Staff and students at Stoke Newington school in Hackney, London, were united on the picket line yesterday, as teachers in the NUT went on a day’s strike in protest against proposed cuts at the school. With a weak, chaotic Tory government in Westminster, now is the time for all unions to go on the offensive against austerity.
The wave of discontent against Tory austerity and attacks should be providing the trade union movement with a ready source of fresh recruits. Rather than expanding, however, UK trade union membership is shrinking. Union leaders need to pursue a fighting strategy and bold policies if they are to stem the tide.
Only a couple of months ago, the Tories and their media chums were predicting that they would win a landslide in the snap election, eating into Labour’s strongholds in Yorkshire, Wales, and elsewhere. We provide here a series of reports analysing the regional results, and how Corbyn’s Labour was able to defy all expectations.
UNISON local government and national delegate conferences takes place in Brighton this week. Conference will be dominated by a general election result which clearly adds further instability into the equation. UNISON and other big unions must now take the lead in the fight to kick out the Tories, bring Corbyn’s Labour to power, and end austerity.
Cleaners at the London School of Economics have won a significant victory, with university bosses conceding to their demands to bring all cleaning services in-house, resulting in a significant improvement to working conditions. At SOAS meanwhile, the struggle by staff and students continues, with workers facing repression and victimisation from management.
On a rainy Monday evening, on the muddy banks of the Tyne, 10,000 people gathered to hear Jeremy Corbyn speak. The mood was optimistic and jubilant just three days ahead of the General Election, and a sense of the historic opportunity that lies ahead of us was not missed on the crowd.
The unveiling of the Tory manifesto has given cause for some in the media to label Theresa May a “red Tory” on account of the series of apparently “pro-worker” measures in the manifesto. Scandalously, the TUC leader, Frances O’Grady, instead of attacking the Tories, has come out offering support for their token gestures towards workers.
After seeing their own struggle last year grind to a halt in the face of a hostile press and a vicious Tory government, the junior doctors have now declared support for other NHS workers, backing the nurses in their fight for decent pay. Nurses, doctors, and all workers: unite and fight to #SaveOurNHS!
This year’s national conference in Brighton of the PCS public sector union, taking place this week, will once again be a critical meeting for the union and its members. Public sector workers have been in the front line for decades now fighting against attacks on public services. All public sector unions must unite and mobilise against Tory cuts.
Alongside the proliferation of exploitative zero-hour contracts, there is now also an increasing use of “short hours” contracts, under which workers may be required to work at short notice, with only a minimum guarantee of hours annually. This demonstrates yet again the lengths the bosses will go to in order to circumvent workers’ rights.
An examination of the latest data on the register of donations at the Electoral Commission throws up some very interesting information. What it reveals is a well-organised and well-funded Labour right wing, with anti-Corbyn MPs and organisations in possession of a sizeable war chest thanks to their rich and wealthy friends.
Royal Mail bosses have put themselves on a collision course with postal workers after announcing their intention to slash the pensions of around 90,000 workers. This scandal – and the fightback against it – was one of the main discussion points in Bournemouth this week at the conference of the CWU, the union representing postal workers.