Junior Doctors have been forced to take a second day of strike action on February 10th by the determination of the Tories to bring in a new contract. NSSN supporters visited BMA picket lines on January 12th and will continue to give support and solidarity as long as it’s needed.
We have no doubt that the incredible support that was shown to Junior Doctors that day will continue. We call on the TUC and the other health unions to urgently meet with the BMA to call a national demonstration to defend the NHS and support the Junior Doctors and the struggle of students in the health service to defend their bursaries. Many of these students are looking to walk out with Junior Doctors next Wednesday at 10am.
It’s apt that the strike is taking place in the week of the TUC’s week of action against the Tory Trade Union Bill. It should be the centrepiece of the week and point the way to the solidarity action that is needed to stop Cameron’s austerity offensive and accompanying attack on the unions.
The U-turn of the Tories last week on their planned cuts to legal aid shows that they can be defeated.
Please join the picket lines on February 10th and the many protests around the country, including this Saturday February 6th in London. Meet 12noon Waterloo Place, London SW1Y, UK https://www.facebook.com/events/1738871523011454/
BMA statement: Junior doctors press ahead with industrial action (Feb 1)
#SaveOurSteel
NSSN public meeting Port Talbot February 10: No closures or redundancies – nationalise to #SaveOurSteel
The NSSN is hosting a public solidarity meeting in Port Talbot on Wednesday February 10th to build support for the steelworkers. It is at 7.30pm in the lounge at the Grand Hotel Station Rd, Port Talbot SA13 1DE (opposite the train station). Speakers include NSSN national chair and ex-Swansea Visteon (Ford) Unite union convenor Rob Williams. It is open to everyone. We call on our supporters to organise meetings anywhere else that plants and jobs are on the line. https://www.facebook.com/NationaliseTATA/?fref=ts
Solidarity with the steelworkers – no redundancies, no closures, nationalise to #SaveOurSteel
NUT
The academy threat to Small Heath School has been withdrawn – now lift Simon O’Hara’s suspension! (1 Feb) — On Friday 29th January Birmingham City Council informed the unions that the threat of the academisation of Small Heath School was off the table as the sponsors had walked away. This came after staff from the NUT, NASUWT and ATL increased their strike action and campaigned with parents to say that students in Small Heath are best served by their school remaining as part of the Local Authority family of schools. Staff are committed to getting the school out of special measures but for this to happen the suspension of the NUT Rep Simon O’Hara must be lifted.
NUT members in the school have voted 100% in favour of striking to defend their Rep with strikes to begin on 9th February if the school refuse to end the victimisation of Simon O’Hara. We plan to hand the updated petition into the IEB and Local Authority this week so please share the petition and encourage as many people as possible to sign. We say well done to the strikers for stopping the academisation of Small Heath School and that now the LA and the IEB should lift the suspension of Simon O’Hara. You are encouraged to send messages of support to David Room at [email protected]. A petition to defend Simon and to say ‘no to academisation’ of Small Heath School has attracted over 2000 signatures – please add your signature sign here
Sixth Form Colleges: Pay and Funding Campaign – Cuts to 16-19 funding have been much greater than cuts to school funding. Sixth form colleges are under threat. Teachers in sixth form colleges are facing threats to pay, working conditions and employment. Students in this extremely successful sector are facing threats to their education. The NUT has decided to ballot members in sixth form colleges, as part of our campaign on the funding of the sector, for a national one day strike which will coincide with a national demonstration in March read more
CWU
Reinstate Clive Walder
The NSSN is delighted to announce that John Vasey a sacked CWU postal rep in Wakefield, West Yorkshire has finally been reinstated by Royal Mail (see CWU website). We now demand that Clive Walder gets his job back at British Telecom.
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
Defend the People’s Post sign the petition here
Offshore Oil Industry workers
Rank & file meeting Tuesday February 9 Jury’s Inn (ex-Thistle) Aberdeen 3and3itsnotforme Facebook group
RMT warns of long-term damage to future of Britain’s offshore industry as jobs cull continues
Unite calls for urgent interventions to save oil and gas sector
NSSN / Kill the Bill news
As expected, the Tory Trade Union Bill passed its 3rd reading on November 10th. It now is now going through the Lords. But we must keep up the pressure and prepare for resisting it if it becomes law.
The NSSN supported the protest that the TUCG organised outside Parliament on the 2nd House of Lords reading of the TU Bill on Monday January 11th. We will be publicising protests on the 3rd reading. See video of PCS national Vice-President John McInally speaking on protest
The TUC have announced a week of action February 8-14 against the Trade Union Bill http://heartunions.org/. Watch out for any protests or meetings that week – or organise your own through your Trades Council, union branch, NSSN etc.
A central part of the TUC week of action will be ‘The Big Workplace Meeting’ – where the TUC is calling on union branches and workplaces to come out of work together at 12.30pm on Tuesday 9 February and hold a meeting to discuss fighting the Trade Union Bill. Why not make it a protest and take action against the Bill?!!
Campaign for Trade Union Freedom Spring Rally – 6.30pm Thursday 11th February Mander Hall, NUT Hamilton House, Mabledon Place, London WC1H 9BD http://www.tradeunionfreedom.co.uk/
Rob Williams NSSN chair was interviewed live on BBC’s Daily Politics at TUC Congress watch here at about 30 minutes
Early notice – the 10th annual NSSN conference will on Saturday July 2nd 2016 in Conway Hall, London. Please put in your new diaries!!
Yorkshire NSSN Conference: Stop the Union Busters / Organise the Unorganised – Saturday, 5th March at Ebor Court, Skinner St, Leeds, LS1 4ND https://www.facebook.com/events/514766158692960/
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
Justice Alliance
Justice Secretary suspends legal aid fee cuts and retreats from contract tendering for duty solicitors – Cuts to legal aid fees for duty criminal solicitors who represent suspects in police stations and magistrates courts are to be suspended, Michael Gove, the justice secretary, has announced in the department’s latest policy U-turn. As well as surrendering the 8.75% fee cut, a controversial contract-tendering procedure which would restrict the number of law firms permitted to do duty legal work is also to be abandoned, the Ministry of Justice confirmed. Both highly unpopular reforms, which aimed at consolidating the profession and effectively forcing many solicitors’ firms to merge or close, were initiated by Chris Grayling, the previous justice secretary read more
Unison
Glasgow janitors’ industrial action enters its third week – 120 UNISON Glasgow Branch members employed by Cordia as primary school janitors are now in their third week of official industrial action – involving a refusal to carry out a range of duties – in a pay dispute with Glasgow City Council. 98% voted to take action short of strike action and 95% for a strike if the dispute requires to be escalated. Cordia, an ALEO of Glasgow City Council, is refusing to pay a Working Context and Demands Payment (WCD) to school janitors and is using spurious arguments to justify not making this payment. UNISON is very clear that school janitors meet the scoring criteria to be awarded a WCD payment. There are five levels of annual WCD payment ranging from just over £500 to over £1000 read more Glasgow Unison website
FE members vote for action on pay (Jan 29) – Industrial action ballot sees 2-1 vote for strike and 4-1 for other action in English further education colleges. UNISON members at further education colleges in England have voted for strike action over pay by two-to-one and in favour of action short of a strike by a four-to-one margin. The industrial action ballot, which closed today, followed an earlier rejection of a 0% “pay offer” from national employers. It covered members in colleges without a local agreement. The ballot saw 65.7% of those taking part vote for strike action, which 34.3% against, and 79.8% vote for industrial action short of a strike, with 20.2% voting against. The union’s further education and sixth form committee will meet next Wednesday, 3 February, to consider the next steps in the campaign for a pay rise read more
RMT
Every Job Matters – Strike Dates Announced – Every Job Matters: defending jobs on London Underground – Week of Action – Sunday 7th – Saturday 13th February 2016. The National Executive Committee has considered what form this action should take and instructs all RMT Station Grades NOT TO BOOK ON FOR SHIFTS between the following times:-
- 21:00 hours on Saturday 6th February 2016 and 20:59 hours on Monday 8th February read more
Defend Glen Hart ballot ongoing (Jan 27) – Further to my previous Circular (IR/011/16, 14th January 2016), members will be aware of the dispute situation that exists with London Underground over the continued suspension and threat of disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal, against RMT Activist Glen Hart. The ballot papers were posted out to all London Underground members on Thursday 21st January and the closing date for this ballot is Thursday 4th February 2016 read more
Unite
Library strike in Bromley and Greenwich – Congratulations to Greenwich Unite members working in Libraries have voted by a 90% majority in favour of strike action to defend the Mobile Library from closure and will strike from February 9-12. Bromley Unite has issued notice that Library members will strike from 6th to 13th Feb in defence of Bromley libraries
Rock solid strike action by crane operators causes near total shutdown (1 Feb) – Today’s (1 February) rock solid strike action by crane operators at the UK’s largest mobile crane hire firm, Ainscough, has caused a near total shutdown of operations with less than 10 of the company’s 500 cranes leaving its 30 depots (excluding the 30 cranes operating on NAECI* projects) according to Unite. Unite, the country’s biggest union, which represents 500 crane operators and support staff members, has confirmed that pickets have been out in force today at the company’s 30 UK-wide depots, from Plymouth to Falkirk, in an ongoing pay dispute.
The Unite members voted overwhelmingly for strike action with 90 per cent voting in favour on an 83 per cent turnout to reject the company’s pitiful two year pay deal. Over 90 per cent voted for action short of strike. Today’s strike action is the first in a series of escalating actions planned over the coming weeks through to 23 March. A programme of overtime bans started on 30 January and will end on 20 March read more
Co-op’s transfer of 50 Midland’s drivers to controversial haulier Eddie Stobart prompts 1,000-driver consultative ballot (28 Jan) – A consultative ballot of a 1,000 Co-op drivers for industrial action will be held after the group announced today (Thursday 28 January) that it was transferring about 50 drivers in the Midlands to controversial haulier Eddie Stobart Ltd (ESL). The national board of the Co-operative group agreed to transfer the drivers based at Coventry to ESL in April. Because of the implications for future outsourcing by the Co-op group, Unite, the country’s largest union, will be holding a consultative ballot of a 1,000 of its Co-op driver members based at Birtley, Newcastle; Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland; Castlewood, north Derbyshire; Coventry; Newhouse, Lanarkshire; Plymouth and Thurrock in Essex read more
Unite Protest over Pay at HCA – Unite members, acting jointly with the PCS and UNISON, are discussing what action they can take in protest at an eight month delay to their pay settlement at the HCA. The Agency has said that the pay rise is delayed because of the length of time the CLG has taken to sign it off. The majority of HCA contracts say that negotiations should take place between May and July. and the Treasury Guidance says that pay negotiations should be concluded by August. Yet these timescales have not been met for at least three years read more
PCS
Support surges for PCS V&A anti-privatisation campaign (1 Feb) – A PCS campaign against privatisation at the Victoria and Albert Museum is growing fast with 40,000 people having signed a petition in just 4 days. PCS launched a campaign, including an online petition, against the privatisation of public sector contracts at the iconic London museum, by targeting last Friday’s monthly late night opening. PCS reps from the V&A were joined by trade unionists from the southern and eastern regional TUC and other culture branches at the leafletting of the late night opening read more
Business department putting jobs at risk (28 Jan) – The government department tasked with helping businesses to grow is putting hundreds of jobs at risk by closing its offices. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills announced today it plans to close its Sheffield office, putting 250 jobs at risk. Work from Sheffield, which includes policy development, will move to London and senior officials have said BIS will be withdrawing from other sites across the UK, risking a further 100 jobs read more
NUJ
FT journalists poised for 24-hour strike over pensions robbery – Journalists at the Financial Times will be on a 24-hour strike on Thursday over the £4m pensions robbery proposed by new owner, Nikkei. Please send messages of support to [email protected] or call by and say hello to the picket line read more STOP PRESS!! The strike has been called off to consider a revised offer more here
GMB
Dispute Looms At Birmingham City Council Over Cuts (Feb 3) – GMB Ready To Ballot 7,000 Members If Birmingham City Council Seeks To Impose Changes To Terms And Conditions As Part Of Spending Cuts. Labour led Birmingham should defend the nationally agreed terms and conditions of employment for their loyal staff in the council and in schools says GMB read more
NSSN supports GMB demonstration outside the Bethlem Royal today to support the Aramark cleaners who are being balloted for strike action (Feb 2) – Aramark which has a turnover of 13 billion a year is refusing to pay these hospital cleaners a basic living wage. The cleaners do essential work and without clean hospitals none of us could do our jobs properly and disease and death is the inevitable result. The cleaners struggle is part and parcel of the wider struggle to stop pay and conditions deteriorating throughout the NHS
Ballot On Glasgow City Council Cuts (Feb 2) – GMB Scotland Consultative Ballot On 3rd Feb For Members At Glasgow City Council Over Cuts To Terms And Conditions And 3,000 Job Losses read more
25,165 Local Council Job Losses (Feb 1) – 25,165 Job Losses In Pipeline At 52 Councils In England, Wales And Scotland As Tory Cuts In Funding Continues For A Further Year. Cuts such as bin collections every three weeks or not cleaning gullies or savage cuts to services for the elderly and for children and decimating parks and leisure services are the results says GMB read more
Wandsworth And Richmond Councils Threat To Staff (Feb 1) – GMB To Ballot Members As Wandsworth And Richmond Councils Issue Statutory Notice To Terminate And Re-Engage 3,578 Staff. The issuing of these statutory notices is nothing short of an unnecessarily aggressive approach that does no more but alienate its staff says GMB read more
UCU
Strike action suspended at the Open University (1 Feb) – Strike was planned for tomorrow at Open University offices in Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Gateshead, Leeds, London, Oxford, Milton Keynes, Manchester and Nottingham. Strike action has been suspended at the Open University following negotiations between the university and UCU read more
Save London Metropolitan University – London Metropolitan University UCU are beginning balloting over threatened redundancies and the closure of the Aldgate Campus. The union is arguing for a two campus university model that keeps the Sir John Cass Faculty of Art, Architecture and Design in Aldgate, saves jobs and reviews the decision to cut courses. Please join supporters such as Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and take a photo of yourself with this poster, sending it to [email protected], and sharing with friends and colleagues. Defend the Cass: ‘Occupy The Cass’ is a collective group of students at London Met exercising our right to freedom of assembly and peaceful protest https://www.facebook.com/occupycasslmu/?fref=ts Sign the petition
NAPO
Probation Pay Update for NPS and CRCs here
Mandate (Ireland)
Tesco attempts cuts to pay and conditions for long serving staff (27 Jan) – Mandate Trade Union said yesterday’s announcement by Tesco management that long serving members of staff would be facing pay cuts, more flexibility and reduced terms of conditions of employment would be resisted by all staff at the company read more
IWGB
Cleaners Strike at Southwark Crown Court on February 1 https://m.facebook.com/events/216398218701359/
Other News
Battersea & Wandsworth trades council demonstration – Tuesday 11 February 12 noon outside Tory party offices in Wandsworth – contact [email protected]
Save Pent Valley School: lobby Kent County Council February 11 – Pent Valley School is an Academy in Cheriton, Folkestone. Kent County Council are trying to close it due, they say, to falling numbers and bad results and then reopen the school in three years as a ‘Free School’. The community do not want it to close as there are new estates being built within walking distance of the school, birth rates are increasing and results and the quality of the teaching and support staff has dramatically improved.
South East Kent Trades Council has organised a highly successful and well attended public meeting to keep the school open. We are lobbying Kent County Councillors outside County Hall in Maidstone on Thursday 11th February from 830am https://www.facebook.com/events/993322090740354/
Please come along to the lobby, inform your members. We are hiring a coach paid for by Unite and Unison should be providing support and shelter and sandwiches. Remember the cuts affect us all and this campaign against all cuts unites our communities.
We are quickly filling up a coach with mums, dads, school students and the local Nepalese community. We are preparing banners, leaflets and placards. We will be linking up with the campaign to save the dementia respite centres and the PCS campaign to stop the closure of tax offices across Kent.
Eric Segal – South East Kent Trades Council
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)
Blacklist Support Group update –
National Construction Rank & File meeting this Saturday February 6th in Glasgow – 1pm Jury’s Inn, Jamaica Street https://www.facebook.com/events/771485802957693/?ref=4&action_history=null&source=4
Blacklisted 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 (also see Labourstart)
The first national demonstration for Kurdish solidarity has been called by Kurdish activists and supporters. The national demonstration will be held on Sunday March 6th https://www.facebook.com/events/1552991251691159/
Greece: Workers strike at Contitech-IMAS factory read more
Djibouti: Teacher trade unionist sentenced to prison read more
Carlsberg/Cambrew dismisses striking beer promotion women in Cambodia! read more
Diary (see & use false economy)
2016
March
5 Yorkshire NSSN Conference: Stop the Union Busters / Organise the Unorganised at Ebor Court, Skinner St, Leeds, LS1 4ND https://www.facebook.com/events/514766158692960/
July
2 10th annual NSSN Conference in Conway Hall, London
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
