Traffic wardens, refuse workers and other low paid workers in Southampton have gone strike in response to a particularly savage attack on pay. The council plans to cut pay by 4.5-5.5 per cent this year- effectively cutting workers’ incomes by a tenth, once inflation is taken into account. Workers pay will then be “frozen” for [...]
Your starter for 10: Which voice of Britain’s embattled public sector workers said this yesterday? We acknowledge that some cuts are necessary due to the parlous state of the country’s finances, but we feel greatly let down that we are not considered to be a protected priority area by the government. They have and will [...]
Last week the Fire Brigades Union called off their planned strike action on 5th November. Amongst those of us who believe a) that the firefighters have a legitimate grievance and b) they have the right to strike, there are two possible responses to this: We can think it was a good idea or a bad [...]
Marx has a wonderful term for the role that unemployment plays in capitalism. He calls it “the reserve army of labour.” The point of this concept is that whilst employing people allows a capitalist to accumulate value, having unemployed people allows you to drive down the price of labour. It’s a simple supply and demand [...]
At around six this morning I joined the picket line at Finsbury Park station. It was still dark, and the men and women on strike were gossiping about who might scab. I asked a slightly official looking woman if she was in charge. “We’re all in charge she replied, we’re all RMT.” In fact both [...]
Much has already been made about Ed Miliband’s victory depending on the unions, and no doubt there’ll be more of the same to come over the next few weeks. Even before the votes were in the Guardian was calling the voting system an undemocratic ‘relic’ crying out for reform and comparing poorly with those used [...]
I know that the next few years will be tough, very tough for some, but I also believe that the changes we make – empowering you, trusting you, listening to you – will make the public services a more rewarding place to work. I know there are a minority in the trade unions who will [...]
Here’s the final paragraph from an online Telegraph article on the tube strike: Having trouble getting to work? Please share your tales of travel woe below. For readers who live outside London, this is your chance to gloat about your trouble-free commute. Who said conservatives don’t have a sense of humour? Yes, vent your anti-union anger if [...]
Up in Scotland there has been some disquiet over the plans the Grampian NHS trust to enforce particularly over-the-top smoking ban. The board has been considering plans to ban nurses from smoking while on breaks or indeed at any time while in uniform. Even carrying tobacco about their person could, under the plans, have them [...]
As the campaign manager for the ‘Ralph for Leader’ campaign, I’m pleased to confirm that Ralph Miliband, former lecturer in politics at LSE, Leeds and Roosevelt Universities, as well as former editor of The Socialist Register, will be standing for Labour Leader. As mentioned by David Miliband, one of Ralph’s two sons, Ralph is currently “scratching [...]
