strikes

GMB and UNITE members who work on the Woolwich Free Ferry are taking strike action every Friday. Against a background of long-running health and safety issues, they are coming out in solidarity with a female colleague who brought a complaint about persistent sexual harrassment by her offce boss. She was then left facing him every day at work for 3 weeks.

It is a credit to the ferry crew that they didn't hesitate to take action to support their colleague, who after being subjected to unwelcome personal comments and offensive behaviour for over a year, had the courage to record and report these events, only to find herself vulnerable to further harassment.

The recent strikes by conductors and train drivers - members of the RMT and ASLEF unions - have been the biggest railway strikes in decades.

As a local, Brighton SolFed has been supporting the local striking members. Our support has been through the attendance of pickets, and organising a benefit gig; to raise money for the local strike fund, and, most importantly, to show solidarity and get workers across industries together.

If you only read media reports, this would seem to be a simple dispute regarding who merely pushes a button to open the train doors.

Really, this is about our safety.

Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) is the company that owns the privatised Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Southern, and Thameslink railway operators.

GTR want Driver Operated Only (DOO) trains, and to achieve this they want to get rid of the conductor’s safety critical role.

Talk and public discussion on June the 28th (Tuesday) at 6pm at The Cowley Club

From Brighton-SolFed, we want to support the French workers in their struggle against the Hollande government´s law aimed at reforming worker´s rights. Especially to the people facing police brutality and repression.

Nowadays in Europe, it is not unusual for governments to attack working conditions with the excuse of “deficit control” or the “competitiveness of the economy”. What is unusual (and amazing) in France, is the worker´s firm opposition.

This struggle concerns all of us. Their victory or their defeat will be ours, so we invite all of Brighton´s working class to show solidarity and join this event for the diffusion of information about these events and a discussion on our French comrades strikes.

Solidarity to the Polish Strikers

Six million workers in Britain were born abroad. Increasingly, they have been blamed for all the financial woes of neo-liberal capitalism and the suffering that the rich have inflicted on millions more. With conditions in French migrant ghettos worsening, the racist rhetoric of the British ruling class has become more shameless. By their own economic measures the immigrants have contributed far more than they have received, and so the ruling class are having to resort to hateful and emotive attacks.

Thames Valley Solidarity Federation is a local of the British branch of the International Workers Association, an anarcho-syndicalist group. We commend the striking workers for their courage in ignoring the discouragement of capitalists within their own community and their mainstream trade unions.

Friday 13th of March saw an estimated 50,000 public service workers on strike across Northern Ireland in opposition to the Stormont House Agreement. Between 6 - 8,000 striking workers and their supporters marched in Belfast, up to 2,000 marched in Derry and hundreds more took part in rallies in other towns across the north.

Friday's strike action showed the depth of opposition to attacks on working class people that are already being implemented, and those proposed, by the Stormont executive. If we are to defeat the cuts the action needs to be built upon and broadened to include workers in areas that have already been privatised and the private sector in general. Belfast Solidarity Federation support calls to declare May 1st the next strike date.

Attached is the copy of the Leveller that we produced for the strike. 

Bristol Solidarity Federation extends it’s solidarity to the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) as they continue to take industrial action over detrimental changes to pensions - with the latest day of strike action happening today, 9th December 2014.

SolFed members in Swindon, along with other anarchists and local union members helped maintain a near constant show of support on their local picket line: "We brought along banners encouraging support from passing cars, and the reception was great. We also made a donation to the local firefighters strike fund." Members of the local in Stroud attended recent picket lines at the Stroud fire and rescue station and are featured in the following video explaining the dispute, made by Stroud Against the Cuts:

Workers at St Mungo's hostels and homeless services started a week long strike on Friday 16th October. The workers are striking over the imposition of worse pay and conditions after a merger with Broadway. NLSF visited the picket line at one East London hostel. It was nice to see a lot of homeless people on the line in support of the workers. The workers talked about how cuts in provision make their jobs impossible, with staff numbers cut and homeless people given less and less support. The strikes will continue all week, there are St Mungo's pickets all over London and strikers would appreciate visits. You can also make a donation to the strike fund here http://www.housingworkers.org.uk/readnews.html?con_id=108

While The Ritzy workers marched through London demanding the Picturehouse chain pay the London Living Wage.  In Bath members of the Bristol local of the Solidarity Federation leafleted the cinema goers and asked them to consider a future boycott of the cinema because of the chain's refusal to pay a decent wage to the staff in London. The local staff and visitors were highly supportive of the picket and were disgusted to hear of how a profitable company is refusing their staff a wage that they can live on.

This dispute is becoming increasingly bitter. Boycott the Little Theatre. Bring the Picturehouse to its knees.

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

Touted by some union leaders as the largest co-ordinated union action in British history, July 10 sees millions of public sector workers from across the country on strike. During the one-day action – with the promise of more days to follow - local government workers will join teachers, civil servants, fire fighters and many others.

After years of pay freezes and below inflation pay rises (ie, pay cuts), union leaders have finally seen fit to push for action from their members, and try bolster their position at the negotiating table. This has resulted in unusually strong ballots for taking action across the unions involved. While much of the media and politicians work themselves up into a predictable fury over low turn outs - though still higher than in many local elections - and holding the country to ransom, the trade union leaders act as though they are the one thing defending their members from Tory barbarism.