Shop stewards network splits over anti-cuts tactics

The National Shop Stewards Network (NSSN) voted by a big majority at today's conference in London to set up its own national anti-cuts campaign.
The vote was 325 to 89 - with those in the majority organised around the Socialist Party.
Those in favour argued that other organisations were not committed to fighting all cuts.
Supporters of the Coalition of Resistance and the Right to Work group insisted they were opposed to all cuts and that no further campaigns were needed.
An 11 person committee was elected to run the new anti-cuts campaign - including Alex Gordon, president of the Rail Maritime and Transport union (RMT).
The conference was held at a school in Camden, London.
Afterwards many of the delegates who voted against the new anti-cuts campaign met in a nearby pub.
Members of the NSSN steering committee who were present agreed to stand down.
There was a proposal to start another network of activists based around a website.
DECLARATION:
I attended the conference as a delegate for the branch of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) representing public relations workers in London. I was mandated to vote against the new anti-cuts campaign.

Trades unionists vow to keep Strummer's spirit alive

It's the eighth anniversary of the death of Clash front man Joe Strummer - and trade unionists influenced by his work have renewed the pledge to keep the punk rocker's spirit alive.
Two important legacy projects – Strummerville , a foundation for new music and Jail Guitar Doors, Billy Bragg’s initiative to supply prisoners with guitars – both continue to go from strength to strength.
Strummer died, aged 50, at his Somerset home on the 22nd December 2002.
Geoff Martin, who works for the Rail Maritime and Transport union (RMT) and political organiser of the Left Field stage at Glastonbury festival, said: "Eight years after Joe Strummer’s death people in all corners of the world will be marking the occasion and renewing the pledge to keep Joe’s spirit and memory burning bright.
"Those of us who marched to Victoria Park in April 1978 to see the Clash at the Rock Against Racism carnival got our first taste of politics from Joe Strummer and the Clash – 32 years on that fight for economic and social justice still guides many of us and Joe would have been over the moon to see a new generation of young people and students picking up the baton.”
Jeremy Dear, general secretary of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), said: "The spirit of Joe Strummer is alive and kicking in the anti-cuts and anti-fees protests gathering pace the length and breadth of the country.
"Today we mark the eighth anniversary of Joe’s untimely death by recharging our batteries and gearing ourselves up for the fight ahead."
COMMENT:
Listening to The Clash's first LP was a life-changing experience for many people of my generation.
We are everywhere - like sleepers waiting to be activated.
For me these were the key words: "All the power's in the hands of the people rich enough to buy it, while we walk the streets to chicken to even try it."

Train drivers in Wales hold strike ballot over pay

Drivers who work for Cardiff-based Arriva Trains Wales are to ballot for industrial action over pay and conditions.
The Rail, Maritime, and Transport union (RMT) says they are amongst the lowest paid train drivers in the country.
The RMT's press release

FBU and RMT walk away from calls for an early demonstration against the cuts

Two UK unions with militant reputations have abandoned plans to organise a national demonstration before Christmas to oppose government spending cuts.
As reported on The Workers United last week members of the eight-member Trade Union Co-ordinating Group (TUCG) were considering calling the protest against the wishes of the leaders of the wider labour movement.
But since then two key members of the group - the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) and the Rail, Maritime, and Transport union (RMT) - have told colleagues that they are no longer in favour of holding an early demonstration. They are believed to fear a poor turnout because of the short notice.
When the Trades Union Congress (TUC) general council met in October it decided not to organise a national protest until next March.
In response the executive of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), meeting on October 26 decided to press on with plans for a national demo - expecting support from other unions in the TUCG.
The PCS has nearly three times as many members as the RMT and FBU put together.
And it would almost certainly have support from the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) - as general secretary Jeremy Dear is on record supporting the early demo.
But the chances of a national demo before Christmas now seem very remote.

The TUC is the umbrella organisation for almost all unions in Britain.

The TUCG is made up of eight TUC affilaites who have agreed to work on joint campaigns.

COMMENT:
At public meetings all over the country people are asking "why can't we do a France" and organise massive civil disobediance against attacks on jobs and public services. The answer is a lack of confidence on behalf of union leaders and members. If the cuts are to be watered down - never mind defeated - the Labour movement must stop choking.

Seafarers to protest outside Tesco on the Isle of Man

A shipping union has accused Tesco and Shoprite of undermining Isle of Man ferry services by switching their freight to a company using low-paid eastern European seafarers.
Nautilus International, a union for maritime professionmals in the UK and Netherlands, has written to the two big retailers urging them to reverse their decision.
The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company uses the freight business to provide a subsided passenger route to the Island .
They are now facing competition from Estonian-flagged vessels run by a firm called Mezeron.
Nautilus general secretary Mark Dickinson said:"It is wholly unjustifiable that competition is introduced on the basis of ‘social dumping’ and undermining an established company that has a demonstrable commitment to decent working conditions and the employment and training of Manx and British seafarers."
RMT, Nautilus and Unite members will be handing out leaflets outside Tesco at Douglas on the Isle of Man on Saturday November 6.
Read the full Nautilus press release.

Preparations underway for national protest against cuts before Christmas

Plans are being made to hold a national demonstration against the UK cuts before Christmas - even though the leaders of the trade union movement rejected the idea earlier this month.
The general council of the Trades Union Congress decided to organise a protest in March next year.
Some members of the council wanted a quicker response - as reported on The Workers United.
And the executive of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) met on October 26 and agreed to push ahead with plans for a national demo.
A briefing from PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka and president Janice Godrich posted on the union's website says they will be asking the TUC public sector liaison group meeting on Monday November 8 to organise a protest within six weeks.
I understand the call will be for a national demonstration outside London.
It follows protests across the country last weekend - which were particularly successful in Edinburgh and Belfast.
If the TUC public services group does not endorse the plan I understand the demonstration will be organised by the Trade Union Co-ordinating Group (TUCG).
The TUCG is an alliance of eight unions who work together, primarily on parliamentary lobbying through the office of left-wing Labour MP John McDonnell.
The members of the co-ordinating group are the Bakers Food and Allied Workers Union (BFAWU), the Fire Brigades Union (FBU), the National Association of Probation Officers (NAPO), the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), PCS, the Prison Officers Association (POA), the Rail Martime and Transport union (RMT) and the United Road Transport Union (URTU).
The Trade Union Co-ordinating Group doesn't have a website - but here's a blog post about its launch.

The Sun apologises to Bob Crow

The Sun - Britain's most popular newspaper - has issued a fulsome apology to Bob Crow, the leader of the Rail, Maritime, and Transport union (RMT).
The Sun said:"An article on 15 September reported RMT General Secretary Bob Crow had a union-subsidised home and luxury car.
"In fact, Mr Crow's home has never been subsidised by the union and he does not own a car, union or otherwise, and champions public transport.
"We are happy to set the record straight and apologise to Mr Crow."
You can see it on The Sun website.
As already reported on The Workers United there was a higher than usual number of trade union stories in The Sun last week.

Red Pepper magazine

Firefighters, tube workers, and broadcasters all on strike next week

London is the venue for a week of discontent with tube workers, fire fighters and BBC journalists all set to strike in the next seven days.
Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) and the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA) are taking action on Tuesday evening and Wednesday over hundreds of job cuts on London underground.
Fire Brigades Union (FBU) members in London will be striking for eight hours on Monday, and again on Friday and Saturday in a row over shift changes.
And across the world - but including Television Centre, Broadcasting House, and Bush House in London - National Union of Journalists members at the BBC will be walking out on Friday and Saturday over cuts to their pensions.
Latest releases:
RMT: Today is solidarity day
TSSA: Boris is like Pinnochio
FBU: Hardship fund
NUJ: Ballot result
COMMENT:
As discussed on The Workers United two weeks ago there is a growing chance for co-ordinated action against cuts.
In London it would be a big step in that direction if the unions in dispute organised a joint event - maybe a big rally.
The NUJ, RMT, and FBU are all part of the Trade Union Co-ordinating Group (TUCG). Let's see some co-ordination.
Activists should be encouraged to visit each others' picket lines.
And union branches should be inviting speakers from all the disputes and holding collections for hardship funds.

Railway workers win pay rises and no redundancy deal with threat of action

The Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) has announced that maintenance workers at Network Rail overwhelmingly endorsed a reorganisation of their work after management agreed it would include a seven per cent pay rise by the end of 2011.
The package, which will also deliver a £2,000 lump sum before Christmas and rules out compulsory redundancies, was accepted by a margin of around four to one after being recommended to members by the union.
RMT general secretary Bob Crow said: "Our negotiators were backed by a solid strike mandate, and at a time when working people have been told to shut up and take pay freezes our members have shown that if you stand together you can win.”
The 12,000 maintenance workers voted 77 percent in favour of strike action in a ballot earlier this year.
COMMENT:
Industrial action - or the threat of it - is the only langauage bosses understand.
Union reps and members in negotiations all over the country can use this example to boost workers' confidence.

Jon Gaunt backs unions over government cuts

Radio shock jock and newspaper columnist Jon Gaunt - generally regarded as a figure of the political right - has come out in support of the trade union line on Britain's spending cuts.
In his weekly column for the Spain-based ex-pat newspaper Round Town News Gaunt writes: "I find myself agreeing with the unions who are making the point that it is not their members that got us into this mess but it will be them who suffer the most pain as these cuts are introduced.
"George Orwell was right - all animals are equal but it would seem that the self serving pigs of Westminster and Brussels and the fat cat bankers are more equal than others."
But Gaunt - who has worked for The Sun, BBC London, and TalkSport - will be at odds with many union activists when he suggests that foreign aid should be axed to cut the defecit.
He also calls for Britain to stop spending so much money on the European Union - which will find an echo from some, like the Rail, Maritime, and Transport union (RMT) which backed the No2EU party in the last Euro elections.
In the same article Gaunt describes former Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) chairman Jimmy Hill as one of his heroes and says he was right to smash the maximum wage.
DECLARATION:
I've produced Jon Gaunt's show on various radio stations. And even stood in as presenter.

Manchester unions rally against the cuts

Trades unionists in Manchester and Salford will be holding a day of action against government cuts on Saturday October 23.
A whole series of events have been organised by the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) Salford Trade Union Council, and the north west arm of the National Shop Stewards Network (NSSN).
Leafleters are wanted in St Peter's Square, Manchester city centre, M2 5PD, from 9.45am to 11am and again from 12.30pm to 1.50pm.
Between 11am and 12.30pm there is a demonstration and rally in St Peter's Square backed by branches and regional bodies from PCS, the Rail, Maritime, and Transport union (RMT), Unite, and Unison.
Speakers include Andy Beehan from south Manchester RMT, Gavin Hartley a member of PCS executive for the Department of Work and Pensions.
At 2pm there will be a public meeting organised by the north west shop stewards network at the Mechanics Institue, 103 Princess Street, Manchester, M1 6DD.
Speakers include Andy Warnock-Smith, RMT regional organiser, Sarah Robinson of the PCS DWP executive, and Steve Acheson, an electrician and Unite member blacklisted for organising the union on building sites.
There will be also leafleting against cuts in Chester, Liverpool, and Preston.

Synchronised ballots have created a chance for unions to work together

The opportunity for co-ordinated union action against the massive cutbacks in the UK economy grew yesterday.
London firefighters voted heavily in favour of strike action over plans to sack them all and re-employ then on less favourable contracts.
The regional committee of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) will meet today to discuss possible strike dates.
As this blog predicted on Sunday BBC union activists have now launched rank-and-file campaign to encourage a no vote in the ballot over new pension proposals.
Read their leaflet
The National Union of Journalists (NUJ), Broadcasting. Entertainment, Cinematograph, and Theatre Union (BECTU), and Unite have already held ballots to allow lawful industrial action at the BBC.
The Rail, Martime, and Transport union (RMT) and Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA) have an ongoing dispute on the London underground over job cuts.
On Wednesday (October 13) RMT members who work on tube fleet maintenance voted by 88% in favour of industrial action short of a strike over cuts which the union says have left brakes and other equipment in a lethal state of disrepair.
More than 2,000 UK border agency staff, members of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) held a two day strike this week over changes to rosters and roles.
In anticipation of this rash of disputes the Trade Union Congress - the umbrella organisation for British unions - passed a resolution calling for co-ordinated action against cuts in jobs, pensions, and public services.
COMMENT:
Strikes are about winning for ordinary workers. The best way to do that is to co-ordinate action to cause the maximum disruption for employers.
Britain's complicated trade union laws make it difficult for unions to synchronise legal strikes.
Having all these ballots completed at once gives a rare chance for joint action.
Union leaders need to talk to each other to stop the TUC resolution from being empty rhetoric.
FBU, NUJ, PCS, and RMT are all part of the Trade Union Co-ordinating Group, which doesn't have a website, but which brings togther a group of eight unions that pledge to work together on things like parliamentary lobbying.
This would seem to be a good time to co-ordinate.

Jobs to go at Metronet today

Rail union activists are predicting that 800 more job losses will be announced on the London Underground today.
The cuts are at Metronet - which runs the infrastructure on the tube.
There have already been strikes over job cuts organised by the Rail, Maritime, and Transport union (RMT) and the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA).
If the announcement is made it will mean 2,600 jobs cut on the underground in recent weeks.

McDonnell's bill aims to give workers the right to strike

Nearly 150 people crammed into a committee room at the Houses of Parliament, in London, to express their support for a private members bill to stop employers using trivial legal loopholes to prevent industrial action.
Two hours and 15 speakers later the numbers had dwindled considerably.
Those who stayed heard union leaders describe how - despite massive votes in favour of strikes – they had lost legal cases because the wording of a ballot notice had been slightly wrong, or there had been a short delay in telling bosses the result.
John Hendy QC, a top employment lawyer, said: “These irregularities do not harm the employer or cause them a damage or detriment.
“And the legislation has no concern for the democratic vote of members. The court takes no regard of whether the vote for action was 91 percent or 51 percent.”
Labour MP John McDonnell has tabled the Lawful Industrial Action (Minor Errors) Bill to protect union members’ right to strike.
The meeting heard that where union members are strong and determined they can defy the law.
Maria Eagle, from the Communication Workers Union (CWU), said of postal workers: “When the law doesn’t fit our members walk out anyway – and the employer doesn’t take action.”
In 1994 it was made unlawful to induce prison officers to take industrial action – but there have been unofficial strikes since.
Steve Gillan, general secretary of the Prison Officers' Association (POA), said: “If any public sector prison is privatised, we have already decided, we will have a workplace ballot and strike.”
Other union speakers were from the Fire Brigades Union (FBU), National Union of Journalists (NUJ), the Rail Maritime and Transport union (RMT), Trades Union Congress (TUC), Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA), Unite, and the United Road Transport Union (URTU).
The bill is before parliament on Friday October 22. Rules say 100 MPs must attend for the legislation to go any further.
Trades unionists can lobby their MPs and urge them to turn up and support the bill by using www.writetothem.com.
COMMENT
UK union laws are draconian and should be scrapped so union members can decide their own rules democratically.
John McDonnell’s bill is a small step in that direction.
But highly paid union officers shouldn’t be allowed to use the complications in the law as an excuse for making mistakes or frustrating workers who want to take action.
And expecting people to sit through 15 speakers is an affront to their solidarity.