting FOR equality AGAINST austerity & exploitation

March 4, 2015 in Bulletins

The crisis of capitalism is causing untold misery for working people everywhere … but women take the brunt. Whether they’re the first to lose the jobs in Europe as governments and councils attack the service sector, or the increased oppression faced – sometimes to horrific levels – in parts of Asia and the Middle East, women suffer disproportionately. As the movement celebrates International Women’s Day on March 8th, the National Shop Stewards Network pledges to continue to fight the system that creates this misery. We urge all those who too will be marking IWD through special meetings or events to join […]

Tags: 24 General strike, Affiliate, Appeal, austerity, blacklist, bob crow, budget day, bullying, cleaners, condems, CWU, ETUC 14th Nov, fbu, general strike, GMB, housing, International Women's Day, IWD, John McDonnell MP, lobby, napo, nhs, no cuts, nssn, NUT, Pay, pcs, pensions, poa, rmt, Scotland, Strike, terms and conditions, TUC, tupe, UCATT, UCU, Unison, Women, Yorkshire
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Stop the Crossrail sackings!

March 3, 2015 in News

For the third Monday in succession, construction workers and their supporters held a protest outside a Crossrail site to demand that a worker sacked for raising safety issues be reinstated. Two weeks ago, protesters blocked the road outside the Bond Street site in London after an electrician was sacked after he had asked for a proper walkway with hand rails. During that protest, we got word that he had been out on fully paid ‘gardening leave’ while his union Unite waited for a meeting to discuss what job he would be put on http://shopstewards.net/2015/02/nssn-230-victory-protest-wins-reinstatement-of-crossrail-worker/ His ‘employer’, an agency that is subcontracting […]

Tags: Blacklisting, crossrail, Unite
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NSSN 231: Firefighters take over Westminster after Tory pension lies

February 26, 2015 in Bulletins

It was like Paris or Rome rather than London. Thousands of FBU members converged on Westminster for a strike rally on February 24th as firefighters in England went on a 24-hour strike in their continuing action over pensions. The Methodist Central Hall was packed to the rafters and overflowing, with many locked out to hear the union’s general secretary Matt Wrack warn Cameron and his Fire Minister Penny Mordaunt that action will continue if the guarantee that she gave in Parliament before Christmas that firefighters that fail fitness tests won’t be forced out of the service on reduced pensions isn’t […]

Tags: 24 General strike, Affiliate, Appeal, austerity, BFAWU, blacklist, bullying, condems, CWU, fbu, general strike, GMB, housing, John McDonnell MP, lobby, nhs, no cuts, nssn, NUT, One Housing Group, pcs, pensions, poa, rmt, Strike, terms and conditions, TUC, tupe, UCU, Unison, Unite
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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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230:Victory! Protest wins reinstatement of Crossrail worker

February 17, 2015 in Bulletins

Construction workers were celebrating this morning (Monday February 16) after a worker on the huge London Crossrail project was reinstated after being sacked on Friday for the crime of raising health and safety issues. His employer, Costain, tried to argue that he had been laid off because of lack of work, yet he had only been employed four days earlier on a job that has three years left! These underhand methods are the insecure reality for construction workers and a massive obstacle for trade union members and activists who try to ensure that sites are safe and workers aren’t ripped off […]

Tags: 24 General strike, Affiliate, Appeal, austerity, BFAWU, blacklist, bullying, cleaners, condems, crossrail, CWU, Fast Food Rights, fbu, general strike, GMB, Hungry For Justice, John McDonnell MP, lobby, napo, NASUWT, nhs, no cuts, nssn, NUT, Pay, pcs, pensions, poa, Rank and File, rmt, Strike, terms and conditions, TUC, tupe, UCU, Unison, Unite
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NSSN 229: Happy Valentine’s Day to all workers from BFAWU

February 11, 2015 in Bulletins

The BFAWU bakers union and Hungry for Justice/Fast Food Rights have produced a Valentine’s Card. It sets out the demands that all workers would love:- Put an end to the exploitation of workers through zero-hour contracts Make work pay by introducing a £10 per hour minimum wage Abolish the Youth Minimum Wage Allow workers to join a union without fear of dismissal Open Valentine’s Card Newcastle launch of the BFAWU £10now minimum wage animation: Newcastle Hungry for Justice day of action – Saturday February 14th in Newcastle City Centre Animation film show launch – Thursday February 19th TUC Commercial Union […]

Tags: 24 General strike, Affiliate, Appeal, austerity, BFAWU, blacklist, bullying, cleaners, condems, CWU, fbu, general strike, GMB, housing, John McDonnell MP, lobby, Miners, napo, nhs, no cuts, nssn, NUT, Pay, pcs, poa, rmt, Strike, terms and conditions, TUC, tupe, UCU, Unison, Unite, Valentine
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228: National Gallery strike, stop privatisation & union victimisation!

February 4, 2015 in Bulletins

From PCS website (3 Feb): Pickets braved the London snow on the first morning of our five-day strike over privatisation at the National Gallery. The well-supported action followed news yesterday that one of our senior reps there, and a member of our team in the talks at Acas, had been suspended by senior managers. In a “disproportionate act of unfathomable bad faith” the gallery suspended Candy Udwin, alleging a breach of commercial confidentiality. We maintain our reps have a legitimate right to ask officials to raise these questions on what is a matter of strong public interest. We are asking […]

Tags: 24 General strike, Affiliate, Appeal, austerity, BFAWU, blacklist, condems, CWU, fbu, general strike, GMB, housing, lobby, National Gallery, nhs, NIPSA, no cuts, nssn, NUT, Pay, pcs, pensions, poa, rmt, Strike, terms and conditions, TUC, tupe, UCU, Unison, Unite
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Urgent appeal: international solidarity Turkish metalworkers

February 2, 2015 in Appeals

Dear Friend, Metal workers in Turkey went on strike on Thursday, 29th January 2015 demanding better wages and working conditions once negotiations between employer and the union failed. The Turkish government argued that the metal workers’ strike “is capable of disrupting national security and decided on Friday, 30th January to postpone the strike for 60 days under Article 63 of Law No. 6356 on trade unions and collective bargaining agreements. The strikes involving 15 thousand workers following the decision taken by Turkey’s Metal Workers’ union were due to begin on 29 January and 19 February at 22 workplaces across the […]

Tags: Day-mer, Metal workers, Turkey
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M25 workers vote to strike for decent pay

January 30, 2015 in News

Up to 100 Unite members working on maintaining the M25 motorway have voted to strike by a majority of 97% in a dispute over two-tier contracts and union recognition. The maintenance contract is with a consortium Connect Plus Services (CPS) that is headed by Balfour Beatty. Balfours are up to their normal cost cutting measures against workers, this time on the M25. With 25 years left to run on the contract, CPS wants workers, who are currently on two-tier contracts with some TUPE’d from local authority or Carillion contracts equalised down via taking away the TUPE agreement to the […]

Tags: Balfour Beatty, CPS, M25, tupe, Unite
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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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