Bulletin 101
Watching the
odd swish car and coach race down the 30 miles of super fast lanes that have
been assigned for the Olympics, shows what can be done, if a city and its
representatives decide to plan to change things. It just depends on who that
the plan is for, and again its for the mainly the rich. We might well have
decided to ensure those taking part should be able to get about at some speed,
but perhaps we would have also ensured more accessible and affordable transport
for all? Cheaper ticket prices? Not sponsored by murdering multinationals like
those who were responsible for the Bhopal disaster?
The speed lanes are more to do with the
thousands of VIP international indignitaries, who have cuts
services, jobs, housing and attempted to smash trade union
organisations like the Turkish government with the Aviation workers,
as the most recent example, and in the case of
Kazakhstan, brutally and systematically
repressed opposition. It’s hard not to get angry at the gross
inequality that the games express, in its current form.
What an international sporting event could look like when run by
workers for the benefit of 99% has yet to be fully seen. In 1936 as
Hitler’s propaganda games using Goebbels spin doctory to the
fullest, the ‘Peoples Olympiad’
was about to take place in Barcelona, as part of an international
protest against Nazi rule. Around 6,000 athletes and 22 nations
registered including the UK and US. Sadly the Peoples Olympiad was
cancelled due to the outbreak of the Spanish civil war, but it is a
hint of what could be possible.
We
appreciated the Youth fight for Jobs events ‘Love sport, Hate Capitalism’ in
Cardiff and The Austerity Games in London. Exposing what is happening to young
people against the backdrop of the £9 billion event & £13 trillion estimated tax
hording. That’s unimaginable ‘Monopoly’ money and could wipe out the so called
‘debts’ that are being used as an excuse to make the cuts that we are beginning
to see here, and those in Greece and Spain which have seen food shortages, and
the on-going starvation of millions across the globe. Just for the record, we
don’t believe there is a debt for workers to pay, here or anywhere else in the
world. Its big business, usually buying up public resources and then selling
them back to us at extortionate rates - see the PFI problems or the so called
debt in places like Cameroon.
Tophams article,
‘Unions win a gold medal for Olympic bargaining’ really hits the
message home, and continues with ‘they might not have won the class
war but unions have scored a string of Olympic pay victories’. Had
this been a TUC led iniative, with all its resources behind it, to
collectively and nationally bargain at a time when the government
are desperate for a happy clappy, non-striking nation, we would have
all been running round with gold medals or possibly deciding to
stage our own workers Olympics…
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NSSN UPDATES
- And as the TUC are not mobilising for national co-ordinated action, a general
strike, we are. So get your members, workplaces, families behind the NSSN lobby
of the TUC in Brighton Sun Sep 9th. The transport is being booked in
many areas - to reserve a seat, email
[email protected]. Thanks to PCS Wales
DWP committee & Brighton Trades Council for also supporting the
lobby.
As part of
the process we would have set up a
Petition
we will hand into the TUC over this. Please add your names and
share as widely as possible. Thanks.
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GENERAL
UPDATES
a) STRUCK
GMB and Unite at
Remploy 24 hour strike yesterday. Just one report from Scotland:
‘Another large turnout gathered on the picket line at Springburn.
One shop steward at the plant for 32 years, told us he had been
involved in talks with the DWP, Remploy and a representative of the
Scottish Parliament. He said that the DWP are solely intent on
reducing any future redundancy payments to the lowest level
possible. Further talks will take place on August 2nd and, if there
is no satisfactory outcome, a further strike will take place on the
6th August. A lobby of the
Scottish Parliament is
planned for the 18th August to coincide with a visit from Marie
Miller, the Government Minister for Disabled People.
(more reports on our website soon) More.
UNITE Paragon print workers in
Sunderland will take another day of strike action on today, Friday
27 July over an attack on their terms & conditions.
b) STRIKING
PCS National
Gallery a further 4 stoppages starting at 1pm-3pm Friday 27 July
outside the gallery in Trafalgar Square, messages of support to
[email protected] PCS Department of Transport
strike action at the Highways Agency, 2pm, Monday 30 July for three
hours.
RMT cleaners on the
tube are now striking for 48 hours. There are also five separate
outstanding disputes over Olympics payments, implementation of
recognition and reward agreements and the use of under-trained
volunteers. Please also sign the
petition. More
RMT South West Trains, and
TFL in continuing disputes over Olympics recognition and reward.
More
FBU Essex have been
striking over huge cuts and bullying. They would welcome
donations to the hardship fund - to Essex FBU Hardship Fund, Unity
Bank, sort code 08 60 01, account number 20292568.
ASLEF members employed
by East Midland’s Trains will take strike action on the
following dates. August 6-7-8, 2012, as part of their on-going
dispute with EMT over pensions contributions.
More
c) Were about to strike
but WON!
PCS Home Office
secure more than 1,000 new jobs! A planned strike on the 26 July has
been suspended after officials told the union last night there would
be significant investment in the border force and passport service.
More
RMT secures £680
Olympics payment, pay increases and harmonisation upgrades for
rail signalling contractors. RMT General Secretary Bob Crow said: “This
fantastic victory has been secured by a combination of tough
negotiation by RMT reps backed by a workforce willing and ready to
take industrial action to win a fair deal…if you organise in a
strong and militant trade union you can turn the tide on austerity
and secure real breakthroughs on pay and conditions”.
More
IWW John Lewis Cleaners have
received another offer and suspended action over staff cuts & for
the London Living Wage.
RMT Cycle hire scheme suspended
following £500 payment offer.
More
d) BALLOTING
UNITE Eurotunnel in strike vote over sacking of a train
driver diagnosed with cancer. Unite is balloting 68 drivers
operating trains on Eurotunnel for strike action over the sacking of
a fellow driver who had been diagnosed with possible cancer. The
ballot opened on 19 July.
More
PENSIONS: Unison Higher Education
Service Group Executive vote to recommend REJECT in ballot on
pensions - NSSN supports REJECTING the proposals which do see tiny
enhancements but still mean workers will be expected to pay more,
work longer and get far, far less! Unfortunately, the UNISON Local
Government SGE has voted to recommend that their members accept it.
We support those Unison activists campaigning for a REJECT vote.
The FBU is holding a consultative
ballot for control members in England and Wales who belong to the
Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS). The union’s executive
council believes government proposals are still unacceptable
– especially on working to 68 and the way pensions are accrued and
revalued for inflation.
More
NUT urges YES vote on ballot open
now to strike over pay & conditions.
More
Unite at Portsmouth International Port
balloted for industrial action over its decision to dismiss and
rehire them on inferior contracts, which has created a two-tier
workforce at Portsmouth International Port.
RMT balloting this week for strike
action on Northlink ferry services in Scotland after, SERCO,
refused to give assurances on jobs, hours & working conditions.
Other updates:
FBU ESSEX
dispute is now involved in an informal dialogue.
More
BFAWU members who struck against redundancies and
reduced payouts are now being hit with possible closure of factory.
The bosses of the 2 sisters company, awarded themselves £12 million
in Bonuses last year! RMT Portsmouth protest at Condor Ferries
who have been paying Ukrainian workers £2.35 an hour. The company is
owned by Macquarie who have assets of $154 billion! Solidarity
messages to
[email protected]
PCS ATOS fight for a
living wage! Last year ATOS made annual profits of £280 million
on the backs of low paid workers and those highly questionable ‘back
to work’ tests, which it gets another £100 million of our tax from.
This company is benefiting from millions of pounds of taxpayers
money, including from the Olympics yet is screwing its workers and
of course those on disabled benefits. Messages of support for the
campaign:
[email protected].
TSSA seem to have got into trouble over their olympic
application!
More.
UNITE Blood testing staff
at Colindale will be staging a demonstration on Thursday 26 July at
the possibility that blood samples will have to travel 120 miles to
Bristol. RMT demands
nationalization of the
Great Western
franchise as it emerged that the government will handing an
extension to FirstGroup, underwritten by a multimillion-pound
taxpayer subsidy, on the bogus grounds of “delays with issuing
tender documents.”
NHS –
Managers from 19
health service bodies are collaborating in order to force workers to
take salary cuts of up to 5%, it has emerged.
More
At the same time Directors of 20 NHS Trusts in the South West
region paid themselves a total of £17.3m in the 2010-11 financial
year and now plans to cut the pay and conditions of front-line NHS
staff in 20 South West trusts.
More .Branson's Virgin multinational
won the bid to deliver NHS and social care services to young people
in
Devon. This profit-seeking company will run frontline
services in a deal worth up to £130 million.
More (We will have more detailed
information on the website soon)
Travellers Rights new
campaign – “As
the current crises bite, it can feel like we are fighting on many
fronts. Traveller rights - and specifically the fight for adequate
site provision - is about housing, anti-racism, the Localism Bill,
land rights, and many more crucial struggles.”
More
info contact
VICTIMISATION…
FACILITY TIME: Reps make a
difference & save the taxpayer millions.
More
RATCLIFFE POWER STATION - Rank &
File Sparks protested at the Nottinghamshire plant yesterday 26th
July, over the renewed victimisation of Jay Poulter (H&S rep).
DEFEND THE FOUR–
More
INTERNATIONAL…
KAZAKHSTAN - Vadim Kuramshin, the
prison rights campaigner arrested 6 months ago on trumped up charges
has gone on hunger strike.
More
LEBANON Civil servants stage
general strike, demand new salary scale.
More
EYGPT- A strike by hundreds of
workers at Egypt's southern Sukari gold mine to demand better pay
and the reinstatement of laid-off workers entered its fourth day on
Wednesday.
TURKEY -
UNITE with ITF rally at
Turkish embassy at 11am over government ban of industrial action by
aviation workers.
More
TAIWAN - 300 textile workers in the
Hualon Corporation’s factory in Miaoli County declared indefinite
strike on 6th June.
More
GREECE – Steelworkers defend living
standards & attacked by riot police.
More
ISREAL’s firefighters win big gains
– including the right to strike.
More
DIARY...
27 July
RMT ISS & strikes & protest 12 Noon
Stratford
Unite Paragon Print workers Strike
PCS National Gallery Strike 1-3pm
PCS DVLA walkout
28 July
Pentonville 5 & dock dispute of 1972-73
celebration. Isle of Dogs & POPLAR BLACKWALL & DISTRICT ROWING CLUB,
The Boat House, Ferry Street, Isle of Dogs, London, E14 3DT,
opposite Island Gardens DLR station.
Protest at the corporate takeover of the
London 2012 Games. The protesters will defy an attempt by Transport
for London to ban the demo. An alliance of 43 campaign groups plans
to assemble at Mile End Park at noon.
30 July
PCS Department of
Transport strike action at the Highways Agency 2pm
11 August
National Rank & File JIB electricians &
construction trades meeting, 2pm-5pm, Conway Hall, Red Lion Square,
London
Sheffield Save Our NHS
- protest against Virgin Care 12 noon on Fargate -
protest against the increasing activity of Virgin Health Care
http://bit.ly/OXmg4q
18 August
Remploy lobby of Scottish
Parliament
31 August
National Hazards conference, Keele
University
[email protected]
02 September
Burston Longest strike in British history
10.45 – 3.45pm Church Green, Burston, Norfolk. Music, speakers and
march!
09 September
'Strike
against Austerity!' NSSN lobby
of TUC: Brighton 1pm, The Level.
07 October
Protest at Tory party Conference
22 September
Protest against the LibDem conference
Brighton – No to Austerity! Noon @ The Level (Stop the Cuts &
Brighton Trades Council)
20 October
TUC Mass demonstration
against austerity, ‘A Future That Works’ TUC mass
demonstration with rally in Hyde Park
More. Transport details can be seen at, and should be uploaded
to
False Economy.
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