demonstrations, pickets and protests

On Saturday 12th Jan Manchester SolFed picketed Skipton Building Society in support of 6 Brighton tenants. The tenants have been organising with Brighton SolFed after being treated appallingly by the Brighton letting agency, Fox and Sons. The company,  Fox and Sons, is owned by the Connells group,  one of the largest estate agency and property services providers in the UK, which last year made £104.2m in profits. In turn, the Connells group is owned by the ever so friendly - we do not have shareholders - Skipton Building Society. Saturday's picket was part of an escalation of the dispute with pickets taking place in Bristol, Manchester and Brighton in support of the 6 tenants
For more information on the dispute see our previous post or go to http://www.brightonsolfed.org.uk/

Last Tuesday, December the 18th, Liverpool-SolFed joined the protest called for by Liverpool Migrant Solidarity Network.

On International Migrants Day, we joined our voices for the closing down of Detention Centers and an end to deportations. Probably the most extreme aspect of the “hostile environment” that the UK is using to demonize and target vulnerable people.

We also expressed our solidarity with “Stansted 15”, 15 activists facing serious charges for stopping an illegal deportation in Stansted Airport, in March 2017. That is what the anti-terrorist laws are for, not to protect us but to stifle dissent.

Despite the heavy rain, lots of people started gathering outside Lime Street Station at 3.30pm with banners, flags and music -courtesy of the comrades operating the sound system. There were some speeches about the situation of the “Stansted 15” and testimonies of people who have been directly affected by the ‘hostile environment’ in the UK.

On Monday (June 4), Manchester Solidarity Federation demonstrated outside the head office of Fortis Student Lettings in Altrincham, near Manchester.

It was an action in solidarity with a group of tenants renting in Chester through this letting agency. Fortis had allowed unacceptable delays in carrying out basic maintenance resulting in tenants living, for example, with damp and mould, or without hot water for months: https://www.facebook.com/pg/ fortishorrorstories/posts/. The tenants are now asking Fortis for compensation and the agency keeps ignoring them or to engage in any attempt at mediation.

After trying unsusscefuly to talk to someone from the Fortis management, we went ahead with our picket outside their office. With a banner, a megaphone and leaflets, we spread information about the dispute and received lots of supporting messages from the public, including plenty of toots by vehicle drivers.

Manchester Solidarity Federation held a picket outside the Polish Consulate in Manchester today. Our picket was in solidarity with self-organised Polish postal workers who have been involved in a two year campaign aimed at improving pay and conditions and are being supported by our Polish IWA sister-section the ZSP union.

Basic freedom of speech is under attack in Poland, especially for workers. The state-controlled Post Office is trying to criminalize workers who speak out about their working conditions. Protests by postal workers have led to harassment, threats against them and the unfair dismissal of three organisers: Klaudiusz Wieczorek, Rafal Czerski, and Zbigniew Trochimiak. In addition, the state has brought a series of bogus criminal cases against members of our sister union, the ZSP-IWA.

Stop state repression of workers now!

An injury to one is an injury to all!

Manchester Solidarity Federation will be organising a picket of the Polish Consult on Friday 2nd March starting at 2pm. The Picket is in support of Polish postal workers who have been involved in a two year campaign aimed at improving pay and conditions supported by the ZSP-IWA union. As a result they are facing increasing repression. Following nation-wide protests, the government-owned postal office have sought to silence protesting workers and fired several of the organisers. In addition, they have brought a series of bogus criminal cases against members of our sister union, the ZSP-IWA, who have supported the self-organised campaign of postal workers. SolFed-IWA is in solidarity with postal workers in Poland. Stop state repression of workers now! An injury to one is an injury to all!

Support the Polish postal workers join the picket Friday 2nd March 2pm at the Polish Consulate, Manchester One, 51 Portland St, Manchester M1 3LD

UPDATE: since the publication of this article on the afternoon of Monday 10th July 2017, Larissa Reed, Executive Director for Neighbourhoods, Communities & Housing at Brighton council has been in touch to arrange a meeting with Brighton SolFed and the Bobby Carver campaign within the next two weeks. We look forward to hearing how the issues raised below are going to be addressed, and about the changes the council is going to put in place to ensure 'the safest homes possible' for everyone...

This year's May Day was celebrated in Brighton with the coming together of different local unions and groups organising against casualised working conditions and the housing crisis. The demo soon headed for a local restaurant that has been underpaying one of our members, and demanding they be paid. The protest marks the start of a dispute, continuing our efforts over the past few years of trying to bring International Workers Day back to its roots in worker militancy and anarchist labour organising. 

Although Liverpool-SolFed is still a small a very recent group, we were present in the May Day demonstration in Liverpool. A few comrades join the parade from Toxteth Library to St. Georges Hall alongside with different unions and groups active in the area. 

Manchester Solidarity Federation carried out a successful picket outside Laibaz restaurant in Bolton on Saturday 24th September. The picket was part of the campaign Manchester SF is organising against the owner of the restaurant who owes ex-employees thousands of pounds in unpaid wages. The picket was a real success with a number of people who had planned to eat at the restaurant refusing to cross the picket line. Throughout the picket we had people stopping to offer support with several people sharing their experiences of being mistreated at work. We also collected details of one person who wanted to get involved in the campaign. The local newspaper took pictures of the picket and interviewed one of the ex-employees. Several members of Manchester IWW joined the picket to add their support to the campaign.

Byron Burgers acted despicably when they collaborated with the Home Office to deport their workers during a fake training event on July 4th. After the story broke from Spanish language newspaper El Iberico a number of groups and unions with Byron worker members have organised and called for action against Byron (see list below)

In a joint leaflet we demand:
no more threats to staff by immigration enforcement!
no discrimination against migrant staff members.
no to exploitative pay and conditions.