The crisis of higher education is hitting some of Britain’s more prestigious universities, with attacks on pay, falling education standards and job culls in University of Bristol and Imperial College. But workers are striking back. Revolutionary Communists report from the ground.
Labour touts the Employment Rights Act as “the biggest upgrade in workers’ rights in a generation”. In reality, the new law is full of holes. Trade unions should seize what advantages it has given them, and go on the offensive against Starmer!
Starmer’s government has been riddled with crises through February. At this point, you would hope to see Britain’s trade union leaders on the offensive. Alas, blinkered by their reformist approach, their response has been very limited.
Desperate to wrap up the heroic eleven-month bin strikes, believing it will save councillors’ skins at May’s local elections, Birmingham City Council are now going for an injunction against megapickets. Defend the right to protest with militant union action!
After 31 developers were sacked at Rockstar Games, video-game industry workers have decided to get organised, on an international level. We got union-busting – and the beginnings of a fightback – before GTA 6!
A UNISON-led campaign against Reform’s austerity cuts in Lancashire has forced a partial U-turn on the closure of care homes. But this victory came despite the soft, reformist politics of the organisers. RCP comrades intervened with clear class demands.
The full weight of ‘Broken Britain’ is bearing down on adult and children social services, leaving them crumbling in the face of rising demand and deep austerity. Saving these services requires thoroughgoing socialist measures, writes one social worker.
Universities stand at a crossroads. Course closures and job cuts are the order of the day. This is the endpoint of the process of marketisation, compounded by the crisis of capitalism. For free, high-quality higher education, we say: kick out capitalism!
Last month, resident doctors took to the picket line again in their fight for pay restoration, better staffing and decent conditions. Revolutionary Communists in Bristol report on the mood on the ground.
Britain is uninvestable. A worker in a fittings factory tells us about their experience on the shop floor, and how the slowly deteriorating machines exemplify the special crisis of British capitalism.
Two weeks ago, the UCU national ballot for strike action at universities failed to reach the legal threshold – in spite of the crisis enveloping higher education. This disappointing result reflects the members’ frustration with the lack of direction from the top.
For the first time in its 32-year history, Unison has elected a left-wing general secretary. This could be a resounding transformation of Britain’s industrial landscape. To realise this potential, Time for Real Change must mobilise against Starmer and the union bureaucrats.
Labour hail Andy Burnham’s Bee Network as a “bus revolution” – but workers see otherwise. TfGM tram and bus workers have gone on strike and will be taking further action later in December. Manchester RCP members report from on the ground.
The Birmingham bin strike has escalated: agency workers formerly used by the Labour council to break the strike have balloted to join it! Unite should seize this opportunity to broaden the movement further: against all austerity, job cuts and anti-worker attacks!
Workers at Britain’s biggest arms manufacturer are set to strike in the coming weeks, over below-inflation pay offers. However, Unite’s leadership is dragging its heels. Their class collaboration is tied up with their support for British militarism.
In the latest issue of The Communist, we hear from our readers about the UCU’s ballot over job cuts and below-inflation wage increases; nearly 3,000 arms workers going on strike; and more!
Not content with supporting arch-bureaucrat Christina McAnea in Unison’s elections, the misnamed ‘Communist Party’ of Britain have backed Starmer’s favourite Bridget Phillipson in Labour’s deputy leader challenge.
The European mass movement must act as a wake-up call for the British trade union leaders, who have so far been passive. We invite our members and supporters to pass this motion at all levels of the labour movement.
The first question on the mind of people radicalised by capitalism is: “what can I do?” A Bolshevik worker tells us her experience: using ideas, patient explanation and organisation to turn her union branch from passivity to militancy.
Since ‘working-class warrior’ Angela Rayner was ditched from Starmer’s cabinet, the union leaders have been inconsolable. Their ‘woman on the inside’ is gone, their Employment Rights Bill is being butchered, and their strategy of cosying up to Labour is bankrupt.
Next month, ballots open for the general secretary election in Unison, Britain’s largest trade union. Scandalously, the so-called ‘Communist’ Party of Britain is supporting right-wing incumbent and arch-bureaucrat Christina McAnea against left candidate Andrea Egan.
RMT Tube strikes are due to start 5 September. The bosses clearly feel threatened, predicting an Autumn of Discontent as ballot victories multiply. Let’s give them something to tremble about! Victory to the RMT, for joint action across the public sector!
In the first online instalment of ‘Bastard Boss of the Week’, a worker in the “best airport bar in the world” exposes his bosses’ profit-hungry practices; while a coffee shop worker in London tells us about his successes organising in the workplace.
Several unions representing NHS workers have come out emphatically against Labour’s poor pay offer. The next step is to unite strike action across the unions, with a mass campaign against austerity and privatisation, and for bold socialist policies.
The Palestine movement is yearning for solutions. The mood in Britain is charged with anger – against the genocide, austerity, and general insecurity about the future. The unions could provide a lightning rod for this energy, but for this a bold programme is required.
After years of rumours and hearsay, an interim report commissioned by Unite general secretary Sharon Graham has revealed a “pervasive fraud environment”. Corruption, bureaucracy, and shady backroom deals disarm the workers. Clear out the bureaucrats!
Resident doctors are on the march again, after winning a strike ballot to resounding support. Strike dates are set for 25-30 July. This is a battle for the heart and soul of the NHS – to win, the BMA will need to pose a radical, socialist alternative to austerity.
Sheffield revolutionary communists recently joined a mass picket in support of Sheffield’s bin workers, on indefinite strike for nearly a year. The mood is militant – but union-busting Veolia will stop at nothing to keep its superprofits. To win, the strike must be broadened out against the anti-union laws!
After suspending Angela Rayner with huge support from the rank-and-file, Unite is moving further onto the war footing against Starmer’s Labour. To complete the break, Unite must ramp up the fightback: join up the struggles against austerity, and fight for a socialist programme!
With the recent rise of artificial intelligence, the capitalist press has gone into overdrive, peddling wild fantasies about the future of work. But are the bots coming for white-collar jobs? And what does this all mean for the class struggle?
The UK’s largest fibreglass factory is set to close imminently. At the same time Starmer is launching an industrial strategy. The farce of the situation illustrates the bankruptcy of British capitalism.
The Birmingham bin strikers remain resolute in their desire to fight Labour’s pay onslaught – but the council has thrown down the gauntlet with their picket line policing. To win, Unite’s leaders must broaden out the struggle: down with the anti-union laws!
The recent Unison NEC elections saw the left-wing ‘Time for Real Change’ lose seven seats, with the right wing gaining ground. In order to galvanise rank-and-file members, the left must campaign widely for a fighting programme against austerity and attacks.
Beneath the surface, anger is rising within the labour movement. From teachers to doctors to bin workers, the industrial struggle will likely sharpen in the coming months. Workers need a political struggle against Starmer and the entire billionaires’ system, writes Ben Gliniecki.
As elections to the biggest union in the country take place, Unison’s right-wing bureaucracy have launched a new witch hunt against the left. Members should vote Time for Real Change – but a fighting programme is needed to transform the union.
Over 400 workers mobilised last Friday in a ‘mega picket’, in support of the Birmingham refuse workers. This is an important step forward in the battle against Labour austerity. Escalate the strike to boot out the unelected commissioners and expropriate the billionaires!
The emergency takeover to prevent the collapse of British Steel has raised the question of ‘who owns Britain?’. This is also the case in Scotland, whose economy has been carved up by international capital. The SNP leaders’ empty talk about ‘national sovereignty’ is a farce.
As Birmingham gets buried in bins, refuse workers continue their all-out battle against Labour council leaders, Starmer’s government, and both’s austerity programme. Their fight forebodes the titanic struggles to come for Britain’s workers. Victory to the strike!
Teachers across Britain are simmering with anger against years of cuts to pay, crumbling teaching conditions, and the pressure of overwork. Strike action is on the cards. To win against Starmer’s austerity, the NEU needs a militant strategy!
Over the weekend, the Labour government passed emergency legislation to take control of steel – in particular Scunthorpe’s steelworks. While the union leaders breathe a sigh of relief, we say: No trust in Starmer! Expropriate all the parasites!
Faced with an onslaught of attacks from the university bosses, lecturers and academic staff organised in the UCU are stepping into struggle in several places. In Newcastle, the Communists have made waves among the staff and students on the picket lines.
University cleaners are incredibly exploited, despite the critical role they play in the upkeep and functioning of students’ learning spaces. But City Uni’s staff are fighting back. Their fight is the same as students’ and academics’ against marketisation and cuts: victory to the cleaners!
After declaring bankruptcy, the Labour-led Birmingham City Council is slashing spending and attacking working conditions to ‘balance the books’. The bin workers, however, are standing strong and fighting back, with militant pickets and all-out strike action.
The British Steel bosses have announced the potential closure of the remaining furnaces in Scunthorpe, after over a century of operation. This jobs massacre will throw the entire town onto the scrapheap. Workers must take matters into their own hands: Occupy the steelworks!
With thousands of job losses at the Port Talbot steelworks, and potentially thousands more in Scunthorpe, it’s clear that Britain’s steel industry is in dire straits – with or without Trump’s tariffs. The labour movement needs a militant, socialist programme to save jobs!
While Labour ramps up austerity, trade union leaders have endorsed the government’s militarism, naively believing that this will create jobs and economic growth for British workers. We say: No trust in Starmer! Fight the bosses and warmongers head on!
Keir Starmer has hatched a ‘Trumpian’ plan to balance the state’s books: slash the civil service; and abolish NHS England in the name of “democratic control”. But behind this bold scheme lies one small detail: workers are getting the short end of the stick.
Universities across Britain are facing an onslaught of cuts, course closures, and redundancies. This is a harbinger of what is to come across the whole public sector. RCP members on campus are fighting back. Kick capitalism out of education!
Striking refuse workers in Sheffield are still going strong after seven months of bosses’ resistance and bureaucratic intrigues from trade union leaders. We say: Down with the outsourcing of council services! Victory to the Lumley Street strike!
Months after fees were hiked, Cardiff University has announced cuts to hundreds of jobs and entire courses, including nursing. The Revolutionary Communist Party is campaigning to fight back. Here, we explain why this is happening, and what can be done.
While storm clouds gather for British capitalism, and living standards plummet for ordinary workers, the trade union tops continue to enjoy lives of luxury. These perks and privileges must all be abolished if workers are to resist the oncoming storm!
From Tata and McDonalds to academies: our readers expose the abuse, victimisation, and scolding that goes on in the UK’s workplaces. British capitalism is rotten to the core. The labour movement needs fighting leadership!
After four years in the post, trade unionist Mick Lynch has announced his retirement as leader of the RMT. While Lynch inspired thousands during the strike wave of 2022-23, his recent overtures towards Starmer reveal the dead-end of reformism.
Starmer’s government is preparing to administer bitter medicine on behalf of the capitalists, with public sector workers first in line. Instead of preparing members for battle, however, the tops of the trade unions are fighting amongst themselves.
Engineering workers at the construction site for the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station recently downed tools and walked out. Further action has been delayed, but it’s only a matter of time until relations with the bosses reach a meltdown.
Employees at Vauxhall’s Luton factory are the latest victims of the global crisis hitting the automotive industry. With sales slowing down, jobs are being axed across the sector. Workers must demand nationalisation without compensation.
Yesterday, sixth form teachers organised in the NEU began strike action against Labour’s plans to push academisation, and to make workers pay for the crisis in schools. RCP members joined the picket lines to hear what they had to say.
As previously reported, security workers at the Natural History Museum are striking for better pay and conditions. Management is now trying to break the strike. We say: outflank the bosses’ offensive! For united, coordinated action of all museum staff!
From the construction sector to schools to the NHS, bosses are always cutting corners to make more profits. In the latest issue of The Communist, our readers in these industries expose this short-sighted race to the bottom.
Security guards from the Natural History Museum have been on strike for a real living wage, and demand to be brought in house. Our correspondent from inside the museum reports on the strike, and the impact it is having on wider layers of workers.
Security guards at King’s College London are rising up against the super-exploitative conditions imposed on them by the university bosses. The Revolutionary Communists have been involved in this struggle from the beginning.
After months of dither and delay, Labour’s flagship workers’ rights policy has finally dropped. To no one’s surprise, it is a watered-down washout. A few crumbs from the bosses’ table won’t stem the class struggle. We need a militant programme of action.
Starmer’s Labour have wasted no time in taking up the Tories’ mantle of attacking the NHS and its staff, and pushing for privatisation. We can’t trust crooks like Wes Streeting to save our NHS – we need workers’ control and socialist planning!
RCP members working in education are beginning to organise within their unions to link questions like pay, conditions, and funding to the fight against imperialism. From schools to universities, our slogan ‘Books Not Bombs’ is finding an echo.
Support staff at London universities, including cleaners and security guards, are fighting back against the exploitative practices of the employers. RCP comrades offer their full solidarity to these struggles. Workers and students: unite and fight!
Starmer’s unpopular austerity policies have forced some trade union leaders to begin offering tokenistic resistance. But to defend our class and prepare for the battles ahead, militant, fighting leadership – not class-collaboration – is needed.
Construction giant ISG has imploded, sending shockwaves across the entire sector. As ever, workers in the industry are set to foot the bill, without thousands of jobs at threat. We say: nationalise the monopolies under workers’ control!
Nurses organised in the RCN have voted to reject the government’s pathetic pay offer, which does nothing to address the years of wage erosion that NHS workers have faced. The stage is set for a new wave of struggle across the public sector.
From Port Talbot steelworks, to Grangemouth refinery, to the Harland & Wolff shipyards: across the country, workers are set to be thrown on the scrapheap, as British industry goes to the wall. We need nationalisation, planning, and workers’ control.
This week saw the latest TUC congress, with delegates debating the demands that the trade union movement should make of the new Labour government. Rather than placing hopes in Starmer, the union leaders must prepare members for battle.
The film and television industry has been in deep crisis since the summer of 2023, with workers across the sector being made to pay for capitalism’s failures. In order to save jobs, and ensure the flourishing of culture, we need workers’ control!
This year’s TUC congress starts on Sunday, with trade union leaders gathering in Brighton to discuss their demands on Starmer’s new government. Instead of preparing the movement for battle, however, they are sowing illusions in Labour’s programme.
Social care support staff in Lancashire are striking over pay and conditions, in a long-running dispute with their council employers. This action is yet another symptom of the sorry state of Britain’s public services, and a sign of things to come.
Workers providing logistical support to the Royal Navy are striking today and tomorrow in a dispute over pay and conditions, with picket lines in Merseyside, Plymouth, Portsmouth, and Dorset. This reveals how frail the British state has become.
The labour movement has the power – and responsibility – to lead the fight against racism and fascism. In these letters, trade union readers discuss how, with militant leadership, the organised working class could easily quash the far right menace.
Across the country, university jobs and courses are facing the chop, as education bosses look to balance their books at the expense of workers and students. Here, readers of The Communist explain why we need to kick capitalism out of education.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has announced that public sector workers will receive an above-inflation pay rise this year. Union leaders are relieved at the prospect of calm on the industrial front. Instead, they should be preparing members for battle.
In the new issue of The Communist, our comrades report on the latest developments taking place on the industrial front: from the junior doctors’ pay dispute, to strikes by G4S security guards, to unscrupulous bosses in Wales.
As with other key sectors like water and steel, UK supermarkets are facing a deepening crisis, as costs rise and debts mount. While fat-cat bosses and shareholders line their pockets, retail workers are footing the bill. We need nationalisation.
In the current issue of The Communist, our comrades report on the latest developments taking place on the industrial front: from the junior doctors’ pay dispute, to strikes by G4S security guards; to the proposed billionaire takeover of Royal Mail.
This year’s Big Meeting provided an early opportunity for the trade union leaders to present their perspectives and strategy for the labour movement. But instead of preparing workers for a period of struggle, they are sowing illusions in Starmer.
The incoming Labour government will quickly be put to the test on the industrial front, with struggles raging at Port Talbot and across the public sector. Instead of sowing illusions in Starmer, the union leaders must prepare members for battle.
After months of holding back the struggle to save the Port Talbot steelworks, the Unite leaders have cancelled planned strike action. Workers can have no trust in the Tata bosses or the union leaders. Only militant rank-and-file action can save jobs and the community.
The latest national and sectoral conferences of Unison, Britain’s major public sector union, took place last week, in the context of an imminent Labour government. The widening gulf between the union leadership and membership was evident throughout.
Unite has announced indefinite strike action at Port Talbot. Other steel unions must follow this lead – downing tools in unison, and organising to spread the struggle. Above all, the labour movement must demand nationalisation, without compensation.
We publish here an exemplary report about workplace agitation and organisation by a comrade in our US section. We encourage readers to emulate Milos’ efforts, and to write in about any efforts to establish communist cells amongst your colleagues.
Trade union leaders have mostly put industrial action on pause in recent months, hoping that an incoming Labour government will save the day. But workers must trust only in themselves. For militant action, nationalisation, and fighting leadership!
Staff at Goldsmiths University in London are facing a wave of layoffs, as management looks to balance the books at the expense of workers and students. But UCU members are fighting back. Solidarity with the #Goldstrike! Kick capitalism off campus!
Games workers at Sumo Digital are facing huge layoffs, as the crisis in the video games industry spreads. It’s time for workers to get organised, demand the opening of the books, and fight for workers’ control.
In the new issue of The Communist, our comrades report on the latest developments taking place on the industrial front: from events in Port Talbot, to upcoming strikes by BMA members, to the debates at the UCU’s recent annual conference.
PCS activists recently gathered for the union’s annual conference – taking place in the context of an ongoing dispute with the employers, and in the midst of a general election announcement. Whoever ends up in No.10, members must prepare for battle.
The student movement in support of Palestine has swept campuses across Britain. To take things to the next level, workers at universities and beyond need to join the fight to kick imperialism off campus, and bring down the warmongers.
In the new issue of The Communist, our comrades report on the latest developments taking place on the industrial front: from NEC election results in PCS, to union-busting efforts at Amazon, to solidarity between train drivers and student protestors.
The imminent closure of the Port Talbot steelworks is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the disaster facing British industry. The trade union leaders are completely ill-prepared for the impending catastrophe. Workers need militant leadership.
In the new issue of The Communist, our comrades report on the latest developments taking place on the industrial front: from Unison service group elections, to train drivers’ strikes, to efforts by PCS members to stop UK arms exports.
Following a wave of industrial struggles over the past couple of years, the trade union movement is at an ebb. Instead of mobilising workers, union leaders are waiting for Labour. Once again, this demonstrates the need for fighting leadership.
Across Britain, industry is going to the wall. Steelworkers in Port Talbot are being thrown on the scrapheap. Automation threatens to destroy swathes of jobs. To protect our lives and livelihoods, we need socialist planning and workers’ control.
Fear and frustration stalks Port Talbot, as the town’s future hangs in the balance. After much delay, steel unions are balloting for potential strike action. Unite members have signalled their intention to fight. It is time to prepare for battle.
Debate is taking place within the labour movement about what role workers’ organisations should play in relation to the campaign to stop the war in Gaza. The trade unions cannot afford to be ‘apolitical’, but must fight to overthrow imperialism.
Education workers are gathering in Bournemouth this week for the NEU’s annual conference. The main item on the agenda is the prospect of upcoming strike action at schools. While union leaders drag their feet, members are raring for action.
In the new issue of The Communist, our readers report on the latest developments taking place on the industrial front: from the fight for union recognition at the Coventry Amazon warehouse, to the renewed mandate for strike action by BMA members.
Bus workers in the North East have overwhelmingly voted for strike action, to fight back against Arriva bosses’ attacks on pay. As one driver told The Communist, “we’re not gonna take it anymore!”
The struggles of steelworkers in Port Talbot and of council staff in Birmingham are at a crossroads. Civil servants in PCS are balloting for action. And UCU leader Jo Grady has been reelected. Read all our latest reports from the industrial front.
In every issue of The Communist, we carry news on the latest strikes and struggles in Britain. In this week’s paper, comrades highlight disputes in Scottish colleges, Liverpool museums, and Birmingham council. First up: a report from an RMT member.
Britain’s strike wave may have ebbed. But battles are still breaking out across the country, with junior doctors on the picket lines, and other workers taking action. Examples of solidarity in South Wales show the way forward for these struggles.
The struggle against the jobs massacre at Port Talbot steelworks is at a crossroads. After some delay, the unions have begun balloting members for action. This must be the start of a militant fightback to hit the Tata bosses where it hurts.
The massive strike wave of 2022-23 may have ebbed. But industrial battles are still raging across Britain. In these reports from the latest issue of The Communist, out this week, comrades highlight the militant mood on the picket lines.
Fast-food delivery riders are taking wildcat strike action across Britain in a struggle for better pay and conditions. Communists joined a picket line in London to show solidarity, and discuss the next steps. Victory to the riders!
Workers in Port Talbot are facing mass layoffs and the decimation of their town. Yet union leaders are sitting on their hands. The time for bold action is now! Join the communists in campaigning for workers to take control.
Workers organised by Unite at Cambridge University have recently stuck for better pay. It’s been revealed that whilst the uni pleads poverty, it is sitting on billions in cash. Staff and students should be in control, not uni fat cats.
Workers at Amazon’s new warehouse in Birmingham recently went on strike. The Birmingham Communists visited their picket line to offer solidarity, and to find out the latest about the Amazon strike movement. Victory to the Amazon workers!
The TUC held a march in Cheltenham over the weekend against the Tories’ Minimum Service Level law. But more than one demo is needed. The mood exists for a mass campaign of resistance, including strike action.
As the class struggle heats up, the trade unions are being put to the test on one front after another. But from fighting anti-strike laws, to defending jobs, to providing real solidarity internationally, the reformist leaders are falling short.
Staff in higher and further education have repeatedly taken action in recent years, as crises mount in universities and colleges. But union members have been consistently let down by their leaders. This is the backdrop to the latest UCU elections.
The Tories are using public sector workers in the North of Ireland as pawns in their efforts to end the political paralysis at Stormont. But workers across the sectarian divide are refusing to be passive observers, and are moving into action.
Tata bosses have confirmed plans to cut thousands of jobs at the company’s steelworks in Port Talbot, south Wales. With the unions failing to put up a fight, workers must mobilise, organise, and occupy to protect their livelihoods and community.
The Tories are attempting to steamroller academisation in schools across the country. But education workers – such as those at Castle Wood in Coventry – are resisting this push, standing up in the interests of staff and students.
PCS members in Defra have launched a campaign for a 4-day-week with no loss of pay. This would be a significant conquest for workers to achieve, and would be an inspiration to workers everywhere. But it requires bold tactics for its success.
The unions’ responses to Tata Steel’s threatened furnace closures don’t go nearly far enough. Unite’s ‘Workers’ Plan’ is a step in the right direction. What is needed is militant action, based on the rank and file, fighting for bold demands.
PCS leadership elections are now over, with Fran Heathcote elected to General Secretary. The union’s leadership must now put serious time and effort into rebuilding its grassroots rank and file, taking radical, fighting demands to every corner of the union.
Activists across Britain have blockaded arms factories supplying the Israeli regime. Trade union leaders have failed to give a lead. To escalate the movement, workers inside the factories must be convinced to take solidarity action themselves.
Union leaders met last Saturday to discuss their response to the Tories’ latest draconian anti-strike legislation. But the TUC’s plan of action falls short of what is needed. The trade union movement must mobilise en masse to defy the bosses’ laws.
Architecture is often considered a well-to-do profession. But the industry is plagued by burnout and unpaid overtime. Architects are getting organised. The unions must fight for public ownership and workers’ control across the construction sector.
With workers on the move, the Tories are tightening anti-union restrictions and curbing the right to strike with new minimum service laws. The TUC is meeting this weekend to discuss its response. The trade unions must mobilise to defy the bosses.
Having been strung along for months by the government, junior doctors have announced a new wave of winter walkouts. This determined action must be linked to a mass campaign across the trade union movement to kick out the Tories and save our NHS.
The recent conference for young members in Unison showed the appetite that exists for organising around burning class issues. To channel this enthusiasm, a transformation is required across the union, putting grassroots activists in control.
Long-running action on Go-Ahead’s bus routes in the North East has won significant gains for striking drivers. Fresh layers of militant workers have shown their will and determination, providing confidence for future battles against the bosses.
Rail workers organised in the RMT and employed by UK train operating companies have accepted a pay deal that halts cuts to jobs and conditions. But further attacks are coming from the Tories and bosses. The trade unions must prepare for battle.
Drivers working on bus routes operated by London Transit are out on strike tomorrow, in a dispute over pay and conditions, following previous days of action this month. Victory to the bus drivers! Fight for nationalisation and workers’ control!
Next month, on 9 December, the TUC will meet for a special congress to decide its response to the government’s latest draconian anti-strike legislation. The trade union movement must mobilise to defy the Tories, and to smash the bosses’ laws.
Today is ‘Black Friday’ – the busiest day of the year for the retail sector. Staff at the Amazon distribution centre in Coventry marked this occasion by taking the latest day of strike action in their long-running dispute. Victory to the workers!
Further education staff at multiple colleges have been out on the picket lines this month, fighting over pay, workload, and conditions. As our comrade reports, new layers of workers are being drawn into activity through this struggle.
Thousands of engineering construction workers employed on the NAECI agreement have voted to strike, in a dispute over pay. These workers hold enormous power in their hands. They must use this to deliver a militant blow against the bosses.
Thousands of jobs are on the line in the UK steel industry, with the threat of cuts at Tata in Port Talbot and British Steel in Scunthorpe. The unions must launch a militant fightback, and demand immediate nationalisation and workers’ control.
Under its current left leadership, civil service union PCS has played a key role in defending public sector workers against Tory attacks. To continue on this path, and rise to future challenges, members should vote for Left Unity candidates.
Kirklees Council has been involved in a scandalous witch hunt against prominent trade unionist Paul Holmes in recent years. The latest development in this case is an outrageous data leak by the council. The labour movement must fight for justice.
Palestinian trade unionists have called for international solidarity of the working class to halt the Israeli war machine. Workers in the arms industry have the potential to strike a powerful blow against the Israeli state and imperialism.
Many workers in Britain are looking at the catastrophic events unfolding in the Middle East, wondering what they can do to halt the imperialist carnage. Organised and mobilised, the working class has the power to stop the warmongers.
Struggles are breaking out across the country, as the bosses and Tories go on the offensive against the working class. Socialist Appeal comrades are actively participating in these battles. We provide here the latest reports from the workplace.
A determined struggle by bin workers employed by Tower Hamlets council has ended with an improved deal for the strikers. This solid action shows the potential strength that workers everywhere have, when organised, mobilised, and united.
Unison members at Birmingham University are taking action in a struggle for decent pay and conditions. Students and lecturers should offer their full solidarity, and join forces with striking support staff in the fight against marketisation.
Thousands of union members at important industrial hubs are currently balloting for action. If successful, strikes could disrupt refineries, chemical plants, and power stations across the country next month. The lesson is clear: militancy pays!
Multinational steel company Tata has again come cap in hand to the British government, demanding another huge handout. As part of this, the bosses and Tories are planning thousands of job cuts. We say: nationalise the steel industry now!
At this year’s TUC Congress, a notable motion was passed committing the trade union movement to mobilise against the Tories’ latest anti-strike legislation – up-to-and-including non-compliance. We need militant action to smash the bosses’ laws.
A confused motion is up for discussion at this week’s TUC Congress, calling for ‘solidarity with Ukraine’. Instead of backing the Tories and their imperialist aims, the labour movement must fight for an internationalist, class-based position.
Following wave after wave of determined struggle by rank-and-file UCU members, union leaders have led the disputes in higher education into a dead end. These events show the crucial importance of militant leadership – which we must build.
The latest annual TUC congress meets in Liverpool next week, from 10-13 September. As the last year’s strike wave ebbs, the trade union movement is taking stock. A period of bitter struggles lies ahead. Militant workers must prepare for battle.
After years of attacks on jobs, pay, and conditions, further education staff in the UCU are balloting over whether to strike. With pressure building, industrial action looks likely. Union activists in colleges must prepare for struggle.
Rail unions and campaigners are mobilising against threatened closures of station ticket offices, tapping into a mood of anger amongst passengers. To defend against the bosses’ attacks, we need militant action, nationalisation, and workers’ control.
Workers at the Hinkley Point C site have taken successful wildcat strike action, inspiring others to follow their lead. Rank-and-file committees organising workers across different trades and employers will further strengthen these struggles.
Workers at Amazon have successfully shut down a distribution centre in Coventry, as part of their ongoing battle for a living wage and union recognition. In order to beat the bosses, this struggle must be escalated to the wider workforce.
Workers at two Amazon UK warehouses are striking this week, marking a year since the first walkout by staff at the Coventry site, in a long-running struggle over pay and union recognition. The whole labour movement must offer their solidarity.
Support staff at City of Liverpool College are preparing to take action over pay. Across the sector, further education workers are being hammered. We need national coordinated action to save our colleges. Workers and students – unite and fight!
After repeated rounds of walkouts, the struggle in schools has come to a halt, with NEU members voting to accept the government’s pay deal. Rank-and-file teachers were willing to battle on. But once again, there was no fighting leadership.
This month has seen a volley of strike days on the railways, with RMT members walking out in protest over ticket office closures. Visiting picket lines, comrades have found that the mood is hardening. It is clear that this battle is far from over.
Thanks to determined strike action, outsourced hospital staff in London have scored an impressive victory, winning a bumper wage rise. With NHS struggles continuing, this provides an inspiring example for the rest of the trade union movement.
Along with other unions, after months of action, civil servants are taking stock in their struggle over pay. PCS members must absorb the lessons from the strike wave: militancy pays and coordination is key. We must prepare for future battles.
This coming week will see renewed action on Britain’s railways and on London’s Tube network, with the bosses and Tories making further attacks on passengers and workers. To save transport services, we need militant action and nationalisation.
Last week, after months of struggle by teachers, union leaders announced that they would recommend acceptance of the government’s below-inflation pay deal. Members should mobilise to reject this offer, and organise to forge a militant leadership.
Starmer’s Labour recently announced its programme for education. But as with other questions, the party is promising little but Tory-lite policies. To save our schools, staff and students must fight for a clear socialist alternative.
This year’s Unite conference took place this week against a backdrop of sharpening class struggle, with the Tories and bosses waging war on workers. Union activists are getting organised and preparing for battle. Militant leadership is vital.
Unison members in local government will not be joining this summer’s strike wave, after turnout in the recent ballot for action fell short. This highlights the need for activists to transform the union into a fighting weapon for members.
Far-right elements in South Wales have opportunistically hijacked anger over local job losses, in order to stir-up hatred against refugees. The labour movement must respond with class struggle methods and clear socialist policies.
Amazon workers in Coventry are back on the picket lines today, in their long-running struggle for £15 per hour. The bosses, meanwhile, are desperately trying to thwart unionisation efforts. Solidarity to the Amazon workers! Spread the strike to win!
Last week saw teachers in England returning to the picket lines, with two more days of walkouts. But there are rumours that NEU leaders could be on the verge of accepting a below-inflation offer. Members must mobilise and escalate the struggle.
Unite’s rules and policy conferences are taking place this week. Debate so far has focussed on the union’s political affiliation. The key task for rank-and-file activists is to build a fighting leadership, armed with bold socialist policies.
This year’s Durham Miners’ Gala takes place tomorrow – an annual commemoration of the labour movement’s historic struggles. Socialist Appeal activists will be energetically joining the march, calling on communist workers and youth to get organised.
Industrial action on North Sea oil and gas rigs is continuing this month, with hundreds of workers across different contractors set to down tools. To win, the unions must coordinate action and unite workers around bold socialist demands.
Temperatures show no sign of dipping. And neither does the class struggle. Strikes are set to take place in schools, hospitals, train stations, and councils in the coming weeks. To win, we need mass coordinated action and bold socialist policies.
As the working class flexes its muscles on the industrial front today, many have drawn comparisons with the 1970s. In this episode of Marxist Voice, Ben Gliniecki draws the lessons from the successes and failures of this decade of struggle.
Workers at homelessness charity St Mungo’s have escalated their struggle over pay and conditions, starting all-out strike action this week. This militant example should serve as an inspiration for the whole of the labour movement. Solidarity!
A struggle against academisation and course closures at NewVic college in London has seen angry students joining forces with striking teachers. Students everywhere should get organised and fight to kick capitalism out of education.
After years of being witch-hunted by the employers, judges have ruled against Paul Holmes – a prominent trade unionist and former Unison president. Grassroots activists must offer Paul their full solidarity.
Factory workers at multinational industrial firm Sulzer, based in Leeds, are taking action in demand of a proper pay increase. In the process, they are having to face down strike-breaking bosses. The unions must fight for a sliding scale of wages.
In an effort to continue their pay campaign, the NEU has called two more days of walkouts for the final weeks of term. Teachers must build for these strikes, and use them as a platform to escalate and expand the struggle – in schools and beyond.
Britain’s largest union Unison recently met for its annual conference, where the left lost overall control of the NEC. This setback highlights the need for the left to organise the rank and file for the transformation of the union, and wider society.
Junior doctors are back on strike this week, as the Tories refuse to yield to their demand for full pay restoration. With other struggles in healthcare continuing, it is vital that the unions coordinate action to kick capitalism out of our NHS.
Delegates are meeting this week for the Unison national conference. With struggles ongoing in local government, the NHS, and schools, it is vital that Britain’s biggest public sector union rises to the challenge. This requires fighting leadership.
Lorry drivers at concrete supplier Maen Karne are striking this week in a fight for union recognition. With struggles breaking out across the construction industry, the labour movement must fight for nationalisation and workers’ control.
Workers at Allied Bakeries in Merseyside are striking in demand of a real pay rise. At the same time, the bosses are recording bumper profits. We say: Nationalise the food industry under workers’ control! No to crumbs! Demand the whole bakery!
Another wave of rail strikes is currently underway, with RMT and ASLEF members both out this week. The bosses and Tories are digging their heels in, looking to smash this industrial militancy. United, escalated action is needed for workers to win.
The recent UCU congress saw a radical mood amongst delegates, with motions to ‘kick capitalism out of higher education’ and to censure general secretary Jo Grady both passing. Members need fighting leadership and clear socialist policies.
The recent PCS national conference reflected the militant mood within the union, with activists – old and new – showing a determination to ramp up the fight against the Tories and their austerity agenda. Civil servants are preparing for battle.
Delegates are meeting in Glasgow this weekend for the UCU annual conference. This year’s event takes place amidst a bitter struggle between university bosses and academic staff. Workers and students must unite and fight to defend education.
The Unison local government strike ballot has now opened. With other council workers, teachers, and civil servants all mobilising, the potential exists for mass coordinated action across the public sector. The unions must seize this opportunity.
UCU members at Queen Margaret University in Scotland have won an important victory, resisting the bosses’ attempts to punish lecturers with pay deductions. This provides valuable lessons for the whole of the union in its ongoing struggle.
Delegates are meeting in Brighton this week for the PCS annual conference. This is taking place against a backdrop of strikes and struggle, including walkouts by civil service workers. To win, coordination and escalation is vital.
North Sea rig workers are mobilising and taking action over pay, jobs, and conditions. Their strikes show where the real power in the energy industry lies. The labour movement must fight to expropriate the monopolies, and put workers in control.
As Britain’s largest public sector union, Unison has a vital role to play in the struggles taking place in health, education, and local councils. With elections underway for the union’s NEC, a recent local win for the left offers hope.
Following months of struggle, CWU members at Royal Mail are being offered a deal. But this fails to meet any of posties’ demands over pay and conditions. Postal workers should vote to reject, and prepare for further battles.
Unite’s EC elections have drawn to a close. Results show members want a fighting union. To deliver, the new leadership will have to transform the union into a militant, democratic one – prepared to fightback against the Tories and capitalism.
Teachers in the NEU and nurses in the RCN have recently resumed their strikes against the Tories’ insulting pay offers. Socialist Appeal supporters spoke to workers on the picket lines, where there was a fighting mood for escalation.
This year’s May Day celebrations are taking place against a backdrop of bitter strikes and struggles, with teachers, nurses, and civil servants all walking out in the coming days. To win, the working class needs a revolutionary leadership.
As higher education comes under attack, staff at UEA face the threat of mass layoffs. Marxist students are mobilising to support campus workers, calling to kick capitalism out of our universities. Students and workers: unite and fight!
Junior doctors have undertaken another round of strikes this week, while other health workers have voted on the Tories’ insulting pay offer. To advance, the struggle in the NHS requires militant coordinated action and bold socialist demands.
NEU delegates are meeting this week for the union’s national conference, which comes at a critical moment in the struggle over pay and conditions. Teachers have shown their determination to fight. Now is the time for militant coordinated action.
This week, Labour’s ruling body voted to prevent Jeremy Corbyn from standing as a Labour MP. Subsequently, many on the left have raised the idea of a new workers’ party. The key unresolved question, however, is that of revolutionary leadership.
Voting is underway in the elections for the Unite executive council. A left-wing slate is standing, attempting to continue the transformation of the union that has taken place under Sharon Graham. Members should select a fighting leadership.
Workers at National Express West Midlands have won an inflation-busting pay rise, despite the bosses’ union-busting efforts, following indefinite action across the local bus network. This shows the way forward for striking workers everywhere.
The struggle by UCU members in higher education is at an impasse. While the leadership is prettifying the employers’ ‘offers’, members show a determination to keep fighting. To break the deadlock, the rank and file must be put in control
NEU leaders have correctly called on members to reject the pathetic deal being offered to teachers, and are preparing for further walkouts. To win, we must escalate the action, unite the struggles, and fight to kick capitalism out of education.
Following backroom negotiations with Tory ministers, union leaders are recommending acceptance of a paltry pay offer for health workers. Grassroots members should mobilise to reject this deal – and demand fighting leadership and militant action.
Energy workers across Britain have been mobilising in recent weeks, in a struggle over pay. Their victories show where the real power in society lies – and why it is vital for the labour movement to lead the fight to transform the energy sector.
RMT members at Network Rail have voted to accept an improved pay deal, secured thanks to months of determined strike action. But the threat of attacks on jobs and conditions still looms. Workers must remain vigilant and fight for nationalisation.
Yesterday saw the biggest trade union mobilisation in Britain in over a decade, with teachers, lecturers, civil servants, and lecturers all out on strike. Socialist Appeal comrades across the country joined the protests and picket lines.
The Tories’ latest Budget was stuffed with treats for the bosses, with nothing for striking workers. Yesterday’s day of action shows the potential strength of our movement. To realise it, we need militant leadership and bold socialist demands.
Midway through their walkout, the mood amongst striking junior doctors is one of confidence and enthusiasm. Tomorrow they will be bolstered by action across the public sector. The trade unions must unite and escalate their struggles to win.
Junior doctors organised in the BMA are striking this week, joining other public sector workers in the struggle for decent pay and conditions. Austerity and privatisation are killing our NHS. Only bold socialist policies can save it.
As Britain’s strike wave grows, the Tories are looking to deploy both a carrot and a stick in order to splinter and defeat the movement. The trade unions must remain united, and escalate the action in order to win. Militant leadership is vital.
A trove of leaked messages between former health secretary Matt Hancock and other cabinet ministers reveals the callous and cynical attitudes held by the Tories. Our schools and services are not safe in their hands. We must kick them all out.
In an effort to break the ongoing strike by UCU members, university bosses are resorting to all manner of dirty tricks to divide staff and students. In response, workers and students must unite and fight to end the marketisation of education.
With a mood of confidence, enthusiasm, and militancy on display, the recent young members’ conference of the RMT set the tone for the battles ahead, as rail workers prepare to continue their struggle in the weeks ahead. Victory to the unions!
Amazon warehouse workers in Coventry were out on the picket lines again yesterday, continuing their struggle for decent pay and conditions. Confidence is growing, as the strike grows. To win, it must spread across Jeff Bezos’ e-commerce empire.
A wave of regional strikes by NEU members is taking place this week, over pay and conditions in education. To save our schools, this struggle must be linked to that of other public sector workers, to fight the Tories and their austerity agenda.
Following their first walkout last month, Amazon workers in Coventry are back on the picket lines this week, fighting for decent pay and conditions. To win, the strike must be spread to the rest of the workforce – and to other warehouses.
Following a period of consultation and discussion across the union, RMT members are continuing their struggle on the railways, with a further wave of action beginning next month. To win, we need escalated, coordinated, militant action.
With the latest wave of UCU walkouts in full swing, general secretary Jo Grady has sapped momentum from the struggle by putting the strikes on pause. Rank-and-file members must mobilise to ensure that union leaders do not accept a rotten deal.
Museum workers organised in the PCS union at institutions up-and-down the country are walking out as part of the strike wave sweeping across Britain. To defend art and culture, we need militant coordinated action for bold socialist policies.
While university workers strike over pay and conditions, undergraduate students are also suffering from the cost-of-living crisis, with huge real-terms cuts to maintenance loans. Students and staff must unite and fight for free education.
Following several rounds of walkouts, and with the Tories refusing to budge, nurses are set to step up their strike action over pay and conditions. To win, health workers must unite with other unions and fight for a clear socialist alternative.
UCU members in higher education will be out on strike again from tomorrow, continuing their fight over pay, pensions, and conditions. Debates are taking place in the union about how to advance the struggle. Indefinite action is needed to win.
Civil servants are continuing their struggle over pay, pensions, jobs, and conditions – and are leading the way by coordinating action with other unions. The whole labour movement must mobilise together to kick out the Tories and end austerity.
Following a decade of real pay losses and one in five jobs cut, the FBU has voted to join the strike wave sweeping the country. We speak here with David Pike, secretary of the Manchester FBU, about the ballot and the conditions leading to it.
Sector after sector of workers are joining the growing strike wave. Further coordinated walkouts are in store, following Wednesday’s day of action. To strengthen the movement, these struggles need to be united and organised from top to bottom.
1 February was the biggest day of coordinated strike action in over a decade, with half a million out on strike. We spoke to workers at picket lines and demos up and down the country about their fight against the bosses’ attacks and the Tories’ anti-union bill.
Tomorrow will see mass coordinated action between teachers, rail workers, civil servants, and lecturers. The Tories are preparing for class war, curbing the right to strike. The unions must defy these laws, and organise a militant fightback.
This Wednesday, teachers across England and Wales will be walking out in a protest over pay, workloads, and conditions. It is vital that students offer solidarity to striking staff, in order to defend schools against austerity and academisation.
Compulsory redundancies are on the cards at the University of East Anglia – a reflection of the dire situation facing higher education institutions everywhere. Workers and students must come together to fight against austerity and marketisation.
With elections underway for Unite’s new executive council, a clear divide is emerging within the union. On one side is an old left calling for compromise with the bosses and Tories. On the other are grassroots activists demanding militant action.
Nominations are underway for the latest NEC elections in Unison, Britain’s public sector behemoth. With the class struggle sharpening, it is vital that the left learns the lessons of recent events, and mobilises militantly to transform the union.
NEU members have shown their will to fight, voting to strike over pay and conditions. Public sector unions are mobilising for coordinated action on 1 February. To stop the cuts, these struggles must be linked around a clear socialist programme.
With industrial militancy growing and spreading across Britain, the Tories and bosses are pushing for further restrictions on workers’ right to strike. The trade union leaders must organise a militant fightback to smash these laws to pieces.
Elections for a new executive are underway in Unite, Britain’s biggest trade union. Under Sharon Graham’s leadership, Unite has helped secure many important victories for workers. This militant approach must now be spread throughout the union.
PCS members have been striking across the civil service in recent weeks, causing disruption to state services. With the government digging their heels in, escalation is on the cards. Militant coordinated action is needed to topple the Tories.
The NHS is in the midst of a deep crisis. Chaos is unfolding in A&Es, with record-breaking wait times. This catastrophe has been a long time coming – the result of years of austerity and privatisation. But health workers are fighting back.
Striking ambulance workers are taking a stand against attacks on their pay and conditions. We spoke to workers at the picket lines, who are ready to fight tooth and nail for victory and the future of the NHS.
Nurses in the RCN have taken their first ever day of national strike action, to combat the severe crisis in the NHS. We spoke to nurses at picket lines across the country, who were determined to win their struggle against the bosses and the Tories.
Despite a barrage of attacks from the capitalist media, striking rail workers are determined to continue their struggle and beat the bosses. Joined by posties and nurses, Socialist Appeal supporters visited RMT pickets in solidarity.
Workers at the housing charity Shelter are out on strike, fighting against a real-terms pay cut. A Unite rep explained to Socialist Appeal the causes behind the strike and the mood amongst workers on the picket. Solidarity to their struggle!
Britain’s winter of discontent has begun. With nurses, ambulance staff, and border guards all taking action, the country is set for its biggest month of strikes in decades. And the struggle is set to intensify, as the Tories threaten repression.
Staff at the Environment Agency, responsible for regulating UK waterways, are set to take action short of strike, in a struggle over pay and conditions. This must be linked to bold demands for public ownership of the country’s natural resources.
With Royal Mail bosses digging their heels in, CWU members across the country will be walking out on six more dates in the run-up to Christmas. Socialist Appeal spoke to one striking postal worker on the real issues at stake in this struggle.
Workers at the Fawley oil refinery are continuing their struggle over pay and conditions. With the bosses digging their heels in, it is vital that the strike spreads. The labour movement must offer solidarity and fight for workers’ control.
Nationwide strike action across UK universities begins tomorrow, as UCU members continue their struggle over pay, pensions, and conditions. With workers and youth everywhere mobilising, the time is ripe for a militant united fightback.
The RMT has been at the forefront of this year’s growing strikewave. And now rail workers have voted to continue their struggle. With NHS staff, civil servants, and education workers also mobilising, the stage is set for mass coordinated action.
Hundreds of thousands of teachers and school staff are currently voting over potential strike action. Austerity and academisation have driven down teaching conditions and learning conditions. Only a bold socialist fightback can save education.
PCS members in the civil service are the latest section of workers to vote for action, following on from nurses and university staff. With other public sector workers balloting, the potential for a mass campaign of coordinated strikes is clear.
The NHS is on the brink, with millions waiting for treatment, and winter set to pile on more pressure. Meanwhile, the Tories are planning further cuts. But health workers are fighting back, with nurses voting to strike. Save our NHS!
Tomorrow sees a national demo in London under the demand of ‘general election now!’ But how do we force the Tories out? And what comes next? To put an end to austerity, inflation, and crises, we need a mass fightback for socialist policies.
UCU members have won a whopping mandate for national strike action in their struggle over pay, conditions, and pensions. With other unions – on campuses and across the movement – also mobilising, the situation calls out for a united fightback.
This year’s TUC Congress, held against a stormy backdrop of political chaos and bitter class struggle, saw delegates vote for mass coordinated action. Trade union leaders must now translate words into deeds, and mobilise to kick out the Tories.
On top of the onslaught facing all workers, a recent TUC report highlights the racism suffered by black and Asian employees in Britain. To fight back against the bosses’ divisive attacks, we need united class struggle and workers’ control.
Trade union delegates are meeting this week for the TUC Congress. On the agenda are motions calling for mass coordinated action. With the Tories on the ropes, and the bosses on the offensive, the time is ripe for a militant, united fightback.
Strike action by railway workers has continued this month, with rail unions coordinating walkouts. But the bosses are digging in their heels, refusing to budge. To overcome this intransigence, the movement must be broadened and escalated.
Posties at Royal Mail have announced 19 more days of strike action in the run-up to Christmas, as the bosses refuse to budge. Workers everywhere are moving into action. To win, the trade unions must link the struggles into one unstoppable force.
Dock workers in Felixstowe and Liverpool have recently taken coordinated action in struggles for real pay rises. Such tactics should be employed across the whole movement, to topple the Tories and the bosses’ system.
Last Saturday saw demonstrations across the country in support of striking workers, and in protest against the escalating cost-of-living crisis. With the Tories and their system in meltdown, the stage is set for a bitter winter of discontent.
As the crisis in Britain deepens, civil service union PCS is balloting members for national strike action. Socialist Appeal spoke with Fran Heathcote, the union’s president, to discuss what this means for the rising tide of class struggle.
This weekend will see coordinated action across the labour movement, with rail workers, dockers, bus drivers, and posties all striking, bolstered by solidarity protests. This must be the start of a mass campaign to overthrow the bosses’ system.
Following defeat in last academic year’s university strikes, UCU members are again balloting for action. This time, if the vote is successful, branches will all come out together, paving the way for coordinated action – on campuses and beyond.
PCS members begin a national strike ballot today, against a backdrop of attacks on jobs, pay, and conditions in the civil service. Truss and the Tories have declared war on Whitehall. The unions must mobilise and launch a united fightback.
This week’s Labour conference will provide no optimism for activists looking to fight back against the Tories and bosses. By contrast, recent rallies of the ‘Enough is Enough’ campaign have drawn energetic crowds, as the class struggle sharpens.
Only weeks into the new academic year, it is clear that UK schools are suffering from a severe staff shortage. Swathes of teachers are dropping out of the profession, due to low pay and high workloads. But teaching unions are fighting back.
Unison members in higher education at 22 universities are staging stikes over pay. At the same time, lecturers in the UCU are balloting for action. The scene is set for united struggle by workers and students on campuses across the country.
The last year has seen a wave of strikes across industry, with a number of important victories recorded by Unite members under Sharon Graham’s leadership. The lesson is clear: to win, workers need unity, militant action, and socialist policies.
Following the death of the Queen, trade union leaders have cancelled planned strike action ‘out of respect’ to the Royal Family. But the Tories and bosses have not paused their class war. The labour movement must mobilise to topple their system.
This week saw further action by postal workers and telecoms workers in the CWU. This shows the way forward for the trade union movement: to unite the struggles with coordinated action against the bosses and their crisis-ridden system.
Across the country, the trade union movement is awakening and workers are moving into action. And there is the prospect of members in Britain’s biggest union, Unison, joining the battle. The need for fighting leadership has never been greater.
Strikes are breaking out across Britain’s bus network, as drivers fight for decent wages and conditions. And recent victories in the North West provide a vital lesson for the whole labour movement: militancy pays.
Today saw the start of a wave of action by workers at Royal Mail, in the largest strike yet in the rising tide of class struggle. To win, these battles must be united into a mass fightback against the bosses – and for bold socialist policies.
Hundreds of dock workers have brought Britain’s busiest port to a standstill, in a dispute over pay. This shows the potential power that workers hold – a power that must be harnessed through militant struggle for a bold socialist alternative.
Criminal barristers have voted to escalate their ongoing action into an indefinite strike from next month. To win, barristers must link their fight against legal aid cuts with the rest of the struggles breaking out across the labour movement.
Local government workers across Scotland are mobilising in a struggle over pay – part of a wider strikewave that is sweeping across Britain. To win, the trade unions must organise coordinated action, and fight for a bold socialist alternative.
A new labour movement campaign ‘Enough Is Enough’ was launched this week in London. This is a welcome development, showing that there is an appetite for a fightback, which must become explicitly socialist to achieve its aims.
Tens of thousands of workers on Britain’s railways are set to continue strike action from 18 to 20 August in their struggle for better pay and conditions. Their struggle is an inspiration to workers everywhere. Victory to the rail strikes!
Journalists in the NUJ have voted overwhelmingly in favour of strike action at one of Britain’s biggest media outlets, Reach PLC. With the class struggle spreading to the media, the establishment is no doubt fearful of where this could lead.
Over the summer of 1911, workers in Liverpool brought the city to a standstill. A strike that started in shipping rapidly spread to the docks and all transport. With the class struggle now heating up, this period contains important lessons for today.
A wave of wildcat strikes has swept across Britain – in the construction industry and at Amazon warehouses – as workers’ anger reaches boiling point. This is a harbinger of the huge class battles on the horizon. The unions must prepare for war.
Rising temperatures and COVID infections this summer have once again exposed how fragile Britain’s healthcare system is. To tackle waiting lists, fill staff shortages, and save our NHS, the labour movement must fight for bold socialist policies.
Ferry workers in Southampton and the Isle of Wight are currently taking action in a battle over pay. The employers are attempting to break the strike with scab labour. Union leaders must unite the struggles against the bosses and Tories.
Following months of bitter strike action, lorry drivers at Coventry city council have come out on top. Their dispute provides important lessons for the trade union movement. Through united, militant struggle, workers can beat back the bosses.
Reports from recent picket lines of striking CWU members at BT Group show how workers everywhere are gaining confidence. Pressure is building across the movement. And trade union leaders are responding with calls for militant united action.
Trade union leaders are talking about a ‘summer of discontent’, with workers on the railways, at Royal Mail, and in the public sector moving into action. These struggles must be brought together into a mass movement against the bosses and Tories.
Arriva bus drivers in the North West are undertaking indefinite strike action. Across the country, transport workers are fighting back against attacks on pay, jobs, and conditions. These struggles must be united behind demands for nationalisation.
Britain is set for a summer strikewave, with posties and rail workers taking strike action, and public sector unions rejecting the government’s latest pay offer. This poses the need for coordinated action and a bold socialist programme.
Activists are taking steps to organise workers at Apple stores in London – part of a global unionisation movement in the tech industry. The trade unions must throw their weight behind these efforts, and fight for workers’ control of Big Tech.
A deadly combo of austerity and inflation is pushing councils towards bankruptcy, fuelling further attacks on local government workers. With Starmer’s Labour doing nothing to oppose the cuts, it is up to the trade unions to lead the fightback.
Further rounds of strikes have been called by the RMT and other rail unions. The mood is there for coordinated action – across the railway sector and beyond. The trade union leaders must organise a mass campaign to bring down the Tories.
Tomorrow sees the return of the Durham Miners’ Gala – an annual celebration of the labour movement and its history. Today, with capitalism in crisis and workers on the move, it is vital we reclaim the militant traditions of the class struggle.
Strike action by doctors could be on the cards, as part of a British Medical Association campaign for a 30% pay rise. This struggle must be linked to those of other health workers and striking unions – and to the fight for socialist policies.
CWU members at Royal Mail and BT Group are mobilising to take action over pay, with posties balloting and telecoms workers voting to strike. Class struggle is spreading like wildfire across the country. The unions must unite and fight.
Drunk on their victory at the national conference, the Unison bureaucracy has scandalously stripped Paul Holmes of every elected position he holds in the union. The left must urgently mobilise a rank-and-file fightback against this outrage.
At last month’s Unison conference, the right wing went on the offensive, attempting to regain control of the union. Instead of resisting this onslaught, however, the left went into retreat. We must learn the lessons of these important events.
Criminal barristers have begun a historic walkout in protest against the crisis facing the justice system. To win, barristers must link with the trade unions, and unite their struggle with other striking workers and all those fighting Tory cuts.
A wave of strike action by RMT members on the railways has emboldened the entire trade union movement. From posties to barristers to airport staff: workers everywhere are moving into action. We say: Unite the struggles! Bring down the Tories!
Dozens of hospital cleaners and ward hosts in Tooting, London, are waging a struggle against employers Mitie for better pay and an end to outsourcing. The trade unions must unite and fight to transform the NHS with socialist policies.
The class struggle is heating up in Britain, as striking RMT members bring the railways to a standstill, and the Tories and bosses attempt to crush the unions. The gutter press is screaming about ‘class war’. And – for once – they’re correct.
Support staff at Leeds University, organised in Unison, are on strike this week, fighting for decent pay. This is one of many struggles taking place on UK campuses, as workers and students mobilise against the marketisation of education.
Last Saturday saw a mass mobilisation of the trade union movement, around demands to tackle the cost-of-living disaster. With the Tories and bosses on the attack, the stage is set for bitter battles. Workers and youth must fight for revolution.
This year’s Unison conference has ended with the right wing emboldened, and the left in retreat. Attempts to appease the right will only encourage them to intensify their attacks. To regroup and fight back, we need bold, unwavering leadership.
Left activists suffered a blow at Unison conference this week, as the right wing launched a vicious offensive against the NEC. This highlights important lessons in the struggle to transform the union into a fighting weapon for workers.
Left activists are celebrating success in the recent elections for Unison’s service group executives. These must be a launchpad for strengthening the struggle to transform the union.
Thousands of RMT members are set to strike at the end of this month, as part of a wave of action on the country’s railways. To win, the unions must mobilise their full forces, and organise militant united action across the labour movement.
Next week’s Unison conference will be an arena for the struggle between a right-wing bureaucracy attempting to maintain their stifling control, and an ascendant grassroots left seeking to transform the union. The left must seize the moment.
Next week, hundreds of activists from across the public sector are meeting in Brighton for this year’s Unison national delegate conference. Young members rep Lilly Boulby looks at the challenges ahead for Unison and the trade union movement.
Last week, almost 20 UCU branches began a marking and assessment boycott. University bosses have retaliated with job cuts and lockouts of workers at several universities. Members need fighting leadership more than ever.
The Public and Commercial Services union recently met for its annual delegate conference in Brighton. With civil service workers facing job cuts, members showed clear determination to fight back. A national showdown is on the cards.
Outsourced staff at London universities are waging a struggle to be brought in-house, on decent pay. But profiteering bosses are resisting, with underhand attempts by management to intimidate workers. The unions must organise a united fightback.
Rail workers have voted overwhelmingly to strike over jobs and safety. The Tories, meanwhile, are gearing up for a showdown, with moves to escalate anti-union laws. The whole trade union movement must respond with militant, united struggle.
Delegates are meeting this week for the PCS annual conference, against a backdrop of attacks on jobs and pay for civil servants. Union activists must mobilise to win a national strike ballot, and lead the fightback against the Tories.
Police repression is being used to intimidate delivery drivers in Hackney, London, who are organising and fighting back against gig economy bosses. But the local working-class community is mobilising to support workers under attack.
Pallet workers at the CHEP depot in Trafford have scored an important win in their long-running struggle for decent pay. This shows the way forward for workers everywhere. To fight the bosses’ attacks, we need bold, determined, united action.
Grassroots activists within the British Medical Association are looking to transform the organisation into a fighting union through the ‘Doctors Vote’ campaign. This must be linked to the struggle to save the NHS with socialist policies.
This year’s CWU annual conference took place recently against a backdrop of rising tensions across the postal and telecoms sectors: at Royal Mail; at Post Offices; and at BT Group. Strikes and struggles are on the cards, as workers fight back.
Unite members at Fawley refinery are fighting for a real pay rise and proper sick pay. Their determination, unity, and militancy in the face of the bosses’ attacks are an inspiration for workers in struggle everywhere.
Across the world, new layers of workers are being drawn into the struggle to defend their lives and livelihoods. In the process, they are getting organised and transforming the trade union movement. This is a harbinger of the battles to come.
Marxist activists across the globe joined 1st May demonstrations over the weekend, commemorating International Workers’ Day. With the bosses on the attack, and workers moving into action, it is time for the unions to prepare for battle.
Following multiple rounds of strike action, the long-running dispute between UCU members and university bosses remains at a stalemate. Union leaders are looking to deflate the struggle. Instead, we need escalation and a militant fightback.
The RMT is gearing up for strike action across Britain’s railways, in response to proposed cuts by the Tories and bosses. Meanwhile, fat-cat owners are making a mint. The unions must fight for nationalisation and workers’ control.
Frances O’Grady is set to retire from her role as TUC general secretary. Under her direction, the TUC has been characterised by compromise and cosying up to the bosses. Instead, with workers under attack, the trade unions need militant leadership.
NEU members at a Catholic school in Croydon have voted to strike against the scandalous decision to ban a gay author from speaking to students. This shows the way forward in the fight against oppression: through united class struggle.
With schools and teachers facing a barrage of cuts and attacks, this year’s conference of the National Education Union saw impassioned debates over a range of issues. The task for left activists is to mobilise members for a militant fightback.
Across Britain, the bosses are going on the offensive, attacking workers’ jobs, pay, and conditions in order to boost their profits. The gloves are off. The time for compromise is over. The unions must fight back with militant action.
As education activists gather in Bournemouth this week for the annual conference of the NEU, Socialist Appeal supporters in the union examine the crisis brewing in schools, and point the way forward – with militant, united action.
London Arriva bus drivers staged a 48 hr strike at three garages in south London, to fight for better pay. They are an inspiration to workers everywhere in how to combat the cost of living crisis. The time has come for united action across the unions.
The strike of bin lorry drivers at Coventry city council continues to intensify, with the employers digging their heels in and the union upping the ante. Support is growing for the workers. To win, the strike must now escalate and spread.
UCU members in higher education are in the middle of their latest round of strike action. But without any clear strategy from the leadership, frustration is setting in. We say: let the rank and file decide! All out to defeat marketisation!
There is considerable anger at the City of Liverpool College following the sacking of Nina Doran, a local UCU union rep. The whole labour movement must demand her reinstatement.
PCS members in the public sector have returned a decisive endorsement for the union’s pay campaign, including backing industrial action. The union must seize the opportunity to go on the offensive, in conjunction with other public sector unions.
Last week, P&O Ferries sacked hundreds of workers, replacing them with agency labour. With this savage attack, the bosses have thrown down the gauntlet to the working class. The trade unions must respond with a call to arms – and prepare for battle.
Thousands of workers at Glasgow city council are set to take strike action at the end of this month, in a long-running fight against pay inequality. To end discrimination, we need united class struggle to end all exploitation and austerity.
Refuse workers at Coventry city council remain determined in their fight for fair pay. Strike-breaking antics and victimisation by the employers has only hardened the resolve. The labour movement must launch a mass fightback against austerity.
With university bosses digging their heels in, the UCU has called a further round of strikes to continue the struggle over pensions, pay, and conditions. The time for piecemeal action is over. To win, we need all-out, united strike action.
As war rages on in Ukraine, the bosses and Tories are waging a class war back home. Blocked on the political front, workers are increasingly turning to the industrial front. Explosive events lie ahead as the crisis of capitalism deepens.
Outsourced workers at three London hospitals have won a major victory in their fight to bring jobs and services back in-house. This shows the way forward in the fight against privatisation and cuts: through militant action and bold demands.
The campaign to defend Paul Holmes has suffered a knock in the courts, showing the limits of gaining justice through legalistic means. To fight back, we need industrial action by council workers, and solidarity from across the labour movement.
Council workers organised in Unite have voted against a pathetic below-inflation pay offer, setting the scene for strike action. Trade unions leaders must organise members to take coordinated action, and launch a militant fightback.
The British ruling class and its representatives are cynically using the conflict in Ukraine as an excuse to attack the labour movement and the left. We must build the forces of Marxism, and fight back against the flag-waving servants of capital.
A recent investigation at Imperial College has revealed an endemic culture of bullying against staff and students, fomented by university bosses. To end this toxic environment, we must fight against marketisation and for democratic control.
University students and staff are taking part in a day of action today in response to attacks on higher education. We need to mobilise against marketisation, kick profit out of our campuses, and make the billionaires pay for this crisis.
Last weekend, young workers from across Britain’s transport system gathered for the annual RMT young members’ conference. With strikes breaking out on the railways and Tube network, it is vital that the unions organise coordinated action.
Refuse collection drivers in Coventry, organised in Unite, are nearing the end of their seventh week of strike action. And with the council going to great efforts to break the strike, the mood amongst the workers is growing increasingly militant.
This month, 1500 teachers and support staff are striking over forced cuts to pensions. The whole labour movement must support their struggle – and fight to defend education against privatisation, academisation, austerity, and attacks.
A recent survey of NEU members shows that there is an appetite amongst teachers to fight for higher pay. This must be the first step in a struggle to improve conditions inside schools – and towards united action across the public sector.
For years, an unholy alliance of council employers, right-wing union bureaucrats, and disgruntled opponents have attempted to victimise Paul Holmes, the President of Unison. Now the truth is emerging about this disgraceful witch-hunt.
Left-wing Unison president Paul Holmes was sacked from his job at Kirklees Council earlier this year, following a two-year witch-hunt. This has sparked a grassroots movement of resistance. Activists must escalate the struggle to defend Paul.
Scaffolders at the British Steel site in Scunthorpe – organised in Unite – are continuing to strike in their struggle for pay equality. To stop this race to the bottom, we need nationalisation and workers’ control. Victory to the scaffs!
The latest wave of industrial action on campuses begins today, with UCU members out on strike once again in the struggle for decent pensions, pay, and conditions. It is vital that workers and students unite and fight to defend education.
With inflation soaring, the bankers and bosses are trying to shift their costs onto the working class. But it is the capitalists who should pay for this crisis. The trade unions must launch a united fightback. There is no time to lose.
Refuse workers at Labour-controlled Coventry city council are continuing their strike for decent pay. The employers, meanwhile, are stepping up their scandalous strike-breaking attempts. We say: Support the strikers! Victory to the workers!
Having worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic, public sector workers organised in PCS are preparing for battle against the government, in a fight over pay, pensions, and conditions. We say: Vote Yes! Build for action! Unite and strike!
Following a two-year witch-hunt, Kirklees Council has shamefully sacked Unison president Paul Holmes. This disgraceful act will embolden employers to go on the offensive against trade union activists. A titanic fightback is needed.
Contracted hospital workers in London have begun a two-week strike against employers Serco, demanding a real wage increase, pay equality, and an end to outsourcing. The trade unions must unite and fight to kick the profiteers out of our NHS.
It is the duty of left activists to defend Paul Holmes, the democratically-elected Unison President, who is facing a witch-hunt by the employers and union bureaucrats. Unfortunately, however, sectarian elements are aiding this victimisation.
Refuse workers in Coventry are escalating their struggle over pay. Despite facing stubborn opposition from their employers, the city council, the strikers remain determined to win. A victory here would be an inspiration for workers everywhere.
Following three days of industrial action in December, further strikes by UCU members in UK universities are on the cards this term. To win, the union must prepare members for all-out action, and unite with workers and students across education.
Teachers at Newham Sixth Form college in east London are continuing their strike against overwork, management bullying, and academisation. Meanwhile, students are mobilising in support of staff. We must build the fightback to defend education.
Despite being hammered by inflation, Unison has failed to galvanise members in ballots over pay. Left activists must mobilise to win a majority in upcoming union elections, in order to launch a real struggle against the government and employers.
Around 70 refuse collection drivers working for Coventry city council and organised in Unite the Union are out on strike over the issue of ‘poverty pay rates’. In the face of a hostile council, these drivers are determined to win.
Today was meant to see the verdict in the case of Paul Holmes’ suspension by Kirkless Council. Instead, the employers have postponed the decision, meaning this ongoing victimisation saga continues. The labour movement must mobilise in solidarity.
The crisis of capitalism is sharpening by the day. As a result, trade unions are moving onto a war footing. Already the ruling class is worried about a ‘Spring of Discontent’. This must become a generalised struggle to bring down the Tory government.
NEU members have gone on strike at Newham Sixth Form College to combat bullying, increased workload, and academisation. More widely, the NEU is consulting on national action for increased pay. Militant action, combined with student solidarity is the way forward.
A number of key unions have seen seismic shifts to the left in recent months, as workers turn to the industrial front for action. To beat the bosses, the left needs a strategy for united action, as part of the struggle for workers’ power.
Couriers in Sheffield are currently engaged in what is now the longest ‘gig economy’ strike in British history. Their militancy is an inspiration for workers everywhere, as the class struggle intensifies. Forward to victory!
The rail unions are moving closer towards a national strike, with major ballots underway. With coordinated action, such a strike would present a serious challenge to the Tories, and an opportunity to fight for nationalisation and workers’ control.
As of 6 December, Paul Holmes’ suspension from Unison has been lifted. The left have fought hard to get to this point. Now the battle must be to democratise the union fully.
The strengthening of the inquiry into Unite union officials colluding with bosses to blacklist construction workers is to be welcomed. Now Unite members must continue the struggle to fully democratise the union
Sharon Graham’s first 100 days as Unite general secretary has seen a record number of disputes for the union. As the industrial struggle heats up, isolated actions must be generalised into a political struggle to transform society.
The right-wing leadership of Unison’s health Service Group Executive have backed down from challenging the Tories’ 3% pay offer. It is clearer than ever that the left must organise to replace the existing leadership, for one that delivers real change.
Recent strike action by UCU members is a shot across the bows for university bosses. With students and other campus workers also mobilising, the potential exists for mass united action across education. Union leaders must seize this chance.
Last weekend saw the first ever conference of young members in Unison, which represents workers across the public sector. But delegates hungry for radical ideas and bold strategy were left unsated. We need to fight to transform our unions.
Thousands of Tesco distribution workers could be taking strike action this Christmas, affecting supermarkets across the UK. The fight for decent pay and conditions must be a fight for nationalisation, workers’ control, and socialist planning.
This weekend sees the Unison young members conference in Cardiff. Writing in a personal capacity, NEC member Lilly Boulby explains why young workers need a union that not only represents their interests, but is prepared to fight for them.
Alongside this week’s action by UCU members in universities throughout the country, higher education workers at Goldsmiths in London are in the middle of a three-week strike against job cuts. We offer them our full solidarity in this struggle.
The latest round of strike action by lecturers begins tomorrow, with UCU members fighting over pensions, pay, and conditions. We call for the maximum mobilisation of workers and students – and for escalated struggle to defend education.
RMT members on the London Underground are preparing to strike against Tory attacks on jobs and safety, in light of the reopening of the Night Tube. The whole of the labour movement must mobilise to fight the cuts to public transport.
Unison members in the NHS and local government are currently being balloted in disputes over pay. With workers in other unions facing the same battle, the potential exists for a united public sector strike. But this requires fighting leadership.
Due to the poor pay and prospects on offer, gig economy bosses are struggling to recruit enough drivers. At the same time, precarious workers are getting organised. The labour movement must lead the way with a militant, socialist fightback.
Lilly Boulby – a young, left-wing member of the Unison NEC and Labour Link – has been expelled from the Labour Party. Activists must fight back against this bureaucratic attempt by the right wing to maintain their grip over the labour movement.
Management at Cambridge University recently decided to outsource the institution’s entire estates department to a single private contractor, threatening jobs, pay, and conditions. But staff and students are uniting and fighting back.
Unite members at Weetabix are striking for four days a week over fire-and-rehire attacks. The whole labour movement must resist the bosses’ offensive. Only militant action and bold socialist policies can offer a way forward.
Following a recent ballot, UCU members in higher education are set to take strike action once again. A debate has opened up in the union about how to best achieve a victory. As part of this, UCU Marxists present here a strategy for winning.
The recent Unite policy conference saw a unanimous vote in support of a new Clause 4, calling on Labour to fight for common ownership and democratic workers’ control. This is the bold socialist programme that the labour movement needs.
World leaders assembling in Glasgow for the latest UN climate summit will be met with a wave of strikes by the city’s workers, who are protesting over pay and services. This militant action shows who really has the power to transform society.
The victory of CityClean workers in Brighton and Hove shows the way forward in the fight for decent pay and conditions. Trade union leaders should use this militancy and momentum to build for united strike action across the public sector.
The recent Unite policy conference gave a glimpse of the changes that lie in store for the union and its members. With the bosses going on the offensive, and major industrial battles looming, the stage is set for militant action.
In their attempts to block the new left-wing leadership in Unison, the right-wing bureaucracy are looking to tie the left up in legal wrangles. The only way forward is to mobilise the rank and file. Defend the union! Let the members decide!
Scaffolders at the British Steel plant in Scunthorpe, organised in Unite, are on strike over pay. The union should escalate this action by bringing out all members on the site, and demanding nationalisation of the industry.
Former PCS vice-president John McInally looks back at the struggle waged by the left against the right wing within the union – a struggle that has enormous lessons for today, as activists fight to transform their unions.
Railway bosses are going on the offensive against workers, with an onslaught of attacks planned across the network. Rail unions must link up and wage a militant fightback against these cuts, demanding nationalisation and workers’ control.
Union activists from across industry are meeting in Liverpool this week for the Unite policy conference. One of the key items on the agenda is the fight against the brutal fire-and-rehire tactics of the bosses. Workers need a militant response.
Workers in local government have voted overwhelmingly to reject the employers’ insulting pay offer. The stage is now set for industrial action. Union members should vote to strike, and build for united action across the public sector.
Healthcare workers across the unions have rejected the government’s below-inflation offer on pay. The next step must now be a bold campaign for united strike action across the NHS. We say: Fight for 15%!
The conflict in Unison between the union bureaucracy and the new left leadership came to a head at yesterday’s NEC meeting. The right wing has thrown down the gauntlet. The left must answer by mobilising the membership.
Things are coming to a head for UCU members in higher education, with national ballots due to open next month in the long-running disputes over pensions and pay, workload, job security, and inequality. We say: Vote Yes – and prepare for battle!
The right-wing Unison bureaucracy are continuing to block the union’s new left leadership: denying democracy; sabotaging initiatives; and aiding the victimisation of union president Paul Holmes. Activists must mobilise against these antics.
Asset-stripping capitalists Melrose are preparing to close down the GKN Automotive factory in Birmingham, putting over 500 jobs on the scrapheap. The only way forward is to strike and occupy, and to demand nationalisation and workers’ control.
New Unite general secretary Sharon Graham was elected on a pledge to democratise the union – including a promise to investigate potential collusion between officials and blacklisting bosses. Grassroots members must fight for democratic control.
Unison President Paul Holmes is fighting back against a vicious witch-hunt by the right wing. Unfortunately, the employers and union bureaucracy have been supported by the sectarian antics of the Socialist Party. We say: solidarity with Paul!
GMB members at delivery company Yodel are balloting for strike action over pay and conditions. With supply chains already at breaking point, UK lorry drivers hold huge power. The unions must mobilise workers to hit back against the bosses.
With a tsunami of austerity and attacks looming, the TUC is meeting this weekend to discuss the way forward for workers in Britain. The trade unions need a fighting programme, and a militant, unified resistance to the Tories and bosses.
Tensions are rising in higher education, as university bosses – under pressure from competition and marketisation – look to use recorded lectures to undermine the job security and conditions of staff. Workers and students must fight back.
Hand in glove with the employers, the Unison right wing are waging a ruthless witch-hunt against the union’s elected president, Paul Holmes. But today’s solidarity rally showed that rank-and-file activists are determined to fight back.
Outsourced workers at London’s Royal Parks have seen their pay and conditions eroded by ruthless private employers. But now they are striking back against the bosses. We say: Fight the profiteers! Support the workers! End outsourcing!
RMT members could be taking strike action in response to the discovery of Legionella on Thameslink trains. Under private ownership, rail bosses have prioritised profits over cleanliness. To guarantee safety, we need workers’ control.
A right-wing plot is underway to sabotage the new left-wing leadership of Unison, involving a witch-hunt against the union’s president, Paul Holmes. Grassroots activists must mobilise to defend Paul against these injustices and attacks.
With Labour conference approaching, the right wing are going on the offensive, expelling socialists from the party in order to crush the left. We appeal to grassroots members and affiliated unions to help us in the fight against this purge.
Left-winger Sharon Graham has won the Unite general secretary race, appealing to rank-and-file members with a promise to defend jobs and conditions. Along with the recent shift to the left in Unison, this early tremor is a sign of the coming earthquakes that will shake the trade unions from top to bottom.
Workers across the public sector are facing attacks and austerity. Unison, meanwhile, the main public sector union, has a new left-wing leadership. The vital task is to transform the union, so it is fit to fight the battles that lie ahead.
Outsourced refuse workers in Bexley have been struggling against their employer, Serco, since the start of the pandemic. The labour movement must support this strike to its end, and demand that all services and workers be brought back in-house.
Lorry drivers are threatening to take unofficial strike action against low pay and terrible working conditions. The labour movement must support this struggle, and demand public ownership to invest in the sector, as part of a socialist plan.
Whilst lining the pockets of their rich chums, the Tories have only offered nurses a pathetic 3% pay rise – a cut when accounting for inflation. The unions must mobilise healthcare workers to take coordinated action, and strike for 15%.
New Tory plans for the country’s dilapidated railway network offer nothing but further privatisation, profiteering, cuts, and attacks on rail workers. Labour and the unions must fight for public ownership and workers’ control.
Ruthless construction bosses, with the help of the union bureaucracy, have attempted to rip up agreements in order to undermine workers’ wages and conditions. But rank-and-file activists have shown the way forward, waging a militant fightback.
London Underground bosses are attempting to rip up agreements in order to cut costs. Workers must not be made to pay for the coronavirus crisis. The labour movement must fight for full funding, safe conditions, and workers’ control.
Support staff in universities have worked tirelessly during the pandemic to keep campuses running. But their only reward has been an insulting zero percent pay offer. Unison members must link up with other unions for a coordinated fightback.
Outsourced workers at the government’s department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) have achieved a resounding mandate for strike action. This shows the way forward in the struggle against outsourcing and low pay.
The virus is rampaging through schools, with the government turning a blind eye to concerns over health and safety. The Tories don’t care about children’s education, but only about the bosses’ profits. We must fight to put workers in control.
The Tories are squaring up for a fight with the FBU. This is part of a wider campaign to take on public sector workers and their trade union rights, in order to slash services, jobs, wages, and conditions. The labour movement must fight back.
Over the weekend, NHS workers and campaigners celebrated the 73rd anniversary of the NHS’ foundation with protests up and down the country, calling for a 15% pay rise and a halt to privatisation. Only socialist policies can save our NHS.
Hospital workers contracted to outsourcing giant Serco are taking action to defend their conditions against management’s attacks. The labour movement must fight to reverse all outsourcing and privatisation. Save our NHS with socialist policies!
Recent elections for the Unison NEC delivered a clear victory for the left. This has the potential to transform the whole labour movement in Britain. Socialist Appeal spoke with two newly-elected NEC members about the challenges ahead.
Having run an inspiring campaign, Howard Beckett has dropped out of the Unite general secretary race, in order to see off the right-wing threat. But union activists must continue to fight for the militant demands that Beckett has raised.
Following their recent victory in the Unison NEC elections, the left have won control of the union’s presidency. This is a major step forward in the struggle to transform Unison – and the whole of the labour movement.
This week saw the annual conference of PCS – the civil servants’ union, which has been at the forefront of the struggles over austerity and safety over the past year. The message from delegates was clear: PCS members are ready to fight.
A recent survey of members in the Bakers, Food, and Allied Workers’ Union (BFAWU) has revealed the anger felt amongst trade unionists towards the right-wing Labour leadership. Ian Hodson, BFAWU President, discusses the way forward for Labour.
Left-wing candidates have won a clear majority in the Unison NEC elections. This is an incredible result, which could set in motion the transformation of Britain’s largest union – and of the entire labour movement in Britain.
Bus drivers at Metroline in London have scored a win in their campaign against ‘remote sign-on’. Workers must remain vigilant, however, in order to defend against further attacks from the bosses. We need public ownership and workers’ control.
Using the cover of a bailout deal, the Tories are going for London’s transport workers and their unions, demanding cuts to jobs and attacks on safety in exchange for central government funds. The whole labour movement must stand up and fight.
The Labour right wing are resorting to desperate smear tactics in order to stop Howard Beckett’s strong campaign for Unite general secretary. Left activists must organise to defend Beckett, fight these attacks, and boot out the saboteurs.
Refuse workers at Thurrock council have successfully defeated plans to slash their pay. This and other recent strike victories demonstrate the need for organisation and militant action. The leaders of the labour movement should take note.
PCS members at DVLA offices in Swansea have begun a third week of strike action in a dispute over safe working conditions. Recent events have shown the bosses and Tories cannot be trusted. Solidarity with the DVLA struggle!
Trade unionists in Leeds have launched ‘Leeds Get Organised’, taking inspiration from the Sheffield Needs A Pay Rise campaign. With the ruling class attempting to tighten the screws on workers, workers must get prepared to fight back.
More than 4,000 London bus drivers are to begin a series of strikes, in response to Metroline’s attempts to introduce ‘remote sign-on’. The labour movement must offer its solidarity, and fight for public ownership and control of the network.
Elections are underway to choose the NEC of Unison, Britain’s largest union. A left slate is standing under the banner #TimeforRealChange. It is vital that Unison members get organised and forge a fighting leadership.
Unite assistant general secretary Howard Beckett has scandalously been suspended from the Labour Party. This is an act of war. Instead of attacking the left, the Labour leadership should be fighting the Tories and their racist policies.
Keir Starmer is doubling down in the wake of Labour’s dismal election results, accelerating the shift to the right. If we want a real ‘change of direction’, we need an urgent change of leadership. Starmer out! Fight for socialism!
The results of yesterday’s elections are a catastrophe for Labour. The blame for this lies entirely with Starmer and the right wing. We need a new leadership. No confidence in Starmer! Fight the Tories with socialist policies!
Public sector workers are facing attacks across the board: on jobs, pay, and conditions; and over health and safety in the workplace. Socialist Appeal spoke to president of the PCS union, Fran Heathcote, about the struggles that lie ahead.
Following 65 days of tireless strike action, bus drivers at Go North West have scored an important victory in driving back the bosses’ fire-and-rehire attempts. This provides an inspiring example for other workers facing similar attacks.
Nominations open tomorrow in the race to succeed Len McCluskey as Unite general secretary. Howard Beckett is standing on a fighting programme, both industrially and politically. It is vital that the trade union movement has a militant leadership.
Workers at Norwich City Council are stirring after being forced onto worse contracts. Instead of implementing austerity, Labour councils must organise a mass fightback against the cuts. The labour movement needs militant leadership.
Higher education workers are facing attacks on multiple fronts: on jobs, wages, conditions, and pensions. Marketisation and profit are destroying our universities. Workers and students must unite and fight for a socialist alternative.
While Big Pharma have made bumper profits from the pandemic, community pharmacies and frontline pharmacy workers have struggled. Public sector workers across the board need to unite and fight – to save our NHS and all vital services.
British Gas has sacked hundreds of workers who would not sign up to worse contracts. ‘Fire and rehire’ has become the bosses’ go-to weapon for attacking pay and conditions. The labour movement must wage a united militant campaign to defeat it.
Campaigning is currently underway in the Unison NEC elections, with a slate of grassroots activists standing. A sectarian approach by others, however, risks splitting the left vote. We urge union members to back #TimeForRealChange candidates.
Workers at Goodlord software company in London have been striking back against attackson wages and conditions. Their struggle is one that workers across the board are facing.The labour movement must offer their full solidarity and support.
Hundreds of workers at the DVLA offices in Swansea are currently on strike, demanding safe working conditions in the face of management’s recklessness. The whole labour movement must offer their full support and solidarity in this struggle.
Infamous food delivery company Deliveroo is going public on the stock market tomorrow, with investors looking to profit from the exploitation of ‘gig economy’ workers. But couriers are organising and striking back. Solidarity with the riders!
The Tories recently announced plans for an overhaul of the UK military, with increased spending on arms and nuclear weapons. ‘Patriotic’ Starmer has welcomed these proposals. Instead, Labour and the unions must offer a socialist response.
Unite members at coffee company Douwe Egberts are the latest workers to organise against fire-and-rehire proposals by callous bosses. A united and militant struggle is needed across the labour movement against this scandalous scourge.
Unite members at SPS Technologies – owned by billionaire Warren Buffet – are taking all-out strike action against the bosses’ ruthless fire-and-rehire attacks. The labour movement must offer their full solidarity and support.
As the spy cops saga continues to unfold, a bombshell revelation in a recent parliamentary meeting has exposed the extent to which the high offices of government were involved in this scandal.
The Court of Appeal has finally overturned the convictions of the ‘Shrewsbury 24’, following decades of campaigning by trade union activists. But this decision – made on a ‘technicality’ – is a case of too little, too late.
CWU members at BT are preparing for their first national strike in 34 years, in response to relentless attacks by the bosses. The labour movement must offer full solidarity, and raise the demand for renationalisation under workers’ control.
Organised in Unite the Union, bus drivers across the country are taking action against attacks on pay, conditions, and safety. And now these strikes are spreading, with workers at other private bus companies joining the fight.
Workers in local government are currently fighting a battle over pay. Similar struggles are erupting across the public sector, in response to the latest wave of Tory austerity. The trade unions must fight back with united and militant action.
Despite all their ‘claps for heroes’, the Tories are now presenting nurses with an insulting 1% pay offer, claiming this is ‘all we can afford’. The trade unions must overcome Tory ‘divide and rule’ attempts, and respond with united strike action.
Pupils across England are returning to school today, as the government ignores the warnings of teachers and scientific advisors. We cannot trust the Tories with children’s health and education. Instead, we need to put workers in control.
Tech workers organised in Unite are striking against attacks on wages and conditions. Socialist Appeal spoke to workers on the picket line about their struggle. The labour movement must mobilise to fight these fire-and-rehire tactics.
Campaigning is underway in the elections for the NEC of Unison, the largest union in Britain. We spoke with two of the left candidates running – comrades who are standing on a socialist programme and hoping to build a fighting leadership.
Drivers at Uber have achieved an important win, gaining legal recognition as employees. But to secure pay and rights, this court ruling needs to be backed up with organisation and struggle. Workers can only rely on their own strength and power.
Protests and strike action loom, as Unite members prepare to fight against a race to the bottom in the mechanical and electrical sector. The full strength of the union movement must be utilised to fight this attack on wages and conditions.
Despite a recent mass COVID outbreak, DVLA offices in Swansea are still not safe. The bosses have been deaf to workers’ concerns. PCS members must mobilise and strike to fight for safe working conditions.
Big Tech has been in the spotlight throughout the pandemic, as billionaire bosses get richer, and workers are exploited ever harder. But now tech workers – in the US and UK – are beginning to organise, unionise, and fight back.
University bosses have made a derisory 0% pay offer to academic staff in higher education. UCU members must reject this, and begin building for coordinated strike action across the sector. Workers and students: unite and fight!
Ruthless bosses at private bus companies in Manchester and London are using the cover of the pandemic to go on the offensive against drivers’ pay and conditions. But united and organised, these workers are fighting back.
Unite members at British Airways have scored an important win, forcing management to retreat over plans to fire and rehire the workforce. The lesson is clear: militancy pays. We need a bold fightback against the bosses’ offensive.
The crisis inside the Labour Party has reached an impasse. At the same time, a wave of cuts and attacks looms for the working class. The labour movement needs a militant leadership that will fight for a bold socialist programme.
Bitter struggles are looming in the public sector, with workers facing a pay freeze, alongside cuts and worsening conditions in councils and the NHS. Unison activists must organise to transform the union and fight back.
Due to Tory cuts, privatisation, and recklessness, the NHS is now completely overwhelmed by COVID. Only the sacrifices of health workers are keeping it afloat. The labour movement must support their fight for decent pay and conditions.
The bosses are clamoring to know when schools will reopen, so that parents can return to work. It is teachers, not the Tories, who care about the safety and education of children. This is why we need to put workers in control.
Government ministers are coming under fire for management’s role in a mass COVID outbreak at DVLA offices in Wales. Pressure from the bosses is to blame. PCS members must fight to put workers in control.
Across the country, workers in education are beginning to mobilise against job cuts, attacks on conditions, and management attempts to force an unsafe return to workplaces. The trade unions need to launch a united fightback.
CWU members at BT are gearing up to strike against attacks on jobs and conditions. While pressure mounts on telecoms workers, failure to invest has left the UK lagging behind. We need to nationalise the phone and internet providers.
A wave of strikes is spreading across Britain, as the bosses and Tories attempt to push further attacks and austerity. To defend itself, the working class needs a fighting leadership, militant action, and socialist policies.
Construction workers have faced endless attacks in recent years – from blacklisting, to bogus self-employment, to unsafe conditions. Now the bosses are pushing for a pay freeze, setting the stage for a bitter struggle.
Grassroots candidate Paul Holmes achieved an amazing result in the recent elections for Unison general secretary. We publish here a message from Paul, thanking his supporters and looking to the struggles ahead.
Results from the Unison general secretary election show the enormous potential strength of the left, if united. The left wing must now look ahead and fight for a majority on the union NEC – a key step in transforming the labour movement.
Today, British Gas workers are concluding a five-day strike over pay and conditions. But energy company bosses are refusing to back down. The labour movement must demand nationalisation of the Big Six.
Since the start of the pandemic, the Tories have ignored teachers regarding making schools safe, instead pushing to open schools in the interests of the bosses’ profits. Now the teachers have forced a retreat, thanks to mass militant action.
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has massively increased his personal fortune during the pandemic, due to the ruthless exploitation of his workforce. Trade union leaders must give Amazon workers confidence to unionise and fight back.
The Tories are delivering a grim Christmas for millions of workers this winter, with Rishi Sunak pledging to ‘balance the books’ by freezing public sector pay. The unions must launch a mass campaign of coordinated action against austerity.
This weekend sees the PCS Left Unity conference. In advance of this, we publish here the introduction from the latest bulletin of PCS Marxists. We must transform our unions and arm the movement with a bold socialist programme.
Security staff at the University of Greenwich, represented by the IWGB union, are in a dispute with ruthless outsourcing employers Sodexo. Workers and students should support their fight against outsourcing, threats, and victimisation.
There are only a few days left to vote in the Unison general secretary elections. The results could go either way. A win for the left would transform the labour movement. Push forward and elect Paul Holmes, the socialist candidate!
Faced with rising debts and deficits due to the coronavirus crisis and the last decade of Tory austerity, Croydon Council has declared bankruptcy. In response, the labour movement must launch a mass campaign against the cuts.
The Unison general secretary contest is entering its final furlong. A win for Paul Holmes would be an enormous achievement for the left, transforming the whole of the labour movement. All out for a left victory!
Vital support staff in HE have been presented with an insulting zero percent pay offer by management. Meanwhile, university bosses are bleeding students dry through fees and rents. Workers and students must unite and fight!
Rolls Royce workers in Lancashire have begun a three-week strike against redundancies and outsourcing. The labour movement must demand nationalisation and workers’ control in order to defend jobs and plan production for society’s needs.
Voting begins today for the Unison general secretary election. Union members need a leadership that will fight to defend jobs, conditions, and public services. Socialist Appeal calls for a vote for Paul Holmes – the members’ candidate.
Amongst their many attacks on workers, the Tory government are attempting to undermine public sector pensions. The labour movement leaders must organise a coordinated militant campaign to force a retreat.
A tsunami of job cuts and austerity looms for workers. But instead of organising a militant response, the TUC are pleading with the Tories for a deal. In place of class collaboration, the trade union movement needs a socialist fightback.
Refuse workers in Bexley, London, are fighting for decent pay and conditions, in a struggle against parasitic Serco bosses. Public sector and outsourced workers must unite and wage a mass campaign against council cuts and privatisation.
The ‘McStrike’ campaign at the infamous fast food chain has helped organise workers against low pay and precarious conditions. Socialist Appeal activists recently spoke to one McDonald’s worker about their experiences of unionisation.
The country’s cultural institutions have been hit hard by the coronavirus crisis. Workers at the Tate and Southbank have already mobilised against job losses. Now PCS members at the V&A are set to join the struggle to defend the arts.
Drivers at privatised London bus company Metroline are campaigning against new exploitative measures that look to impose worse conditions on workers. The labour movement must support the bus drivers in their struggle.
Thanks to their firm and determined stance, the National Education Union has seen a surge in membership. Now teachers are organising to fight for safe schools and to overturn the rigged education system.
This week, Keir Starmer scandalously ordered Labour MPs to abstain on the ‘spy cops’ bill, which gives immunity to undercover police. The labour movement must fight the bill, which will be used to repress left-wing organisations.
The race to replace Dave Prentis as Unison general secretary is well underway. Paul Holmes is the main rank-and-file candidate. We spoke to Paul about his campaign, which has been enthusiastically received by members across the union.
As forewarned by the University and College Union, campuses have become hotspots of infection, with management doing little to prepare for the arrival of students. To ensure safety, we need to put workers in control.
Rank-and-file candidate for Unison general secretary, Paul Holmes, has gained strong support from across the union in his bid to unseat the bureaucracy. Activists must unite behind Paul to ensure a victory for the left.
A recent report has revealed “endemic” levels of bullying, harassment, and cronyism inside the GMB union. With a general secretary election on the cards, rank-and-file activists need to fight to transform the union.
TUC Congress met this week. Attention was focussed on the looming threat of mass unemployment. The labour movement leaders are appealing to the bosses to work together. Instead, they should fight for a socialist alternative.
Paul Holmes’ campaign for the Unison general secretary election has gotten off to a strong start, with support coming in from across the union. It is vital that the left unite behind Paul to win – and transform the labour movement.
As schools reopen after the summer holidays, staff and students are anxious about the lack of planning or direction from the Tory government. To ensure safety and provide proper education, teachers should be given control.
Elections are approaching to decide the next general secretary of Unison. Victory for the left would mark a huge turning point for the labour movement. Socialist Appeal urges Unison members to back Paul Holmes.
PCS members in the civil service and culture sector have been at the forefront of the fight against austerity and job cuts. Socialist Appeal supporters in PCS have launched a bulletin to help organise these militant workers.
The strike by PCS members at the Tate galleries against job cuts is continuing into its second week. We report here from a recent rally in support of the striking workers. We say: make the bosses pay for this crisis!
The Tories have U-turned once again, extending the ban on evictions by a month. But millions of renters still face uncertainty and hardship. The labour movement must fight for a socialist solution to the housing crisis.
PCS members at the Tate galleries are on strike this week against job cuts. While management receive six-figure salaries, workers in the culture sector are facing redundancy. The labour movement must fight back against these attacks.
Pressure is building on Mayor John Biggs and Tower Hamlets council after a third week of strike action by local council workers. The Labour leadership has remained silent. But the grassroots of the labour movement are fully behind the strike.
Last Saturday saw healthcare workers and trade unionists come out in force across the country to demonstrate against the hypocritical Tory public sector pay offer. Union leaders need to step up and organise a united fightback.
Elections for the next general secretary of Unite are likely to take place next year, with Len McCluskey set to retire. Candidates are already lining up to replace him. The union needs to arm itself with a militant socialist perspective.
The arts and culture sector has been hit hard by the pandemic. As ever, it is the workers in this industry who are being made to pay for this crisis. But they are not taking these attacks lying down, and are organising a fightback.
Workers at an outlet of the Papa John’s pizza chain in Sheffield have successfully fought to get wages being withheld by the boss. This campaign shows that workers are hungry for action. The lesson is clear: militancy pays.
Dave Prentis, the right-wing general secretary of Unison, the large public sector union, is stepping down. His retirement provides an opportunity for the left to mount a challenge, and turn Unison into a powerful fighting force.
Tower Hamlets council workers are continuing their strike action this week, following widespread support for previous pickets. The Labour leadership has failed to back these workers. The labour movement must pick up the slack.
Under pressure, the Tories have temporarily scrapped the most draconian aspects of Universal Credit. Now activists are campaigning to make these changes permanent. We must fight for work or full pay for all.
The pandemic has exacerbated existing issues surrounding representation amongst junior researchers, who are facing this crisis without any basic rights or safety net. But UCU members are organising a fightback.
The UK culture industry has been destroyed by the pandemic. Whilst big business has been lavished with handouts, the Tories have turned their backs on theatres and music venues. To save the arts, we need nationalisation.
Civil servants have played a key role during the pandemic, ensuring furlough money get to those in need. Socialist Appeal spoke with PCS President Fran Heathcote about the struggles facing union members.
Teaching unions have forced the government to U-turn on their reckless plan to reopen schools. The labour movement must remain vigilant, and fight to ensure schools are safe to return to in September.
Council workers in Tower Hamlets are starting three days of strike action this week, in response to attempts to impose worse conditions on staff. The whole labour movement must fight these attacks.
The dire situation for workers in the face of the bosses’ attacks has sparked a rise in trade union membership in the UK. With Labour shifting right under Starmer, we need organisation and militant action to fight for workers’ rights.
Manufacturing and industry in Britain is set to be decimated by the pandemic, Brexit, and the crisis of capitalism. Union leaders are urging the Tories to save jobs. But instead of pleading, the union movement must organise and fight.
An attack on jobs is on the horizon in higher education. The UCU has launched a campaign in response. But members must pressure the leadership to ensure a militant fightback is carried out.
In the middle of the pandemic, delivery workers who transport important medical samples – including COVID-19 – are under attack from employers. But the couriers are fighting back.
A bitter struggle has been brewing inside Royal Mail for a while. But for now, the bosses are in retreat, fearful of provoking an explosion amongst postal workers. CWU members must use this opportunity to prepare for future battles.
As businesses begin to reopen, Roy Bentham of the Blacklist Support Group explains how there never was any lockdown for construction workers. The union leaders have dragged their feet. We must fight to #ShutTheSites!
In our latest episode of Marxist Voice, we’re joined by Natasha Sorrell – an activist with the National Education Union – to discuss the current war being waged against teachers by the Tories and the right-wing press.
Couriers and logistics workers have been on the frontline of fighting the pandemic, providing an essential service to society. The bosses, however, have put these key workers’ lives on the line. But delivery workers are fighting back.
Ruthless British Airways bosses are set to cut thousands of jobs at the airline, using the pretext of the pandemic to undermine workers’ wages and conditions. The labour movement must fight for nationalisation and workers’ control.
The ideas represented by 1st May remain as relevant today as ever, if not more so. In this spirit, we republish below extracts from the text of a May Day leaflet written by Lenin in 1904.
Today is ‘National Posties Day’. Postal workers have offered themselves as an emergency service during the lockdown, and there have been walkouts against unsafe conditions at Royal Mail. We spoke to one CWU member about these events.
The higher education sector has not been immune from the impact of the pandemic. As in other workplaces, university bosses are attempting to make workers pay for this crisis. We must fight to drive out the scourge of outsourcing.
Important trade unions such as Unison and GMB are heavily implicated by the scandalous revelations in the leaked report into bureaucratic sabotage at Labour HQ. These events highlight the need to democratise our unions.
Faced with negligent management, postal workers have taken matters into their own hands, walking out in protest against unsafe conditions at Royal Mail. This shows why we need a public postal service, under workers’ control.
Across the country, big businesses are attempting to keep non-essential production going. We publish here a letter by a worker at a Screwfix store in London, who describes yet another example of how the bosses are putting profits before lives.
Transport workers have been put in the firing line by unscrupulous management, who have shown no concern for the health and safety of staff and passengers. The trade union leaders must give workers confidence to take action.
Workers in the North of Ireland are fighting back against bosses refusing to protect their lives. At Moy Park meat processing facility 1,000 workers downed tools and walked out. These essential workplaces must be brought under workers’ control.
In this letter to Socialist Appeal, Roy Bentham of the Blacklist Support Group and Unite the Union discusses the perilous conditions facing construction workers, as the bosses and their Tory friends keep sites open. #ShutTheSites!
The DVLA offices in Swansea, employing 6,000 workers, were kept open for weeks after the Covid-19 outbreak. Only the threat of walkouts forced the bosses to close down. Workers must organise and fight for democratic control of over their workplaces.
Thousands have been forced into the so-called ‘gig economy’ in recent years in order to make ends meet. But these workers have no access to basic rights such as sick pay. They face a deadly choice between infection and not eating.
Online clothes retailer ASOS has hit the news this week, after warehouse workers walked out in protest against unsafe conditions. Once again, we see the bosses putting profits before lives. The only solution is to put workers in control.
Postal workers have hit pause on their strike action over job cuts and conditions. Instead, they have called for Royal Mail to be transformed into an emergency service to aid the vulnerable. This requires public ownership and workers’ control.
Workers across the board are being shafted by unscrupulous employers, with the bosses keeping unnecessary production running, failing to provide staff with protection, and refusing to pay out wages. We must make the capitalists pay for this crisis.
The UCU strikes have ended. Plans for continued industrial struggle have been cut across by the coronavirus crisis. The UCU must reach out to the rest of the labour movement to secure the safety of workers, with no loss of pay.
Coronavirus and the economic crisis it has unleashed is having a huge impact on workers. There has already been a militant reaction from workers. In the coming period, there will be a sharp change in consciousness across the working class.
As working conditions become more uncertain and exploitative, new militant unions are flourishing to represent workers in precarious sectors. The larger traditional unions can learn an important lesson from these radical, fighting examples.
With the Tories going on the offensive against workers and migrants, many activists are turning to community organising to rebuild the movement from the ‘bottom up’. But this must not be a substitute for radical political struggle.
CWU members across the country are conducting gate meetings this week in support of the upcoming strike ballot amongst Royal Mail staff. The whole labour movement must get behind the postal workers and support their struggle.
We recently spoke to Mark Serwotka, general secretary of PCS, about his re-election, Labour’s defeat last December, and the fight ahead against the Tories and austerity.
Seeking re-election, Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson has stated that he will not implement Tory cuts. This promise must be the first step in a militant fightback.
After months of strike action, workers at Bromley library have won a hard-fought victory against the bosses and their bullying tactics. Their determined struggle is a shining example for the whole labour movement.
Bus drivers in London have been driven to their limits, with a report showing that 17% have reported falling asleep whilst driving as a result of exhaustion. Unite the Union is to begin a consultative ballot for industrial action.
To cut £44 million from their budget, Tower Hamlets council plan to impose new contracts on staff, with cuts to pay and working allowances. Workers must not be made to pay for the bosses’ crisis. The Labour movement must support these workers.
Last year, strike action by Royal Mail workers was scandalously blocked by the High Court. As a result, the CWU is set to ballot members again. Unofficial walkouts are already taking place. Support the postal workers’ struggle!
The Tories plan to attack the trade unions, starting with the rail unions first. New laws will force striking rail workers to provide a ‘bare bones’ service – a clear attack on the right to strike. The unions must organise a fightback.
The recent UCU strike saw significant support from students. Students recognised that deteriorating working conditions directly affect them. In Leeds, the Marxist society mobilised for every day of the strike, fighting against the marketisation of higher education.
The recent ‘Black Friday’ and ‘Cyber Monday’ are the busiest period of the year for Amazon, when CEO Jeff Bezos makes his millions. But all his wealth is created through the brutal exploitation of Amazon workers. And they are fighting back.
Bromley library workers have been striking for six months over job cuts and conditions. Forced to re-ballot to continue the strike, they have voted unanimously to fight on. Their determination is an example to the labour movement.
This week has seen higher education workers at around 60 institutions take strike action in a fight over pensions, pay, casualisation, and a raft of other demands. Marxist students across the country have been joining the picket lines in solidarity.
Nurses in the North of Ireland have faced attacks on working conditions, putting patients at risk. The Department of Health claims there is no money for pay increases, but the government found £1bn to bribe the DUP. We support this historic strike.
On 12 December, polls close for the PCS general secretary election. Mark Serwotka, a left-wing leader with a fighting record, has vowed to fight for a Corbyn Labour government. But he faces a challenge from sectarians. We say vote Serwotka!
Today sees the beginning of a 10-day strike by academic staff over pensions and pay. The whole labour movement and student movement must support this struggle. Marxist students will be joining staff on the picket lines to offer their full solidarity.
The Tories have focussed their attacks on Corbyn around the issue of Brexit, which they perceive as Labour’s weak point. The labour movement must resist the pressures of big business and of nationalism – and fight for clear socialist demands.
Royal Mail bosses have successfully blocked the threat of strike action through the courts. This overturns the massive vote for striking by CWU members. A militant and immediate response from across the labour movement is now needed.
Strike action by McDonald’s workers against against low pay and insecure conditions is spreading. The latest action yesterday saw workers from six London outlets out on the picket lines. Solidarity with the McStrikers!
UCU members have voted for a second round of pension strikes. With a new left leadership, a militant campaign with support from other striking unions could go far. But UCU should also link their dispute to the fight for a Labour government.
With the upcoming elections for PCS General Secretary, Socialist Appeal spoke at length with current left-wing General Secretary Mark Serwotka about the issues facing the union and its decision to support the Labour Party in a General Election.
CWU postal workers have voted overwhelmingly for strike action. Since privatisation, Royal Mail has looked to increase profits through attacks on workers conditions. The fight back begins now! We offer our full solidarity!
Asda workers have been protesting the introduction of new contracts which impose unpaid lunch breaks and give bosses greater flexibility. As working conditions continue to decline, the labour movement must go on the offensive against big business.
At the Labour Party conference Mark Serwotka announced that PCS would campaign for a Corbyn government. Under his leadership PCS has become one of the most left-wing unions. Whilst the Socialist Party attempts to undermine him, we say support Serwotka!
Post workers are being balloted to strike by the CWU, with the result to be announced on 15th October. This follows on from a series of attacks on workers pay and conditions since the privatisation of Royal Mail. Support the strike!
Last year’s UCU strike over pensions was the most militant in the union’s history. Now UCU members are voting on a new wave of strikes. We encourage a Yes vote, and urge students to show solidarity with staff.
Airline pilots over the last decade have seen consistent attacks on their terms and conditions. Recent strikes at BA and Ryanair show that pilots have now reached their limits. Solidarity with striking pilots.
At last week’s TUC congress, Corbyn gave a speech on the battle to remove the Tories. Labour’s strategy will be “the biggest people-powered campaign we’ve ever seen”. On a bold class programme, Labour can win a general election.
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!
CWU organised postal workers will be balloted for strike action later this month after Royal Mail management failed to carry out agreed pay rises and pension improvements. Royal Mail is squeezing workers to maximise profits, we support the call to strike.
The UCU have announced support for the 20th Sep climate strikes, with other unions discussing the question at this week’s TUC conference in Brighton. Workers and students must unite to fight climate change through strikes and mass mobilisation.
Elections are underway for general secretary of the PCS civil servants’ union. Mark Serwotka has transformed PCS into one of the most left-wing trade unions in the country. We say: support Mark Serwotka!
PCS members in Stockport have taken strike action over conditions. Both service users and workers must fight against Tory austerity. We cannot stand by as the government attacks both claimants and public sector workers.
USDAW members in Essex are in the middle of rolling strike action against the bullying tactics of Sainsbury’s bosses. With united action, this strike can win, setting an example for other unions to follow.
While most eyes have been on the potential strike action by workers at Heathrow Airport, another important dispute is brewing in the airline industry among BA pilots. Airline workers must stand firm in the face of the bosses’ attacks.
On the second Saturday in July every year, around 250,000 people of all ages descend on Durham for the annual ‘Big Meeting’. This year marked the 135th Durham Miners Gala, with militant speeches from leaders of the labour movement.
This could be a summer of strike action for railway and London Underground workers, with RMT members being balloted in disputes over job cuts, pay, and pensions. The entire labour movement must offer full support to these struggles.
Firefighters have won an important court case in their fight over pensions and public safety. This should inspire other public sector workers to strike and take on the Tories.
Potential strike action by barristers has been suspended following a vote to accept an offer from the Tory government. But the justice system remains mired in crisis. It is only a matter of time until legal workers fight back.
Workers at the Bridgend Ford factory have shown that they are willing and ready to fight to defend their jobs. The leaders of the labour movement need to offer them their full support and campaign for nationalisation.
The bosses at major insurance provider Aviva have revealed plans for mass job cuts in an effort to boost profits. These parasitic firms should be taken into public ownership.
Delegates from Unite are meeting this week to discuss changes to the union’s rules. Amongst the proposals are several important amendments that seek to increase the democracy, transparency and accountability within Britain’s largest trade union.
The outsourcing of library services by Tory-run Bromley Council in London has been a disaster for workers and local residents. But staff are fighting back, setting a powerful example for the whole labour movement.
Members from the bakers and food workers’ union have been meeting this week for their annual conference. The bold motions passed set the tone for the struggles that lie ahead for the labour movement.
Delegates from the food workers’ union (BFAWU) are currently meeting for their annual conference. These union members are based in some of Britain’s most precarious workplaces. The labour movement must organise to end this exploitation.
Teachers in East London have taken action against school management and their bullying tactics. Union leaders should follow this example and fightback against attempts to undermine teachers and education.
With this year’s congress of the UCU in full swing, the left are celebrating a big victory in the recent election for general secretary. The union’s new leader now has a clear mandate for militant action going forward.
Delegates from the civil servants union have been meeting in Brighton this week for the annual PCS conference. The questions of the pay campaign and the Labour Party dominated the discussion.
The recent announcement by Labour that they would re-nationalise the country’s electricity and gas networks has been met with fierce resistance by the bosses. These fat cats must not receive a penny of compensation.
Results of the internal elections inside PCS were announced last week. Independent Left candidate John Moloney has won the race for the position of Assistant General Secretary. Now the left must unite for the battles ahead.
Recent figures show that nearly half-a-million minimum wage workers are being underpaid, as the bosses seek to dodge legal pay requirements. Labour and the unions must organise a fightback against this scandal.
Lecturers and academic staff in the UCU are currently voting for a new general secretary for the union. But a failure by the left to unite around one candidate might allow the right wing to steal a victory.
Important steps are being taken to unionise workers in the legal sector, where conditions have been viciously attacked as a result of Tory austerity. Legal workers should unite with the rest of the labour movement to fight the cuts.
Delegates to the postal workers’ union have unanimously backed the call to bring back Clause 4. This is an important step forward for the campaign to restore Clause 4.
Delegates to the CWU policy conference this Sunday will be discussing an important motion calling for Labour to restore Clause 4 – the party’s commitment to public ownership. We urge all delegates to support this resolution.
Outsourced catering staff in the PCS union are fighting for decent pay and demanding to be brought back in-house. Coordinated action across the trade unions is needed to end outsourcing and the scandal of low pay.
UCU members in further education have taken action over pay, as part of a fight against austerity and attacks. This must be linked to a political struggle – against the Tories and for a socialist Labour government.
The contest for assistant general secretary of PCS, the civil servants’ union, provides important lessons in the dangers of sectarianism and putting individual prestige before the interests of trade union members.
Some leading left-wingers have called on Corbyn to support a ‘People’s Vote’ in order to curtail the rise of the far right. But reversing Brexit will do nothing to undermine the fascists. Instead, we need bold socialist demands.
Local councils are reaching breaking point after years of cuts. But a mass movement by Labour councillors and trade unions could topple the Tory government and end austerity.
Delegates at this year’s Labour Party conference will be debating whether to bring back Clause Four, Labour’s socialist pledge. Help build the Labour4Clause4 campaign presence at the conference. Donate to the crowdfunding appeal.
Momentum has launched a national campaign calling on banks to divest from fossil fuel corporations. And Labour has launched its own call for a Green New Deal. This highlights the need for public ownership of the monopolies.
Recent revelations have shown the true extent of the blacklisting scandal, demonstrating clear collusion between the police and the bosses against trade unionists in the construction industry.
We publish here a collection of model motions that Labour Party activists and trade unionists can raise in local branches, CLPs, Momentum groups, and university Labour clubs.
Socialist Appeal activists in Leeds have been targeted recently by far-right hooligans. This comes as part of a general rise in harassment by the far right in the city. The labour movement must respond with a show of force.
Socialist Appeal supports Lynn Henderson in the contest for assistant general secretary of PCS. Union members need a leadership that will defend Corbyn in the fight to kick out the Tories.
Following the departure of the “Gang of Eight” right-wingers, the mood inside the Labour Party is not one of despair, but one of anger and militancy – as shown by this collection of letters from local Labour members.
The latest ballot for strike action amongst academics and lecturers has fallen short of the Tory imposed threshold. UCU members need a fighting union leadership in order to win their struggle over pay and pensions.
Women workers at Asda and other major supermarkets are fighting for equal pay in court. This should be backed up by union organisation and militant action.
Civil servants will be balloted for strike action in the coming months as part of the PCS union’s ongoing struggle over pay. A successful strike could deliver a strong blow against this fragile Tory government.
Last weekend saw the launch of the 2019 Labour4Clause4 Roadshow, which got off to successful start with two meetings in Bedlington and Redcar.
Support staff at the Ministry of Justice and Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy have organised and gone on strike over pay and conditions. Say no to outsourcing! Bring all workers back in house!
Rob Sewell responds to Owen Jones’ assertion that we need a new version of Clause IV – Labour’s historic commitment to common ownership and socialism. The original Clause IV is more relevant now than ever.
Local Labour members in Enfield North CLP in London have passed a motion calling on Labour councillors to oppose all cuts. This should act as catalyst for a Labour-led movement against austerity across the country.
The Labour4Clause4 campaign is touring the country, gathering momentum in the months leading up to this year’s Labour Party conference. Help restore Clause 4 – Labour’s commitment to socialism!
Despite a rollercoaster ride of a week, Theresa May is still clinging onto power. Labour must mobilise a mass movement to bring down the Tories and break the Brexit deadlock.
With the backing of the RMT union, workers at Condor Ferries are struggling against exploitative conditions and demanding fair pay. The rest of the labour movement should offer support and solidarity.
Bus drivers organised by Unite the Union are taking strike action against Arriva bosses in a fight over pay. Socialist Appeal supporters report from the picket lines.
The Tories are doing everything they can to create a ‘hostile environment’ for those fleeing war and terror. But some prominent Labour politicians have chosen to blame asylum seekers rather than austerity for the strain on public funds.
With the Tory government embroiled in crisis over Brexit, now is the perfect opportunity for union members to mobilise and strike.
Rail workers are continuing to strike on several lines in a dispute over Driver Only Operation. Across the country, picket lines remain solid.
Hundreds of care workers in Birmingham have been striking over the past year against attacks on local services. Labour councils must refuse to implement Tory cuts and instead lead a fightback against austerity.
Parliament has been paralysed by the Brexit political crisis. Corbyn needs to force a general election by mobilising the forces of the entire labour movement.
Socialist Appeal activists report on the ongoing struggle of cleaners and other outsourced workers at universities across London. Marxist students are pushing for the NUS to commit to fight against precarious work.
Socialist View candidates have been nominated by PCS Left Unity members for the union’s upcoming elections. This provides a solid basis upon which the union can prepare for the battles ahead.
The recent battle between a major logistics company and its “self-employed” drivers provides valuable lessons for the whole labour movement.
A recent public meeting organised by the RMT rail union in Sheffield saw strong support for nationalisation of the railways and for the strikes taking place in defence of passenger safety.
Car industry workers in the Wirral have walked out of work spontaneously in protest against job cuts. The whole of the labour movement must get behind this struggle.
PCS members in the civil service are fighting a pay struggle against the Tory government. If successful, this could inspire other low-paid workers to take action.
Daniel Morley explores the super-exploitative conditions that are now commonplace across the multi-million dollar video games industry. But games workers are beginning to organise and fight back.
Recent ballots for strike action over pay amongst UCU and Unison members have fallen due to demoralisation. This is the result of passivity and weakness from union leaders.
Under pressure from Labour’s bold proposals, the Tories are promising reforms to help those facing insecure conditions. But workers need to trust in their own organisation and action to win real improvements.
Malicious lies are being spread in a dirty attempt to influence the outcome of the nomination elections inside PCS Left Unity. Members should vote for the Socialist View slate to secure a democratic, fighting union
The establishment and their media mouthpieces are lining up to attack railway and Tube workers in London. The unions must stand firm in the face of this assault.
Couriers, cleaners, and Uber drivers took to the streets of London today to demand decent pay and conditions. Militant and united action like this is needed across the labour movement to put an end to exploitation.
A national ballot for strike action over university lecturers’ pay has fallen short of the Tory-set threshold, despite UCU members smashing the same barrier earlier this year. Why the change in mood?
The nomination process is underway for elections inside PCS, the civil servant’s union. Socialist Appeal is backing Janice Godrich for the position of assistant general secretary.
Ballots close this week in the vote among Unison members in higher education about potential strike action. In this letter, a university admin worker explains why they have been pushed into taking action.
Saturday’s counter-demonstrations against the far right showed the potential way forward in smashing any reactionary threat. But the left’s strength is currently being squandered by an apolitical and disunited leadership.
With the prospect of a Corbyn Labour government growing stronger by the day, the capitalists are openly showing their disruptive intentions.
Grassroots members of the Royal College of Nursing have voiced their anger against their leaders, delivering them a vote of no confidence for their scandalous actions.
Rob Sewell interviews Janice Godrich, the long-standing president of the civil servants’ union PCS, who discusses how to transform the unions into weapons against austerity.
The co-ordinated strike action by workers at three major restaurant chains last week shows how to go about organising those in precarious industries.
We publish here reports from those involved in tomorrow’s historic strike of workers from across the notoriously exploitative and precarious food service industry.
Socialist Appeal supporters report from this week’s Labour4Clause4 fringe meeting in Liverpool, where there was strong support for the demand to bring back Clause 4.
NHS workers in the north-east have been fighting against changes that would see creeping privatisation and attacks on staff conditions. We spoke to one of the workers who led the struggle.
Socialist Appeal supporters in Liverpool report from inside the Labour Party conference, where a stitch-up from the union tops has kept mandatory reselection off the table.
As delegates prepare for next week’s Labour Party conference, the Labour4Clause4 campaign explains why we need to restore Labour’s commitment to socialism.
Calls for a second referendum on Brexit are growing louder by the day. The question will be at the fore of the upcoming Labour Party conference. But socialists should reject this demand.
Rob Sewell discusses the battles facing members of the civil service union, and why Socialist Appeal supports Janice Godrich for PCS assistant general secretary.
Questions are being raised over the RCN leadership’s role in the rotten pay deal being presented to nurses and other healthcare workers.
Following on from the massive strike over pensions earlier this year, UCU members are set to vote on whether to take action over pay. We say: vote Yes and unite the struggles!
Workers at Britvic in Norwich are taking strike action against job losses. From day one, the bosses have shown nothing but contempt for the factory’s workers
Workers at Amazon are rising up against the brutal conditions imposed on them by their parasitic boss, Jeff Bezos.
Low-paid and highly exploited workers are getting organised and fighting back, demanding decent pay and conditions.
Student activists from the Goldsmiths Marxists are supporting cleaning staff at their university in the struggle against outsourcing and for decent and dignified conditions.
University workers in Unison are to vote on whether to strike in their fight for decent pay. The union must offer a bold campaign and give members confidence to take action.
Whilst the whole of the establishment closes ranks to attack Corbyn and the left with allegations of anti-Semitism, they willingly turn a blind eye to the genuine threat of racism on our streets.
The civil servants’ campaign over pay has hit up against the barrier of Tory anti-union laws. PCS members shouldn’t mourn, but organise.
Pilots and cabin crew at Michael O’Leary’s low-cost airline are bracing themselves for a battle with the bosses.
A left Labour government must be prepared for power. But Paul Mason’s weak, passive, Keynesian strategy will only lead to a deeper crisis.
Daniel Harris reports from this year’s ‘Big Meeting’, where leading figures from the labour movement addressed large crowds with militant speeches.
This weekend, hundreds of thousands of workers and trade unionists will gather at the Durham Miners’ Gala. This platform should be used by the leaders of the labour movement to raise the ideas of socialism.
Brendan Kelly of the RMT discusses what union activists can do to help in the fight for a socialist Labour government.
The debates at Unite conference this week demonstrate the seemingly insoluble problems facing the working class. From Brexit to automation: only a bold socialist alternative can offer a way forward.
Labour4Clause4 campaign supporters hosted a fringe meeting at the Unite conference this week, explaining the importance of the demand for nationalisation in meeting the challenges facing workers today.
Delegates at Unite policy conference voted narrowly yesterday to reject the restoration of Clause IV. But there was still strong support amongst union activists for the demand for a socialist Labour Party.
The economy is dominated by a handful of giant profiteering corporations. In order to take back control, a Labour government would need to nationalise these banks and big businesses.
Unite the Union has an enormous influence inside the Labour Party. It should use this to kick out the Blairites and push for bold socialist policies.
The Labour4Clause4 campaign is busy on all fronts, from the trade unions to the Labour Party, pushing for the restoration of the original Clause IV.
There are stirrings inside Unison, Britain’s largest public sector union, as grassroots members demand a fighting stance.
The TUC is seeking to involve more young workers in the unions through their ‘WorkSmart’ app. But union leaders need to mobilise workers on the basis of a fighting strategy and bold programme.
Inspiring strike action and the prospect of a Corbyn Labour government lifted spirits at the recent BFAWU conference.
Civil servants in PCS are set to vote on national strike action over pay. This could be another thorn in the side for the Tory government.
The battle between UCU members and their leadership raged on as the union’s 2018 congress entered its third and final day.
At a special conference yesterday, the RMT union agreed to encourage its members to get active in the Labour Party in order to support Corbyn and fight for socialist policies.
Tensions are rife at the annual conference of the UCU, where union leaders are feeling the reverberations of the recent lecturers’ strike.
Elected delegates from across the RMT union are meeting today to discuss whether to affiliate to Labour. We say: the time is right – vote to affiliate!
Socialist Appeal has released a new pamphlet making the case for nationalisation and the restoration of Clause 4. Buy your copy today!
Dan Langley, a nurse activist, replies to comments from RCN chief negotiator, Josie Irwin, who has attacked ordinary union members in order to justify accepting a rotten pay deal.
The trade union movement should use Saturday’s TUC demonstration as a platform to mobilise a wave of co-ordinated strike action against the Tory government.
McDonald’s workers celebrated 1st May by taking further strike action for decent wages and conditions.
The sectarianism of a few, says Eddie Dempsey, is standing in the way of the RMT union joining the fight for a Corbyn government.
“We shouldn’t settle for just a piece of cake – we want the whole bakery!”
Rob Sewell reports on the debate inside the RMT on whether to affiliate to Labour and join the fight for a Corbyn government.
Now that the UCU dispute is over, we must learn the lessons from this important struggle by workers and students.
Steve Hedley, assistant general secretary of the RMT, outlines why the railway workers’ union should re-affiliate to the Corbyn-led Labour Party.
Under pressure from union leaders, UCU members have accepted a derisory offer over pensions. Nevertheless, the struggle continues.
Martin Swayne reports on the recent inspiring wildcat strike of recycling workers at Orion in East London. This militant action shows that unorganised workers can organise, fight back, and win.
Joe Attard of the KCL UCU discusses the latest unacceptable proposal that the union leadership are pushing on members. Reject the deal! We need a new, radical, fighting leadership!
Scott Shaw from Sheffield NUT discusses the key issues on the agenda at this year’s national conference of the teaching union. With schools under attack from the Tories, there will be a real mood of anger amongst delegates.
As a result of the recent inspiring and militant action by academics and lecturers, university bosses have come to the table with a new offer. But UCU members should be wary of this attempt to demobilise their struggle.
Dan Langley, a rank-and-file nurse activist, discusses the recently announced pay deal for NHS staff. Despite what the media and Tories say, this is a pay cut in real terms, not an offer to be celebrated or accepted.
UCU members have rejected the sell-out cooked up by union negotiators. This shows where the real power lies – with militant, organised workers on the ground. The fight continues.
Rui, a UCU member at Oxford University, describes how the lecturers’ strike has developed and grown over the past few weeks. Momentum is with the workers. The union leadership must not waste this with a criminal sell out.
It was announced earlier today that a deal has been struck in negotiations between university heads and the UCU. But, as Joe Attard explains, this deal is a sell-out. UCU members should reject it and fight for victory.
In advance of today’s negotiations between the UCU and UUK, Joe Attard calls on academic staff to accept no compromises over pension cuts. The UCU strike remains strong. Push forward to victory!
One week in, the strikes by lecturers and academic staff in universities across the country are holding strong. The bosses are on the back foot, and there is a sense that victory is within sight.
Launched earlier this year, the Labour4Clause4 campaign has already begun to gather momentum. The campaign recently featured in several national newspapers. And motions in support of restoring Clause 4 have been passed in CLPs and trade unions.
After years of campaigning by grassroots activists, the sitting Mayor of Newham Council in London will now be forced to stand in an open primary election. The deselection of Sir Robin Wales is an example of the kind of democratic accountability we need throughout the Labour Party.
This week marks the centenary anniversary of Clause 4 – Labour’s original commitment to socialism. As Rob Sewell explains, the time is ripe for Corbyn and Labour to once again pledge themselves to fight for the socialist transformation of society.
Marxist student activists report from picket lines at universities across the country. Academic staff have been taking strike action for the past two days in defence of pensions, with more strikes planned for the weeks ahead.
We publish here an interview with Steve Hedley, assistant general secretary of the RMT railway union, who discusses the importance of fighting for nationalisation of the railways and the restoration of Clause 4.
This week sees the beginning of a series of strikes by university teaching staff against attacks on pensions. Joe Attard of the KCL UCU discusses how workers and students can unite and fight to defend higher education.
Alex Johnson of the Edinburgh Marxists looks at the tragic case of Don Lane – a courier who recently died due to the pressure of his draconian bosses.
Gilly Singh of the Liverpool Marxists reports on the struggle of workers at Eastham Refinery, who have beaten the bosses following a determined and militant struggle.
Rob Sewell, editor of Socialist Appeal, reports on a new campaign that has been set up to restore Clause 4, Labour’s socialist clause that was scrapped by Blair. We encourage all our readers to support this campaign throughout the labour movement.
We publish here an account of life inside an Amazon warehouse, written by a Socialist Appeal supporter, who reveals the brutal, degrading, and exploitative working conditions faced by the employees of the world’s richest man.
Helena Nicholson reports on Saturday’s demonstration in London, where thousands turned out in defence of the NHS and against Tory austerity and privatisation.
Events are moving quickly at the Eastham refinery as the dispute between Suttons bosses and their tanker drives escalates. Gilly Singh of the Liverpool Marxists reports from the picket lines.
Joe Attard of the King’s College London UCU discusses the record result in favour of national strike action amongst university academic staff. Workers and students must now unite and fight to defend pensions, pay, and public services.
Mike Hogan in Liverpool reports on the continuing struggle of RMT union members to maintain safe conditions for railway workers and passengers. The rest of the labour movement must give the train workers their full support and solidarity in this fight.
Gilly Singh of the Liverpool Marxists reports on the strike of workers at the Eastham refinery, near Ellesmere Port, who are fighting back against attacks on their terms and conditions.
Strike action taken by McDonald’s workers last September has forced management into conceding the highest wage rise for 10 years. Moses Levi in Cambridge looks at the recent victory for McDonald’s staff, and discusses the way forward in the struggle for decent pay.
The Fabian Society and Community trade union – both well known for their “gradualism” and willingness to compromise with the bosses – recently released a report entitled Future Unions, which seeks to dilute down the role of the unions in an age of zero-hour contracts, precarious work, and the gig economy. But, as Terry McPartlan explains, the way to fight these problems is through militancy and organisation.
In a major U-turn, Ryanair this morning declared it would agree to engage with unions after some of its Dublin-based pilots voted in favour of strike action ahead of Christmas. The low-cost airline claimed it had written to pilot unions inviting them to recognition talks. As pilot Martin Swayne writes, this marks a major victory for the flight crew.
The Local Government Employers in England and Wales have offered a two-year pay deal to unions representing a million council workers. This offer, however, falls far short of what is needed. Public sector unions need to unite and fight for the pay rise that workers deserve.
A Unison-led demonstration was held outside King’s College London on Friday 1st December as part of an on-going campaign to bring the university’s cleaning staff in-house. Around 100 staff and students were present, demanding justice for the cleaners. Joe Attard of the KCL Marxists reports on the latest events in the cleaners’ fight for decent pay and conditions.
To cut costs and maximise profits, King’s College London outsources its cleaning services, with workers who are on precarious contracts, earning just over the minimum wage, and with limited sick pay and holiday time. But the KCL cleaners are fighting back. Joe Russell reports on the continuing struggle of cleaners at KCL for decent pay and conditions.
In his recent Budget, chancellor Philip Hammond made a weak and non-committal pledge to consider finding the money for a pay rise for nurses. Despite such mealy-mouthed promises, the Royal College of Nursing leadership welcomed Hammond’s statement. We publish here an open letter by several grassroots nurse activists, written in response to these events.
SOAS Marxist students report from the protest earlier this week called by the Independent Workers of Great Britain (IWGB) University of London branch in support of bringing outsourced workers at the Senate House back in-house.
Bus drivers at the Rusholme depot at First Manchester Ltd continued strike action on 20th November in an escalating industrial dispute over fair pay. Socialist Appeal supporters attended the picket line for the latest in a series of weekly 24-hour strikes. Nick Martin of the Manchester Marxists reports from the picket line of the striking bus drivers.
The death last month of car worker and trade unionist Derek Robinson, aged 90, has revived many memories of the factory workplace struggles of the 1970s. Steve Jones looks back at the life of union militant, “Red Robbo”, and the lessons for today in fighting back against the bosses.
Today and tomorrow (8-9th November) will see a new wave of rail strikes taking place across Britain, as the RMT union takes further action over such ongoing concerns as safe operation and the use of guards on trains and implementation of driver-only operation. Steve Jones reports on the latest round of strike action on railways across in defence of safety and conditions.
The last week has seen a number of protests taking place in the fight against low pay: from a TUC demonstration against the public sector pay cap, to the continuing struggle of the Picturehouse cinema workers in their demand for a London living wage. We provide here a series of reports from Socialist Appeal supporters on the various struggles taking place in the fight for decent pay.
Postal workers have rightly reacted with considerable anger over the use of the courts by Royal Mail bosses, who have taken out an injunction against the first mail strike, initially called by the CWU for 19th October. Steve Jones looks at how the class bias of the state and the law have been used to temporarily hold off the struggle to defend pensions, jobs, terms and conditions.
UCU members at the University of Leeds were on strike last week, on 11-13th October. Eoin Breathnach of the Leeds UCU (personal capacity) discusses the fight against the marketisation and casualisation of Higher Education, and against an aggressive management that is looking to unfairly stack the odds in their favour.
London Underground cleaners demonstrated outside City Hall on Thursday 12th October to demand that Sadiq Khan, the Labour Mayor of London, bring them back in-house by directly employing them. The London Underground tube lines are in effect London’s arteries; the cleaners therefore have enormous power should they organise to use it.
Last week, the CWU postal workers union announced a huge majority for strike action over attacks by Royal Mail on workers’ pensions and work conditions – a staggering 89.1% majority for action on a huge 73.7% turnout amongst the 110,000 postal group union members. Socialist Appeal supporters in the CWU discuss the issues at stake.
Picturehouse workers from Brixton, Hackney, Central, Crouch End and East Dulwich came out in force yesterday, as their struggle for a living wage continues into its second year. Dan Langley reports from the protest at the BFI London Film Festival.
Members of the RMT rail union are taking strike action again this week in their struggle to defend passenger safety and jobs. Mike Hogan of the Liverpool Marxists reports on the background to the strike, which is taking place amongst RMT members working for Merseyrail, Southern, Greater Anglia and Northern Rail.
On Sunday 1st October, around 50,000 protesters marched in Manchester to demonstrate against the Conservative Party conference, scheduled to begin today, under the banner “Tories Out! No More Austerity!”. Nick Hallsworth of the Manchester Marxists reports on the mood at Sunday’s anti-austerity, anti-Tory demonstration.
As tens of thousands of workers, activists, and youth gather in Manchester this weekend to protest outside the Tory Party conference, Rob Sewell discusses the eye-watering inequality in modern-day Tory Britain, and the fight against the crisis-ridden Conservatives and their failed programme of austerity.
Budget airline Ryanair recently announced the cancellation of nearly 2,000 flights over the next 5-6 weeks – about 40 to 50 flights a day. Officially, the company blames various delays, air traffic control strikes in France, weather conditions and a modified holiday schedule of pilots and cabin crew. However, this is all a smoke screen to hide the real chaotic situation of a mass exodus of its pilots.
Rob Sewell provides another contribution on the debate about the way forward for the unions and the Left in the fight against the Blairites, the Tories, and the cuts. The position of Socialist Appeal is clear: all forces on the Left should get organised, support Corbyn, and fight to transform the Labour Party into a genuinely socialist party.
Friday 8th September saw the first strike by UK airline pilots since the mid-1970s, in a dispute over pay. The British Airline Pilots’ Association has announced three more strike days in the autumn. With organised and united action, pilots could hit the bosses’ where it hurts – in their profits – and win an important and inspiring victory.
This year’s Trades Union Congress is taking place in Brighton from 10-13 September. We look here at some of the issues being raised in conference motions, and discuss the way forward for the labour movement in the fight against the Tories and their programme of cuts and attacks on the working class.
Yesterday, on 6th September, nurses descended upon Parliament Square in their thousands for a demonstration organised by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) to demand the pay that they deserve. Dan Langley, a leading grassroots nurse activist, reports on the mood amongst nurses in the fight against Tory-imposed austerity.
Today sees the “Scrap the Cap” protest in Parliament Square, with thousands of nurses demonstrating against the 1% pay cap that is currently imposed on those working in the public sector as a result of the Tories’ austerity programme. Dan Langley, a leading nurse activist, discusses the steps needed in the campaign against the cap.
A bitter struggle is back on the cards after Birmingham City Council shockingly announced, on 31st August, that it is to backtrack on previous assurances that over 120 refuse workers would not be made redundant. This surprise turnaround by the City Council comes after two months of industrial action by the refuse workers.
Strike action is taking place today in two workplaces in the UK, also coordinated with international action in the USA, where McDonald’s workers have been fighting for better pay for the last few years. We publish here reports from the picket lines in Cambridge and Crayford, where fast-food workers are out on strike.
Next week, on 4th September, workers at two McDonald’s restaurants in the UK will go on strike, in an action intended to co-ordinate with the struggles of fast-food workers internationally. Bosses at McDonald’s and other exploitative corporations: take heed! Downtrodden workers are organising and fighting back!
Rob Sewell, editor of Socialist Appeal, replies to sectarian slanders and points the way forward for the unions in the fight to reclaim the Labour Party, defend Jeremy Corbyn, and fight for socialist policies.
Socialist Appeal met with Steve Hedley, the senior assistant general secretary of the RMT union to discuss a range of issues: from the attacks facing rail workers to the need for nationalisation of the railways; and from the future of the Venezuelan Revolution to the question of the union’s relationship to the Labour Party.
UNISON has won a major victory in the Supreme Court, reversing regulations from 2013 that introduced fees at Employment Appeals Tribunals. The decision marks a massive step forward in the fight to claw back workers’ rights that have faced decades of attacks. But there is still some way to go. Bold and militant trade union leadership is needed.
The question of the European Single Market and Britain’s relationship to it is a prominent issue surrounding the Brexit negotiations. Blairite Labour MPs such as Chuka Umunna have attempted to use this question as a thorn in the side of Corbyn’s leadership. But what position, Josh Holroyd asks, should socialists have towards the EU and the Single Market?
We publish here a report of a recent meeting organised by Kensington and Chelsea Momentum, held to commemorate the disaster’s victims, to discuss the political questions surrounding it, and to resolve on what action to take. The report includes a model motion, passed in the meeting, which should be raised through the labour movement.
This year’s “Big Meeting” saw around 250,000 people gather to celebrate the traditions of the labour movement. The record crowd in attendance reflects the politicisation and radicalisation taking place in society, with workers and youth coming from far and wide to hear Corbyn and other leading figures speak about the fight for an alternative.
The struggle of Picturehouse workers for decent pay and conditions continued last week, on Friday 7th July, with co-ordinated strike action across five London branches of the cinema chain. The Picturehouse living wage campaign provides important lessons for the whole labour movement on how to fight the scourge of low pay and declining workplace organisation.
Tomorrow, Saturday 8th July, a crowd of 200,000 trade unionists, workers, and youth are expected to descend upon Durham for the annual Gala. The main draw this year will be Jeremy Corbyn, speaking on the back of an inspiring election campaign. With Labour now riding high in the polls, the task ahead is to fight to put Corbyn in Downing Street on a socialist programme.
The mood was jubilant and euphoric in central London on Saturday 1st July, as chants of “Oh Jer-e-my Cor-byn!” rang out through the streets of Whitehall and Westminster. An estimated 100,000 trade unionists, activists, and youth marched in a protest that felt like a victory parade for the demonstration’s final speaker: Jeremy Corbyn.
At their recent annual general meeting, the RMT rail union discussed the question of re-affiliation to the Labour Party. John McDonnell, the shadow Labour chancellor, made a personal appeal for the union to “come home” to Labour. What is required is for the RMT to take their place in Labour once again, fighting for socialist policies.
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.
The possibility of a Corbyn-led Labour government was given a boost last Friday with the announcement of the election result for the position of Unite the Union general secretary. Len McCluskey’s narrow victory in the Unite leadership contest, however, provides some cautionary lessons to the Left about the way forward for the labour movement.
Members of both the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) and Unison, as well as non-unionised staff in the NHS, are becoming increasingly frustrated with ongoing cuts in conditions and pay. As a result, for the first time in its history, the RCN is polling its members about their willingness to go on strike. Nurses, doctors, and all NHS staff: unite and fight!
The ongoing struggle of cinema workers at the Picturehouse chain continued over the Easter weekend, with co-ordinated strike action taking place across five different London locations. Workers at six Picturehouse cinemas are now involved in the fight for a living wage and decent terms and conditions. Support the Picturehouse workers!
The National Union of Teachers (NUT) has just held its last national conference before merging with other teaching unions to become the National Education ‘super-union’. This year’s conference, however, was notable for seeing teachers vote to strike against Tory cuts that have left staff overworked and schools under-funded.
Terms and conditions for workers at major supermarket chain ASDA are under threat, as the bosses look to boost their profits on the backs of their staff. The trade union supposed to be representing ASDA workers, however, is remaining “neutral” in this struggle. GMB leaders need to show the way forward with a call for fighting action.
As ballots for the Unite leadership election arrive through the letterboxes of the union’s 1.4 million members, the Blairite wing of the Labour Party are going into overdrive in their attempts to kick out the incumbent, Len McCluskey. The right wing hope to deal a mortal blow to Corbyn’s Labour leadership. The Left must organise and fight back to kick out the Blairites.
On Saturday 25th March, up to 1000 people gathered in Durham to take part in the solidarity protest and rally organised by the Durham teaching assistants. We publish here a report and interview by the Newcastle and Durham Marxist societies about the struggle of the TAs against wage cuts.
After already being in dispute for several months with bosses at Southern Rail, strikes by railway workers in defence of safety, terms, and conditions have now spread to other areas of the country. On 13th March, strikes were seen at Southern stations, and also at Merseyrail and Northern Rail stations too. We publish here a couple of reports from the picket lines.
Cleaning staff at the London School of Economics are taking unprecedented strike action for two days on 15-16th March in their fight for decent pay and conditions. The example of the LSE cleaners – and their campaign alongside students and other staff – shows the way forward in the fight against exploitation in the workplace.
We publish here a letter by a regular Socialist Appeal reader, Martin Hartnett, a Unite the Union convenor in Coventry, who replies to the right-wing attacks made against Len McCluskey and Jeremy Corbyn in the wake of the Copeland by-election defeat. The Labour right wing are throwing all their support behind Coyne in the proxy war for the Party’s future.
A huge protest against Tory cuts and privatisation was seen in London on Saturday, as over 250,000 healthcare workers, trade unionists, and activists descended on the streets of London in defence of the NHS. This enormous display of anger must now become a platform for a mass political movement against the Tory government and their austerity.
Yesterday, on Wednesday 22nd February, RMT members on Southern rail continued their strike action against job cuts and attacks on health and safety. With ASLEF members now also rejecting a cooked up deal between the bosses and TUC leaders, we will likely see renewed joint action between RMT and ASLEF trade unionists in the coming weeks and months.
Nearly 3,000 members of the British Airways “mixed fleet” cabin crews have walked out as part of a six-day strike aimed at fighting what their union rightly describes as poverty pay. Unless a deal is reached, a fresh four-day strike will begin on 17th February. However, British Airways (BA) bosses are digging their heels in and refusing to negotiate.
RMT members on the London Underground have won significant concessions as a result of their militant strike action in defence of jobs. But all of these gains, as this London Socialist Appeal supporter comments, have been achieved without the help or support of the Labour Mayor, Sadiq Khan.
In the last week, after months of strike action on Southern rail against job cuts and threats to health and safety, ASLEF union leaders and Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) management reached an “agreement” to end the dispute, with the support of the TUC. If this deal is accepted, it will represent a harsh defeat for railway workers.
PCS and Unite members working for the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) took strike action on a freezing cold January morning this week. This was their fourth day of action in order to defend their jobs from on-going Tory attacks. James Kilby reports on the struggle of the EHRC workers against Tory cuts.
Another leadership election inside Britain’s biggest trade union – Unite – is now in motion. Due to the prominent role played by Unite in supporting Jeremy Corbyn, the Blairite Labour establishment have turned this contest into a proxy war in the battle for the future of the Labour Party. We publish here an editorial statement on the Unite leadership election.
The last few years have seen British bosses, Tory politicians and not a few right-wing trade union officials quietly congratulating themselves over the continuing fall in strike figures. But in the run up to Christmas this year, a wave of strike action is breaking out across a variety of sectors. A renewed tradition of organisation and militancy is needed in order to win.
Dozens of UNISON comrades were out in force in front of King’s College London last Friday with placards and banners to protest the abuse and exploitation of cleaning staff at the university, who have recently received individual letters warning that they are likely to be sacked or have their hours reduced under restructure of the workforce.
We publish here a report by comrades from Newcastle and Durham Marxist societies, who have been showing solidarity with striking teaching assistants. The teaching assistants have been waging an inspiring struggle against attempts to cut their pay by a brutal 23%. Support the Durham TAs! Fight the cuts! Students and workers: unite and fight!
This week, teaching assistants involved in a dispute with the Durham County Council will be on strike for two days over the question of pay cuts. This follows on from previous days of strike action earlier this month. We publish here a report by the Newcastle and Durham Marxist societies on the inspiring struggle of the Durham TAs.
GMB, Britain’s general union, has announced four days of strikes and continuous action short of strike in November, with GMB members in York will downing tools after a failure to reach agreement with their employer, Tangerine. Socialist Appeal supporters in the GMB report on the battles being fought by factory workers against the confectionary company bosses.
Last Friday, the deep fissures between the left and right within Momentum spilled out into the open. The future direction for the Corbyn movement, therefore, now hangs in the balance. It is vital, above all, to draw out the political questions behind these tensions that have now come to the fore.
On Saturday 15th October, staff from the Picturehouse cinema in Hackney joined up with fellow workers from the Ritzy cinema in Brixton to strike for a living wage. This joint action by workers at the Hackney and Brixton Picturehouses shows the way forward in the fight against low pay and precarious employment: united strike action against the bosses.
On Saturday 15th October, around 100 teaching assistants, along with their friends, family and supporters, were mobilised to take part in a demonstration on in Durham city centre against proposed cuts of up to 23% of their pay. We publish here a report from the Durham and Newcastle Marxist societies, who discuss the struggle being fought by teaching assistants.
Workers at the Ritzy Cinema in Brixton, South London, were back out on strike on Saturday 24th September, taking action to demand decent pay and conditions. Nico reports on the militant mood on display at the picket line, and the potential for this strike to spread.
This year’s delegate meeting of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) has passed largely unnoticed and unreported by the national media. This is a reflection of the hard fact that the TUC has in recent years shied away from taking any real decisions. It is time for the TUC to take the lead in the fight to defend Corbyn and kick out the Tories.
We publish here a recent report from the Green Left Weekly in Australia that highlights the attack on workers in the Carlton United Brewery, a subsidiary of the giant multinational SAB Miller, whose headquarters are based in London. Denis Rogatyuk reports on the solidarity shown by trade unions in Britain towards their comrades in Australia.
Next Monday, 12th September, will see the beginning of a new round of strikes by junior doctors against Tory attacks on their terms and conditions, and in defence of the NHS. These will be the first in a series of monthly five-day strikes. Dr Tomasz Pierscionek, a junior doctor in London, reports on the battle ahead for those fighting to #SaveOurNHS.
Strike action by workers of the delivery firm Deliveroo has been successful in making the bosses reverse a decision that would have seen the couriers’ pay and conditions stripped back. In the process, a valuable lesson has been learnt for workers in precarious employment everywhere about how to fight back.
As we have reported previously, over the past few months a number of Socialist Appeal supporters have been expelled from the Labour Party by the Blairite bureaucracy of the Compliance Unit. We publish here a letter from Tomasz Pierscionek, one of the expelled comrades, who outlines the scandal surrounding these manoeuvres.
From 11 to 15 July, during a vital period for the entire labour movement, Unite the Union’s policy conference met in Brighton. Most significantly was the enormous endorsement given to Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership of the Labour Party by this conference – that of Britain’s biggest union, representing 1.5 million members.
This year’s Durham Miners Gala on Saturday 9th July was the most politically charged Gala in many decades. The highlight was the speech by Jeremy Corbyn, who was greeted with an enormous amount of support from the large crowd of over 100,000.
This week, delegates from Unite the Union are assembling in Brighton for the union’s policy conference. Top of the agenda for Unite and all trade unionists must be the question of defending Jeremy Corbyn against the Blairite coup attempts. We publish here a summary by Unite members of the key issues up for debate at this year’s conference.
After months of negotiation interspersed with strike action, junior doctors have now voted to reject the new contract that has been offered by the Tories. The government has gone ahead and said they will impose the contract. Junior doctors have stated that they will continue to fight.
Schools up and down the country have been shut down today, as a result of a one-day strike action by the National Union of Teachers (NUT). Demonstrations in all major cities brought out thousands of teachers onto the streets in protest against the Tory plans for academisation of schools and the cuts to education that have been seen as a result of austerity.
Higher and further education staff are out on strike this week in an on-going dispute with university and college bosses. This follows a national, two-day strike on May 25th and 26th, which saw thousands of education workers down tools across the country in protest over low pay. We publish here a couple of reports from UCU members on strike.
The Rubicon has been crossed. The die is cast. With their vote of no confidence against Jeremy Corbyn (by 172 votes to 40), the den of thieves that is the Parliamentary Labour Party have declared all-out war against the democratically elected leader and the vast majority of grassroots members. The situation is untenable and is now heading for an open split.
This week saw a 24-hour strike on Southern Rail, as RMT trade union members took action in defence of safety standards and terms and conditions. We publish here a letter circulating amongst doctors, which calls for unity between all workers fighting against cuts and attacks.
Public sector union GMB has become one of the first major unions to not only back Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership of the Labour Party, but also to demand that Labour MPs do likewise by giving a “clear and unambiguous” commitment not to destabilise the party. It is time for the rest of the labour movement to demand likewise from Corbyn’s opponents in Westminster.
Delegates at last week’s University and College Union’s annual congress in Liverpool voted to escalate industrial action against Tory austerity and link the struggle for free education with students and teachers. Joe Attard, a delegate from the KCL UCU branch, discusses the issues raised at this year’s UCU Congress.
The Marxist Student-led Fair Pay for GTAs campaign has won a 20% pay increase for student teachers at King’s College London following an 18-month struggle with university bosses. The success of this campaign demonstrates the potential power of workers when united and organised around a militant strategy and socialist ideas.
The civil service union, PCS, met in Brighton last week from 24-26th May. The conference was dominated by discussions on what the union’s political stance should be given the transformation caused by the election of Jeremy Corbyn as leader of the Labour Party. Socialist Appeal supporters in PCS believe the union should affiliate to the Labour Party in order to defend Corbyn and fight for socialism.
Over the past two days, Socialist Appeal supporters and Marxist students in universities across the country have been offering their support and solidarity to lecturers and higher education staff involved in the national UCU strike over pay. We provide here a number of reports and pictures highlighting the militant mood of those on strike and the involvement of the Marxist Student Federation.
Exploited lecturers and other university teaching staff are staging a two-day strike on 25-26th May, in protest against miserable pay conditions, rejecting an ‘insulting’ pay deal by university and college bosses. Joe Attard of Kings College London UCU branch (personal capacity) discusses the battle ahead for higher education staff and all those fighting against Tory cuts.
Dr Tomasz Pierscionek discusses the deal struck between BMA leaders and the Tory government over the junior doctors’ contract dispute. Whilst the BMA leadership has endorsed the settlement, rank and file members are dubious, with many expressing anger over fears of being sold a shoddy deal. If junior doctors vote to reject the agreement, all bets will be off and the struggle could re-emerge on a higher level.
General Secretary Dave Ward opened this year’s conference of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) highlighting the pressures workers are facing across the board. In a sign of the anger growing amongst workers as a result of these attacks, conference committed itself to fighting stance in defence of jobs and conditions, and to supporting Corbyn and his anti-austerity programme.
On Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, junior doctors in England came out on strike once again in defence of their terms and conditions, and in a struggle to save the wider NHS from Tory cuts, attacks, and threats of privatisation. The task now is for the entire labour movement to get behind the junior doctors in defence of the NHS and against the Tories and their austerity programme.
This week, England’s junior doctors will undertake industrial action for the fifth time this year. In contrast to strike action taken earlier this year, this time a full withdrawal of labour will occur between 8am and 5pm on Tuesday 26th and Wednesday 27th April. Tomasz Pierscionek, a junior doctor in London, discusses the latest action being taken by medics and points out the way forward in the fight to defend the NHS.
Next week, on 26-27th April, junior doctors will be escalating their industrial action with two days of full walk out, in defence of their terms and conditions and the wider NHS. Dr Yannis Gourtsoyannis of the BMA Junior Doctors Committee puts out a call to join teachers, junior doctors and other healthcare workers for a march and rally in London.
The current two-day walkout by junior doctors marks the fourth junior doctors’ strike in England. Later this month, the action will escalate as junior doctors undertake an all-out strike. With Cameron and co. currently weakened by a series of scandals and crises, it is time for the leaders of the labour movement to go on the offensive, call for co-ordinated action, and finish off the Tories.
On 9-10th March, junior doctors across England went on strike for the third time this year, taking action for 48-hours in defence of their terms and conditions – and the wider NHS also. The task now is to broaden the struggle. The labour movement leaders need to turn this into a fight aimed at bringing down the Tory government.
The changes to junior doctors contracts are the result of the crisis of capitalism that dramatically came to the surface in 2008 and that has not been resolved since. NHS staff are now at the forefront of the fight against the cuts. Only through united action across the board can we defend the NHS and end austerity.
In advance of the latest round of strike action by the junior doctors, we publish here a letter by NHS staff and students who call for maximum unity in the fight against the Tories’ attacks. In addition, we publish a motion calling on the Labour Party to show their full support for the junior doctors’ struggle.
Following two days of strike action by the junior doctors and a refusal by the government to budge, Jeremy Hunt has announced the imposition of the new contract. The scene is now set for an escalation of junior doctors struggle, with three further 48-hour strikes now announced, with the first next week on 9th March.
On Saturday 27th February, tens of thousands gathered in London for Britain’s largest anti-nuclear demonstration in a generation, organised by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. Socialist Appeal supporters were present, calling on workers and youth to “fight the madness of capitalism”.
This Saturday, 27th February, thousands of workers and youth will march in London for a national demonstration in opposition to Trident, Britain’s nuclear weapons system. Socialist Appeal supporters will be present, along with a bloc from the Marxist Student Federation, calling for a socialist alternative to this colossal waste.
We publish here the latest statement from the Blacklist Support Group. Construction firms have paid out nearly £6 million in compensation to 71 blacklisted workers. The fight continues to provide justice for all blacklisted workers.
Since 2010 local councils have seen their funding cut by around 30% and the Tories plan to cut it by a further 56% over the next five years. Sam Ashton discusses the crisis facing local government and the need for Labour councillors to lead the fightback against austerity.
10th February saw the second day of industrial action by junior doctors in their fight against Tory attacks on their terms and conditions. Everyone out on the picket lines was adamant and clear: this is a struggle to save the NHS from cuts and privatisation. With the Tories refusing to budge, the fight to defend the NHS continues.
Over the next week, junior doctors will demonstrate and strike in defence of their conditions and the wider NHS. We publish here a letter by a junior doctor, who highlights the importance of continuing the fight against the Tories. If you fight, you will win – militancy pays!
Following the first day of strike action by junior doctors last week, we spoke to Dr Yannis Gourtsoyannis (of the BMA’s Junior Doctors Committee National Executive) about the medics’ dispute and the ongoing fight to defend the NHS. Although the strike planned for next week has been cancelled, the junior doctors’ struggle continues.
Last week saw the first strike by junior doctors in four decades, as thousands of healthcare professionals took action against the attacks on their terms and conditions. The popularly-supported struggle is set to continue next week, as medics carry on the fight against the Tories and their attempts to dismantle the NHS. Dr Tomasz Pierscionek reports.
Today saw the first of three scheduled actions by junior doctors in England, who are striking over attacks on their terms and conditions being pushed through by the Tory government. We publish here a range of reports from across the country, which highlight the militant mood amongst the doctors, as well as the wide level of support for those fighting to defend the NHS.
After weeks of talks, the government have refused to budge on the question of junior doctors’ contracts, and are ploughing ahead with their attempts to attack the NHS and its staff. As a result, junior doctors across England will be commencing industrial action on Tuesday 12th January. Support the junior doctors in their struggle against Tory cuts.
Enraged student nurses and midwives assembled in London, Manchester and Newcastle last Saturday in protest over Tory plans to axe their NHS bursaries. Joe Attard of the KCL Marxists reports from the London demo of this fightback against Tory austerity, which sets the stage for the walkout by junior doctors, planned for tomorrow.
Last week, workers at the University of London (UoL) submitted a claim to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg over UK trade union legislation. The workers, university cleaners at UoL, are represented by the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB) and are seeking official recognition of the union by their employer.
We publish here a foreword – written by Socialist Appeal supporter and Chair of Portsmouth Momentum, Sion Reynolds – to the “Needs Budget” presented to Portsmouth City Council this week by Portsmouth Against the Cuts Together (PACT). Labour councillors need to lead the fightback against austerity and refuse to carry out Tory cuts.
HMRC has recently announced that they will be reducing the number of offices from the current 170 sites (already slashed from 900 in 2006) to just 13 sites, with four Specialist offices around the country, by 2021. Martin Page, PCS rep in Leicester (personal capacity), reports on the latest Tory attacks on the public sector.
At the eleventh hour, Tory Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has climbed down from provoking the first junior doctors’ strike in British history. Forty-five thousand junior doctors in England were due to take action, beginning today. However, the strike was suspended yesterday evening. Ben Peck analyses the future for the junior doctors’ struggle.
At a special conference on Friday 27th November, the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) made a historic move to re-affiliate to the Labour Party after more than a decade of being outside of the party. The FBU’s decision marks a strengthening of the Corbyn movement and a step forward in the process of reclaiming the Labour Party from the Blairites.
Junior doctors have voted overwhelming in support of strike action, with 98% voting Yes to a full walk out. All of this on a 76% turnout – a vote for action that would smash even the Tories’ new anti-union laws. The scene is now set for a showdown between doctors and the government.
On Saturday 17th October, over 20,000 marched in London to protest against the government’s changes to junior doctors’ contracts. The mood was one of extreme anger against the government, and Jeremy Hunt in particular. The British Medical Association must harness this mood to defend the NHS against Tory attacks.
In order to harness the energy of the Corbyn leadership campaign, left-wing Labour MPs and other Corbyn supporters have announced the launch of “Momentum”. However, this new radical group within the labour movement has rattled the right-wing, who are afraid of the power an organised left-wing movement might have.
As part of their programme of austerity and their attacks on the NHS, the Tory government is imposing a new contract on junior doctors. As Dr Tomasz Pierscionek explains (in personal capacity), these new terms and conditions make a mockery of their dedication and hard work. But doctors won’t lie down and take these cuts without a fight.
In the evening on Monday 28th September, around 5,000 junior doctors and their sympathisers gathered in Westminster for a semi-spontaneous protest against the attacks on their pay and conditions, and against the attempts by the Tories to slash the NHS and open the door to privatisation. Guy Howie reports on the inspiring struggle of the junior doctors.
Fair pay; no to privatisation; proper investment in the NHS: these are the demands among junior doctors, who are to be balloted for industrial action after over 82,000 people (at the time of writing) have signed a petition started by junior doctor Matt Egan calling for strike action. Unite and fight: defend the NHS! Fight for socialism!
In the days following Jeremy Corbyn’s inspirational landslide victory in the Labour leadership election, the Tories, the right-wing press, and the Blairites within the Labour Party have stepped up their campaign of hysteria and attacks against the new Labour leader. We call on all our readers to get organised in defence of Corbyn. Hands Off Corbyn!
Last night, the People’s Assembly Against Austerity hosted a meeting with Yanis Varoufakis about how to fight austerity. Hundreds were present, inspired into political activity by Jeremy Corbyn’s tremendous Labour leadership victory. The task now is to argue for a bold socialist alternative to capitalism’s war and austerity.
The prospect of a Jeremy Corbyn victory has not only transformed the political landscape, but has become a massive attraction for those unions that had previously turned their back on a Blairite Labour Party. Those that had split from Labour, such as the RMT and the FBU, are now thinking about returning if Corbyn wins.
Last week, Tube workers brought the London underground to a standstill for over 24-hours in the second display of militant action in as many months. Workers across four unions struck together, showing what can be achieved with unity in action.
Frank Cooper takes a detailed look at the scandal of blacklisting, in which thousands of workers and trade unionists have been left with a permanent scar on their employment record, due to a clandestine campaign of the bosses with the help of the capitalist state. But workers are now fighting back against the blacklisters.
The labour movement was out in force at Tolpuddle, Dorset on Sunday 19th July, with an exuberant march and a greatly increased attendance. The highlight of the festival was a speech by Jeremy Corbyn, the left-wing Labour leadership candidate, whose campaign and anti-austerity stance is rapidly gaining support.
The UNISON Labour Link National Committee meets on July 29th and will discuss the Labour leadership and deputy leadership elections. This is an important meeting, which will determine the way in which one of Britain’s most important unions fights back against the Tories and austerity.
Unite’s recent rules conference marks a step forward for the union, which voted to support Jeremy Corbyn for Labour leader and to back illegal action taken by workers fighting against the cuts. Luke Wilson of Unite London ITC branch explains the challenges ahead for Britain’s largest union.
Lawyers of the Criminal Bar Association (CBA) this week voted in favour of industrial action that will effectively bring the court system to a standstill. This is the latest move and a significant escalation in the fight against government cuts to legal aid, amounting to 8.75% – enough to put many small firms and self-employed barristers out of business completely.
A new Tory Government was never going to mean a new era of peace and harmony, especially under the social and economic conditions prevailing today. The new anti-union legislation, announced by Tory business secretary Sajid Javid, represents a full frontal attack on the labour movement. The trade union leaders must begin the fight back against the Tories now.
11th July 2015 marked the 131st Durham Miners’ Gala, reportedly one of the biggest in recent years, with over 150,000 on the streets of Durham. Socialist Appeal supporters were out in force, as trade unionists and workers from across the country descended on the city to hear speakers such as Jeremy Corbyn, Owen Jones, and Len McCluskey.
Tube workers on London Underground are staging a series of one-day network-wide strikes over the imposition of night-working arrangements. John Weebol, a member of the TSSA union in London, explains how this action comes after 18 months of attempting to negotiate with London Underground (LU) management.
Hours after Osborne announced his latest attacks on ordinary people, 20,000 Tube workers began strike action over safety concerns. The Tories accuse the unions of “holding the city to ransom”. These are rich words indeed, coming from the very same people who are trying to make workers, the youth, and the poor pay for a crisis they did not cause.
Following successful ballots, members of the UCU union are taking strike action in colleges across the country against cuts that will result in “the death of further education”. We publish here reports from Socialist Appeal supporters in Sheffield and Hackney, London, who have been on the picket lines with UCU members.
Saturday’s End Austerity Now demonstrations defied all expectations. Police estimates for the London demonstration alone gave a figure of around 250,000, with likely numbers exceeding this. From the title of the protest to the placards on display and the slogans being shouted, the message was loud and clear: we reject your austerity!
Staff at London Metropolitan University were out on strike today in protest against plans by management to cut courses, with an associated loss of 165 jobs. The demands of the union members taking action today were clear: not one course to be closed; not one job to be cut – an injury to one is an injury to all!
London Metropolitan University, even more than most institutions of higher education, has suffered brutally over the past five years of cuts. The election of a Tory majority to parliament is ominous for the future of this university. Trade union members are organising a fight back, with strike action taking place this Thursday, 21st May.
Yesterday, around 100 teachers and students attended a demonstration at Hackney Community College, organised by UCU members to mark the opening day of their ballot for strike action at FE colleges across the whole of London. Staff and students are fighting back against Tory attacks on education and jobs.
Before the dead body of Miliband’s Labour leadership was even cold, the Blairites were lining up to try and pull the party further to the right. As various contenders throw their hats into the ring of the leadership contest, the question must be asked: is a move towards the so-called political “centre-ground” really the panacea to all of Labour’s problems?
The elected independent mayor of Tower Hamlets, Lutfur Rahman, has been removed from office due to a court ruling over allegations of corruption. The fact that one unelected commissioner is able to overrule the votes of over 37,000 people reveals bourgeois democracy in all its impotence.
On Saturday 2nd May, up to 2,000 residents of Bedlington, Northumberland came together to make a “big noise” in protest at the declining state of their town in the face of job losses and Tory-ordered cuts. Protests like this in Bedlington are just the beginning of the fight against the Tories, their austerity, and the capitalist system they defend.
Saturday 2nd May saw trade unionists in Coventry celebrate May Day in the city centre. Over 100 trade unionists convened to hear speeces from comrades in the labour movement, and to discuss how to fight austerity and the far right. Darrall Cozens, President of the Coventry TUC, reports.
Yesterday, on April 28th 2015, commemoration ceremonies were held across the world as part of International Workers Memorial Day to honour workers killed at work or who had died from illnesses contracted during their working life. Darrall Cozens looks at the dangers of work under capitalism.
We publish here the annual report by the President of the Coventry Trades Union Council, Darrall Cozens, who discusses the impact of Tory austerity so far, the rising inequality in Britain and internationally, and the perspective for class struggle on the horizon.
Dave Smith, author and activist with the Blacklist Support Group, was arrested on the evening of 18th March at a peaceful demonstration against the sacking of two workers who raised concerns on the Crossrail project. A further protest has been called to show that those campaigning against the blacklist will not be intimidated by the state.
Since the start of the Con-Dem Coalition, the Public and Civil Service Trade Union (PCS) has been at the forefront of the trade union fight back against austerity and attacks on the wider welfare state. Now, however, the Tories are attacking the union’s very existence – by attempting to restrict the lifeblood of its members’ subscriptions.
Darrall Cozens, President of the Coventry TUC (personal capacity) reports on the latest strike action by members of the FBU, and analysis the issues at stake in this long-running dispute over firefighters’ pensions.
Hundreds gathered and marched in Coventry on Saturday 21 February in opposition to proposed massive £15m council spending cuts planned in the next year, with even bigger cuts in future years, threatening many public services and jobs in the city. The labour movement needs to mobilise across Britain in order to fight for a socialist alternative to this austerity.
Today, Monday 16th February, 170 workers on the M25 motorway are taking 24-hour strike action. Ben Gliniecki of Unite Community (personal capacity) discusses the latest strike by transport workers in Britain, and the way forward for workers who are being made to pay for the crisis of capitalism.
Yesterday, on Thursday 5th February, bus drivers across London came out on strike for 24 hours – the first of three planned days of strike action in February. Despite the freezing cold, picket lines were strong and morale was high. Supporters of Socialist Appeal and members of the Marxist societies in London visited the picket lines to offer their solidarity to the bus drivers.
Tomorrow, on Thursday 5th February, London bus drivers will walk away from their vehicles in the first of three 24-hour bus strikes planned this month. The strikes, called by Unite the Union, are over the vast pay inequality between London bus drivers. Socialist Appeal offers its full support to the militant struggle of London bus drivers against these attacks by the bosses.
Tutors and support staff were on strike last week, on 29th January, over a dispute regarding redundancies at the Sheffield College. Staff took to the picket lines despite arctic weather conditions, which had no effect on spirits, with staff stopping all traffic into the college, as well as students, in order to win their support. Natasha Sorrell of the Sheffield Marxists reports.
The Conservatives have announced their intention to introduce legislation which would further limit the right to strike amongst large sections of the public sector, should they win the upcoming election. Such proposals constitute yet another attack on the right of workers to organise and defend themselves against the austerity that capitalism demands.
For the second time in six weeks, NHS workers staged a four-hour strike from 7am to 11am on November 24th. They are angry because their already low pay is being eroded even more due to government cuts. Darrall Cozens, President of the Coventry TUC, comments how, under capitalism, it is those such as the low paid NHS workers who will pay the price of a crisis that they did not cause.
With banners, fists and voices raised high, the Marxist Student Federation rallied the largest number of student Marxists yet to join our voices with those of increasingly disgruntled workers at the national TUC demonstration ‘Britain Needs a Pay Rise’ on 20th October. There was a sea of new revolutionary faces that had joined Marxist societies in the last few weeks, eager to raise the Marxist Student banners with those of the trade unions.
We publish here further reports from the strike of NHS workers that took place earlier this week. The first is an interview by the UCLU Marxists of an NHS worker at the picket of University College Hospital; the second is a report from a Unison steward in Worcester. Both provide a good picture of the reasons for Monday’s strike and the anger felt amongst workers in the NHS.
Late on October 13th the University and Colleges Union (UCU) had to send out urgent information to UCU members in Further Education (FE) that the planned strike for the following day had been called of as a result of a High Court injunction. How could the Union have got into this position? And what is the next step for UCU members fighting against attacks on pay and conditions?
Socialist Appeal supporters and members of the Sheffield University Marxist Society showed their support to the striking NHS staff at the Northern General Hospital in Sheffield on Monday morning. Despite the pouring rain, the mood was upbeat and support from passers-by was constant throughout the morning.
On Monday 13th October, thousands of workers in the NHS and the Royal College of Midwives came out on strike to protest against years of low pay. We publish here two interviews with health workers on the picket lines in Coventry.
The Shetlands, the most northerly point of the British Isles, was battered over the past week by high seas and storms. This however did not prevent successful meetings, called by the Laggan Tomore Construction branch of UNITE to discuss blacklisting and other political issues, from taking place. These meetings were addressed by Dave Smith from the Blacklist Support Group and Rob Sewell, editor of Socialist Appeal.
Veteran Labour MP Dennis Skinner has announced that he we will refuse the proposed 10% increase for MPs’ salaries until public sector pay freezes are abandoned and free collective bargaining is reinstated. At a time when real wages continue to fall, MPs are once again showing themselves to be, with few exceptions such as Skinner, completely out-of-touch with the people they are meant to represent.
Capitalism’s deepest crises will not only spur those professions with well-established labour movement connections into action, but will also have a similar effect on other layers of the working class. For almost a year, members of the BECTU union at the Ritzy Cinema in Brixton have been engaged in a campaign to be granted the London living wage rate of pay.
Darrall Cozens, President of the Coventry Trades Council (personal capacity) reports on the latest strike action by FBU members against attacks on their pensions and outlines the strategy needed by firefighters – and all workers – to beat the Tory-led Coalition and their programme of austerity.
We publish here the latest info on the blacklisting scandal from the Blacklist Support Group. Following the rejection of a public inquiry into national scandal of blacklisting by Tory Prime Minister David Cameron, the Labour Party has taken a welcome step forward by commiting to holding a full inquiry on the question of blacklisting if elected into government.
Health & Safety (H&S) issues have come to the fore again at Total’s Shetland Gas Plant (SGB), with hundreds of engineering construction workers refusing to work due to safety concerns. A Unite member report on the latest action by workers at the SGB.
Michael Gove, the hated Tory MP, was demoted from his position as Minister for Education in a recent Cabinet reshuffle. Teachers across the country celebrated Gove’s removal. But whilst Gove may be gone, the Tory attacks on teachers will continue. The unions need to maintain the fight against the Coalition and their austerity programme.
The magnificent strike of public sector workers on July 10th was a wake-up call to the Labour and trade union movement and especially its leaders. Over one million workers came out on strike to defend services, jobs, pay, pensions, and terms and conditions. Darrall Cozens, President of the Coventry TUC, asks: what next for the trade unions?
We publish here the latest updates from the Blacklist Support Group, who have rejected attempts by blacklisting firms to provide compensation and are instead taking the major construction companies to court. Blacklisted workers, supported by the trade unions, are demanding jobs and an end to all blacklisting, and that these firms be punished for their illegal activities.
Earlier this month, a serious health and safety issue arose at the Shetlands Gas Plant. The response of the workers was to take matters into their own hands by taking action to demand better conditions. Management accepted the workers demands, once again proving that militancy pays. We publish here a report from the action by a Socialist Appeal supporter.
Saturday 12th July 2014 saw the return of “The Big Meeting” to the streets of Durham for the Miners’ Gala. Record numbers turned out in the year of the 30th anniversary of the Great Miners’ Strike. We publish here two reports of the Gala from Socialist Appeal supporters in attendance.
Thursday 10th July saw over one million workers out on strike against the Tory-led government’s attacks on pay and pensions. Further to last week’s reports from around the country, we publish here two further pieces: an interview with John Orchard, a striking NUT rep in Coventry, and a report of the transport workers strike in London by TSSA member Tim White.
The 10th July public sector strike was the largest since the pensions dispute in November 2011. The size of the strike should now be used as a launch pad for a clear labour movement led campaign of escalating action to bring down the government and end austerity. We publish here reports from Socialist Appeal supporters across the country.
Socialist Appeal interviewed Davey Hopper, General Secretary of the Durham Miners Association, about the significance of this years’ gala, taking place tomorrow on 12th July, marking the 30th Anniversary of the Great Strike, and about the need to carry the struggle forward so the lessons of that fight are not lost. We publish here his message to those attending the 2014 Miners’ Gala.
Tomorrow, 10th July, will see up to two million public sector workers taking strike action defend their wages, pensions and working conditions. Members of NUT, Unite, Unison, GMB, FBU and PCS are all involved in campaigns. This co-ordinated action must be used as a platform for the labour movement to call a one-day general strike and fight for socialist policies.
At the last Unite policy conference in 2012, Britain’s biggest union marked a shift to the left, with policies calling for the nationalisation of the banks and the fight for trade union policies in the Labour Party. This leftward shift continued at the 2014 policy conference, reflecting the general growing radicalisation in society. The task now is to turn the radical and militant policies passed into action.
The past three years have seen a shift to the left in the ranks of Unite the Union, reflected in a similar shift in the union’s leadership. Now, prior to the union’s 2014 policy conference, it is an appropriate occasion to draw a balance sheet of these last three years. We must appraise the victories, but in particular we must be honest in assessing our mistakes so that the necessary corrective can be applied.
GMB delegates met earlier this month in Nottingham for their annual conference. The mood of anger that is bubbling away in society was reflected by the motions and debates at conference, where arguments were made against the Bedroom Tax and zero-hour contracts, for a living wage, and for a fight from the Labour Party against the anti-trade union laws and austerity.
Shetlanders turned out in their hundreds to march through its capital town of Lerwick in protest at the local council’s plans for massive cuts in the islands education budget. As a result of the crisis, budgets around the world have been slashed and attacks on rural communities have been intensified.
The 2014 national conference of the Trades Union Councils took place in Cardiff this year with approximately 100 delegates, visitors and guests present representing up to 24 County Associations. Steve Brown, Chair of Northumberland County Association of Trades Union Councils (personal capacity), reports.
This year UNISON’s Local Government Conference, meeting in Brighton, is followed immediately by National Delegate Conference. This should represent a perfect platform to reach out to hundreds of thousands of members and show a lead in the struggle against low pay and austerity.
At 9am on Thursday 12th June, FBU members all over the country walked out on a 24-hour strike. This is the first of a number of actions, including strikes and action short of a strike, taking place over the next 10 days. Darrall Cozens, President of the Coventry TUC, reports on the latest action by firefighters against attacks on their pensions.
We publish here a statement from the Blacklist Support Group, which reports on recent events whereby police were called to the UK head office of the Danish owned employment agency Atlanco Rimec after it was occupied by campaigners from the Blacklist Support Group and members of the UCATT and UNITE trade unions.
The ongoing dispute at Lambeth College in London is emblematic of the entire austerity and privatisation programme. The militancy of the struggle against attacks on terms and conditions at Lambeth College and the closure of the Brixton site could in turn be an important point of reference in the struggle against austerity in general.
This week sees the annual national conference of the PCS union, whose members have been hard hit by the Coalition’s programme of austerity. PCS members will this year be debating where the union should go from here. Julian Sharpe, PCS member and Socialist Appeal supporter, points the way forward for the union.
The annual conference of the CWU – the Communication Workers Union, primarly representing thousands of postal workers – took place at the end of April 2014. We publish here a report of the conference by Dave Rowe of Cardiff CWU (personal capacity), which highlights the dangers ahead for postal workers in the now-privatised Royal Mail.
After a year long campaign of industrial action for higher pay, members of the University and College Union (UCU) in Higher Education (HE) have accepted an improved 2% pay offer. With a clear perspective, political programme, and fighting strategy from the UCU leadership, however, a greatly improved offer could have been achieved. Darrall Cozens of the UCU West Midlands looks at the lessons from the HE pay dispute.
Over the three days of 2nd-4th May the Fire Brigades Union resumed strike action to defend the pensions of firefighters. These three days now make up twelve days in total that have seen strike action taking place and are a reflection of the anger felt by firefighters over these attacks on their pensions. Darrall Cozens, President of the Coventry TUC, looks at the fight by FBU members to defend pensions.
George Eliot Hospital in Nuneaton has been saved from possible privatisation – for now. Thanks to the magnificent campaign by hospital workers and local community users, privatisation plans have been halted. Darrall Cozens, President of the Coventy Trades Council (personal capacity) looks at the GEH campaign against privatisation and the future of the wider NHS.
The intransigent bosses at London Underground have once again forced the members of the RMT union to take industrial action in defence of public safety and jobs. The decision to axe all its ticket offices and make nearly 1,000 workers redundant is simply an exercise in cutting costs. The closure of ticket offices is overwhelmingly opposed by the general public, who see it as part of the erosion of the service. Rob Sewell reports on the latest action by the RMT.
Easter Weekend saw the annual gatherings of the two largest teacher unions, the NASUWT and the NUT. Both unions are preparing for the election of their respective general secretaries, so it was a time of particularly acute reflection upon union strategy and tactics, in the face of the savage attacks on education by the coalition government and the forces of capitalism. Siôn Reynolds, delegate to the NASUWT conference, reports.
For years, major construction companies have been squeezing more profits out of workers by forcing them to be employed indirectly via agencies, who take them on as “self-employed” workers. Steve Kelly of the London Unite Construction branch comments on the fight back by workers against bogus self employment and exploitation by the construction bosses.
After a united struggle of action for the past academic year, university staff in the UCU, Unite, and Unison are now having to decide whether to end the dispute and accept a mildly improved offer of a 2% pay increase. The alternative for UCU members is to continue with a boycott of examination marking. The HE dispute therefore hangs in the balance, and workers now find themselves between a rock and a hard place due to the lack of a fighting leadership in the unions.
At this year’s conference one subject dominated the whole proceedings: the question of pay. At the core was the divisive and insulting pay offer by Jeremy Hunt, Health Minister, who has ignored the NHS Pay Review Body recommendations and is only prepared to give a 1% pay increase to staff who are already at the top of their grade and nothing to the rest. 70% of staff in the NHS will therefore not get a pay rise.
Earlier this year, students broke into the office of Adrian Smith, Vice-Chancellor of the University of London (UoL), stealing a collection of documents, two of which have revealed shocking information about the past years’ wave of privatisation within universities. Achille Marotta of the LSE Marxists reports on the “3Cosas” campaign by UoL outsourced cleaning staff, which provides a militant example of fighting against the effects of privatisation.
The Tory-led Coalition wants all hospitals to become Foundation Trusts by 2014; but smaller hospitals will face the threat of merger and privatisation. Darrall Cozens of the Coventry TUC (personal capacity) looks at the case of George Eliot Hospital in Nuneaton and the campaign against potential privatisation of this hospital.
On 19th-21st March, Accord, the union organising the largest number of workers at Lloyds Banking Group, will hold its biennial conference. The main subject of debate will be Lloyds’ decision to press ahead with its attack on the Defined Benefit Scheme, introducing a 0% cap on pensions – and, importantly, what the response of the union should be to this attack.
On 26th March 2014, members of the National Union of Teachers will be taking one-day national strike action over attacks on wages and conditions. John Pickard of the Mid-Essex NUT (personal capacity) looks at the reasons behind the upcoming strike and analyses the mood amongst teachers.
Rob Sewell, editor of Socialist Appeal, comments on the news of the sudden and premature death of Bob Crow, the General Secretary of the RMT and one of the best and most well-known left trade union leaders. The militant stand of Crow and the RMT has won much for its members and has been looked up to by other unions.
To commemorate the 30th anniversay of the Great Miners’ Strike of 1984-85, and to celebrate International Women’s Day – the 8th March – we publish here an interview by Socialist Appeal’s Richard Vivian and John Dunn, who spoke to Anne Scargill and Betty Cook of Women Against Pit Closures about the lessons of the Great Miners Strike and their ongoing campaigning and commitment 30 years later.
Last week, Labour-controlled Hull City Council approved its £14m cuts budget for the next financial year. Labour councillors who refuse to back austerity are being threatened with explusion from the Labour group on the council. Rob Sewell, editor of Socialist Appeal, explains how the trade union leaders must rally to support all Labour councillors opposing the cuts.
Since the start of the New Year the industrial action within the Higher Education (HE) pay dispute has increased in tempo, with UCU – the union to which lecturers and teaching staff are largely affiliated – organising a number of strike days throughout January and February. Central to these has been the use of two-hour strikes. Jo Pickard of the Sussex Marxists looks at the question of two-hour strikes and whether they can provide a way forward for the unions.
The first two days of the tube workers’ strike over planned cuts to ticket office staff was a great success, with joint action by the RMT and TSSA (Transport Salaried Staff Association) that succeeded in bringing London to a near stand still. Now is the time for the unions to use this momentum and step up the action.
We publish here a letter from Bob Faulkes, a Socialist Appeal supporter from Hackney Labour and Unison, who comments on the recent closure of ten fire stations in London, which were shut for good without any resistance from the firefighters’ leaders. What is required is a strong leadership at the top to match the fighting spirit of the workers.
Lloyds Banking Group (LBG) announced the latest step in its campaign to preserve its profits. Having driven out tens of thousands of staff, kept wages down against a backdrop of inflation, and intensified the rate of work for the remaining staff, now it intends to take on the longest serving workers with attacks to the pension scheme.
The first of three two-hour short, sharp strikes took place today, Thursday 23rd January, from 11am to 1pm. The picketing in Coventry was the most successful since this current dispute began back in the autumn term 2013. Darrall Cozens of the West Midlands UCU reports from the picket lines and looks ahead to future rounds of planned actions.
Darrall Cozens – from the Coventry TUC and Coventry NW Labour Party – reports on the continued national strike action being taken by firefighters against Tory attacks on conditions and pensions, and looks at the wider context of these austerity measures at a time of capitalist crisis. It is clear that a response – both industrial and political – is needed from the entire labour movement to fight the Coalition’s austerity programme. Additional information provided by Nick Harrison from the Coventry FBU.
We publish here a letter from a Socialist Appeal supporter about a recent dispute between engineering company Balfour Beatty and workers in the Unite and GMB unions, which demonstrates the power of workers when they take action en masse and show solidarity with one another.
Tuesday 3rd December saw not only workers in Higher Education out on strike, but also members of the unions in Further Education, who have equally seen attacks on pay and conditions over the past period. Darrall Cozens, UCU retired member, reports on the HE and FE strikes in Coventry.
On Wednesday 27th November, around 50 people came to a Coventry TUC public meeting on austerity and the fight back. Speakers from various unions and local groups discussed the impact of the cuts in Coventry and nationally. Darrall Cozens, UCU delegate to the Coventry TUC, reports on the meeting and provides a statement by the Coventry TUC on the Coalition’s austerity and how to fight it.
We publish here a video by the Reel News, which report on the official TUC national day of action against blacklisting that took place last week on 20th November. The next protest against the blacklist takes place on Friday 29th November at 9am, outside High Court on the Strand in London, where the first case is being heard against blacklisting as an unlawful conspiracy. Tomorrow, Wednesday 27th November, Steve Kelly of the Blacklist Support Group will be speaking in UCL alongside Rob Sewell, editor of Socialist Appeal, on the lessons of the trade unions struggles of the past.
We are publishing here an extract from a letter sent to the IPCC (Independent Police Complaints Commission) by Arthur Scargill, the President of the National Union of Minerworkers during the 1984-85 miners’ strike, who outlines evidence that the police were preparing a conspiracy file for Scargill and that his arrest during the Battle of Orgreave was premeditated. This extrace has been forwarded to Socialist Appeal by the Justice for Mineworkers campaign.
We publish here a report from Socialist Appeal supporters in PCS, who highlight the successful campaign to reinstate victimised trade unionist Kevin Smith. An employment tribunal has officially ruled that Kevin was unfairly dismissed by the Home Office for his trade union activity and has ordered for Kevin to be reinstated.
We publish here the latest statement by the Blacklist Support Group (BSG), who are calling on all supporters, trades councils and trade union branches to organise an event in your area for the official TUC day of action that has been called for Wednesday 20th November to put pressure on firms guilty of blacklisting.
On the morning of 13th November, FBU members staged a four-hour walkout as part of the campaign to defend pensions, protesting against the raising of the retirement age and the increase in pension contributions of up to 14.2% of salary. Darrall Cozens of the Coventry TUC reports on the latest action by firefighters against the Coalition’s austerity programme.
The announcement from BAE Systems Ltd (BAE), made on 6th November, that at least 940 jobs would go as part of the planned loss of 1,775 jobs in the UK, produced a wave of anger, throughout Portsmouth dockyard and the wider city. It is the task of the leaders of the labour movement to mobilise the trade unions in defence of jobs and demand the nationalisation of any industry threatened with closure.
BAE Systems – the giant defence company – recently announced the closure of its Portsmouth shipyard, resulting in the loss of almost one thousand jobs. We publish here reports of a meeting and rally organised by Portsmouth Trades Council to protest against the shipyard closure and job losses. In addition, Socialist Appeal supporters in Portsmouth interviewed a worker and trade unionist from the shipyard, which we also publish here.
The first talks to take place between blacklisted workers and representatives of the blacklist compensation scheme ended in acrimony earlier this week as the delegation from the Blacklist Support Group walked out of the meeting in disgust at what they described as “piss take” proposals. We publish here the latest press release from the Blacklist Support Group, which reports on this scandalous offer of compensation for blacklisted workers.
Unite’s leverage campaign, which Len McCluskey has organised in recent years in order to put pressure on the bosses, has been under the spotlight this week in the right wing rag the Daily Mail, which has had it on its front page every day. The press have accused Unite of bullying bosses; but these same bosses were not too worried about blacklisting or sacking workers. Alan Keays of the Blacklist Support Group points out the hypocrisy of the bosses.
Postal workers in the CWU trade union were due to take strike action next Monday, 4th November, over attacks on terms and conditions. Following negotiations between the CWU and Royal Mail, and the acceptance of an improved offer, the strike action has been postponed. We publish here an article, written before these latest developments, by a postal worker, which outlines the issues involved in the strike – issues that have still not been resolved with the – now privatised – Royal Mail.
Tomorrow, on October 31st, an historic event will take place in Higher Education (HE). For the first time ever, three trade unions are going on strike at the same time – UCU (University and College Union), Unison and Unite. Socialist Appeal supporters will be visiting the picket lines in universities across the country, along with delegations from the Marxist societies, and we encourage our readers to go along and show your support too!
Now the dust has begun to settle over the debacle at Grangemouth, it is important we draw the lessons. The climb down by Unite has serious implications for the future of the labour movement. After the initial relief of keeping their jobs, the painful reality of a massive fall in living standards is beginning to dawn the on workers in Grangemouth. One thing is clear: the labour movement needs fighting leadership.
The bosses at Grangemouth oil refinery have taken the decision to close the petrochemical plant plant in the face of workers resistance to their blackmail attempts. This attack must not be taken lying down. Tam Burke discusses the background to the Grangemouth closure and the resultant estimated 800 job losses.
With probation officers in England and Wales last week voting to strike over plans to privatise the probation service, we publish here an article by Steve Brown of the Northumberland UNISON, Police and Justice Service Group (personal capacity), written before the strike vote, which analyses the issues behind the strike.
Keith Henderson, Essex Labour Party member and former Regional Organiser of the GMB Union, was dismissed from the GMB last December. Keith has always believed that the real reason for his dismissal was because of his socialist beliefs and the manifestation of his beliefs, something that has recently been proved in an Employment Tribunal.
The strength of feeling among teachers can be seen in the magnificent turnout for the regional strikes that took place this month on October 1st and 17th. Teachers in the NUT and NAS/UWT, representing 90 per cent of teachers, have come out en masse, with the result that thousands of schools have been closed for the day. John Pickard of the Essex NUT looks at the issues behind the latest strikes.
The heavy rain in London on Wednesday 16th October could not dampen the spirits of several thousand fire service personal who had travelled from all over the UK to attend a mass rally and demo in protest against the government’s continued attacks on all elements of the fire service.
The biggest construction firms involved in blacklisting have this week announced the proposal for an industry funded compensation scheme. We publish here a statement by the Blacklist Support Group to this latest development in the blacklisting scandal.
Sunday 29th September saw over 50,000 trade unionists, students, and local residents march through Manchester in one of the biggest demonstrations ever seen in the city. The national demo, called by the TUC, was nominally to ‘Save Our NHS’ but reflected a general opposition to continuing austerity and widespread anger at falling living standards for workers whilst profits for the rich are growing.
Following the national strike action taken by members of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) on Wednesday 25th September, we publish here a letter from a firefighter from Dudley borough, written at the beginning of September at the time of the strike ballot, who outlines the reasons why he chose to vote for strike action, and who answers the accusations of the Tories that a strike of firefighters’ is “irresponsible”.
On Wednesday 25th September, firefighters across the UK from the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) went on strike for four hours in protest against changes to firefighters’ pensions. Darrall Cozens of the Coventry TUC reports on the latest action by workers against attacks on the public sector.
Thanks to an online petition of more than 9,000 signatures and the threat of a mass demonstration, management at Birmingham Metropolitan College, were forced to change a policy that, if it had been implemented, would have discriminated against a section of the student population on the basis of their religious identity. Darrall Cozens from West Midlands UCU looks at the wider issues involved of how education institutions are run.
As the new term gets under way in Further Education (FE) colleges up and down the land, trade union members are being encouraged to hold union meetings to discuss the latest pay and conditions offer from the employers’ organisation, the Association of Colleges (AoC). Co-ordinate strike action between the various teaching unions is on the agenda. Darrall Cozens of the West Midlands UCU reports on the latest struggle in the teaching sector.
Structural steel workers at Severfield Watson Structures in North Yorkshire and Lancashire succeeded this August in defending their terms and conditions against attacks from their employer. Socialist Appeal supporters from the GMB union – who help to organise the Severs steel workers – report on this latest successful struggle.
We publish here the latest statement from the Blacklist Support Group, which concerns the reinstatement of Frank Morris – a blacklisted Unite the Union shop steward. Morris is returning to work on the Crossrail project on 9th September. This is a massive victory, not just for Unite but the whole of the trade union movement. His reinstatement sends out a message: unions are back and we are ready to fight our corner if we have to.
As part of overall cuts to the NHS in Yorkshire, Yorkshire Ambulance NHS Trust is replacing highly trained frontline ambulance staff with unqualified crews. Unite the Union, which has 500 members in the Yorkshire Ambulance Service, has been de-recognised by the management of the Trust for raising serious patient safety concerns as a result of these money saving measures. Richard Vivian of Unite the Union reports on the latest action by union members against NHS cuts in Yorkshire.
Call centre workers are amongst the most exploited in society. We publish here a letter from such a worker in a call centre for Apple, the giant consumer electronics multinational, who provides a vivid picture of the appalling conditions in this workplace, which are likely to be found in many other similar workplaces. In addition, the author outlines the need for such workers to unionise, organise, and fight back against such conditions, as part of a wider struggle in society against the exploitation of the bosses and the capitalist system.
Nearly 200 local people and trade unionists demonstrated against the English Defence League (EDL) in Portsmouth on Saturday 17th August 2013. Sylvia Courtnage, NUJ member and delegate to the Portsmouth Trades Council, reports on the successful counter-EDL march, which far outnumbered that of the EDL.
This week, The Guardian newspaper published evidence of police collusion in the blacklisting of building workers. We present here the latest statement from the Blacklist Support Group, which accuses the Met Police and Information Commissioners Office of deliberately withholding information that proves the link between the police and the blacklist.
Like all trade unions UCU is fighting a constant battle where new members are recruited but existing ones lose their jobs and leave the union. As a result, the issue of finance in the UCU is now a prominent question. Darrall Cozens, delegate to the UCU Congress 2013, argues that finance is not just a monetary issue, but a political issue of developing campaigns that will galvanise existing members and build the union by recruiting new members.
This summer, Brighton CityClean workers held a week-long strike against reduced pay conditions. Many of these workers face pay cuts of up to £4,000 from their annual pay, which equates, for many, to as much as £90 lost from their weekly take-home pay. Jo Pickard of the Sussex Marxist Society reports on the latest action by public sector cleaning workers facing attacks from the Green Party led Brighton City Council.
We are publishing here a press release from the Blacklist Support Group that provides details of the latest developments in this national scandal involving some of the biggest firms in the building and construction industry.
The selection process in Falkirk Labour has blown up into a national debate about the relationship between the unions and the Labour Party. We publish here an article by Gray Allan, Socialist Appeal supporter and Vice Chair of Falkirk West Constituency Labour Party, the local Party constituency that is the centre of attention.
In the aftermath of the row over the selection process in Falkirk, Labour leader Ed Miliband has gone on the offensive, calling for the weakening of the union affiliation to the Labour Party. Workers and trade unionists should respond to these calls by defending the Union-Labour link and actively fighting for socialist policies inside the Party.
Brass bands march the streets of Durham, union banners are held high and a community comes together to celebrate it’s identity. It’s the 142nd year of the Durham Miners Gala and it’s most certainly a year to remember. We publish here a report of this year’s “Big Meeting”, by a young Socialist Appeal supporter experiencing the event for the first time.
We publish here a short motion that was proposed and passed at a Unite branch by Socialist Appeal supporters. The motion correctly calls for complete support in the attempts made by Unite to move the Labour Party away from the influence and control of Blairism, and bring it back to its working class roots. We encourage all of our readers to argue for these ideas within their union and Labour Party branches.
The row over the selection process for a new Labour candidate in Falkirk, Scotland, has highlighted relations between the unions and the Labour Party. New battle lines being drawn for the future of working class political representation in Britain. Rob Sewell, editor of Socialist Appeal, looks at the latest political developments between the Unions and the Labour Party.
Postal workers have given a resounding ‘NO’ vote to the government’s threats of Royal Mail privatisation. The Communication Workers’ Union (CWU) released the results of the consultative ballot on Wednesday 19th June, which also supported a pay claim, and the possibility of a boycott of competitors’ mail. Socialist Appeal supporters in the CWU report on this latest act of defiance and militancy by postal workers against attacks on their livelihoods and on the Royal Mail.
UNISON’s Local Government Conference, held in Liverpool on June 16-17th, brought together delegates from hundreds of branches in England, Cymru Wales and the North of Ireland for two days of discussion and debate. Conference discussed some of the most pressing issues facing members: Eric Pickles’ attacks on facility time; the threat of privatisation; recent attacks on Teaching Assistants from the so called “Reform” think tank; and the pressures on domiciliary care. UNISON Socialist Appeal supporters report on this year’s conference.
150 health workers, families and supporters marched through Grimsby town centre on 8th June in protest about cuts to terms and conditions as the Care Plus Group attempts to cut £900,000 from its budget. Callum Stanland, from Unite Community in Grimsby, reports on the latest demonstration against the Coalition’s attack on the NHS.
Trade unionists have rightly reacted with anger at Tory proposals to amend the new Lobbying Bill to include fresh attacks on union funding for the Labour Party and to try and further limit the right to strike. The trade union and Labour leaders must fight against these attacks.
GMB delegates met this week in Plymouth for its annual conference. A motion in favour of a general strike – moved by Socialist Appeal supporter Ben Kirkham – was passed unaimously.
Over 50 people turned up in Grimsby town centre on Saturday 25th May, as yet more protests across the country are seen against the bedroom tax. In places like Grimsby where there are high levels of unemployment and poverty, the bedroom tax will hit the local area hard. The cost to the local economy, as a result of just this one cruel change in the benefits system, will run into the millions.
Delegates to the annual conference of PCS (Public and Commercial Services Union), the union of the civil servants, met this year in Brighton from the 21st to 23rd of May. At the conference delegates reaffirmed support for the Union’s campaign in opposition to job cuts and attacks on pay, pensions and other terms and conditions of employment. The conference agreed to call for a one-day strike of members by the end of June, probably on the same day as the teaching unions propose to take action.
Thousands of Londoners marched on Saturday 18th May to ‘Defend London’s NHS’ in a protest organised by an “unprecedented coalition of London residents, medical staff, trade unions and health campaigners”. Socialist Appeal supporters on the demonstration report on the latest mass protest against the Tory attacks on healthcare.
Civil Servants are facing some of the most vicious attacks on themselves and their unions in a generation. In the run up to the annual PCS national conference, which begins on Monday 20th May in Brighton, London PCS member Julian Sharpe outlines the issues facing the public sector union and its membership.
On May 4th around 250 workers and youth marched through Hull city centre as part of Hull TUC’s May Day celebrations. The march doubled as a protest against the austerity of the coalition government, and was led by the Labour councillors in Hull who are defying the cuts and providing an inspiration to the entire labour movement. Callum Stanland reports.
Saturday 4th May saw thousands march in the annual Glasgow May Day demonstration. A proud tradition in the home of ‘Red Clydeside’, the demonstration brings activists together in celebration of International Workers’ Day. Rachel Gibbs and Michael Allan of the Glasgow Marxists report on the recent Glasgow May Day 2013 celebrations.
Thousands of protesters participated in May Day (International Workers’ Day) in London yesterday. The banners and slogans raised were extremely militant, calling for the end of austerity throughout Europe by overthrowing capitalism. It is time for the leaders of the labour movement to reflect this militancy in their actions.
On a warm Saturday lunchtime on 20th April, around 1000 people marched through Leeds City Centre to protest against the coalition government’s hated Bedroom Tax. Residents were not only showing their anger at the national government for their particularly cruel and inhumane welfare “reform” but also calling on their Labour run council to take a stand against the government. Callum Stanland from the Grimsby Unite Community group reports on the latest protest against the welfare attacks.
Momentum is building on the second day of strike action in the Home Office. Members in different areas of the Home Office are taking part in four days of strike action this week. As part of a rolling programme of action across the civil service, and in pursuit of national demands, PCS are escalating action to a week of strikes across the Home Office, involving different areas taking action on consecutive days. PCS Socialist Appeal supporters report on the ongoing action.
At the same time as Margaret Thatcher was being buried to the pomp of the British establishment, to the tune of £10 million of our money, thousands of working people in Goldthorpe, a small ex-mining village on the outskirts of Barnsley in South Yorkshire, were celebrating the passing of this hated symbol of all that is bad about the Tories and the capitalist system it represents.
Unite General Secretary Len McCluskey has been re-elected, with over 144,000 votes. His only opponent in the election, Jerry Hicks, received nearly 80,000 votes. Luke Wilson comments on McCluskey’s re-election victory and the wider changes that have taken place within Britain’s largest trade union.
Around 200 people marched in Portsmouth on 13th April to oppose the proposed closure of Sure Start centres. Sion Reynolds, Vice-Chair of the Portsmouth Trades Council reports on the latest local demonstration against the Coalition’s cuts.
Members of the PCS walked out on strike at 1pm on Friday 5 April and continued their strike action until the following Monday when they staged a mass “walk-in” at 1pm. In Portsmouth, Ministry of Defence jobs and working conditions at the Naval Dockyard are under threat. Sion Reynolds, vice-chair of the Portsmouth trades council, reports from the picket lines in Portsmouth.
In the same week that the Home Secretary Teresa May is due to be hauled in front of the Home Affairs Select Committee to be questioned over her failure with the UK Border Agency (UKBA) and the failure to deal with the backlogs of immigration cases, she will also have to deal with the fallout from union members’ action in her department as PCS call a week-long of strikes.
This month, the TUC General Council will finally discuss plans for a possible 24-hour general strike against the coalition government’s spending cuts. This would be the first time since 1972 that such action has been discussed, and the first time that a general strike has occurred since 1926. It is now time for the trade union leaders to put words into action and name the day.
On the back of a successful day of strike action on 20th March, members of the PCS union working in government departments across the civil service plan a further walk-out for half a day on Friday 5th April. The dispute is over the Tory-lead government plans of more job cuts, holding down wages, and the ripping-up of hard fought for terms and conditions.
Over 300 people attended the Newcastle protest against the Bedroom Tax on afternoon of Saturday 16th March. 660,000 households nationally are likely to be affected by the changes to housing benefit, which are designed to impact on some of the most vulnerable people in society. Terry McPartlan, member of Unison (personal capacity), the public sector union, reports.
Over 3,000 protesters marched in north London on Saturday 16th March to show their anger about the planned changes to the Whittington Hospital in Archway. Many were wearing “I Love the NHS” T-Shirts quoting Aneurin Bevan’s famous declaration “The NHS will last as long as there are folk left with the faith to fight for it.” The fury at the proposed destructive cuts to the hospital was evident.
On Saturday, March 16th, the Labour Representation Committee organised a one-day conference to bring together local anti-cuts groups, trade union organisations, and Labour councillors from various parts of the country who had voted against the cuts agenda and to see if a national united campaign against the cuts could be developed. Darrall Cozens reports from the recent Councillors Against the Cuts conference in Birmingham.
In an historic alliance, the two biggest teaching unions, representing 95% of the teaching workforce, are engaged in sustained industrial action. Siôn Reynolds from the NASUWT reports on the “work to rule” action being taken by teachers.
On Thursday 28th February, workers at STM security group were out on strike due to victimisation and abhorrent conditions in the workplace. STM, a private firm and sub-contractor of Transport for London (TFL) and London Overground Rail, is responsible for providing safety and security on the London Overground line. This example of workers at STM shows the reality of what happens when public services are privatised and outsourced: conditions are driven to rock-bottom and those who raise concerns are bullied out of their jobs.
A tanker drivers’ strike at a major Scottish oil refinery is set to continue into a second week. More than 40 drivers walked out on Friday 22nd February in a dispute over pay and pensions. Now a new four-day strike is set to begin on 1st March after negotiations failed.
Around 1,200 PCS trade union members at the Capital Building in Liverpool are to take industrial action next month as a result of one of their colleagues being sacked. Kevin Smith’s union believe he was targeted as a result of him being a trade union representative.
On Saturday 23rd February, a 1000-strong crowd greeted the arrival of a group of approximately 40 bussed-in supporters of the English Defence League in Cambridge. Trade unionists, students, and members of Cambridge’s Muslim community all marched to show that the EDL – a far-right neo-fascist group – are not welcome in Cambridge or anywhere else.
The campaign against Coventry City cuts, which was launched last weekend by City Council trade unionists, entered its second phase on Saturday, February 23rd. In bitter cold, about 200 trade unionists, along with other supporters, marched through the city centre to Speakers Corner opposite the Council House. Darrall Cozens reports on the fight against cuts in Coventry.
On Thursday 14th February, around 80 UCU members and other trade unionists turned out to support a one-day strike called by UCU members at Halesowen College in support of four teachers who have been sacked by the Principal. Darrall Cozens reports on the latest developments in the case of the Halesowen Four, which is likely to be pivotal in the question of the victimisation of trade unionists.
Around 1000 people joined the Newcastle Stop the Cuts “Save our Services” march and rally on Saturday 16th February. The demonstration was the latest stage of the campaign to fight Newcastle City Council’s budget plans, which will mean the closure of several libraries, the extinction of Play and Youth Services and cuts of 48% to Arts funding, as well as a long list of other service cuts.
Trade unions representing Coventry City Council workers launched a campaign on Saturday 16th February against proposed cuts in council spending. The highlight of the launch was a mock auction of the Council House itself, which faces the threat of closure due to the cuts and privatisation of local services.
Unison NHS members in Yorkshire are currently on strike due to redundancies and pay cuts. Richard Vivian reports on the dispute and action.
On Saturday 26th January, up to 25,000 workers, Labour party members, trade unionists, students and members of the local community marched against the proposed closure of Lewisham Hospital’s A&E department. Such a large turnout for a local protest is unprecedented in recent times and demonstrates the real depth of resistance to the cuts and anger at the government in the community.
Since his election to the position of general secretary of Unite – Britain’s largest union, with 1.5 million members – two years ago, Len McCluskey has moved to the left in response to the pressures from below. This was shown at a meeting on Tuesday 15th January at the London School of Economics, where McCluskey delivered a militant speech on the crisis and the need for a response from the labour movement.
On Monday evening, January 14th, about 90 trade unionists from Halesowen and across the West Midlands filled the lounge bar of the Old Hill Cricket Club in Park Road, Haden Hill, Halesowen. Why had they come together on a cold wet January evening? To give support to the now four UCU members of the Maths department at Halesowen College who have been sacked. Darrall Cozens from the West Midlands UCU reports on the latest developments.
One lecturer in further education in the West Midlands has been sacked for his role as an active UCU trade unionists, and measures are being taken against three others. Darrall Cozens, a UCU member in the West Midlands, looks at the background to the case of the “Halesowen four”.
Unite – the largest trade union in Britain, with over 1.5 million members – has positioned itself as the leadership of the labour movement against the capitalist class and its political representatives in the Coalition. The radicalised mood developing from below has begun to find an expression in the words and actions of the leadership of Unite, and in particular in the figure of Len McCluskey, the current General Secretary of Unite, who is seeking to be relected.
Workers at ScotRail are due to take strike action over the Christmas period. We publish here a report from a worker at ScotRail, who explains the background and reasons behind the strike.
The capitalist crisis has posed things in a point blank fashion. Austerity cuts have hammered local government and public services across the board. There will be no let-up in these cuts. Now is the time for the labour movement to rise up, reclaim the militant traditions of the past, and fight back.
The FE
employers organisation, the Association of Colleges (AoC) has announced that it
is withdrawing from national agreements where it gives advice to FE colleges on
sick pay agreements. This is another step in attacking term and conditions of
FE staff that began almost 20 years ago
THE
long-running Tesco lorry drivers’ dispute has come to an end after
workers agreed a new redundancy package. The bitter dispute at Doncaster
’s Middle Bank distribution depot began in August after the firm’s
transport workforce was switched from Tesco to hauliers Eddie Stobart
Limited with 180 drivers promptly issued with redundancy notices. This
sparked a string of one to 8 day strikes leading to an all out strike
last week.
186 Doncaster Tesco distribution drivers, members of Unite
the Union, are being sacked and replaced by drivers on cheaper rates of
pay. Many have more than 20 years
loyal service but this counts for nothing in the world of Tesco.
370 members of Unison and Unite
in West Yorkshire have been on a 3 day strike in protest at redundancies and
pay cuts. Admin and clerical staff at Mid Yorkshire Hospitals Trust, which runs
Pinderfields, Pontefract and Dewsbury hospitals, are taking action in an
escalating dispute with managers. Changes to pay bandings to cut costs at the
cash-strapped trust could leave staff up to £2,800 worse off.
It is not often that we get speakers from outside the city
to come to Coventry TUC, but on Thursday evening, November 15th,
delegates were enthused and enthralled by John Dunn, former Clay Cross
Councillor and Derbyshire NUM officer, and now of the SMSC.
On Wednesday, November 14th, a number of Socialist Appeal supporters in Unite went along to give support to a picket at the
Oxford Circus CrossRail site, organised by the sparks’ rank and file committee.
‘A company that only makes money is not good business’. This
phrase from Henry Ford does not appear to be an inspiration for Stephen
Odell, the current CEO of Ford Europe. Money seems to be the only
reason for its industrial policy, as shownby the announced plant
closures in Genk and Southampton (UK).The announcement on October 24 of
the plant closures and the layoffs of 4500 workers in Belgium and 500 in
the UK are another nail in the coffin of the European automotive
sector.
On Saturday, October 20th,
the streets of London were once again filled with red flags and
colourful trade union banners as 130,000 workers and youth from all over the
country marched against the austerity policies of the LibDem-Tory
coalition government.
According to official sources, over 100,000 marched through London today (Oct 20) to protest against the austerity regime and cuts being imposed by the government – the actual number who marched was almost certainly much higher. Many workers carried banners and shouted slogans demanding action including a one-day general strike. A full report and analysis will follow but in the meantime here are some photos of the day.
In November last year Francis Maude, Cabinet Office
Minister, told civil servants who were embarking on strike action to protect
their pensions that they could take 15 minutes of symbolic action without loss
of pay. He was ignored and hundreds of thousands walked out in protest over
pension “reforms." This week in Coventry more than 200 PCS members and others took
Francis Maude at his word and walked out for 15 minutes as he was visiting the HMRC
tax office in Sherbourne House where they worked.
A crisp and sunny autumn day
greeted around 2,500 trade unionists as they marched around the back streets
leading onto Broad Street where the Tory Party were at their annual shindig at
the ICC announcing yet more cuts to hit the poor and vulnerable in society.
The national conference in Newcastle of the National Union
of Journalists (NUJ) has passed without opposition a resolution supporting the
Blacklist Support Campaign in their fight to expose the anti-union scandal of
the blacklist being operated in the construction industry.
On October 20th we will witness another massive display of
opposition to the Coalition government. Hundreds of thousands of angry
workers will take to the streets in an attempt to push back the Tory
austerity programme. This is part of a European-wide movement of opposition to austerity
measures, with the latest mass demonstrations being held in Spain and
Portugal. New protests have also erupted in Greece.
28
workers including a UNITE steward and safety rep have been dismissed
from the Crossrail project because of they are members of a trade union.
The unionised workers employed by E.I.S. Electrical were searched and removed from site last Friday at the instruction of Bam Ferrovial Kier (BFK), the consortium of contractors building Crossrail.
A number of unions are organising transport to the October 20 demo in
London. Here are the latest details – we will update these as we go but
the responsibilty for the correctness of this data lies with those who
provided it.
Glasgow electrician Stewart Hume
is being victimised because of his trade union activities during the
recent BESNA dispute. Stewart was one of the leading UNITE rank and file
activists in the country whilst working for Balfour Beatty Engineering Services (BBES) at the Strathclyde Fire & Rescue Training Centre and Ineos Grangemouth Oil Refinery.
UNISON members employed by Northumbria Healthcare Trust took strike
action today in response to the decision of the Foundation Trust to
slash mileage rates from 47p per mile to 24p. The workers concerned are
Community Nurses, Occupational Therapists, Technical Instructors and
Social Workers, who are required to use a car for work, because they
work in the community covering large distances to meet the needs of
vulnerable, often elderly patients.
One year after it was announced that employers in the construction
industry were looking to break workplace agreements and implement savage
cuts in pay and conditions, and one year after the magnificent rank and
file campaign was launched in response, site activists from around the
country met in London to plan the way ahead.
PRESS RELEASE: A group of blacklisted workers have launched a High Court claim against Sir Robert McAlpine which could potentially be worth £600million. Guney Clark & Ryan
solicitors served a claim on behalf of 86 claimants for "Tort of
unlawful conspiracy" at the High Court last week. The claimants are part
of the Blacklist Support Group, a network campaigning
on behalf of construction workers illegally blacklisted because of their
trade union activities by major building contractors as part of the Consulting Association scandal first exposed in 2009.
Workers at the electrical appliance company Miele are fighting back. One of their workers, organised by Unite, explains why.
Essex Firefighters have called another strike day for July 18th. They are
appealling for support from all members of the Labour and trade union
movement. Come along to Chelmsford on the 18th!
Here is the latest newsletter from the construction Rank and File campaign.
Last month’s day of action by doctors attracted a lot of criticism from
the Tory press – no surprise there! Here is an article we have received
from a doctor putting their case and explaining what really happened.
The trial of the Shrewsbury pickets is a
gross miscarriage of justice in the 20th century still unresolved. Please sign the online petition.
A Socialist Appeal fringe
meeting on lessons of the Sparks’ dispute at the Unite Trade Union Policy
Conference in Brighton attracted 30 people.
The need for socialist policies and for the nationalisation of the
commanding heights of the economy dominated much of the agenda of the
UNITE policy conference this year, and following a very radical
conference the union has committed to supporting the nationalisation of
the private banks, utilities and railways. The mood of the conference
shows a sharp shift to the left amongst the UNITE rank and file recently
and its reflection in the leadership. Not one speaker from the union’s
executive or from the conference delegates openly opposed the principles
of nationalisation or of the need to adopt socialist policies.
Friday,
22nd June witnessed something unprecedented in British industrial
relations. For the first time, London bus drivers, engineers and supervisors
struck together in solidarity. We are striking for the same bonus being given
to other transport workers in recognition of the hard work we’ll be
putting in over the Olympics. But the strike is about much, much more
than a one off bonus
The UCU Annual Congress held in June in Manchester took
place against the backdrop of three important factors: the return of a
double-dip recession heralding even more cutbacks in public spending, the
continuing battle over public sector pensions and the attempts of the UCU
General Secretary, Sally Hunt, to bypass established democratic procedures
within the union by conducting an e-ballot amongst members on policy
development.
Monday night in Brighton sees Socialist Appeal hosting a fringe meeting at the Unite conference.
Activists have led a call to support a protest outside the Fawley refinery this coming Wed.
British
doctors have gone on strike today for the first time since 1975 over
the government cuts to pensions. Unsurprisingly, this has been met with a
chorus of indignation by the Tories who have accused the doctors of
“penalising patients” by taking industrial action.
Not content with job losses which have already reached 1300,
Northumberland County Council’s Lib Dem and Tory leaders are seeking to
privatise up to 1,000 further jobs through a so called “Public Private
Partnership”. The proposal would mean a transfer to the PPP Company by
the end of this financial year.
Almost four months since the national negotiators struck a secret deal with the employers, UNISON has published a press release containing the “main points” of the proposed Local Government Pension Scheme to be known as LGPS 2014. Despite the fact that the elected Service Group Executive found out the content of the proposals only today reports indicate that it was presented in a series of glossy leaflets and factsheets. The proposals which have been rolled out less than three weeks prior to the Local Government Conference of the union has essentially been cobbled together behind the backs of even the highest elected bodies of the union.
Over 600 construction workers walked out today at Ratcliffe power
station in support of a suspended unite safety rep
David Hopper, General Secretary of the Durham Miners Association, looks back at the remarkable life of ‘Bob’ Smillie as he reviews a new book on this pioneer of the movement.
Public
sector workers in Barnsley today came out in protest against austerity
cuts and attacks on their pensions, some for the third time in the last
12 months
As part of its austerity programme the
Tory-LibDem coalition is planning to cut police officers’ wages and
making it easier to sack them. There are to be wage cuts, job losses and
more stringent requirements to enter the police force.
In what could turn out to be a significant turn of events,
Unite general secretary Len McCluskey fired an angry broadside last week at
Labour leader Ed Miliband, taking issue with Miliband’s recent support for a
public-sector pay-freeze. After twenty years of uncritical support by
trade-union leaders for the right-wing Labour leadership, such a missive is
certainly welcome. It has also helped reopen the debate about the relationship
between the Labour Party and the trade unions.
Here are some links to pictures and reports of the Nov 30th Day of Action.
Well if ever there is a place in England that isn’t
revolutionary or willing for workers action you might think it would be Bury St
Edmunds – or so you might think. Bury is a town that is typically seen as
bourgeoisie and reactionary with quaint villages surrounding it which keep to
themselves. The 30th however saw something that has not
entered the consciousness of the people of Bury (after discussion with locals)
ever. By this of course I’m talking about the mass strike action. As the UNISON rep for West Suffolk College I was able to
draw upon my own reflections of the day and discuss with others why this was
necessary.
There were unprecedented scenes in Birmingham on N30 after the
Tory-Lib-Dem coalition that runs Birmingham City Council tried to ban
the planned TUC protest march.
On
the day it turned out to be the biggest trade union demonstration in
Coventry since the 1970s. They came in their hundreds from all parts of
the city and from all public sector trade unions as well as from trade
unions that were not on strike that day – the FBU was well represented.
By the time of the rally at the end of the march through Coventry city
centre some 2,500 trade unionists and their families were crammed into
the area known as Speakers Corner opposite the Council building.
At least 20,000 – perhaps as many as 30,000 – marched through Glasgow in support of the strikes.
Tourists
looking down from the Castle saw history being
made
below them as Johnston Terrace was jammed with
clerks, cooks and cleaners,
teachers, librarians, radiographers, nurses,
lectures, bin men and women,
jannies, curators, students, thousands more of
good humoured but determined
public sector workers and their bairns
determined not to be “robbed of their
pension”, as I was told by a First Davison
Association (top management
union) picket at the court.
More than two million public sector workers took strike action yesterday. That amounted to a virtual general strike of the public sector. In terms of numbers, the action was bigger than the “Winter of Discontent” in 1979 – bigger even than the 1926 General Strike. Even The Financial Times, the organ of Big Business, surprisingly described Wednesday’s strike as “undoubtedly historic”.
On the eve of the 30th November I, like many other public sector
workers in Worcester, was making sandwiches, filling flasks full of
coffee and digging out themal T shirts ready for cold picket lines.The
pickets were set up before sunrise at the hospitals in Worcestershire.
One of the biggest protest marches held on Nov 30 was in London with thousands of workers and students joining feeder demonstrations from various parts of the capital. These merged with the main protest through Central London from Midday – official estimates put the number on the march at over 20,000.
Here is a brief report from a London picket line – one of many which were held yesterday as part of the Nov 30 strike and protest.
800 public sector workers marched through Barnsley yesterday – and an estimated 4,000 did the same in Sheffield.
Around a thousand trade unionists marched thru the centre of Chelmsford in Essex in what must have been the largest such protest since the days of the Peasant Revolt!
Tomorrow’s Public Sector strike will be easily the biggest
strike day since the General Strike of 1926. In fact far more workers will
participate in the strike than on the first day of the 1926 General Strike.
Schools, Government Departments, Council Depots, Offices and Health Services
will grind to a halt as workers protest about massive increases in contributions
and cuts to their pensions.
The ballot results are now pretty much all in for November 30th - here
is a summary (provided by the PCS union) of the various unions’ ballot
returns. Clearly the mood exists for a mighty struggle, not only on
November 30th but beyond. The TUC needs to take the next step and widemn
this fight out to take in all workers arounfd a 24 hour general strike.
The fight is not just over pensions; it’s jobs, pay and services – this
affects every worker in Britain and everybody must be involved in the
struggle against this government and the rotten system it defends at our
expense.
On November 30th 2011,
three million public sector workers will strike over the
government’s attacks on their pensions. This coordinated strike action
represents the biggest strike movement since the general strike in 1926.
To all intents and purposes it will be a 24-hour public sector general
strike. Unison have already announced a large majority vote for action.
On Sunday October 2nd, some 40,000 trade
unionists and anti-cuts campaigners took part in a March for the Alternative
through the streets of Manchester city centre to lobby the Tory Party
Conference. Although this was a national TUC organised event it was obvious
that most of those present came from the North and North West of the UK with
only a sprinkling further south from Wales, Bristol and some parts of London.
Birmingham council Unison members once again manned the picket lines on 21 September, for a second day of strike action against the Con-Dem council’s threat to impose ‘Martini’ contracts on the authority’s 26,000 workers.
Cambridge saw all the four striking unions out in the city,
with PCS members on strike at the job centre and the local HMRC offices, the
UCU out at Anglia Ruskin University and the Cambridge Regional College, and NUT
and ATL members shutting down a number of schools in the area. Armed with our
solidarity chocolate, we visited a number of picket lines to chat to workers
and offer our support.
From Psychology to Hair & Beauty the response from
ATL & UCU lecturers to the strike call was overwhelming in all departments
at Worcester Technology College
PORTSMOUTH: Guildhall Square
resounded to loud shouts against the Government’s attack on the pensions and
conditions of millions of Public Sector workers.
Thousands of trade unionists hit the
streets of London and other cities all over Britain today in a national
strike called by the Public and Civil Service Union (PCS), the National
Union of Teachers (NUT), the Lecturers’ union (UCU) and the Association of Teachers and Lecturers
(ATL) to protest the government’s plan to vandalise pension schemes.
This was an important turning-point for the British labour movement.
JUNE 30th: Thousands march in London against the Tory attacks on public sector pensions.
June 30th: Around the country, in towns, villages and cities, marches
and rallies have been taking place in support of those public sector
workers striking to defense of their pensions. Members of the teaching
unions and civil servants on strike were joined in solidarity by members
of other unions, pensioners, school and students – all ready to make a
stand against what this bosses government is doing. The mood could be
summed up in two words: Angry, Determined. In Chelmsford, in deepest
Essex, several hundred trade unionists and others marched through the
town centre to a packed rally in a nearby centre.
The
announcement that Progress, the Blairite Right Wing group inside the Labour
Party, is to publish something called ‘The Purple Book’ later this year is just
the latest development of the so-called Blue Labour project.
500,000 march against the cuts, against the coalition, against big business. Here are the images of the day.
The magnificent 500,000-strong
demonstration on 26 March – the biggest trade union demonstration in the
history of the British labour movement – was a marvellous response to
the Coalition’s austerity measures. It sends out a clear message: the
workers of this country are not prepared to take the government’s
austerity measures lying down.
We are now just six weeks away from the March 26th demo called by the TUC to oppose the cuts. It now seems certain that this will be the biggest protest in London since the marches against the Iraq war. Over 300,000 are expect. Read on for full details, transport etc…
On Saturday December 4th in freezing weather around 400 trade
unionists, students and youth marched from Coventry City Council House
to a rally in Millennium Square outside the world famous transport
museum to protest against the cuts and the rise in tuition fees. The
event was jointly organised by the Unison and Unite trade unions from
the city council and the Coventry Trades Union Council (CTUC) campaign
Coventry Against the Cuts (CAthC).
On Saturday 27th November 2010, Worcester Trades
Union Council chair Steve Martin welcomed over 40 trade union and political
activists to the conference called by the Trades Council to seek a co-ordinate
campaign of resistance to the Coalition plans to cut public expenditure.
It has been said by rank and file trade unionists for many years that a blacklist has been used by employers in the construction industry. Now after intense lobbying by the rank and file forcing their unions to raise the issue in Parliament, it has been proved that there is a blacklist of 3,200 construction workers.
On Thursday April 24th teachers, lecturers and
public sector workers staged a one-day strike. Teachers were out on official strike
for the first time for 21 years. They were joined by Further Education (FE)
lecturers organised in UCU and public sector workers from the PCS union who are
faced with a government imposed 2% pay rise limit. At last workers in the
public sector were taking organised, coordinated and united strike action
against pay offers that represent a cut in their standard of living.