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Jack Jones, former General Secretary of the TGWU (now part
of Unite) from 1969 to 1978 has died at the age of 96. Although he moved away
from the Left towards the end of his union career he was without a doubt one of
the best-known and most militant trade union leader of his day.
Today, underground workers (RMT train operators working out of the
Seven Sisters depot covering the Victoria Line) are holding a 24 hour
strike that started at 9pm last night and goes until 9pm tonight closing the entire line.
I have been an active trade union member of Unite the union in its various forms since 1986 when I first joined EEPTU. I was first properly involved in rank and file activity in 1988 on a site in London where I was an elected safety rep. A few weeks ago, I managed to obtain my file from the Information Commissioner’s Office, which clearly proved that a blacklist was in operation for many years. It was an 18 page document containing allegations that I was a “trouble maker” and much more besides.
Over the past decade, Latin America has been in the forefront of the struggle against capitalism and its evil effects upon the lives of working class people. Nowhere has been the case more than in Venezuela, where Chavez, President for the past ten years, proudly proclaims himself a socialist. Latin America of course has long been a victim of capitalism and imperialism. In Venezuela the capitalist class have often simply abandoned their factories as unprofitable, leaving the workers to rot. These workers have indignantly stood up for their rights. For years past they have struggled to occupy these factories as a way of maintaining their livelihoods. They are ahead of us in Britain and the rest of Europe. We should learn the lessons.
The leader of the attempted occupation of the Visteon plant at Basildon (component supplier to Ford) speaks to Socialist Appeal. After the ending of the occupation, the workers have maintained a twenty-four hour picket on the factory. Belfast and Enfield remain occupied. These are the first factory occupations in Britain for more than 30 years. It is an inspiring new stage in working class struggle.
It’s a shame that halfpennies were abolished twenty or so years ago, because that’s all that the Local Government employers think we are worth. That’s right 0.5% or a halfpenny in the pound, that’s what hundreds of thousands of UNISON members are to be offered in this year’s pay round. But as though that wasn’t enough, we are reliably informed that they intend to withdraw the offer if we don’t agree to it by June 1st.
Visteon workers in Enfield and Basildon have joined with Belfast workers in occupying their plants.Management has put the firm into administration. Belfast workers have been defending their occupation by staying in overnight. The workers are taking action because they have to. They were just brutally kicked off the premises without any notice. If management get away with this, 600 workers at the three plants will be sacked and left on the minimum statutory redundancy pay.
The result of the election for General Secretary in the Amicus section of Unite the union vindicates the challenge that was mounted by Jerry Hicks against the attempt of Simpson to cling onto office without election. Although Simpson won with a vote of 60,048 Jerry Hicks was well placed in second position, polling 39,307 and easily beating the right wingers Kevin Coyne, who only gained 30,603 votes and Paul Reuter who came fourth with 28,283.
This Friday 20 March at 13.00 hours, cleaners employed by Mitie at
global insurance brokers the Willis Group will be demonstrating again
outside the Willis Building, 51 Lime Street EC3 7DQ (tube: Liverpool
Street or Bank)
As has already
been reported on marxist.com and socialist.net, the workers at the PRISME packaging
plant in Dundee have been in occupation since the 4th of March. The workers
decided to occupy the factory after they were each given a letter informing
them of their immediate dismissal without any of the pay they were owed from
the first of March. They demanded a letter outlining the payments they were
due, which when the received outlined all they payments they were entitled to,
however it scandalously concluded with the sentence “Unfortunately, we do not
have enough money to make these payments to you.”
An enthusiastic group of British trade unionists, 
With repeated cries of “Royal Mail, Not for
Sale” and echoes of the 1980s with “Mandy, Mandy, Mandy, Out, Out, Out!” more
than 1,000 CWU members and their supporters settled down in a meeting hall in
Bilston near Wolverhampton on Saturday afternoon March 14th to
listen to a range of speakers opposing the threat to privatise up to 49% of the
postal services.
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