Saturday's market crowds in Dalston were taught a valuable lesson in solidarity today as a large crowd of supporters marched, sang and shouted their opposition to education cuts all the way from Hackney College to Gillet Square.
Neighbours, students, teachers and friends turned out to support the College staff, who are fighting to stop compulsory redundancies and changes to contracts that will make life impossible for language teachers in the borough.
Joined by workers from Tower Hamlets College and Lambeth College, which are both facing their own attacks by bosses intent on upping margins at the expense of education quality, teachers explained that cuts to college funds had failed to fall at the top of the tree even as courses aimed at the people needing it most lost out on funding to politicians' pet projects, such as short Workfare-related courses which have relatively little impact on skills compared to the more comprehensive courses they replace.
After a short but intense campaign, Marta, a receptionist at the Speak Up London language school, has won a week’s unpaid wages and a glowing reference.
Marta was sacked without reason and without the required one week’s notice. She got in contact with Solidarity Federation who quickly organised over a dozen people to March into the bosses’ office with a letter demanding she be given a week’s pay in lieu of notice and a positive reference.
After Speak Up failed to respond to Marta’s letter, SolFed and other supportive individuals and organisations organised a massive blockade of the Speak Up Facebook page. Hundreds of post appeared within the 45 minutes. An hour and half into the action, Speak Up shut down their Facebook page entirely to all UK users.
The next day SolFed received an email from the bosses at Speak Up: they were paying up. It contained a copy of Marta’s final payslip alongside a copy of a positive reference letter.
The North London Solidarity Federation would like to thank everyone who participated in last night’s Facebook blast of the Speak Up London language school. As it appears Speak Up has deleted their Facebook page entirely, the action was indeed an unqualified success.
The action was to defend Marta, a well-liked and respected receptionist who was sacked without prior warning. She was told she wasn’t doing her job well because she didn’t take out the rubbish one night and then failed to turn on the TV the next morning.
But we all know the real reason: Speak Up is run by two bullying bosses who sack any worker who resists their cowboy style of management.
To compound Marta’s sacking, they refused to give her the pay to which she should have been entitled in lieu of a week’s notice. Marta has demanded that money alongside a glowing review that highlights her lasting contributions to the success of the company.
A North London SF member was down at the picket line for the strike at Ritzy Cinema yesterday over the firm's refusal to pay a living wage to staff. Below is their report:
"I got to the Ritzy at about 8pm. I believe there had been a picket line of some form since 9am in the morning. Even though it was at the end of a long day there was still quite a sizeable presence with others probably joining them after work was over, perhaps around 40-50 people.
"For the last hour the samba band Rhythms of Resistance played, the band and a lot of chanting for the living wage drew quite a bit of attention from people passing by (the Ritzy is in a great place if you want to grab peoples attention). They even marched up and down Brixton High Street a bit. It was a good atmosphere, a lot of energy, quite festival-like with a young crowd.
Serious concerns are emerging about the “botched and violent” police counter-terrorist stop and subsequent arrest of a Black man in Greenwich, just over a week after the death of Drummer Lee Rigby. After Counter Terrorism police performed a ‘hard stop’(1) on the car Husani Williams’ was driving, he was arrested for possession of a Class A drug. Williams submitted a defence statement in which he denied the cocaine possession charge and the CPS took the decision this week to drop that charge. The London Campaign against Police and State Violence (2) (LCAPSV) are now demanding that SO15 (3), the Metropolitan Police Service Counter-Terrorism Command, and SO19 (4), MPS’ Specialist Firearms Command should face an independent inquiry into their “brutal and unnecessary” use of force.
Since the beginning of the crisis more and more migrants are arriving in London and the UK. When people come here, they often find their first steps difficult. We want everyone to feel welcome and help them as much as possible. That’s why we have published a new pamphlet, “London – a migrant's guide”. It is a practical introduction to life in London and the UK.
The following areas are covered in the guide:
Using public transport in London as well as trains and coaches in the UK;
Where to access the internet and how to get a cheap mobile phone;
Libraries and colleges where you may get free English language classes;
Where to buy cheap food and other stuff and where to get it for free;
How to open a bank account;
Accessing health services, regularly and in emergency, including the access to contraception and abortion;
Housing including practical issues such as rent and conditions you may expect, your rights as a tenant, and a few words on homelessness and squatting;
Work including, pay, taxes, your rights at work, and issues you may encounter such as health and safety, bullying and harassment, zero hours contracts and false self employment, etc.
A very basic breakdown of welfare benefits available in the UK;
A few words on the police and the law, including when and where you can get free legal advice and support;
Where to get support if you are a victim of domestic violence or sexual assault;
Contacts for LGBT people.
In order to cover such a wide range of subjects in a short pamphlet we had to keep it very basic. At the same time we tried to put as much information and contacts as possible.
Some of the advice will be useful for everyone, but a lot assume that the reader has the right to live and work in the UK, most likely because they are an EU citizen. We support everyone's right to live wherever they choose to, no matter what passport they hold. Unfortunately things are much more complex for migrants from outside the EU, and we neither have the expertise required nor would be able to fit it in a small pamphlet.
At the moment the guide is available in English, Polish and Spanish.
On 2nd December, those driving forced labour for unemployed people on the government's workfare schemes are getting together for their annual conference at Senate House, Malet Street, London.
ERSA, the trade body for the 'welfare to work' industry, have called their conference "Challenge and change in an evolving landscape". Those attending include Esther McVey (Minister for Employment); Stephen Timms (Shadow Minister for Employment); The Department for Work and Pensions Director of Social Justice; Chairs, Heads and Directors from workfare profiteers A4E, Avanta, Seetec, G4S, Pinnacle People, Groundwork UK, Tomorrow's People; the lead researcher from Ian Duncan Smith's thinktank, the Centre for Social Justice; and the Chief Executive of the Tax Payer's Alliance. All under one roof.
at the 195 Free School, 195 Mare Street, Hackney E83QE
As part of 195 Mare Street's Free School week, SolFed presents an introduction to anarcho-syndicalism, its place in the history of class struggle and how workplace organising and the revolutionary union apply to capitalism in the 21st Century. All welcome!
Congratulations from everyone at North London SolFed for pushing management into finally recognising your union!
That spirit of self-organisation will be all the more important in the coming fight for a living wage, as the bosses will be desperately looking for ways to demobilise you, to push you into accepting recognition as the limit "this time round" so they have time to beef up their anti-union practices for next time.
Don't accept that.
You're on the front foot, you have lots of friends and the chance to win this. Recognised or not, the strength of a union is in the will of its members on the shop floor. Keep going, direct action gets the goods!
Curzon Head Office has decided to close tomorrow, Friday, in anticipation of the Curzon Workers' planned communications blockade. So workers have decided to move forward the action to TODAY, THURSDAY. Please could you start doing your stuff!
https://www.facebook.com/events/563819923691164/
Curzon workers, who have been fighting a high-profile battle for union recognition, are requesting a communications blockade of the Curzon head office.
Please call the following managers and demand a living wage and an end to zero hours contracts for the workforce:
SolFedNL@riseup.net | twitter.com/nlsolfed | facebook.com/northlondonsf | network23.org/solfednl and find us on radar.squat.net
Since the beginning of the crisis more and more migrants are arriving in London and the UK. When people come here, they often find their first steps difficult. We want everyone to feel welcome and help them as much as possible. That’s why we have published a new pamphlet, “London – a migrant's guide”. It is a practical introduction to life in London and the UK.
