The NSSN is supporting this Friday’s Earth Strike against climate change. We are calling on unions to support action that many school and college students will be taking around the country (protest details here). We echo the call by education unions that students should not be disciplined for protesting.
Last week’s TUC Congress voted to support the call, made initially by UCU for trade unionists to take part in 30 minute protests on the day.
We made this issue a major part of our rally at the TUC Congress on September 8th, alongside fighting for a general election and supporting the increasing number of industrial disputes.
In a number of workplaces, workers have been able to get management to allow them to protest in work time. But many others will join protests at lunchtime or at other times of the day.
Hugo Pierre from Camden Unison and the union’s NEC spoke in a personal capacity at the NSSN TUC Rally about how his branch is taking part on Friday – watch video here
It is crucial that we make this climate change a trade union issue. It is workers alongside the poorest in society that are most vulnerable to the increasingly devastating effects of climate events. Our union movement, with 6 million members is also potentially the most powerful force in society, if mobilised behind a clear message.
But ‘Just Transition’ to green jobs has to have the vital ingredient of protecting workers’ jobs and income. Public ownership is an important part of being able to do this.
Follow #EarthStrike for events on Friday in your town and city
Watch NSSN TUC Rally video
Sunday September 29 End Austerity Now! Protest the Tory Party Conference – hosted by Unison North West, The People’s Assembly Against Austerity and Manchester People’s Assembly Facebook event
Support these indefinite industrial actions:-
Unite and GMB
Support the Harland & Wolff occupation – renationalise to #SaveOurShipyard! The NSSN gives our full solidarity and support to the workers in the Harland & Wolff shipyard in Belfast, in Unite and the GMB, who have gone into occupation to fight to secure their future. We support their call to re-nationalise the shipyard to save jobs. 10 years ago, Belfast Visteon workers occupied their plant when the company went into administration. They fought for their jobs alongside their brothers and sisters in Enfield and Basildon but won enhanced redundancy when facing mere statutory terms. In 1971, workers in Upper Clydeside Shipbuilders in Glasgow undertook a working occupation, supported by a demonstration of 80,000 trade unionists and forced a Tory government to intervene to keep the yards open.
Follow #SaveOurShipyard on social media and send messages of support via twitter to @UniteunionNI and @GMBNI
GMB Harland and Wolff members meet Corbyn to ask him to save historic yard
Unite
Support the Bromley library workers – Unite the Union members working in Bromley Libraries have been at the forefront in defending the service. We stopped the Council handing the service over to failed privatisers Carillion. We stopped the Council replacing professional staff with unpaid, untrained volunteers. We pointed out what would happen if the Council ignored its own consultation exercise (where over 80% opposed the proposal) and handed the service over to Greenwich Leisure Limited (GLL). Our predictions very quickly became true when last year we had to take strike action to ensure that libraries had adequate staffing. Now GLL are again attacking the library service by again refusing to fill vacant posts. They expect workers to provide an improved service with fewer staff. This is the reality. Both Bromley Council and GLL have misled the public. GLL claimed that they can provide an even better service for 25% less cost. They refused to say how – claiming commercial confidentiality. Bromley Council said that there would be no loss of professional staff – yet there are now so many vacancies that managers are running form library to library just to keep them open
Sign the petition to defend Bromley Library Service Call and support the indefinite strike. Please send messages of support and any financial assistance via Unite regional officer Onay Kasab [email protected]
Pharmacy support workers ‘fury’ at NHS Tayside as industrial action continues – In the long running dispute with NHS Tayside, pharmacy support workers taking part in industrial action have today (5 September) reacted with fury as the process for dealing with the grading appeals has collapsed. Unite members who have been participating in strike action since 19 August 2019 were optimistic that an end was in sight to the dispute following the establishment of a jointly agreed local job evaluation panel consisting of trained evaluators. The appeal process was scheduled to begin on Monday 2 September with the panel’s final decision, after consistency checking, to be delivered on Wednesday 4 September. However, Unite was informed by NHS Tayside yesterday that the ‘consistency checking’ did not go ahead due to a staff side member withdrawing from the process stating that this case was ‘too high profile’ and that they did not have ‘sufficient experience’. Following this withdrawal, the process has now collapsed with industrial action set to enter its third week read more
PCS
BEIS dispute: Pay news welcome but the devil is in the detail (10 Sept) – PCS has been made aware of a pay offer by BEIS in the ongoing contractor dispute. According to Minister Andrea Leadsom the pay offer appears to be in line with the London Living Wage (LLW) of £10.55 an hour. The information was given to the press, highlighting a further meeting with the union at the end of the week read more
You can support the workers on social media using the hashtags: #LivingWage #PCSstrike
Please donate to the strike fund and send messages of support to [email protected]
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
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]
Follow us on twitter via @NSSN_AntiCuts and Facebook
Union News
NIPSA
NICS Pay Terms and Conditions: Dispute Further Strike Action Announced (16 Sept) – Further to the action taken on 28 August at NICS HR, NIPSA is announcing further strike action as part of the ongoing campaign to force the Management Side back to the negotiating table on the issue of Pay, Terms and Conditions. All NIPSA Members (with the exception of members working in LPS) are being called out on a full day strike on Thursday 3 October 2019. NIPSA calls on all members to support the overwhelmingly democratic decision for strike action. It is important that all members support the call for strike action as part of our campaign to deliver a decent pay increase and to challenge the NICS Board and Senior Management against the attacks on terms and conditions of employment. It is clear your employer does not value you – otherwise they would pay you a decent above inflation pay increase, they would not remove your promotion opportunities or seek to delegate more responsibility to Line Managers read more
More PCS
DVSA IT strike remains resolute in final week (17 Sept) – Support for the PCS DVSA IT strike over attacks on terms and conditions remains strong as our members’ month-long action nears its end. The strikers continue to get support come from across the country, including a visit from PCS Assistant General Secretary John Moloney on Friday (13). Our members are angry about attacks on their terms and conditions including flexible working and a lack of consultation from management. Ahead of their return to work on Friday we have organised a programme of activities. In the meantime, we have received an invitation to talks from DVSA chief executive Gareth Llewellyn, which we have accepted and which gives us a window of opportunity to settle the dispute, before further escalation of strike action. Meanwhile we urge members to continue to support the strike levy.
Show your support:-
Visit the picket line which will be held every day (except bank holiday Monday) outside The Axis Building, Nottingham from 7am – 9.30/10am each day Monday – Friday.
Donate to the strike fund online using account number: 20331490, sort code: 608301, quoting the reference DVSA Strike Fund.
Send your solidarity messages to [email protected] read more
A week of strike action by cleaners in the fight for a Living Wage in HMRC on Merseyside – PCS members employed by ISS to clean HMRC offices on Merseyside are set to take a week of strike action from 16-20 September. The action marks a further escalation in the dispute over pay and conditions, and coincides with the global climate strike called for 20 September. The cleaners are demanding that ISS, whose profits exceed £200 million, pays them a living wage of £10 per hour. They also want holiday entitlements and full sick pay from day one in line with the civil servants whose offices they clean, as well as guarantees over the security of their jobs should HMRC vacate the buildings that they work in. The company has so far refused to enter negotiations read more on Justice for HMRC Cleaners and the PCS website
Fifth period of strike action announced for Interserve staff at the FCO – The breakdown of talks with ACAS has led to the calling of another five days of walk-outs. Industrial action by Interserve members covering the Foreign and Commonwealth (FCO) contract was suspended in July due to positive progress in ACAS talks between PCS and management. However, these talks broke down last week due to intransigence from Interserve and a further break down in trust. Strike action has been called for five days, over a seven day period, on 19, 20, 23, 24 and 25 September. In July, Interserve agreed with PCS for ACAS to carry out a ‘membership check’, where ACAS independently check how many of the staff within the agreed ‘bargaining unit’ are members, and if there are more than 50% recognition is granted. However, after the check took place, it was revealed that Interserve had increased the pre-agreed bargaining unit by 20% to include office based support staff who had not been part of the dispute. This meant that recognition would be subject to a ballot of staff, which would be run by ACAS read more
Support the Stockport UC strikers – these workers took action recently. Donate to the PCS Stockport and Tame Valley Branch Hardship Fund: Sort code 60-83-01, account number 20260684. Send messages of support to [email protected] and all will be forwarded on read more
RMT
Get a RMT anti-fascist ‘No Pasaran’ t-shirt – All sizes . £10 per T-shirt including postage . Bulk orders are fine . Email to [email protected] or text 07932 576 955. Payment by bank transfer or cash
RMT confirms strike action on Scottish Sleeper services as SERCO renege on staffing promises (16 Sept) – RAIL UNION RMT today confirmed a package of strike action and action short of a strike on the Caledonian Sleeper services after the operator, SERCO, reneged on pledges to address a raft of serious concerns raised by staff that have ruined working lives and placed the workforce under intolerable pressure. As a result of the company failures RMT has announced the following action; Members not to book on for any shifts between:
- 12.00 hours on Sunday 29thSeptember 2019 until 11.59 hours on Tuesday 1st October 2019.
Additionally, members are instructed not to work any overtime or rest days, not to perform higher grade duties and to work to their original job description from 00.01 hours on Wednesday 2ndOctober 2019 until further notice read more
Tube workers to take industrial action over violence at work (13 Sept) – Tube workers on a key section of the District Line have voted overwhelmingly for industrial action in protest at the growing levels of violence and anti-social behaviour at work. RMT members on the eastern end of the District Line voted by nearly 95 per cent to take action short of strike action in protest after a female member of staff was attacked in her office by a violent passenger and others have been threatened. In light of the result RMT has confirmed the following action; We instruct all affected members from 00:01 hours on Friday 27th September 2019, until further notice to:
- Work from a within a place of safety when lone-working and not to detrain alone or attend incidents on trains alone read more
RMT calls further industrial action on Cross Country (12 Sept) – RAIL UNION RMT today announced further industrial action on Cross Country Trains in a long-running dispute concerning breaches to the collective bargaining agreements and the imposition of changes to company wide agreements without the involvement of this union. Accordingly, RMT has decided to call further industrial action short of a strike and has instructed members:-
- Not to Work any Rest Days or Non-Contractual Overtime from 23.59 Hours on Thursday 26th September 2019 until 23.59 Hours on Tuesday 1st October 2019.
- Not to Work any Rest Days or Non-Contractual Overtime from 23.59 Hours on Thursday 17th October 2019 until 23.59 Hours on Tuesday 22nd October 2019 read more
RMT announces strike action at engineering firm Wabtec Faiveley UK (Rail Doncaster) – RAIL UNION RMT has announced strike action at engineering firm Wabtec Faiveley UK (Rail Doncaster) in a dispute over pay. Wabtec build and maintain rolling stock for train and freight operating companies. Following a strong mandate for action in a recent ballot, the National Executive Committee (NEC) has decided to take action to send Wabtec a clear message that their current stance on pay is totally unacceptable. Members are instructed to take the following strike action by not to booking on for any shifts that commence between:-
- 06:00 hours on Monday 16th September 2019 and 05:59 on Monday 23rd September 2019
Additionally members are instructed to take the following industrial action short of a strike in the form of an overtime ban:-
- 06:00 hours on Wednesday 11th September 2019 until 05:59 on Monday 16th September 2019
- 06:00 on Monday 23rd September 2019 until further notice read more
More Unite
Lorry drivers to protest at department of transport over dangerous threat to safety regulations (16 Sept) – Lorry drivers who are members of Unite will stage a protest at the Department of Transport on September 17 over growing fears that the government will weaken or suspend the rules governing lorry driving hours in the event of a no deal Brexit read more
Liverpool university staff strike against ‘£3,000 loss of pay’ – Staff at the University of Liverpool are to begin a rolling programme of strike action, starting Saturday 21 September and ending Monday 2 December, in a row over pay and conditions which could see them losing about £3,000 a year from their pay packets. Campus support services’ staff, members of Unite are angry about attacks on their terms and conditions being imposed by Liverpool university without appropriate consultation read more
Unite announces strike dates at Diageo – Unite the union has today (3 September) announced a series of strike action dates at Diageo’s Leven, Cameron Bridge and Shieldhall plants. Talks broke down between the trade unions involved in the dispute with Diageo on Friday (30 August) at the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) due to the failure to achieve a reasonable pay increase for the workforce. The dates of the strike action, which will involve up to 500 Unite members, are as follows:
18–19 September – Cameron Bridge and Leven from 08.00–07.59
19–20 September – Shieldhall from 18.00–17.59
26–27 September – Shieldhall from 18.00-17.59
26–27 September – Cameron Bridge and Leven from 22.00-21.59
The dispute relates to the annual pay award as Unite’s membership rejected Diageo’s latest offer of 2.8 per cent pay through the consolidation of the product allowance read more
Unison
Support this week’s 72-hour strike by Unison members, working for Compass/Medirest at Blackpool Victoria and St Helens & Whitson hospitals details here
Outsourced hospital security staff in Salford to strike after unanimous vote (16 Sept) – Staff employed by private contractor Engie Services Ltd within Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust have unanimously voted to take strike action over their employer’s failure to pay NHS rates. They work for the multinational outsourcing company as security guards and some are paid only the minimum wage rate of £8.21 an hour. The lowest rate for staff employed directly by the NHS is £9.03 an hour and the difference of 82p an hour is worth £1,500 a year for full-time staff. Even security guards paid more than the minimum wage earn considerably less than NHS pay rates and have worse working conditions than other staff they work alongside within the Trust. UNISON has been trying to resolve this issue for over a year, but in the absence of progress, the union asked its security guard members at Salford Royal whether they wished to go on strike over the issue. The result was that 100% of respondents voted to take industrial action read more
Addaction staff strike over broken pay promises (13 Sept) – Local MPs back drug and alcohol support workers, who were told that pay rises would match NHS workers. Staff employed by Addaction in the North West took two days of strike action this week, in their struggle against broken promises over pay. The 31 drug and alcohol support workers in Wigan and Leigh were previously employed by the NHS, but the service, which is commissioned by Wigan Council, was transferred to the London-based charity. Workers continued to receive pay rises in line with those of NHS employees and were given assurances by the organisation’s managers that this would continue into the future. However, when the 1% pay cap in the NHS was removed from April 2018, Addaction refused to implement the promised wage rise. After exhausting the internal grievance process, staff were balloted by UNISON, with a 100% vote in favour of strike action. A third round of Acas talks will take place on Tuesday 24 September to find an end to the dispute read more
More GMB
Sign the petition: Tell Asda: Respect your workers
Asda profits rocket as they threaten staff with sack (17 Sept) – Asda directors trouser whopping £12million as company slashed 5,000 jobs. Asda profits have rocketed more than £92 million at the same time they threaten staff with the sack if they don’t sign a controversial new contract. The supermarket giant’s latest accounts, release this week, show pre-tax profits have shot up almost 13% to almost £805 million read more
Victory for the Hull Karro workers see more on Hull and District Trades Council Facebook group
Diageo Scottish strike the consequence of ‘insatiable corporate greed’ – Strike action will hit all of Diageo’s Scottish operations later this month, after GMB Scotland served statutory notice to the company this afternoon [Tuesday 3 September) following the collapse of pay talks. A rolling programme of action will start on Tuesday 17 September and run until Friday 27 September, severely affecting Diageo’s bottling, maturation and distillery operations across Scotland and disrupting the production of staple brands such as Johnnie Walker, Gordon’s & Smirnoff (see footnote for full schedule). Last month, 80.5 per cent of GMB’s near 1,000 members supported moving to strike action after months of pay talks ended with Diageo tabling a 2.8 per cent ‘final offer’ for staff across it’s Scottish operations read more
NEU
Support strikes at Peacehaven Community School in east Sussex against academisation – Send messages of support to: Phil Clarke 07709696561 [email protected] and Jack Tyler 01444 894500 [email protected] Hands Off Peacehaven Community School Facebook group
UCU
Mammoth 15-day strike at Nottingham College begins on Wednesday – Members of the University and College Union (UCU) at Nottingham College will walk out on Wednesday (11 September) in the first of a mammoth 15 days of strike action as part of a row over new contracts. Staff will be on picket lines from 7.30am at the main college entrances including on Maid Marian Way, on Pelham Avenue at the Clarendon Campus and the outside Adams Building in the Lace Market. The college faces weeks of walkouts throughout September and October after members voted to stage a one-day walkout this week, escalating to strikes of two, three, four and five days in subsequent weeks. The full strike dates are:
Week 1: Wednesday 11 September
Week 2: Thursday 19 and Friday 20 September
Week 3: Monday 23, Tuesday 24 and Wednesday 25 September
Week 4: Monday 30 September, Tuesday 1, Wednesday 2, Thursday 3, and Friday 4 October
Week 5: Monday 7, Tuesday 8, Wednesday 9, Thursday 10 and Friday 11 October read more
University strike ballots will open on Monday 9 September – UCU has confirmed that strike ballots will open at UK universities on Monday 9 September in rows over USS pensions and pay, workloads, casualisation and equality. The union’s higher education committee (HEC) has confirmed the timetable for a ballot of 69 institutions over USS pensions and also for a pay, workloads, casualisation and equality ballot that will run at 147 institutions at the same time. The ballots will run from Monday 9 September to Wednesday 30 October and HEC will meet to consider the results on Friday 1 November. The ballots will be disaggregated so each institution will be polled separately read more
Support sacked Sandwell College lecturer Dave Muritu read more
EIS
EIS-ULA Executive recommends that you Vote YES in this statutory ballot for industrial action – Since 2009, the value of members’ pay has fallen by over 20%! The Employers’ pay offer for 2019/20, a headline uplift of only 1.8%, compounds that real terms drop in the value of your pay. The reality is that Universities are choosing to invest in other areas – such as buildings – rather than in their staff. After nearly a decade of sub-inflationary pay settlements, the only avenue left open to us to secure a significant improvement in lecturers’ and academic related staff pay is through industrial action read more
CWU
CWU Royal Mail strike ballot – union launches national strike ballot in Royal Mail read more National Dispute – resources page
TSSA
ScotRail Control Staff Vote For Strike Action (13 Sept) – Dozens of TSSA members in Control at ScotRail have voted overwhelmingly for strike action and action short of a strike in a dispute over pay. The dispute relates to the refusal of Scotrail to meet our members’ aspirations in the 2018 pay clam and rest day working payments for TSSA members within the Control Room. Scotrail have offered a rest day working payment to TSSA members within the Driver Team Manager grade but not to our members within the Control room read more
Prospect
Jersey’s civil servants reject latest pay offer. Prospect’s Jersey Civil Service Association members have voted to reject their employer’s pay offer for 2018, 2019 and 2020 (13 Sept) – More than two thirds (67%) voted to reject the offer; 33% voted to accept it. Prospect will be asking the States Employment Board for a meeting to try and negotiate an agreement which will break the current impasse. Unions have been in dispute with the States of Jersey since the employer imposed the 2018-19 pay offer on civil servants read more
BALPA
Irresponsible and inconsiderate of BA to cancel flights rather than negotiate (12 Sept) – We understand that BA has started cancelling its operations on the 27th of September today outside of the 14 day window to avoid having to compensate affected passengers. BALPA set a gap between the first and second periods of strike action to give BA time to work with us to settle this dispute with their pilots. We had today been exchanging new ideas to do that via ACAS and so it irresponsible and inconsiderate to its customers that BA has pulled out and decided to start cancelling flights now, just to save money on compensation. BA did not respond to our latest proposals before cancelling these flights. Passengers who will be affected by these cancellations should know that we have given BA multiple opportunities to work with us so we could call off this action read more
UK Ryanair pilots announce a further seven days of strikes – Ryanair members of the British Airline Pilots Association have announced further strike dates following the company’s refusal to seek conciliation talks at ACAS to resolve the dispute. Pilots already carried out strike action on 22nd and 23rd August 2019 and are also currently on a strike which began on Monday this week (3rd September 2019), and continues until 23.59 on Wednesday (5th September 2019). BALPA feels it has been left with no choice but to add more dates given Ryanair’s intransigence. The next rounds of strikes will be: 18th to 19th September 2019 (48 hours), 21st September 2019 (24 hours), 23rd September (24 hours), 25th September (24 hours), 27th September (24 hours) and 29th September (24 hours) read more
Other news
Kent & Medway Knife Crime Summit – this Saturday September 21st 10am-4.30pm MidKent College, Medway Campus, Medway Rd, ME7 1FN Gillingham, Medway Facebook event
There is a common perception in our communities that Knife Crime, is simply a criminal matter and if you catch people and lock them up, it will all go away. The reality is that it’s much more complex than that. But identifying the issues around the wide spectrum of knife use and knife crime, is not a problem that can be solved with a silver bullet. It is time we took a long, hard, honest, look at Knife Crime in our community; from a working class perspective. Try to understand the reasons for it, the triggers for it and what we can do to reduce it’s impact. If indeed it is a problem at all
Undercover Policing and the Trade Unions conference: Saturday 16th November 2019 – jointly organized by the Blacklist Support Group
A major trade union conference ‘Undercover Policing and the Trade Unions: The Political and The Personal’ is taking place at the University of Greenwich on Saturday 16th November 2019. The event is jointly organised by the Blacklist Support Group and our sister campaigns Police Spies Out of Lives and the Campaign Opposing Police Surveillance (COPS). The conference is officially supported by UNITE the Union.
Amongst other issues, the conference will cover undercover police infiltration of trade unions, police collusion in blacklisting, the human rights violations against female activists by the British state and ongoing corporate surveillance of union activists. The speakers will include spied on activists, blacklisted union members, lawyers, politicians, investigative journalists and artists. See the attached documents for more information.
Attendance is free but registration is essential. Please raise the issue at your union committee and encourage people to apply for a space online via: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/undercover-policing-and-trade-unions-the-political-and-the-personal-tickets-64167284074
Affiliate to the Campaign Opposing Police Surveillance (COPs) and to send representatives from your trade union branch/organisation to our Trade Union Conference on Saturday November 16th at University of Greenwich, Stephen Lawrence Building, Old Naval College, 30 Park Row, London, SE10 9LS.
Return Address: Campaign Opposing Police Surveillance (COPS), c/o 5 Caledonian Road, London, N1 9DX
Blacklisting & Victimisation
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)
Blacklisted t-shirts available at: https://shop.hopenothate.org.uk/component/hikashop/product/78-blacklisted-t-shirt
Book: http://newint.org/books/politics/blacklisted-secret-war/
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNcgrNs6pB8
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/groups/blacklistSG/
Blog: www.hazards.org/blacklistblog
International
USA: Auto workers go on strike after years of tirelessly helping General Motors reach record-level profits read more from website of UAW union
Turkey: Reinstate the 3 Mayors removed from office sign petition from Solidarity with the People of Turkey (SPOT)
Diary
2019
September
29 End Austerity Now! Protest the Tory Party Conference – hosted by Unison North West, The People’s Assembly Against Austerity and Manchester People’s Assembly Facebook event
November
16 Undercover Policing and the Trade Unions conference: Saturday 16th November 2019 Eventbrite
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
