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The NUJ's annual conference meets at a crucial time for the union.
After 7 years of membership growth a wave of redundancies has hit the
union hard - both numerically and financially. The conference will set the scene for the biggest fight the union
faces over the coming 18 months - the future of public service
broadcasting. The BBC has seen thousands of jobs cut, whilst ITV have
axed local and regional services. More cuts are planned. And the
regulator and government are allowing them to happen.
Teachers in the NUT have voted three to one in favour of a
one day strike on 24th April. This is an overwhelming vote to reject
the degrading pay offer of New Labour,
and reflects the deeper disgust of teachers at the education policies of the
government.
Activists from Peterborough Trade Union Council (PTUC), representing
Unite, GMB, PCS, UNISON, CWU and Peterborough Pensioners' Association,
recently picketed a meeting called by Richard Branson's Virgin Group.
The pickets carried placards bearing the PTUC logo and slogans such as
"Health Not Profit" and "Keep the NHS Public". Also present was the
UNISON Health Branch banner that shows the slogan, "The Right to Life
is Higher Than the Rights of Private Property".
On the 17th and 18th March there was a well supported strike by PCS
members in the Department for Work and Pensions, which was a further
two days of strike in protest at an imposed pay offer. The imposed
offer means 40% of staff receive no rise this year and the lowest paid
staff receive an increase that will only take their wages to 24p above
the National Minimum Wage.
On Wednesday 19th March . 19 Labour MPs voted against the plan with the
Tory hypocrites and many more abstained. Some voted out of principle
and some to save their miserable hides at the next election. For this is
a plan that nobody (except the jackals of big business) wants. Four
million signed the petition to save the post offices. They were ignored.
The government is now recommending the county councils take over the
threatened branches. They are commemorating Easter by imitating Pontius
Pilate. The fight is still on to stop this vandalism.
Three years ago Peter Doyle the Regional Officer
for UNISON in Carlisle pulled off a huge victory in terms of Equal Pay for Work
of Equal Value worth potentially £340 million. The amount was so big partly
because the case had dragged on for years and also because the extent to which
the 1,500 women had been underpaid. Trade union struggles are often complex and
difficult. They are made even more difficult by the union bureaucracy cuddling
up to the labour leadership, instead of representing the members.
It is almost impossible to believe the rank stupidity and/or duplicity
of the people masquerading as Labour Ministers. This is a press release
from UNISON in response to the latest claptrap from Kim Howells, in
which he makes allegations that put at risk the lives of trade unionists
in Columbia. Please use this information in your own unions and demand
the retraction of Howells' allegations.
In the past
month Ken Loach has been outstanding in his support for Shelter workers in an
industrial dispute with management. They are trying to impose an extra two and
a half hours a week work for no extra pay so that Shelter, a company with a £49.1m turnover is competitive with
private companies in winning work contracted out by a Labour government to the cheapest bidder. Over 70% of
the 468 Unite members voted for strike action.
Last month the National Union of Teachers’
Executive announced a ballot for a 24 hour strike on 24th April for
all school-based members. The ballot is currently underway, having started on
February 24th and will end on 31st March.
From 
British Library (BL) staff are still waiting for
the outcome of their 2007 pay deal which is now over six months late. Funding
was in place in August for a 1 year deal but management (without consulting the
unions) decided to delay all pay talks until the outcome of the government's
Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR). The unions asked for a meeting with
management in order to express staff concerns at the continuing delay and were
told that such a meeting "is not justified."
The newly formed Islington
Trades Union Council held its AGM last week at the Town Hall,
which was an eye-opening historical tour into the fighting
past of the borough. A host of interesting speakers were present including Labour MP Jeremy Corbyn, who
reminded us that Islington was once the home of Karl Marx, and Vic Turner, one of the Pentonville Five who recounted the significance of the 1972 Dockers' strike.
Paul Mason takes nine examples from labour history over the past 190 years and
compares them to struggles that are taking place today. This is a book that every young activist, trade unionist or socialist
will want to read. Julian Shapre reviews ‘Live working or die
fighting: how the working class went global’.
