Tag: pcs
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NSSN 172: Enough is enough…no work ‘til we drop!
Osborne’s Autumn Statement last Thursday, not only brought forward by ten years the new retirement age of first 68 and then 69 – it will be open-ended with it being regularly reviewed in line with life expectancy. This poses workers getting their state pensions into their 70s and because many occupational pensions use this age…
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PCS on Chancellor’s Autumn Statement
Republished from PCS website The chancellor has today announced more cuts in government departmental budgets and an increase in state pension age. George Osborne said in his autumn statement that UK state pension age is to increase more rapidly to 68, making it one of the highest in the developed world. State pension age will…
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NSSN 170 – Fight attacks on Jobs & Pay on the Tube!
This week, we re-produce a statement from RMT General Secretary Bob Crow after the announcement of massive job cuts on London Underground (LUL) and the further threat to the living standards of tube workers. The NSSN appeals to all trade unions to give full support to the unions and their members on LUL Hear Bob…
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NSSN 169 – End Blacklisting. Fight Tory witch-hunt of Unite!
End the Blacklist! Own up! Clean up! Pay up! The recent death of Richard Laco on a Laing O’Rourke building site in Kings Cross has again raised the issue of construction safety to centre stage. A silent vigil for Richard was organised by the Construction Safety Campaign and was attended by family members and the…
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NSSN 168 – Stop ALL BAe shipyard closures & save ALL jobs!
This week we produce a letter from Portsmouth Trades Council advertising a demonstration this Saturday November 16th against the closure of the naval shipyards in the city with the loss of nearly 1000 jobs. At very short notice, over 200 attended a protest last Saturday. The NSSN gives full support to these workers and the…
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The case for joint coordinated industrial action
In light of recent setbacks for the working class, does the trade union movement need to reconsider how it uses industrial action? John McInally, PCS union national vice-president explains (in a personal capacity) why PCS believes joint coordinated industrial action is still the way forward. Since the 1970s the capitalist class has conducted a relentless…
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Victory For Independent Living Rights In English Appeal Court
Statement by Anne Pridmore, Gabriel Pepper and Stuart Bracking As three of the Independent Living Fund users who have challenged the legality of the government’s decision to close the Fund, we welcome the Appeal Court’s unanimous ruling that this decision should be quashed. Given the Government has decided not to appeal to the Supreme Court,…
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NSSN 167: 20th anniversary of rail privatisation
On 5 November 1993 John Major’s Tories passed the Railways Act to privatise British Rail, opening an era of public transport chaos and fragmentation in Britain. Rail privatisation is a grotesque ‘corporate welfare’ binge for a herd of gruesome Fat Cats, some well-known like Richard Branson, others less so like the shadowy hedge funds and…
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NSSN166 – Support UCU, Unison & Unite members strikers
31 October will be a day of coordinated strike action by UCU, Unison and Unite members working in Universities. This is the first UK-wide joint action between these Higher Education unions, demonstrating the anger that their members feel about the employers’ insulting 1% pay increase. Even pro-capitalist commentator Will Hutton, writing in the Observer notes…
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NSSN 165 Support the Grangemouth workers!
NSSN 165 Support the Grangemouth workers! The National Shop Stewards Network gives full support to the workers at the refinery against the scandalous scare tactics of Ineos. Our supporters attended the rally at the plant on Sunday read report from NSSN website Events are moving quickly with this morning, Ineos announcing the closure of the petrochemical works on…
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164 – “We’re ALL under attack – so let’s strike together in November”
NSSN E-Bulletin 164 “We’re ALL under attack – so let’s strike together in November” Last Saturday October 12th, I attended a Steering Committee meeting of the NSSN*, the National Shop Stewards Network, at the RMT’s National HQ. The Steering Committee brings together representatives from trade unions right across the public and private sector to discuss…
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‘Nothings got worse since austerity took hold’ – Really?!
A BBC survey purported to show that over 40% of those interviewed had not noticed a change to local government services since austerity took hold. Some even thought services had improved! Yet we all know of closures to libraries, swimming pools, reduced council facilities and the rest. Even the BBC website has stories from leading councillors…
