On April 26th in London, over 5,000 striking junior doctors and their supporters marched on the first day of their latest 2-day strike. The march was joint between the BMA and the NUT, who are balloting over forced academisation along with members of other supporting unions including PCS, FBU, RMT, Unite, Unison, NAPO, POA, GMB, TSSA and many others.
The whole of the PCS National Executive (NEC) left their meeting to attend. The union’s General Secretary Mark Serwotka addressed the huge rally to announce that the NEC had passed a motion calling on the TUC General Council to organise a national day of action to support the BMA and the junior doctors and to defend the NHS. It was presented to the Council by the FBU.
Incredibly, we understand that this has not been agreed by today’s TUC meeting. But the NSSN pledges to keep up the pressure to build the solidarity that was so evident on the streets of London last night and on protests and mass pickets this week in towns and cities throughout the country, including the 600 who marched at 8am in Brighton yesterday morning.
This is an extended video of the demonstration, which includes Mark speaking and an interview with PCS President Janice Godrich.
BMA Junior Doctors dispute – BMA website: coverage of strike
For info on picket lines, strike rallies, protests etc follow #JuniorDoctorsStrike #NotSafeNotFair #JuniorDoctors on twitter. BMA launches judicial review http://oneprofession.bma.org.uk/
The NSSN has produced a model motion that can be used in unions at all levels and trades council here
Hillsborough verdict
Unite: Hillsborough tragedy – The correct verdict, now it is time for justice to be done
Nationalise Tata – support the Steelworkers
For latest developments, follow Facebook group
PCS
Back striking Amgueddfa Cymru/National Museum Wales staff (26 April) – PCS members at Amgueddfa Cymru/National Museum Wales are escalating their 2-year dispute over removal of extra payments for weekend working with further action this week and all-out action from bank holiday Monday, as well as a strike rally read more Make a contribution to the hardship fund:
Bank: Unity Trust Bank
Account name: PCS Amgueddfa Cymru 107006 Branch Hardship Fund
Account number: 20364700
Sort code: 60-83-01
Or via PayPal: http://bit.ly/26eNhvq
PCS members in Department for Business Innovation & Skills launch strike ballot read more
NUT
Support Simon O’Hara — Teachers at Small Heath School in Birmingham are continuing to take action to support Simon who remains suspended. You are encouraged to send messages of support to David Room at [email protected] https://www.facebook.com/Reinstate-Simon-OHara-1090494714318024/
Save Pent Valley School in Folkestone https://www.facebook.com/groups/1696643377239906/
CWU
Reinstate Clive Walder
Clive Walder, a longstanding leading rep in the CWU had an appeal against unfair dismissal rejected by British Telecom on 9 November, confirming his sacking after 38 years of service. Clive is chair of the CWU Birmingham, Black Country & Worcester branch.
Clive worked in a BT call centre and was dismissed after an aggressive customer reported him to management just 33 seconds into a phone call. The decision was made without taking stress into account despite the local CWU branch reporting that 7% of staff at the call centre leave their jobs each month, some walking out mid shift. Management took the decision without consulting any medical advice or taking into account any mitigation.
Clive is a NSSN steering committee member and we will be supporting the campaign protesting the sacking and campaigning for his reinstatement.
Contact Clive to send messages of support and invite him to your union branch, shop stewards committee, trades council etc – [email protected] 07771931185
NSSN / Kill the Bill news
PCS: Check-off concession proves it was political
This year’s annual NSSN conference – our 10th – will be on Saturday July 2nd in Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Square, London WC1R 4RL – 11am-4.30pm. Conference fee is £6 each. Please put in your diaries!! www.facebook.com/events/1361018323924300/
The last two pink NSSN ‘£10 Now’ t-shirts are available for £8. Both are women’s large sizes. First come first served! Order by emailing [email protected]
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 attached and here
Download the ‘Join the NSSN’ leaflet here
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]
More Union News
RMT
RMT Southern guards strike “solid and united” on second day in fight for rail safety (27 April) – RAIL UNION RMT said today that industrial action involved hundreds of guards on Southern Rail is “solid and united” on its second day as hundreds of staff continue the fight to put safety before profits on the routes across the franchise Core points at heart of southern guards dispute RMT challenges Southern claims
Leon Brumant – the NSSN wants to pass on our sympathy and condoloences to Leon’s family, friends and comrades in the RMT RMT London Calling website: Leon Brumant; friend, comrade, activist
GMB/UCATT/Unite
Construction unions reject pay deal (27 April) – The latest talks pay talks for the largest construction industrial agreement have broken up without agreement. Around 500,000 construction workers are affected by The Construction Industry Joint Council Working Rule Agreement read more
Unite
Opposition grows to pay and conditions changes on Shell platforms in the North Sea (24 April) – workers employed by the Wood Group on Shell’s North Sea platforms are demanding that new proposals to cut their terms and conditions further be withdrawn, according to Scotland’s biggest union, Unite read more
Two-day strike at Glasgow waste-to-energy plant in pay parity dispute (22 April) – About 70 scaffolders and labourers will be taking two-days of strike action on Monday (25 April) at a Glasgow waste-to-energy plant in a long-running pay parity dispute. The workers, members of Unite, the largest union in Scotland, employed by Interserve Industrial Services, will strike for 48 hours from 00.01 on Monday. This will be followed by a 48-hour strike, starting at 00.01, on Tuesday 3 May read more
Postal deliveries threat as Royal Mail managers vote to strike (21 April) – Postal deliveries to 27 million homes across the UK could face severe disruption, after 4,900 Royal Mail managers voted overwhelmingly to strike in a dispute over pay read more
No library closures in Greenwich – Unite the Union is leading the fight to defend public services in Greenwich. If the Council gets its way, this will be a library closure, impacting not just on library workers but the much wider community. It will also signal an intensification of cuts in Greenwich. Over the next couple of months, the Council will make a decision about the future of the library. That is why we now need to step up the pressure. We have organised 3 lobbies. All will take place at the Town Hall:-
20th April – Lobby of Council Cabinet 6pm
18th May – Lobby of Annual Council Meeting 6pm
19th May – Lobby of Council Cabinet 6pm (Unite will be addressing this meeting which will make the decision on the future of the Mobile Library)
Unite Construction Rank & File National Meeting: Saturday 14th May 2016, Methodist Central Hall Manchester 12 – 3pm GMB: Engineering Construction Protest 7 April
GMB
Strike Action At Unilever (April 25) – GMB Members To Begin Day Of Strike Action At Norwich Unilever Tomorrow. If the company does not settle this dispute quickly then escalation of action by our members will be inevitable says GMB read more
GMB Welcome Nationwide Pay Cut U-Turn (April 25) – GMB Welcome Cancellation Of Proposed Pay Cuts For Cleaners Working For Carillion. When we unite and stand up to bullying employers, it is working people who have the power says GMB read more
GMB Ballot Ambulance Staff (April 25) – GMB Ballot Ambulance Staff Over Broken Promises By Jeremy Hunt. Ambulance staff cannot be expected to keep picking up the slack for government incompetence on promises to invest that they have failed to deliver says GMB. GMB, the union for ambulance staff, will undertake a consultative ballot of members working in the ambulance service between Friday 29th April and Wednesday 25th May, 2016 read more
Unison
Health unions to consult ambulance staff over strike action on pay (April 25) – Ambulance workers in England are to be asked if they would be prepared to take action over pay. Their three unions – GMB, Unite and UNISON – today (Monday) announced they will be consulting ambulance staff over pay and grading – issues they say should have been dealt with a year ago read more
BFAWU / Fast Food Rights
Sign the petition: Raise the minimum wage to £10 for all workers details on BFAWU website
‘How we defeated zero hours contracts’: Forum with New Zealand & UK fast food workers – 3pm, SOAS, University of London, Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, WC1H 0XG London https://www.facebook.com/events/496421810566280/
EIS
West Dunbartonshire Secondary Teachers’ Strike Continue (25 April) – Teachers in West Dunbartonshire’s Secondary schools will continue their ongoing campaign against cuts to Principal Teacher posts by staging two days of strike action from Tuesday 26 April – Wednesday 27 April read more
Striking West Dunbartonshire teachers mass lobby Labour council.No to education cuts
NAPO
Local Government Pension Scheme – Please Sign The Parliamentary Petition here
Mandate / SIPTU (Ireland)
Support the Luas workers. Support Group – https://www.facebook.com/groups/533923853456339/
SIPTU calls on Transdev to re-engage with Luas driver representatives (25 April) – SIPTU has called on the management of Transdev to re-engage in negotiations with representatives of Luas drivers in order to reach a just solution to the dispute at the light rail network read more
United Voices of the World
Reinstate ‘The Topshop 2’ & demand a Living Wage – https://www.facebook.com/uvwunion/
IWGB
Massive BBC coverage of Couriers’ ET read more
Other News
Workers Memorial Day April 28 TUC website details of local events local events from UCATT website
UCATT and Unite event in London to mark to Workers’ Memorial Day – See more at: read more
May Day 2016 – email us your local demonstrations and rallies so we can publicise Southern and Eastern TUC (SERTUC) May Day & Workers’ Memorial Day Events
London – Sunday 1st May assemble at Clerkenwell Green from 11.30 – marching to Trafalgar Square. Speakers include Jeremy Corbyn & John McDonnell http://www.londonmayday.org/
Leeds – Saturday 30 April 11.30am Victoria Gardens, The Headrow. Speakers include Tim Roache, GMB General Secretary, Richard Burgon MP Leeds East and BMA junior doctor rep https://www.facebook.com/events/555541267957520/
After demo Yorkshire NSSN public meeting: 90 Years Since the General Strike – Time to Strike Together Again – The Victoria Hotel, 28 Great George Street, Leeds LS1 3DL https://www.facebook.com/events/999562806746176/
Blacklisting & Victimisation
Buy the book ‘Blacklisted: The Secret War between Big Business and Union Activists’ Author: Dave Smith and Phil Chamberlain. Blacklisted tells the controversial story of the illegal strategies that transnational construction companies used to keep union activists away from work. See the official trailer from ReelNews
Blacklist Support Group financial appeal: the Blacklist support group is desperately short of funds, to continue the incredible work in 2015 we need more finance, would you please consider making a donation, raise it at your branches and trade councils. Please make cheques payable to Joint sites committee and send to 70 Darnay Rise Chelmsford Essex CM1 4XA. Please forward onto your contacts many thanks Steve Kelly (JSC Treasurer)
Blacklisted workers react to High Court settlements
At 4pm today, press releases have been issued by construction firms and unions involved in the blacklisting High Court trial indicating that blacklisted workers represented by the GMB, UCATT and Guney, Clark & Ryan solicitors have settled their claims (full text of press releases below). Despite the settlements, the High Court trial is still continuing with UNITE the Union still going to court. Computer experts from UNITE were at Balfour Beatty today investigating an internal database of workers held at the company’s head offices in Glasgow. The estimated level of compensation for all the claims settled to date is in the region of £50m.
Steve Acheson – chair of Blacklist Support Group & blacklisted electrician from Manchester commented:
“For more than 40 years, they were blacklisting us with impunity.
7 years ago when the files were discovered these firms denied everything and offered us nothing.
2 years ago, their misnamed compensation scheme offered most people £1,000
These wretches have now been forced them to pay out millions in compensation, combined with legal bills for 4 sets of lawyers this will cost them close to a quarter of a billion pounds. That’s a big kick in the profit margin.
It was the hard work and tenacity of rank & file activists that has brought this human rights conspiracy into the political discourse. What has already been achieved is a massive victory for the trade union movement but the fight is not over yet. Blacklisted workers may have won compensation but this is a long way from justice.
The construction firms may ‘wish to draw a line under this matter’ but for blacklisted workers this is still unfinished business. Until such time that the the full conspiracy is exposed and those responsible for the human rights abuse are called to account in a court of law, we will never stop fighting”.
Claimants’ press statement – Issued by GCR, GMB, UCATT
Leigh Day (instructed by the GMB), OH Parsons (Instructed by UCATT) and GCR today announce that they have settled their outstanding claims in the Construction Industry Vetting Information Group Litigation.
The claims were brought against Balfour Beatty, Carillion, Costain, Kier, Laing O’Rourke, Sir Robert McAlpine, Skanska UK and VINCI and concerned the activities of the Services Group of the Economic League and the Consulting Association.
The litigation arose after the activities of the Consulting Association were revealed following a raid by the Information Commissioner in February 2009.
GMB, UCATT and GCR commenced the litigation to protect the interests of their members and clients.
In October 2015, these construction companies openly acknowledged that the system was unlawful and made a full public apology, which was widely reported at the time.
UCATT, GMB and GCR have accepted this apology on behalf of their clients.
The construction companies have offered financial settlements which all Claimants represented by UCATT, GMB and GCR have now accepted as fair and reasonable. The parties have also agreed a joint statement to be read in Court as part of this settlement. The construction companies have also agreed to pay the Claimants’ legal costs.
Given that there remains outstanding litigation between the construction companies and other litigants, with a trial due to start on 9 May 2016, it would be inappropriate to make any further comment at this stage.
Defendants’ press statement
Balfour Beatty, Carillion, Costain, Kier, Laing O’Rourke, Sir Robert McAlpine, Skanska UK and VINCI today announce that they have settled the litigation between them and individuals represented by UCATT, GMB and GCR regarding the activities of the Economic League and the Consulting Association.
In October 2015, these construction companies, unlike any other companies involved in the vetting system, openly acknowledged that the system was unlawful in various respects and made a full public apology, which was widely reported at the time.
UCATT, GMB and GCR have accepted this public apology.
The construction companies have offered financial settlements which all Claimants represented by UCATT, GMB and GCR have now accepted as fair and reasonable. The parties have also agreed a joint statement to be read in Court as part of this settlement.
These construction companies now wish to draw a line under this matter and continue to work together with the trade unions at national, regional and site level to ensure that the modern UK construction industry provides the highest standards of employment and HR practice for its workforce.
Blacklist Support Group –
book http://newint.org/books/politics/blacklisted-secret-war/
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlCa8yQmZ70
Blog: www.hazards.org/blacklistblog
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/groups/blacklistSG/
Donate to ReelNews – http://reelnews.co.uk/donationssubscriptions/
International
France: One-day strike set for 28 April read more
Germany: Huge protest against TTIP deal read more
PepsiCo complicit in ongoing rights violations at Indian warehouse supplier read more
Unite London public meeting: Greece needs a Europe for working people: Giorgos Gogos, of Piraeus dockers – 6pm Wednesday 27 April, Unite House, Holborn – 128 Theobald’s Rd, London WC1X 8TN details Greece: Athens bus cleaners hold solid 48 hour strike
Diary (see & use false economy)
2016
April
28 Workers’ Memorial Day TUC website details of local events
May
1 International Workers Day
July
2 10th annual NSSN Conference in Conway Hall, London
9 Durham Miners’ Gala http://www.durhamminers.org/gala
15-17 Tolpuddle Martyrs’ Festival http://www.tolpuddlemartyrs.org.uk/
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
