UK Workers' Movements Newswire Archive
US increases federal Minimum Wage - "aspiring to more burger"
27-07-2008 13:33
I've just read on wikinews how the US Federal minimum wage was increased last week from $5.85 to $6.55 an hour. If by chance you are one of those who haven't enjoyed a weakening dollar to spend your salary on fun weekend shopping sprees in New York City and thus learnt elementary currency trading, we're talking about an increase from £2.94 an hour to every 60 minutes.This of course raises many questions. Not least of which might be : how much can you buy for $6.55 or £3.14 or would it be worth you spending a Sunday afternoon comparing wage levels between your locality and some other state in Europe?
Public sector anger latest. Bus workers hit the streets.
26-07-2008 11:15
It’s Chilling: Iraq Before Liberation
25-07-2008 18:58
Often forgotten are the children whom the British Government also sought to "liberate" before rendering an estimated 4.5 million extra Iraqi children as orphans through "liberation"Around the Campaigns Friday 25th July 2008
25-07-2008 13:15
Elizabeth, Hilary & John - Still detained, Still facing removalAnd
Anselme Noumbiwa - Back in Middlesbrough where he belongs
London IWW demo at Polish Embassy
25-07-2008 08:28
London bus drivers demonstration 24/7/08
24-07-2008 21:43
Tolpuddle Martyrs festival in Dorset over weekend.
22-07-2008 18:49
On February 24th, 1834, six farm labourers from the Dorset village of Tolpuddle were arrested on a charge of taking part in an 'illegal oath' ceremony. In the eyes of their masters, however, the real offence was that they had dared to form a trade union to defend their livelihood. For this they were sentenced to seven years' transportation to the penal colonies of Australia. The sentences provoked an immense outcry, leading to the first great mass trade union protest.
The campaign won free pardons and the Martyrs' return to England. A historic episode in the struggle for trade unionists' rights in Great Britain.
France: Immigrants strike for the right to work
22-07-2008 14:32
“They work here, they live here, they stay here!”French immigrants strike for the right to work—and win.
By Marie Kennedy and Chris Tilly
Support Pat Carmody - Sacked for Unionising a Call Centre!
20-07-2008 14:10
"Every night, all around the country, in the 21st century factories known as call centres, some 750,000 workers will breathe a collective sigh of relief as they get the signal that their shift has finally come to an end."Read
http://www.socialistreview.org.uk/article.php?articlenumber=10390 for the inspirational article of how Pat unionised his workplace. Demo @ Polish embassy against sacking of radical union activist, Monday 4.30
18-07-2008 19:32
Bartosz Kantorczyk, a member of The Workers' Initiative Trade Union in Gdansk in Poland and the initiator of postmen strike in November 2006, has been unlawfully dismissed. The unionists in the Polish post office had demanded improvement of job security in accordance with the law and had denounced violations of the workers' rights by the management of the Polish Post. Management sacked Bartosz because he was such a high-profile union member, and therefore a threat to their ongoing exploitation of the workers.Dissident Island - Climate Camp special tonight
18-07-2008 17:26
Local Government Strike: Day Two
18-07-2008 16:35
Private Equity Headquarters Under Lock Down in London July 17
18-07-2008 15:01
Around the Campaigns Friday 18th July 2008
18-07-2008 09:27
Victory for Tamil's in the UK - ECHR Judgment NA. V. The United KingdomThe Court held unanimously that the applicant's expulsion to Sri Lanka would be in violation of Article 3 (prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment) of the European Convention on Human Rights.
http://www.ncadc.org.uk/Newszine96/NA.%20V.%20UK.html
Patchy Support for Public Sector Strike
17-07-2008 20:50
Support for the local authority workers' two days of strike action was patchy in Liverpool, with a low turnout for picketing council buildings, and some trade union members crossing picket lines.I'd Rather Be A Cyclist Than A Scab: UNISON Strike Birmingham
17-07-2008 20:48
Local authority workers walk out over pay cut
17-07-2008 13:35
Action by the Unison and Unite unions has brought upwards of half a million council workers throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland out on a two-day strike.Immigration Dawn Raid Protesters Win Trial
17-07-2008 10:40
Two protesters against immigration controls were found not guilty of obstruction in Market Street Magistrates Court, Newcastle on Tuesday after they showed their solidarity to a refugee family on the 10th of October last year.Rank and file - Part 3
17-07-2008 08:13
Unionised rank and file indipendent base committees are an alternative to the passivity of mainstream unions for Universities and Colleges.Fannie, Freddie, Food and Fuel
16-07-2008 18:40
The financial crisis deepens with the nationalization of IndyMac and the likely bailout of Freddie Mac and Fannie May by the US taxpayer. The financial crisis has company as inflation, and in particular huge increases in global food and energy prices, enters the fray.The American economic model has been discredited and the American century has lasted but a few decades. These developments have and will further open up a new period in the struggle between capital and labor on the world stage and the US working class will have a major role to play as it re-connects with its militant traditions.