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Members of Prospect union in the Science Museum group have been on strike over wages, with minimum hourly rates falling significantly below the real living wage whilst directors’ salaries have grown substantially. Socialist Appeal pledges solidarity!

Running simultaneously and arguably as crucial as the election for
Unite’s General Secretary itself is the BA dispute and a proposal to
‘settle’ it. 12 months ago British Airways cabin crew on an 80% turn
out, voted by a brilliant 92% to take strike action to defend their hard
won terms and conditions. The dispute started as a result of the
imposition and erosion of ‘Terms and Conditions’ but has been diverted
by British Airways and is now being defined by staff travel and the
disciplinary process. But with scores of cabin crew suspended and a
dozen sacked, the proposed ‘deal’ is already unravelling.

Here is the latest from the Jerry Hicks campaign with just 8 posting days left to get those ballots in to elect Jerry as the new GS of Unite.

As we look towards this Wednesday’s march of students in London, here is a report from the Irish Marxist site Fightback on how students in Ireland are fighting back against the cuts.

The release of the movie “Made in Dagenham” was eagerly
anticipated by many trade unionists only to disappoint. The light hearted
interpretation of this major piece of working class history has the same style
and approach as adopted for the  “Billy Elliott” interpretation of the Miners Strike
or “The Full Monty” to the hardships of unemployment under Thatcher.

Whenever any serious strike action took place during the
tenure of the last Labour government, not least if it involved public sector
workers, the bosses’ press and the TV news channels would start going on about
a new “winter of discontent.” Almost invariably the same 1978/9 footage of
rubbish pilling up in Leicester Square would be shown and assorted Tory MPs
would rattle on about how Labour couldn’t control the unions and how different
things would be if they were in power.
Well they are in power now and what are we seeing?

 NUJ members at the BBC have voted by 70% to reject the latest offer
from the management on pension changes and are intending to take action
by striking for 48 hours on 5 and 6 November and again on  15 and 16
November with further dates to be named in the coming days. Here is the
text of an appeal now being circulated.

PRESS RELEASE FROM THE JERRY HICKS CAMPAIGN. Up and down the country, hundreds of workplaces
have already been leafleted, but the next two weeks are
crucial even though we will be doing stuff until the final
day of balloting [19th November] Unite
member or not, everyone will be affected by the result and
who becomes the General Secretary of Unite.

Although everyone has claimed that they have learned the lessons of the
1930s, the ruling classes are again engaging in the same policies that
proved so calamitous 80 years ago. Deep tensions inside the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) have recently emerged over currency
manipulation as countries take action to defend their own national
interests against their rivals

NORTHERN IRELAND: The cuts
announced by the British Chancellor of the Exchequer represent around
6.9% in headline public spending cuts in the North over the next four
years. This amounts to some £4 billion in revenue spending, but there is
also a 40% reduction to come in capital spending on roads, hospitals
and other public project.

PRESS RELEASE: Jerry
Hicks, the candidate standing on a platform of greater democracy in the
‘UNITE’ union and for a more militant policy in defense of jobs and
conditions, spoke at the Amicus section of ‘UNITE The Union’ in
Northampton on Saturday.