There is a strike in higher education on Thursday 31st October. All three big unions are walking out in fight foe decent pay. A higher education worker and member of North London SolFed wrote a lealfet explaining what the strike is about and why solidarity both from workers and students is important.
Trabajadores de Starbucks en Chile preparan para hacer huelga
La North London Solidarity Federation manda toda nuestra solidaridad a los trabajadores Chilenos de Starbucks que estan mobilizando para una huelga por asuntos de convenios.
Starbucks, aunque le gusta vestirse como un empresa responsable y social, es un ejemplo del sector global de servicios, cada vez mas precario y mal pagado. Organisandose y preparando por accion industrial, los trabajadores Chilenos de Starbucks hace un inspiracion a trabajadores de hosteleria del mundo.
A los trabajadores: solidaridad total del Reino Unido. Vuestra lucha es global.
In English
The North London Solidarity Federation extends our heartiest solidarity to the Chilean Starbucks workers who are preparing to strike as part ongoing contract negotiations.
North London Solidarity Federation sends out fullest solidarity and support to the workers at Curzon cinemas. Struggling against precarity, zero-hours contracts, management disrespect, and low wages, the workers at Curzon have been fighting to establish a union in their workplace.
Workers at over 8 cinemas across London have demanded a union. They submitted a petition with over 1500 supporter signatures and have framed their demands not only in terms of their own material interests, but in protecting the integrity of the independent film industry. In response, management has ignored workers' demands for collective meetings and set up a faux-employee representation program.
Members of North London SolFed were out in Hackney today with the ever-excellent Feminist Fightback to keep up the pressure on M&S over their non-payment of people doing jobs for the company as part of the Boycott Workfare week of action.
Given the boiling heat, an incredible effort was made by a samba band who turned up to lend a bit of noise and colour to the scene for most of an hour and we ran out of leaflets to hand out almost instantly. The public response was, as is usually the case when it comes to workfarer pickets, very supportive, with a number of people expressing their disgust at M&S's participation in it.
Some developments over the last few days are worth flagging up for anyone interested in or affected by Workfare - which show pretty comprehensively exactly who's being a bully and who's not.
Freeing the data
Most important is that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has lost its appeal to hide the names of companies and charities which are involved in using unemployed people as a source of free labour.
It had tried to block freedom of information requests after telling all and sundry that campaigners picketing shops and explaining why to their customers amounted to "intimidating" behaviour, meaning commercial companies should be protected from being outed as participants.
In their ruling on May 17th however judges gave a humiliating verdict, telling government lawyers their case was based on very little evidence:
In the morning some of us went to the 1000 Mothers March against the benefit Changes in Tottenham with Haringey Solidarity Group. There was good turn out of 5-600 and a lively local march made its way from Tottenham green up the high street. We peeled off and headed down to Turnpike Lane to picket Poundland along with members of Solent Solfed, (who'd come down for the party later that evening) from 1pm onwards.
North London SolFed and Haringey Solidarity Group picketed Homes for Haringey on Wednesday 10th April. It was our second picket there over the use of workfare by the council housing provider and a charity Groundwork. After sacking one third of their gardening staff two years ago, they are now forcing benefit claimants to do the work for no pay.
Despite the freezing temperatures and snow showers on Saturday 23rd March, members of Feminist Fightback, North London Solfed, Boycott Workfare and other local groups, residents and anti-workfare protesters picketed Argos in Leytonstone and Poundland in Wembley.
In Leytonstone, for a large demonstration the reception from the public was generally very positive, with residents driving past slowing down and opening windows asking for leaflets. Plenty of people stopped to chat despite the cold.
We picketed Argos as part of the Boycott Workfare week of action and we were originally going to picket Superdrug as well who pulled out a day before the demo; no doubt in part due to pressure from anti-workfare groups and campaigns across the country.
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All entrances to the large Mile End campus were picketed by members of the participating unions, UNISON, UCU and UNITE, from 7am.
There is a strike in higher education on Thursday 31st October. All three big unions are walking out in fight foe decent pay.
