pickets

Newcastle Local has closed the year in a much stronger position having gained new members, new contacts and developed a new direction for the Local. We’ve been involved in 3 successful workplace battles - one of which being the Santander conflict in Spain, that was in support of a sacked member of our Spanish sister union, the CNT; another being a week of international action against a company our German union, the FAU, were in conflict with; and closer to home a local pay theft case in North Tyneside, which won a four figured settlement.

Throughout the year we have answered a steady trickle of queries regarding workplace law and problems, something that we hope will be better catered for with the creation of our new campaign website.

On Saturday, the 13th of December, the first picket against Caffe Bar Italia took place. Around 11 in the morning, a group of 10 SolFed members met in George Street (Hove) and after trying unsuccessfully to reach an agreement with the owner, started the picket outside the business.

This conflict started a few weeks ago when a worker contacted SolFed's Brighton Hospitality Workers because she had not been paid the amount of £1,264. Apart from the holiday pay that she was owed, her contract stipulated a minimum number of hours which were not offered to her. A demand letter was sent with the boss requested to respond. The boss refused to pay and insisted that he didn't have to pay her for “the hours she didn't work”; nevertheless, the law says that a worker should work at least the minimum hours his contract says.

A few Solfed members went along to the StopMipim protest this Wednesday. Mipim is an event for local authorities to sell of public property, including social housing, to developers. Boris Johnson was kicking off the event with a speech, encouraging investors and developers to displace communities and gentrify our cities.

MIPIM, the world’s biggest property fair, is coming to London this week for the first time in its 25 year history.

Billed as ‘the first UK property trade show gathering all professionals looking to close deals in the UK property market’, MIPIM will attract huge numbers of financiers, developers & local authorities, all looking to profiteer from UK land and property. This profiteering is creating unaffordable, insecure housing and contributing to the corporate takeover of our community spaces and public services.

South London SolFed stands in solidarity with the Radical Housing Network in opposing MIPIM and demanding a city for people, not for profit.

Flyer for this week's actions is here. For more information, visit radicalhousingnetwork.org.

On Saturday South London Solfed's roaming anti-workfare picket targeted businesses on Lewisham High Street exploiting unpaid labour.

Despite autumn choosing Saturday to finally arrive, a determined group took to the streets in support of Boycott Workfare's week of action. Marks & Spencer, Primark and Poundworld were all picketed, as well as Iceland who have reportedly signed up to the new 'Help To Work' scheme, the newest and most punitive version of workfare yet, involving six months' unpaid traineeships. Information leaflets were distributed to the public, including know your rights advice for those facing workfare placements. Despite the rain there were plenty of positive responses.

Join the South London Solfed roaming anti-workfare picket in Lewisham this Saturday, 4th October, in solidarity with Boycott Workfare's week of action.

Meet us at Lewisham Clocktower at 1pm.

We will be targeting a number of organisations on Lewisham High Street who continue to exploit unemployed people as free labour.

Workfare is an attack on us all. It does not save money, does not create jobs and does not help the unemployed. The government is trying to divide us by pitting those in work against 'scroungers' who supposedly need to forced into work. But workfare is as much an attack on those with jobs as those without. It drives down wages and disciplines those in waged work not to rock the boat lest they be replaced by workfare labour and end up unemployed themselves.

SolFed have been out in force in response to a sacked union organiser from our sister union in Spain, the CNT. Pickets were held in Brighton, Bristol, Newcastle and Middlesborough (see below). Santander have outsourced thousands of jobs in Spain, making it easier to control employees working in oppressive conditions - union organisers are targetted by the notoriously crooked family cartel run bank.

All pickets were well received, Santander having an already shoddy reputation in Britain, it was no suprise to those asking what the row was about to find that the bank is targetting union activists.

The North London Solidarity Federation is happy to support and promote the Ritzy workers' call for a mass picket this Sunday outside the Ritzy cinema in Brixton.

This Sunday will see workers at the Ritzy undertake their 11th day of strike action in their impressive effort to secure the London Living Wage.  However, whereas in previous strikes management has wisely chosen to close the cinema, this time around they'll be attempting keep it open.  In response, workers have called for a  mass picket outside the cinema during the strike.

Picturehouse Cinemas, which owns the Ritzy, no doubt understands that if Ritzy workers secure a living wage, it will empower other cinema workers to make similar demands.  Well, we agree.  And in that spirit, we encourage all our friends, comrades, and contacts to join the picket line this Sunday at 6:00pm in Brixton.

More info here:

https://www.facebook.com/events/312933652200911/?ref=22

Elena has received her remaining wages! Thank you to everyone involved.

Elena left her job at Green Eco Plus in February as she wasn’t being paid. She managed, through her persistence and some help from friends and Solfed, to get back an initial £300 over a couple of months. After this the director of the company (Chris Rose AKA Kyriacos Pitsillos) told Elena that the company was liquidated (it wasn’t) and he wouldn’t pay the remaining £250.

On Saturday 22nd March members of the Brighton Hospitality Workers and Brighton Solidarity Federation picketted a prominent Brighton hotel over unpaid overtime owed to members of staff.

The hotel has since promised to ensure the overtime owed is fully paid. We are therefore not currently naming the hotel, although we intend to escalate our campaign should they fail to pay the workers involved.