Last Sunday September 7th, 150 trade union activists came to the NSSN rally before the start of the TUC Conference in Liverpool and then lobbied delegates. They listened to union general secretaries – Ronnie Draper BFAWU bakers’ union, Steve Gillan POA and Ian Lawrence NAPO and Chris Baugh PCS assistant general secretary alongside Roy Bentham Blacklist Support Group, Dave Honeybone striking Unison rep at Doncaster Care UK, Jane Nellist NUT NEC, Tony Mulhearn one of the 47 Liverpool councillors, Helen Pattison Youth Fight for Jobs and NSSN chair Rob Williams. RMT North West regional organiser Darren Ireland opened the rally with a tribute to Bob Crow.
The main theme of the rally was to build for the October 14 public sector pay strike and the TUC demonstration four days later. The fight to raise the minimum wage to £10 per hour was also one of the main demands and we are delighted to report that a motion on this moved by the BFAWU and seconded by the GMB was passed by conference and is now official TUC policy!! (The famous pink NSSN £10 minimum wage t-shirts are still available. Email us to order – £8 each)
NSSN News
Get your trade union branch or trades council to affiliate to the NSSN – it only costs £50. Already affiliated? Please think about renewing it. Also, many of our supporters pay a few pounds a month. You can set up a similar standing order to ‘National Shop Stewards Network’, HSBC – sort code 40-06-41, account number 90143790. Our address is NSSN, PO Box 54498, London E10 9DE. Affiliation letter here
South London NSSN public meeting: ‘All Strike Together on October 14’ (supported by Battersea & Wandsworth Trade Union Council).Speakers include PCS Vice–President John McInally, BFAWU bakers’ union and Youth Fight for Jobs – 7.30pm Thursday October 9th in Bread & Roses pub 68 Clapham Manor St, London SW4 6DZ
And if you can, come to one of our regional Conferences. If there is not one in your area, get in touch to either assist in organising or have a speaker at one of your meetings or events. Contact Rob or Linda on [email protected]
Union News
Unite
London busworkers march for equal pay (Sept 11) – hundreds of London busworkers marched on Parliament today to demand equal pay across the many bus companies in the capital. They chanted “What do we want? Equal pay! When do we want it? Now! How will we get it? Strike!!” see NSSN article see Unite article
Ealing traffic wardens pay dispute settled (10 Sept) – The pay dispute affecting more than 50 traffic wardens in Ealing has been settled and the strike due to be held tomorrow (Thursday 11 September) has been called off read more
NUT
Lewisham NUT Officers call on Executive to reverse their mistaken decision not to strike on October 14 read blog of Martin Powell Davies NUT NEC
RMT
Southern train crew to be balloted in dispute over rostering (Sept 9) – Rail union RMT is balloting members for industrial action in a dispute with Southern over alterations to conductors’ rosters which caused considerable and unnecessary inconvenience to staff over the summer and school holiday period. Staff were presented with new work schedules with very little notice – and without consultation – in spite of the fact that the company has had 18 months to prepare for engineering works at London Bridge for the Thameslink project read more
PCS
Check-off attacks are attempt to undermine PCS (10 Sept) – Government attempts to end the system of collecting PCS union subs from salaries in the civil service are an attack on the union, TUC Congress heard. Emergency motion 2, proposed by PCS delegate Helen Flanagan on Wednesday morning, expressed concern that since the end of July a number of civil service departments have announced that they are considering ending check-off, the decades-old method of collecting union subs read more
Unison
Union members to strike over pensions as new term begins (Sept 10) – UNISON, UNITE, UCU and Prospect members at Aberystwyth University have voted overwhelmingly in favour of taking strike action following the university’s decision to close the pension scheme. The unions are all in dispute with the university over the closure of the scheme that will see many staff facing large cuts to their pensions. Lower paid staff will be particularly hard hit. 83% of UNISON members who took part in the ballot voted for strike action read more
School support staff in academies to be balloted for strike action (Sept 10) – Tens of thousands of teaching assistants and school support staff are set to be balloted for strike action, when the largest ever national ballot of academy school staff opens today (Wednesday 10 September). The bottom rate of pay for school support workers is the lowest in the public sector read more
Care UK workers’ strike – UNISON members at Care UK in Doncaster are on strike again, this time for three weeks, putting them well over 50 days of strike action. The action comes after a new ballot and is in support of a pay claim that calls for a minimum starting rate of £7.65, which is the national living wage outside London. The current pay for basic grade staff is £7 an hour.
Messages of support or donations should be sent to: Yvonne Butcher, branch secretary Doncaster District and Bassetlaw Health Branch, 20511 UNISON Office – Jenkinson House, White Rose Way, Doncaster DN4 5GJ
GMB
Further Dispute at Brighton Cityclean (Sept 10) – GMB Members in Brighton and Hove Cityclean vote for strike action in dispute over pay and allowances with action starting on 12th September read more
Strike at Greenwich School on Pay (Sept 10) – GMB strike at Kidbrooke Park School Greenwich In dispute over pay cuts on Tuesday 16th September. Members have already suffered years of below inflation pay rises and a local increment freeze and are now saying a £88 per month pay cut is cut too far read more
BECTU
Interserve dispute over jobs and pay continues (10 Sept) – The dispute with BBC contractor, Interserve, over planned cuts to engineering, cleaning and logistics operations at BBC sites continues read more
Ritzy members vote on newly improved offer (5 Sept) – Members at the Ritzy cinema are voting in a second consultative ballot after talks secured further movement from Picturehouse management on the pay offer aimed at settling the long-running dispute. The ballot opened today (5 September) and will run for a week, closing at 12 noon on Friday 12 September. Union officials met with management on Wednesday. One change to the offer addresses the pay of projectionists and commits the company to a pay rise of 2.5% for this group from September 2014, preceded by a 5% rise backdated to October 2013. Projectionists’ pay will also increase by RPI or 2.5%, whichever is the greater, in 2015 and 2016.
In addition, on the substantive issue of the Living Wage, operations director, Alistair Oatey, has confirmed: “As part of the journey to higher pay Picturehouse Cinemas has made a commitment to three future pay increases which are substantially above the rate of inflation. We have also committed to meeting with BECTU in June 2016 to discuss the rates for 2016 and 2017. These discussions will of course be held in the context of the then current Living Wage rates by which time we expect the gap to be much smaller as a result of the guaranteed increases between now and then.” read more
POA
Read the latest Gatelodge magazine read more
SIPTU Ireland
Intensive negotiations underway to end Greyhound lockout (10 Sept) – SIPTU members and officials and the management of Greyhound Recovery and Recycling are engaged in intensive negotiations aimed at reaching an agreed resolution to the 13 week long lockout of workers by the waste disposal company. The talks began yesterday (Tuesday, 9th September) following the company’s agreement to enter into “meaningful talks” and a decision by the workers to lift a blockade of the Greyhound depot in Crag Avenue, Dublin 15 read more Send messages of support and donations via www.facebook.com/greyhoundworkers
NIPSA
2014 NJC Pay: Lobby NILGA EC 9.45am – 12th September. As part of the ongoing campaign to secure a decent and fair pay increase for NJC Workers, NIPSA has, on behalf of TUS sought speaking rights at the NI Local Government Association (NILGA) Executive Committee. That request has been accepted. Read more
FBU
Firefighters union announce “Ring of Fire” UK tour (Sept 2) – The Fire Brigades Union has announced a nationwide “Ring of Fire” tour of the UK to highlight the devastating impact the government’s austerity agenda is having on the fire and rescue service. The 20 date tour, which kicks off in Liverpool on 9 September, will promote the union’s recently published report Sounding the alarm: the future of the fire and rescue service which has found funding for the service has been cut by more than 20% during this parliament, that 5000 frontline firefighter jobs have been cut and 999 emergency response times have increased significantly read more
FBU fights back as Fire Minister launches attack on conditions of service (Aug 29) see video by Matt Wrack
Support locked-out Buckinghamshire fire-fighters – During the recent action by the FBU in England & Wales when fire-fighters took action for periods of two and one hours over 8 days, Buckinghamshire Fire Authority docked wages for the whole shifts. To contribute to Bucks FBU hardship fund:-
HSBC
Account No: 71603124
Sort Code: 40-33-33
Bucks FBU Hardship Fund
Also, email Complaints to Bucks FRS – [email protected]
BFAWU / Fast Food Rights
Reports of Fast Food Rights protests on August 28 on Youth Fight for Jobs website and fast Food Rights website
Please send details of any local actions to [email protected] / [email protected] see BFAWU video
Blacklisting & Victimisation
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlCa8yQmZ70
Blog: www.hazards.org/blacklistblog
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/groups/blacklistSG/
International (also see Labourstart)
Peru/Colombia: Prosegur must denounce threats and attacks on trade unionists read more
Germany: Strikes escalate at roadside service provider Autogrill – support the NGG and striking workers! Read more
Diary (see & use false economy)
September
13 Wigan Diggers Festival read here for latest info
October
18 TUC demonstration in London – ‘Britain Needs a Pay Rise’. It will begin with a march through central London, culminating in a rally in Hyde Park read more here
November
5 Leeds Youth Fight for Jobs branch meeting
December
3 Leeds Youth Fight for Jobs branch meeting
CONTACT US
PHONE 07952 283 558
EMAIL mailto:[email protected]
TWITTER – https://twitter.com/NSSN_AntiCuts
FACEBOOK NSSN GROUP or STOP The CUTS Likes page
ADDRESS NSSN, PO Box 54498, London E10 9DE
