UK Workers' Movements Feature Archive
Massive support nationwide for sacked Gate Gourmet workers
20-09-2005 22:33
UPDATE - Sacked workers are still on the picket line outside Gate Gourmet after the Transport and General Workers Union struck a deal with the management on 27th September. According to the deal, 144 strikers were forcibly made redundant and 7 were to remain sacked with no compensation. At the same time 3 baggage handlers at Heathrow Airport who had taken part in a 1000-strong one-day sympathy strike are still suspended. According to the Gate Gourmet workers 'it is not over yet!'
Solidarity meetings this week:
Sacked Gate Gourmet Workers Website including:
Latest news | Events | Donate to the Hardship Fund
On Indymedia: Liverpool Blue Arrow demo | Manchester Blue Arrow demo | The secret casualisation plan | GG no stranger to industrial dispute | Angry Gate Gourmet workers lobby TUC
Also:Schnews report | Corporate Watch: A view from inside the Gate Gourmet dispute
IWW join forces with SSP to repell Scottish parliament's protest retaliation
25-08-2005 09:31
The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) join forces with the Scottish Socialist Party to lobby against financial sanctions enforced by the Scottish Parliament versus initially four parliamentarians who protested in the chamber against the ban of the 6th of July demonstration against the G8 at Gleneagles.
According to the "Industrial Worker", the radical syndicalist labour union's newspaper, the loss of £30 000 in wages will not only punish the protesters, but will also unjustifiyably effect their employees.
Campaigners and fellow members of the IWW call for a protest on 6th of September at 9am outside the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh and/or to sign an online petition and/or write protest letters to the presiding officer of the Scottish Parliament. [ "Scottish Parliament to Dock IWW Members' Pay" | "The Day Democracy died" | Wikipedia on the SSP]
More links:
[ Industrial Workers of the World | Edinburgh IWW | Petition online | IWW on Wikipedia | A graphic history of the IWW]
Cambridge Support for Jerry Hicks
19-08-2005 17:46
There has been active support in Cambridge for the campaign to reinstate Jerry Hicks. Jerry, a worker at the Bristol Rolls Royce plant, was "probably dismissed on trade union grounds", the employment tribunal found, for supposedly organising unofficial action, influencing the decision of the disciplinary panel (both to support two sacked colleagues), and standing in the way of normal working practices [more details].
Jerry Hicks has spoken at a public meeting in Cambridge [ Report | Photos ]. And there is now a call to action.
Strike for union rights at Rolls Royce
14-08-2005 22:35
Workers at the Bristol Rolls Royce plant have voted for an indefinite strike, starting on August 22nd, until their dismissed colleague, Jerry Hicks is fully reinstated. Jerry was "probably dismissed on trade union grounds", the employment tribunal found, for supposedly organising unofficial action, influencing the decision of the disciplinary panel (both to support two sacked colleagues), and standing on the way of normal working practices [more details]. The aim of the strike and campaing is nothing short of unconditional reinstatement. But the real target are the anti-union laws that allow employers to criminalise "unofficial" actions. They have been on the law books since Thatcher introduced them, but have also survived two terms of Labour government. Yet when faced with pressures from employers, as Jerry Hicks said, "we never balloted, we always walked out!" [see also Heathrow Airport strikes background].
[Bristol IMC: Updates logo background | Unions: Amicus labournet | Talk in Cambridge: text photos call | Solidarity: photos | The arms trade: RR demo CAAT report | Latest reports 1 2 3 | Video 1]
Euromayday: Precari@s Take Over Hackney Tesco Supermarket
02-05-2005 16:55
Bewildered shoppers in a local Tesco store were treated to a free samba performance and vouchers entitling them to just about everything from restaurant meals to films to supermarket goods. A large banner declared that "All we have to loose are our chainstores". For 15 minutes, dancing and rhythm prevailed. Workers at the tills and customers relaxed, even the security started jigging - until the metropolitan police stormed in with a vengeance. Some of the pink invaders were heavily stopped and searched, until they left the store to the cheers of bystanders and shoppers. [report | pics]
This could have been the end of the action - but the police had other plans. The band and some precari@s spent 2 hours in a tight police corral across the street, filmed by the everpresent F.I.T. team. Bystanders were pushed into the corral. Four or five people were violently arrested. [report]
After some negotiation, the group was escorted along Mare Street inside a police crocodile, but with the large banner displayed along the edges. Supporters followed on the pavement, constantly hassled by police. The release of the protesters into London Fields ressembled the release of cattle into their grazing grounds. The police charged once more to arrest more people, bringing the total up to 10 or 11 [pics 1 | 2; appeal]. After another hour of filming, they left everybody to quitely end the MayDay out.
Pics [From Tesco to the corral | From the corral to the Park | yet more pics | from Highbury | video 1 | 2 | 3]
Reports & Reflections [precarity assembly | personal account | angry comment]
Summaries [London timeline | ImcUk EuroMayDay Feature | Mayday,Mayday! All over Europe]
Argentina: Workers Defend Zanon Occupied Factory
23-04-2005 20:21
A delegation of 30 workers traveled some 1,200 kilometers to manifest their determination to defend the factory at all costs. Inside the courthouse a small delegation of workers presented a petition with thousands of signatures from all over the world in support of the workers of Zanon who have set an example that workers can produce and manage even better without a boss or owner.
Read more...Background
Zanon Kidnap/Torture: [en][es][fr][de][gr]
March for Expropriation Law: [en][es][it]
Links: [Zanon/FaSinPat Site][Grupo Alavío] [Argentina Indymedia][WorkersWithoutBosses.net][Zmag: Argentina]
Guatemala fights with riots and strikes against the Free Trade Agreement
16-03-2005 20:12
For about one week the economy of Guatemla has practically been shut down by strikes. And there is no end in sight. Primarily the protests are against the ratification of the central american free trade agreement CAFTA with the USA. But many people in Guatemala want to also bring down the neo-conservative government.
More information:
[ Guatemala section on Chiapas Indymedia | report | FTAA protests Imc | Indymedia San Fransisco Bay | pictures | original article on Indy Germany | coverage by Christian Aid | BBC world ]
Background information:
- talk by human rights activist about massacres committed during civil war
- Guatemalan Environmentalists fear for Safety
- critical developments in Guatemala
- Guatemalan Elections Update
- Activists to Host Language Learning Expedition to Guatemala
- past CAFTA protests
- Indy at the FTAA protests
Zanon Under Attack
14-03-2005 12:44
Milan Fashion Week Anti-precarity Action
27-02-2005 23:33
At the end of Fashion Week in Milan, anti-precarity activists pulled off an ambitious spoof against the fashion industry and the mainstream media. The scene was set earlier in the week when protesters targeted the a cat walk show by Prada and issued a statement that there would be further protests and that the fashion show by the controversial japanese designer Serpica Naro. On Thursday another show was disrupted when eight women breached security and took over the cat walk and issued further statements over the microphone before being kicked out. Milans police contacted the press agent of Serpica Naro and warned them of the threats being made to disrupt her show which was schedualed to take place on saturday evening. The media ran a few stories and the agent for Serpica Naro was interviewed about the prospect of protests by anti-precarity activists.
Rights & Respect for UK Homeworkers!
22-12-2004 12:12
On Saturday 11th December the Leeds No Sweat Group along with the National Group on Homeworking presented the Asda store in Pudsey with a Giant Christmas card asking them to improve Rights and Respect for UK Homeworkers. This was part of a national campaign of action outside stores over the country.
Laing O'Rourke Workers Strike
05-11-2004 23:00
Workers employed by construction giant Laing O'Rourke have refused to sign a new pay and condition deal which halves their pay, while making it so that the pay is subsidised by bonuses, but the company can choose to whom they can give bonuses, in which their holiday pay is cut by £20 per day, and where they will have to bring in a medical certificate after being absent for one day.
Reports: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] Photos: [1] [2]
See also: Schnews, Labournet.
Argentinia: occupied self-managed factory Zanon again threatened with eviction
28-08-2004 18:21
South Yorks Bus Strike - Victory after 21 days
29-07-2004 11:26
South Yorkshire bus workers agreed to return to work on 10th August after being on all-out strike for 21 days for better pay and conditions. This strike is been the longest bus workers strike on the UK for 30 years. The first strike web site has an article about the victory on day 21 and a bus worker posted a comment here:
First and foremost we stuck together and won the good fight. We are back to work without conceding benefits to pay for the rise...
thank you to all the passengers of first buses who are polite and decent to drivers and thank you to all who have supported us through the strike.
The hype in the local media about the economic impact of the strike, which was mentioned in the newswire post, industrial collapse in Sheffield resulted in a response from the Chief Exec of the Sheffield Chamber of Trade(!).
Previous bus strike feature | Reports: 1 | 2 | 3 Photos: 1 | 2
South Yorkshire Bus Strike
25-07-2004 18:57
Update 10 August: After 21 days out, the longest bus strike for 30 years is over, see victory after 21 days.
A significant all out strike is under way by 800 bus drivers employed by First Bus, a major multinational with annual profits in excess of £160m, the strike has been solid as it goes into its second week.
Drivers are striking for a 40 hour week, a reduction of the maximum hours a day to eight-and-a-half hours and a quicker increase in pay for 'starter rate' drivers, who currently have to wait three and a half years to earn more than £5.85 an hour! Steve Clark, the regional organiser for the TGWU, says "Clearly we are in for the long haul".
Reports: 1 | 2 | 3 Photos: 1 | 2
LabourNet: 1 | 2 | 3 | photos
Background info: TGWU | last years strike
20th Anniversary of Miners Strike
01-03-2004 11:16
On March 1st, 1984, Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative Party announced the closure of Cortonwood colliery in Yorkshire - signaling her government’s determination to ram through a massive programme of pit closures and destroy the power of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM). Miners had no choice but to fight, or see their lives and communities devastated. The longest major industrial battle in British history had begun - a battle that still defines the political landscape of today.
20,000 People injured or hospitalised
200 People served time in prison or custody
2 People killed on the picket line
3 Died digging for coal during the winter
966 People were sacked for striking
The full force of the state was used against the striking miners. 20,000 police were coordinated by Scotland Yard and they used massive computer-backed data gathering for intelligence. Tactics such as road-blocks, political questioning, curfews, beatings, illegal fingerprinting and photographing, snatch squads, phone taps, infiltration and agent provocateurs were widespread. Alongside this was the mobilisation of the media and the law. In the press, Thatcher compared the pickets to IRA bombers.
The strike involved enormous hardship, with many receiving no strike pay or benefits. Yet despite all the state could throw at them, for a year the miners and their communities stood firm in a magnificent display of solidarity. But it wasn’t just the miners themselves - the women played a central role. They transformed the strike, and it transformed them. At a meeting at the Easington Miners Welfare, Mick McGahey, Vice President of the NUM, referred to the "housewives in the County who understand the problems." One woman replied, "We no longer regard ourselves as 'housewives'. We are soldiers in the struggle."
Anniversary events are planned around the country - see events listing and pics | another report
Also see The Justice for Mineworkers Campaign website.
Digitales 2004 In Brussels, Women In ICT
26-01-2004 18:50
The Brussels ICT-trainingcenter for women Interface3 organised the third Digitales-days event this week. For three days workshops and forums were organised where (mostly) female trainees, ICT-professionals, cyberartistsen media(h)ac(k)tivists from Belgium {1} {2}, the Netherlands {1} {2}, Germany, France {1} {2}, Spain, Italy {1} {2} {3}, the US and Canada could meet eachother. This unique initiative didn't just give women in the ICT training program a chance to meet with female artists and activists. It was also a nice occasion for female cyberactivists to get in touch with each other and exchange experiences. Check out the reports about the whole event on Indymedia Belgium.
Trade Union Delegation To Iraq
15-10-2003 15:15
On October 5th six trade unionists from the FBU, TSSA, RMT and NUJ travelled to Baghdad for a series of meetings with the newly formed democratic Iraqi trade unions. The trip organised by the Stop the War Coalition and hosted by the Iraqi Federation of Trade Unions was the first of its kind since the war and occupation. The tour stopped at various workplaces including a Metalworks, a Fire Station, a Transport Depot, an Oil Refinery, and Baghdad University.
All agreed that the delegation had been a success and hopefully the first of many to forge links with Iraqi workers who will soon be fighting attempted privatisation by western companies.
general strike in Chile
15-08-2003 08:39
But, although the CUT has a high level of support particular in the area of transport, the resonance was not quite overwhelming.
A translation of an article about a demonstration in Santiago de Chile from Indymedia Chile + Indymedia Germany.
International Union 'Boycotts' Global Day of Action Against Killer Coke
21-07-2003 13:45
This Tuesday, July 22, sees the launch of a global campaign to boycott Coca Cola products in solidarity with Colombian trade unionists. Last year, 184 Colombia unionists were assassinated by paramilitaries just for being trade unionists. Over 4000 have been murdered since 1986. The boycott has been called by SINALTRAINAL, a Colombian foodworkers union currently suing two Colombian-based Coca-Cola bottlers - Bebidas y Alimentos and Panamerican Beverages - in US courts over their alleged role in the murder of trade unionists by right-wing paramilitaries. Coca Cola itself is not facing the lawsuit after a March 31 ruling dismissed them from the action, although this could still be reversed.
However, the global boycott has already been undermined by the stunning news that the International Union of Foodworkers (IUF), which claims to represent the majority of Coca Cola workers worldwide, does NOT support the boycott and is calling on the international labour rights movement to reject it.
Background / Take Action / Colombian updates
London protest: 6pm, tonight, Piccadilly Circus
On July 22, six protesters brought the Coca-Cola processing plant to a standstill. 11 people were arrested, but were later released without charge, after they have cost Coca-Cola at least £30,000 in lost revenue. The protestors say that they will continue their occupation of the Coke plant until "Coke issue a statement guaranteeing the physical safety of their workforce, and to respect their workers’ right to belong to a trade union." Read on...Devon bus drivers strike over
20-07-2003 01:05
In July, Devon bus drivers voted overwhelmingly to strike in support of a 10% pay claim and a reduction of one hour in their working week. 700 RMT members at Stagecoach Devon are to staged a series of seven 24-hour strikes in pursuit of their campaign for a fair pay settlement.In August, the drivers voted to accepted the latest offer from Stagecoach which included no change in working conditions...
