Socialist Appeal - Trade Unions

Trade Unions - Send us your letters, articles or workplace and trade union reports!

Blair throws down gauntlet to civil serveants

By By Matt Wells, PCS Defra Group Executive Committee (personal capacity)
Friday, 01 December 2006
New Labour has thrown down the gauntlet to civil servants, of which over 300,000 are organised in the PCS, Britain's sixth largest union. The PCS's national executive needs to take a clear lead on the issues that affect all members; job cuts, pay and privatisation. One-off protest strikes are not enough.

NHS Trust faces strike

By Ron Graves, President Peterborough Trade Union Council
Friday, 01 December 2006
AMICUS members at Peterborough District hospital have voted unanimously to take strike action over the way their jobs have been banded under the new NHS pay scheme, Agenda for Change. They plan four one-day strikes, starting on Monday 27 November, combined with a ban on overtime and call-outs.

McKinnon Mills Workers Continue Strike Action in Pay Claim

Tuesday, 24 October 2006
Garment production workers at one of the world's most famous clothing manufacturer continue their series of industrial actions, including strikes after bosses rejected their demand for a 2.5% pay increase. 85% of the membership voted for industrial action up to and including strike, work to rule and a refusal to pass on work to sub-contractors for completion.

Unison Conference 2006 - Struggle Needed to Defend Pensions and the NHS

Thursday, 15 June 2006

On the eve of Unison Conference we are publishing here articles from the latest edition of Socialist Appeal which deal with some of the questions facing delegates and activists. Unison has a vital role to play in the struggle to defend pensions, against the attacks launched by the government on the welfare state (and the NHS in particular), and for socialist policies in the labour movement. The conference will also discuss solidarity with Venezuela, an issue being raised by members of Hands Off Venezuela in the union.

CWU affiliates to Hands Off Venezuela

Tuesday, 23 May 2006

Thirty delegates and visitors from the national conference of the Communication Workers Union attended the very first Hands Off Venezuela fringe meeting, held on Monday lunchtime in windswept Bournemouth. The day before, the 250,000-strong union, which organises both postal and telecommunications workers in Britain, had unanimously agreed to support the Venezuelan Revolution and also affiliate nationally to HOV.

British Shop Workers Vote to Support Venezuela!

Tuesday, 09 May 2006
In Blackpool over the May Day Bank holiday, the British shop workers’ union USDAW, representing some 330,000 workers, passed a resolution unanimously supporting the Venezuelan Revolution and affiliating to the Hands Off Venezuela Campaign.

London May Day 2006 – Rally needs to be followed by action to defend jobs and the NHS

Sunday, 07 May 2006
This year’s rally was bigger than usual with thousands of workers taking part from many different unions, but there was a contradiction between some of the moderate speeches of the leaders and the real problems faced by the workers facing the onslaught of the bosses.

Lobby against witch-hunt in engineering union Amicus

Wednesday, 22 March 2006

This morning over 30 trade unionists turned up bright and early with placards and leaflets to stand outside the plush Marriot Hotel at County Hall in London – former headquarters of the GLC – to picket a meeting of the Amicus executive committee. The reason? To protest at the disgraceful sacking of three union employees – Des Heemskerk, Cathy Willis and Jimmy Warne – by the union leadership.

Amicus North West Regional Council affiliates to Hands Off Venezuela Campaign

Friday, 10 February 2006
The Amicus North West Regional Council decided to affiliate to the Hands Off Venezuela (HOV) campaign at its February monthly meeting. Great interest was shown for what is happening in Venezuela and a generous donation was made to HOV.

"Super Union" needs democracy

Thursday, 02 February 2006

Preparations are going ahead for a merger of three big trade unions in Britain, Amicus, T&GWU and GMB. The bureaucracy is pressing heavily for this. It would potentially be a very powerful union, but past experiences have shown that mergers have tended to reduce the level of internal democracy. The left in Amicus gathered around the Amicus Unity Gazette are not opposed to the merger in principle but are demanding the rank and file have a last say through recall conferences and that they be allowed to decide on the key issue of the rule book.

Britain: Suspended with no reason - Re-instate the suspended Amicus three

Monday, 12 September 2005
Three Amicus members of staff have been suspended from their jobs in the union. All three are leading members of the broad left that was instrumental in defeating the right wing and getting Derek Simpson elected as General Secretary. No reason has been given for their suspension. It is obviously a politically motivated attack. Please take part in the campaign to get the three reinstated.

Britain: TUC 2005 - Words must be turned into action

Monday, 12 September 2005
No one union alone can successfully fight the present anti-union laws. But imagine if the TUC were to lead a major protest against the laws in every workplace and organised on behalf of 7 million union members a direct challenge to those laws - that would have more effect than any number of seminars and workshops and would put unions in a stronger position to win.

Venezuelan Trade Union leader Orlando Chirino at the TUC Congress

Monday, 12 September 2005

A leading member of Venezuela's largest union, the National Workers Union, UNT, will be present at the TUC, having been invited by the National Union of Journalists and by Hands Off Venezuela. NATFHE will move a resolution in support of Venezuela and the progressive policies of the government of president Hugo Chávez, committing the TUC to work with solidarity campaigns and to build links with Venezuelan trade unionists.

Britain: Re-instate sacked Gate Gourmet workers

Thursday, 01 September 2005

The dispute that erupted at the Gate Gourmet company in August is symptomatic of what is really happening in the British labour movement. The strike of the Gate Gourmet workers received strong support from the workers at British Airways who paralysed Heathrow Airport and inflicted heavy losses on the company. The class solidarity expressed in this dispute is an indication of what is to come throughout the whole of the British labour movement.

Britain: The filth of capitalist democracy exposed as cleaners demand decent conditions and pay

Wednesday, 20 July 2005
The Houses of Parliament cleaners made history by staging their first walk-out on the morning of 20th July. At 10 am the strikers assembled outside St. Stephens’ entrance together with some MPs, parliamentary staff and the media to publicise their demands. The strikers were chanting slogans like “Low Pay, No Way” while some of them were brandishing placards and mops.