The Tories have confirmed that their anti-union laws, incorporated in the Trade Union Act, including new undemocratic industrial action ballot thresholds will come into force on March 1st. The NSSN calls on the TUC to implement the policy passed at last September’s TUC Congress which was moved by the RMT which includes:
“Congress believes the General Council needs to convene an urgent conference of affiliates to provide a practical forum, including workshops, as to how to best coordinate our legal and industrial response to the Act in line with policy already set by Congress.”
and an amendment from the FBU:
“Congress should discuss all options for challenging the new legislation. This should include stepping up the campaign to scrap the Act and other anti-union legislation as well as the practical steps to be taken to support any unions and groups of workers threatened by this anti-worker legislation.”
Read more PCS: Welsh ministers move to quash anti-union law
Watch NSSN chair Rob Williams being interviewed on SKY News on the Christmas strikes and opposing Tory attacks on the unions
RMT / ASLEF / TSSA
Southern Rail strikes
Members of RMT and ASLEF are in dispute on Southern Rail over the imposition of Driver Only Operations (DOO). The NSSN sends solidarity and support to both unions and we call on our members to support the following days of strikes:-
Monday 23 January (RMT station staff)
ASLEF have suspended their 3 days of strike action ahead of talks hosted by TUC
“RMT has today written to the TUC requesting that this union be involved in the same process over the current Southern guards dispute that has been agreed with our sister union ASLEF over the drivers dispute. RMT is awaiting a response to that request. “In the meantime, the scheduled action in the Southern guards dispute remains on.”
Send donations and messages of support to RMT and ASLEF via [email protected] and [email protected] or through twitter @ASLEFunion and @RMTunion
RMT calls for Southern Rail to be sacked as Which? report exposes appalling service levels
ASLEF: The image that shows DOO is not safe
RMT confirms new phase of industrial action from February 6th in Tube station staffing and safety dispute TSSA Tube talks update
RMT prepared to suspend strike action if GWR commits to change cleaning contract
Exeter Stagecoach South West bus drivers to vote on action following depot move
RMT campaign secures major breakthrough in low pay fight on Seatruck/Serco Scottish Ferries
Unison
Derby school support staff start week of action (16 Jan) – Teaching assistants, school supervisors, admin staff and other support workers striking between 7am and 1pm every day this week. Derby school support staff staged the first strike this morning in their latest round of action against contract changes that have seen some of them lose up to 25% of their wages. Teaching assistants, school supervisors, admin staff and other support workers took strike action between 7am and 1pm today – and will repeat that every day this week. This follows a two-day strike on 4 and 5 January, after UNISON members voted to reject a proposal from the council late last year, saying it would only compensate some of the workers losing out because of the changes read more Derby public backs striking school staff
Donate to Derby hardship fund here
Derby Unison branch Facebook page here
Support the Durham Teaching Assistants from Unison and ATL who have also been taking strike action to stop wage cuts of 23% –
Donate to the Durham TAs’ fund here
Durham TAs Facebook page here
Support ongoing Glasgow Unison janitors & ICT staff action disputes –
Unison Glasgow City Branch Facebook group and website
Sign petition to support the Kinsley School cleaners in Wakefield on indefinite strike since September 6th here. Facebook Group. Donate to strike fund – send to Wakefield Unison, 18 Gills Yard, Wakefield WF1 3BZ
Unite
Support the Mixed Fleet cabin crew workers on strike this Thursday, Friday and Saturday at British Airways – picketing and rallying at Belfont 7am Thursday and 9am Friday and rally at TUC 12pm Saturday
British Airways’ ‘mixed fleet’ cabin crew announce second wave of strike action (12 Jan) – British Airways’ ‘mixed fleet’ cabin crew working on long and short haul flights out of Heathrow Airport will be taking part in a three day strike next week in their dispute over poverty pay, their union, Unite announced today (Thursday 12 January). The second stoppage running for 72 hours starts at 00:01 on Thursday 19 January and follows this week’s strongly supported two day strike which led to the cancellation of scores of flights by British Airways British Airways’ ‘mixed fleet’ cabin crew announce second wave of strike action Watch video of why cabin crew are striking
Unite reveals membership surge ahead of British Airways ‘mixed fleet’ 48-hour strike Tweet support to the Unite Mixed Fleet branch @MFUnite
AWE workers to strike for four days in ‘broken promises’ pensions’ row (12 Jan) – Workers at AWE plc – the Atomic Weapons Establishment – will stage two 48-hour strikes, starting next week, in the long-running ‘broken promises’ pensions’ row. Six hundred employees, members of Unite, the UK’s largest union, will be striking at the AWE’s two sites at Aldermaston and Burghfield in Berkshire for 48 hours from 00.01 on Wednesday 18 January and again for 48 hours on Monday 30 January, also staring at 00.01 read more
Support Manchester Fujitsu in dispute over pay, pensions and job security dispute – Supporters can find the “appeal for support” leaflet and details of how to send messages of support and donate to the Manchester strike fund here: https://ouruniontest.wordpress.com/manchester-dispute/ Talks on pay, pensions and job security dispute at Fujitsu in Manchester
Support 23 Egyptian Foodworkers facing trial in Suez – 27 workers in IFFCO food industries in Suez will stand trial by the end of January to hear their sentencing. They are accused of calling for a strike, abstaining from work, vandalism and destroying company property; they are the same accusations that had been previously directed towards the dock workers and the public transportation workers read more USE THE IUF FORM TO SEND A MESSAGE TO THE COMPANY AND TO THE PRESIDENT OF EGYPT
‘Fight Trump’ protests
Friday January 20th – 6pm US embassy 24 Grosvenor Square London W1A 2LQ local protest details
Saturday January 21st – 12pm Women’s March on London https://www.facebook.com/events/160520691084922/
NSSN news
Early notice – the 11th annual NSSN Conference will be on Saturday July 1st 2017 from 11am in Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Square, London WC1R 4RL. It is open to all trade union and anti-cuts campaigners
This is a video of the NSSN TUC Congress Rally on 11 September – Tories Out! Keep Corbyn!
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 is below
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]
Union News
CWU
CWU to Royal Mail: ‘Take executive action on our pensions and we’ll ballot’ – Royal Mail bosses were warned today that any unagreed pension changes will spark a national strike ballot, following the company’s announcement of a formal consultation read more
PCS
Government equality staff strike as MPs take evidence (17 Jan) – members at the government’s equality watchdog will strike tomorrow as senior officials are questioned by MPs. Wednesday’s 24-hour walkout from the Equality and Human Rights Commission follows strikes in November and December and comes on the day the organisation’s chair and chief executive give evidence to MPs on the women and equalities select committee read more
Concentrix contract failed at every step (17 Jan) – The scrapped contract HMRC had with Concentrix failed at every step, a report by the government’s spending watchdog reveals. The deal ended last autumn after the media and MPs exposed how families were being wrongly denied tax credits read more
BFAWU
Reinstate Kumaran Bose – sacked by Samworths! The NSSN is supporting the BFAWU’s campaign in support of Kumaran Bose who was dismissed for speaking out and for organising a union in his workplace read more Facebook group BFAWU Statement On Samworth Brothers’ Sacking Of Kumaran Bose
NUT
£550 million cuts to London schools can’t be ‘managed’, they must be fought (Jan 16) – £3 billion School Cuts even worse than unions predicted. Following the publication of the Government’s final proposals for its long-awaited National Funding Formula (NFF), organisations representing school staff, teachers and leaders – ATL, GMB, NAHT, NUT, UNISON and Unite – have updated the www.schoolcuts.org.uk website to reflect the funding losses facing each school in England read more
Support Simon O’Hara — victimised teacher at Small Heath School in Birmingham
UCU
Support the reinstatement of London Met union reps: Mark Campbell and David Hardman https://uculondonmet.wordpress.com/
Nationalise Tata – support the Steelworkers
For latest developments, follow Facebook group
BECTU
Picturehouse workers dispute Brixton Facebook Page Hackney Facebook Page Support the Picturehouse Strike Fund – donate now
Hackney Picturehouse Strike Fundraiser – January 18
NUJ
Newsquest boss pockets £1.5m as staff denied an across-the-board pay rise for the tenth year running (17 Jan) – Newsquest chief executive Henry Faure Walker collected a pay package worth up to a maximum of £1.5 million – the equivalent to hiring 75 newly qualified journalists, according to the latest official figures obtained by the NUJ. The information came to light at the same time as Newsquest staff, who have not have an across-the-board pay increase in the past nine years, were told by the company: “We are not in a position to offer an increase in 2017.” read more
FBU
Fire chief slammed after firefighters sent home from shift (17 Jan) – A chief fire officer has been accused of behaving recklessly after he sent home two firefighters from their shift on Monday (16 Jan) when they refused to operate a Tactical Response Vehicle (TRV). The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) say that these vehicles are unsafe because they cannot perform firefighting or rescue operations at incidents where there is a risk to life, such as house fires read more
Save Our Fire Services Stand Up for Spelthorne! – Join the mass lobby of Spelthorne Borough Council 6.30pm Thursday 23 February at Council Offices, Knowle Green, Staines TW18 1XB www.sosis.org.uk
IWGB
IWGB Couriers And Logistics Branch Facebook page
United Voices of the World union
Support United Voices of the World union members arrested after Harrods protest against the company keeping 75% of low-paid waiters’ tips – NSSN supporters were on the protest on January 7th outside the Knightsbridge store. We learned after that 8 people were arrested, including 4 members of the United Voices of the World union and amongst these was Petros Elia the union’s general secretary who has disgracefully received a banning order! But the campaign will continue. Please email messages of support to [email protected]. Website: www.uvwunion.org.uk Facebook: www.facebook.com/uvwunion Twitter: @UVWunion
Other News
‘It’s Our NHS!’ national demonstration: assemble 12noon Saturday March 4th Tavistock Square, London WC1H – As 2017 opens, the crisis in the NHS continues. The Health Campaigns Together grassroots campaign has called a national demonstration https://www.facebook.com/events/1771664639725061/ GPs ‘incensed’ by May threat to funding warns Doctors in Unite
SERTUC Public Services Committee Health Conference – Saturday 25 February 2017 read more
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 who are having their Xmas party tonight December 13th – 7.30pm onwards Brixton Pound Café 77, Atlantic Rd SW9 8PU
Blacklist Support Group financial appeal: the Blacklist support group is desperately short of funds, to continue the incredible work 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)
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
‘The Assault on Academics and Journalists in Turkey’ – 5pm February 2nd Alumni Lecture Theatre, First Floor, Paul Webley Wing (Senate House North Block), SOAS University of London. Hosted by SPOT (Solidarity with the People of Turkey) https://www.facebook.com/events/1822592031339193/
Yemen: DNO must pay its workers read more
Diary (see & use false economy)
2017
March
4 ‘It’s Our NHS’ – National Demonstration to defend the NHS in London on March 4th 2017 – called by ‘Health Campaigns Together’ an umbrella organisation of different local campaigns against NHS cuts https://www.facebook.com/events/1771664639725061/ http://www.healthcampaignstogether.com/index.php
With Banners Held High – all day workshops, debates, exhibition gig in Wakefield in support of causes such as Justice for Mineworkers and Orgreave Truth & Justice Campaign https://webmail.123-reg.co.uk/appsuite/#!!&app=io.ox/mail&folder=default0//NNIS%5B
13 Orgreave Truth & Justice Campaign ‘Make Some Noise for Justice’ demo – 2pm, Home Office Marsham Street London SW1P 4DF http://otjc.org.uk/noise-demo-transport/
18 National Demo: Refugees and Migrants Welcome – Stand Up To Racism, Islamophobia & Anti-Semitism read more
July
1 11th annual NSSN Conference 11am in Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Square, London WC1R 4RL
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
