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Category: Trade Unions

  • Tory health minister condemns the nurses’ strike – while being an RCN member

    As the NHS nurses’ strike started its first day of action, the government sent out a Tory health minister to do the morning TV rounds. Conservative politicians and broadcast media aren’t always a good match – and sadly for minister Maria Caulfield, her status as a former nurse made the situation even worse. This was then compounded by the fact she’s also a member of the trade union organising the strikes.

    The nurses’ strike: everybody out

    The Royal College of Nurses (RCN) is staging two days of nurses’ strike action on 6 and 7 February. On the first day, ambulance staff are also striking, and some will then walk out again on Friday 10 February. As the Canary previously wrote, the RCN has said that it’s “escalating nursing strikes on 6 and 7 February after governments refuse to seriously negotiate”. RCN general secretary and chief executive Pat Cullen added:

    It is with a heavy heart that nursing staff are striking [in January] and again in [February]

    We are doing this in a desperate bid to get ministers to rescue the NHS. The only credible solution is to address the tens of thousands of unfilled jobs – patient care is suffering like never before.

    My olive branch to governments – asking them to meet me halfway and begin negotiations – is still there. They should grab it.

    So, the Tory government clearly thought that rolling out a health minister who’s a former nurse would be a good idea. Unfortunately for it (and her) it didn’t go quite according to plan.

    A former NHS nurse defending the indefensible?

    Caulfield is a parliamentary under secretary of state at the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) – a health minister. She’s not new to the DHSC, having been there under Boris Johnson. However, Caulfield is also a former nurse. As her website states:

    Upon leaving school she became an NHS nurse, later specialising in cancer treatment and becoming a Senior Sister at the Royal Marsden NHS Hospital.

    Apparently, Caulfield’s inspiration to join the Tory Party was former prime minister and NHS budget-slasher David Cameron. Little wonder, then, that she was on breakfast TV on 6 February defending the indefensible. Good Morning Britain (GMB) host Ben Shephard put it to Caulfield that Cullen had said the government hadn’t met with the RCN over pay for this financial year – hence the nurses’ strike. Caulfield waffled and deflected for well over a minute, before GMB host Susanna Reid finally managed to get her to admit that Cullen was right:

    Then over on BBC Radio 4‘s Today programme, Caulfield argued that the pay rise RCN wanted for nurses this year couldn’t happen – basically because ‘everybody else would want more money’. She said that a pay rise for this year:

    wouldn’t just be for nurses, you would have teachers saying ‘could we reopen this year’s pay settlement’; you’ve got ambulance drivers, you’ve got rail workers. There’s a range of pubic sector workers who would also want the same request. Across the board, you’re talking about billions of pounds to pay for that, and we want to put that into frontline services… but we also are accountable to the taxpayer…

    Heaven forbid that teachers, for some of whom governments have cut £6,600 off real-terms pay since 2010, would want a bit more money:

    However, as one person pointed out on Twitter, there’s a £29.5bn elephant in the room that the Tories keep forgetting about, among other things:

    Caulfield: gravy-training it all the way

    But it was over on LBC where Caulfield’s true priorities were exposed – as the public was reminded that she’s still a member of the RCN:

    As one person pointed out on Twitter:

    It’s not unexpected that a nurse might not be left-wing – there are probably plenty of Tory-voting nurses. However, one who is also currently a member of a trade union that’s striking, putting herself out on TV to actively work against her colleagues? Now that’s something else entirely.

    Caulfield has shown that she has no care for the NHS, nor the nurses’ strike and her profession more broadly. Staying on the Westminster gravy train is clearly more appealing to her.

    Featured image via NHS Workers Say No and Sky News – YouTube

    By Steve Topple

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Here’s a full list of this week’s national and local strikes, including the NHS

    Trade union group StrikeMap has released a list of upcoming strikes for the week beginning 6 February. Strikemap described the past week as containing “the largest education strike of a generation” with “hundreds of thousands of workers joined together on 1 February for the first mega strike of the year”. Now, NHS workers are staging huge walkouts.

    Upcoming action

    The upcoming week will include the following industrial action:

    Of these, the NHS nurses walkout in England and Wales, organised by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), will be one of the most substantial. RCN has said that it’s “escalating nursing strikes on 6 and 7 February after governments refuse to seriously negotiate”. RCN general secretary and chief executive Pat Cullen added:

    It is with a heavy heart that nursing staff are striking [in January] and again in [February]

    We are doing this in a desperate bid to get ministers to rescue the NHS. The only credible solution is to address the tens of thousands of unfilled jobs – patient care is suffering like never before.

    My olive branch to governments – asking them to meet me halfway and begin negotiations – is still there. They should grab it.

    Strikes all over

    Other notable walkouts taking place include ambulance workers on 6 February. When combined with other industrial action, it’s predicted this will be the NHS’s “biggest ever strike”. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said:

    Rather than act to protect the NHS and negotiate an end to the dispute, the Government has disgracefully chosen to demonise ambulance workers. Ministers are deliberately misleading the public about the life and limb cover and who is to blame for excessive deaths.

    Other industrial actions include:

    Meanwhile, engineering workers at “whisky giant Diageo’s plant” in Leven will walk out on 3-5 and 10-13 February. Graham said:

    Unite’s engineering members at Diageo’s Leven plant have had enough of pay cuts especially as the company’s profits are soaring. Diageo recorded £4.4bn in profits – up nearly 20 per cent – directly on the back of our members’ hard work. Yet some of our members are now facing considerable pay cuts when inflation has hit a 45-year high. This is totally unacceptable and we will stand with our members in their fight against corporate greed at Diageo.

    StrikeMap

    StrikeMap provides an interactive map of upcoming and current industrial actions in the UK. The site describes itself as:

    a ‘worker-powered’ attempt to map the industrial action taking place and relies purely on the information supplied via our submission form. We do not claim to be an official account of all action across the country, or represent all the collective action and different tactics of disruption that people are engaged in.

    The group is also trialling a new map of solidarity messages for striking workers:

    Here is how it works.

    1. Click here to go to our solidarity message page.
    2. Record a video, upload a photo or leave a message of solidarity
    3. We will then publish them for nurses to see.

    With so many workers out on strikes across the nations, StrikeMap’s organising is vital. Thanks to the group, we can all get behind our striking comrades.

    Featured image via StrikeMap – screengrab

    By The Canary

  • Royal Mail just shamed itself twice on the same day the CWU announced a postal strike

    The Communication Workers Union (CWU) has announced its first strike of 2023. The walkout against Royal Mail will be on 16 February, just after Valentine’s Day. However, the trade union’s move to launch another postal strike after a series of them last year came on the same day as Royal Mail disgraced itself not once, but twice.

    CWU: another postal strike against Royal Mail is on

    In 2022, the CWU carried out numerous strikes – the last one being on Christmas Eve. The actions were over pay, working conditions and Royal Mail bosses’ plans for the company, as well as what CWU general secretary Dave Ward called their “gross mismanagement”. Currently, the union is balloting members again for strike action. However, out of nowhere on Thursday 2 February the CWU announced another strike. It said in a press release:

    Postal workers have announced their first postal strike of the year.

    From 12.30pm on Thursday 16th February until before 12.30pm on Friday 17th February, over 115,000 members of the… [union] will be taking strike action.

    The strike is actually from the previous ballot of members. CWU members will walk out just as that vote legally expires on 17 February. So, it’s a bold move by the union. However, the reason for this last-minute postal strike is quite dramatic. The CWU said:

    The union’s national elected leadership called the strike after Royal Mail have begun forcing through unagreed changes related to the structure of work at offices across the country.

    These decisions have been taken in direct contravention of the Industrial Relations (IR) Framework established between the union and the employer, the validity of which was re-committed to by Royal Mail CEO Simon Thompson in a letter dated 6th January.

    In effect, the changes represent the removal of the right of the CWU to negotiate at a local level, and must be viewed as a real step towards the derecognition of the union.

    So, Royal Mail has been ignoring its legal agreement with the CWU – and bosses have been forcing through changes to working conditions anyway. This is hardly unsurprising, though. On the same day the CWU announced the strike, two bits of news about Royal Mail showed just what a shitshow the company has become.

    What a shitshow

    First, and the CWU tweeted that Royal Mail is re-hiring managers it made redundant. Plus, it’s paying them a salary which would make a postal worker’s eyes water:

    Then, a parliamentary committee announced it was hauling Royal Mail boss Simon Thompson back before it – basically because it looks like he lied:

    Sky News reported that people sent “hundreds of complaints” to the committee over Thompson’s previous evidence to the committee. For example, Sky News noted that:

    MPs had asked why Royal Mail was tracking how fast employees were making deliveries using their handheld computers [“PDAs”] and whether they were disciplined based on that data.

    Mr Thompson said in his initial evidence: “No. I am not aware of technology we have in place that tells people to work more quickly. I am not aware of that at all.”

    However, that seems to be untrue. The business, energy and industrial strategy (BEIS) committee said it had:

    received evidence that suggests this is not correct.

    The CWU shared an example via Facebook of Royal Mail bosses spying on staff through their handheld computers:

    CWU evidence against Royal Mail postal strike

    And that’s just one day’s worth of Royal Mail bosses’ entrenched shithousery.

    Royal Mail bosses: a ‘complete lack of integrity’

    Ward said in a press release:

    This action is down to the conduct of Royal Mail management, who have displayed a complete lack of integrity. Our members will not just sit back and watch as their working lives are destroyed by a company leadership hell-bent on ripping up historic arrangements that protect their rights and give them a voice through their union.

    It’s highly likely that workers will vote for more strikes in the current CWU ballot. Given bosses’ ongoing attitudes towards their staff and the company, it’s of little wonder that another postal strike is happening – with more on the cards, too.

    Featured image via Sky News – YouTube and CWU Live – YouTube

    By Steve Topple

  • Mainstream media up to it’s old tricks with teachers strikes’

    By Ralph Underhill

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Corbyn defends teachers’ strike – workers have “had enough”

    As teachers strike around England and Wales, Jeremy Corbyn has nailed just why they’re taking action – and why we should support them. The former Labour Party leader didn’t mess around, either. He delivered a robust defence of trade unions‘ actions, saying that workers have “had enough” – while throwing shade at the current Labour front bench, too.

    Teachers’ strike: education is “falling down”

    National Education Union (NEU) members walked out of schools on Wednesday 1 February. As the union wrote on its website, the industrial action is over pay, working conditions, and students‘ education:

    We do not want to go on strike – we want to be in the classroom, teaching and supporting our amazing children and young people.

    But with one in four teachers leaving the profession within two years of qualifying the education system is falling down around our pupils.

    The NEU also noted that:

    teachers have been offered a pay increase of just 5 per cent – with inflation soaring, this adds up to a 7 per cent pay cut.

    On top of this, schools aren’t being given enough additional money to fund the 5 per cent on offer – meaning the Government expects your child’s school to pay for it out of its already overstretched budget.

    The Government missed its target for recruitment of new secondary school teachers by a simply staggering 41 per cent this year and by 11 per cent for primary school teachers…

    The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) agrees. It stated that the government has cut the real-terms pay of experienced and senior teachers by around £6,600 – or 13% – since 2010. On top of this, the NEU also said that:

    Nearly one third of the teachers who qualified in the last decade have quit.

    13 per cent of teachers who qualified in 2019 have already gone.

    It’s hard to argue with the NEU that the Conservative Party has put our education system in a dire state. Of course, some right-wingers will, though – including the Labour front bench. Shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson was on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg on 29 January. As the National reported, the host repeatedly pushed her on whether she supported the teachers’ strike. Phillipson didn’t really answer. Instead, she spouted some centrist dross in response to Kuenssberg’s questions:

    I want to be the next Education Secretary and I’d be a party to that discussion sat around the table trying to get a settlement, it’s not for me to insert myself into it in that way.

    So, while Labour cannot allow frontbenchers to go to a picket line, leave it to Corbyn to step-up on teachers’ behalf.

    Corbyn: doing the business

    The now-independent MP appeared on BBC Politics Live on Tuesday 31 January. When probed by host Jo Coburn over the teachers’ strike, Corbyn said:

    The teachers have a very strong case. They are grossly overworked, and they have lost a lot in pay, and many young teachers are leaving the profession. I think we [MPs] should be there with them.

    He also took an indirect swipe at Phillipson not joining a picket line or overtly supporting the teachers strike, saying:

    you know what, when you go into a picket line or demonstration of teachers, or ambulance workers, or any other group, you actually learn a lot. You learn a lot about their lives and their working conditions, and the stress that they go through. So, I don’t see it as impossible to go on a picket line and then become a minister who’s going to negotiate for better conditions in the future.

    Ouch. It seems like Corbyn currently has no desire to curry favour with the Labour leadership – and rightly so. Keir Starmer and his frontbench have shown their true colours once again. Their lack of support for the teachers’ strike, as well as the other industrial action happening, is a damning indictment of the party now – and Corbyn is well out of it.

    Featured image via the NEU and BBC iPlayer – screengrab 

    By Steve Topple

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Here’s an easy way to join Wednesday’s strikes as the Tories attack our rights

    Parliament passed the third reading of the Tories’ anti-strike bill on Monday 30 January, meaning that only the House of Lords can stop it now. But workers around the country are unfazed. A “megastrike” of half a million workers will take place on 1 February, which includes the National Education Union (NEU) strike. All the details are below, including an easy way of finding out where your nearest picket or protest is so you can support our trade unions.

    Tories: clamping down on strikes

    As LabourList reported, MPs passed the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill by 315 votes to 246, with no amendments – meaning the bill got through in its original form. As the Canary previously reported, the bill:

    will force trade unions in certain industries to make sure some people work during strikes – defeating the object of industrial action entirely… The law will force unions to give in to what the government and/or employers say minimum service levels should be – depending on the sector. Business secretary Grant Shapps will be deciding what a minimum service level looks like for emergency and transport services.

    The Trade Union Congress (TUC) has slammed the Tories. Its general secretary Paul Nowak said:

    Rishi Sunak’s government has launched a full-frontal assault on the right to strike. This draconian legislation would mean that when workers democratically vote to strike, they can be forced to work and sacked if they don’t comply. And crucially it will likely poison industrial relations and exacerbate disputes, rather than help resolve them.

    Ministers know this bill is undemocratic, unworkable and almost certainly illegal. That’s why they are ducking proper scrutiny and consultation – and it’s why this bill was steamrollered through the Commons so quickly.

    However, people aren’t taking the Tories’ attacks on strikes lying down, and 1 February will see the biggest fightback yet.

    The NEU and other walk-outs

    StrikeMap is a voluntary group that logs all strikes in the UK and on the island of Ireland. It has an interactive map of where industrial action is taking place. StrikeMap logs national strikes from the likes of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT), the Communication Workers Union (CWU), the University and College Union (UCU), as well as localised actions. Now, the group is geared up for 1 February’s megastrike.

    It’s partly focusing on the NEU strike in schools across England and Wales. StrikeMap is encouraging people to go to an NEU picket or demonstration, as well as posting a video message or picture online, in support of the union. The union has an interactive map of its pickets and demonstrations here and a page to upload video content here.

    Of course, it’s not just the NEU strike happening on 1 February. The RMT, as well as ASLEF, are striking; the UCU is taking industrial action, and the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union is also getting its civil service members to walk out. Around half a million workers will be taking part in strikes.

    Support trade unions. They’re about all of us.

    Given that the anti-strike bill has passed its third reading, it’s all the more important that these workers have all our support. After all, the unions are fighting for services we all use.

    However, the UK government’s authoritarian approach to trade union rights isn’t just about workers. It’s about the Tories’ attitude to all of us who aren’t rich and powerful. The anti-strikes legislation sums up this classism. So, get out or get online on 1 February and support the strikes. You need the trade unions – and the trade unions need you.

    Featured image via StrikeMap

    By Steve Topple

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • TUC criticises Tory government for ‘steamrolling’ anti-strike bill through parliament

    The Trades Union Congress (TUC) has accused Rishi Sunak’s Conservative government of keeping “MPs in the dark” over the scope of its new anti-strikes legislation. It comes as the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill returns to parliament on Monday 30 January for its third reading. If the bill becomes law, it will give ministers sweeping new powers to restrict the right to strike.

    TUC: workers vs the government

    According to a press release, the TUC:

    has launched a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to discover why the government published the Bill without a required impact assessment. Previous government advice – published in the Autumn – warned that minimum service levels in transport could poison industrial relations and lead to more frequent industrial action. Despite this warning, the Conservatives are now proposing to extend minimum service levels to a range of other sectors including – health, education, fire, border security and nuclear decommissioning.

    Earlier this month the Regulatory Policy Committee (RPC) – a government-appointed body – criticised ministers for failing to provide MPs with an impact assessment on its new Minimum Service Levels Bill.

    The RPC said:

    Government departments are expected to submit impact assessments to the RPC before the relevant bill is laid before Parliament and in time for the RPC to issue an opinion alongside the publication of the impact assessment.

    An impact assessment for this Bill has not yet been submitted for RPC scrutiny; nor has one been published despite the Bill being currently considered by Parliament.

    Far-reaching powers

    According to the TUC:

    If passed, the Minimum Service Levels Bill will mean that when workers democratically and lawfully vote to strike they can be forced to work and sacked if they don’t comply. The TUC is calling on MPs of all parties to reject this spiteful legislation, which it says is “shortcutting” normal scrutiny procedures and being “steamrollered” through parliament without proper consultation and scrutiny.

    The bill gives ministers power to impose new minimum service levels through regulation. But consultations on how these regulations will work have not been published, and parliamentarians have been given few details on how minimum service levels are intended to operate.

    The organisation adds that the new law will “do nothing” to solve the current disputes across the public sector, and “only make matters worse”. It’s general secretary Paul Nowak said:

    The government is trying to keep MPs in the dark about the draconian nature of this Bill. But make no mistake – this legislation will give ministers sweeping new powers to restrict the right to strike.

    The government must not be allowed to duck scrutiny. This spiteful legislation would mean that when workers democratically vote to strike, they can be forced to work and sacked if they don’t comply. The Minimum Service Levels Bill is undemocratic, unworkable and almost certainly illegal. And crucially it will likely poison industrial relations and exacerbate disputes rather than help resolve them.

    It is shameful that parliamentarians are being forced to vote blindly on such far-reaching new laws. We urge MPs from all parties to vote against this nasty Bill.

    Nowak added:

    The government is investing far more time and energy in steamrollering this Bill through parliament than it is on resolving disputes. Instead of scheming up new ways to attack the right to strike, ministers should get pay rising across the economy – starting with a decent pay rise for public sector workers.

    The staffing crisis blighting our public services will only get worse if the Conservatives continue to hold down wages in our schools, hospitals and crucial services.

    Featured image via the Trades Union Congress – YouTube and the Telegraph – YouTube

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Enough Is Enough demo set to protest the Tories’ ‘historic attack on democratic rights’

    On the evening of Monday 30 January, trade unions, human rights groups and justice campaigners are joining forces to protest against what one union leader has called “a historic attack on democratic rights”. Given the increasing stakes, it could be another step towards the first UK general strike since 1926:

    Enough is Enough

    The protest is set to take place on the same day that two pieces of legislation come before parliament. Campaign group Enough is Enough said in a press release:

    The House of Commons will debate the Anti-Strike Bill, which aims to strip frontline workers of their right to strike; at the same time, the House of Lords will debate the Public Order Bill, which would severely limit the right to protest.

    Enough is Enough notes that the protest will take place at 6pm in Westminster – opposite Downing Street. Among others, it will feature the presence of the Campaign for Trade Union Freedom with the support of human rights organisation Liberty, the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT), the Communication Workers Union (CWU), the University and College Union (UCU), the Fire Brigades Union (FBU), and campaign group NHS Workers Say No. Enough is Enough also notes that the protest will feature:

    frontline workers speaking about their opposition to the new laws, passed just two years after they were applauded as pandemic ‘heroes’ in the same place. RMT General Secretary Mick Lynch and FBU General Secretary Matt Wrack will also take to the stage to oppose what they argue are attempts to make effective trade unionism illegal in Britain.

    Children’s author Michael Rosen, Liberty’s campaign officer Charlie Whelton and activists from the Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign will be among a wide range of speakers condemning the latest attacks on workers’, civil and democratic rights.

    Key workers

    In the Enough is Enough press release, RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said:

    Working people are the defenders of democratic rights and always have been. Ordinary people must have a right to make meaningful decisions in their workplace, their communities, and society. That wasn’t given to us. The right to strike and the right to protest are fundamental civil liberties. If we can’t resist these attacks, I fear for our future as a working class but also as citizens. We will live in a society where freedoms and rights are severely restricted.

    Lynch has won the support of many in the UK – in part due to his ability to calmly eviscerate his critics:

    He’s also criticised Keir Starmer’s lacklustre support – and often outright opposition – to the union movement:

    FBU general secretary Matt Wrack said:

    Any move to give bosses more powers to sack workers and sue unions for taking strike action in defence of jobs, wages and conditions will be fiercely resisted by the FBU.

    This is a historic attack on democratic rights. The Tories are clearly hell-bent on criminalising and victimising trade unions along with anyone who protests against their agenda. We need a mass movement of resistance to these authoritarian policies.

    Wrack recently spoke out against Nadhim Zahawi‘s dodgy tax affairs. Exactly one week after tweeting the following criticism of Zahawi, Wrack’s second demand was answered when PM Rishi Sunak caught up with public opinion and sacked his party chairman:

    Moreover, TV host and author Carol Vorderman noted how the worst of Zahawi’s behaviour effectively went unacknowledged in his sacking:

    Orgreave Truth and Justice campaigner Chris Peace, meanwhile, said:

    The government’s attempts to suppress dissent in the pursuit of power gives clear permission for the police to apply more aggressive tactics in managing protests. The Tories have started a ruthless war against our right to protest and our trade union rights.

    General strike next?

    On 11 November 2022, Canary writer Steve Topple asked:

    All of this begs the question: if so many unions are striking, why are they not taking coordinated action? That is, why aren’t unions organising a general strike? Hopefully they are, and we just don’t know it yet – coordinated union action would send the strongest message to the Tory Party that workers won’t tolerate their toxic governance any longer.

    This latest action isn’t a general strike. However, it does show that under the Enough is Enough banner, union action is becoming increasingly coordinated. With figures like Lynch calling for a general strike, such an event could realistically happen. It would be one which will no doubt leave the Tories regretting their anti-democratic plan to criminalise the workers’ movement:

    Featured image via Wikimedia – Steve Eason, cropped to 770×403 under licence CC-BY-SA-2.0

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Another week, another fantastic performance from the government

    By Ralph Underhill

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • French workers have set the example with mass strikes and protests

    A day of strikes and protests kicked off in France on Thursday 19 January. They’re set to disrupt transport and schooling across the country as workers oppose a deeply unpopular pensions overhaul.

    The changes presented by president Emmanuel Macron’s government last week would raise the retirement age for most people from 62 to 64, and increase the years of contributions required for a full pension.

    France’s trade unions immediately called for a mass mobilisation. This is the first time they have united in such a way since 12 years ago, when the retirement age was hiked to 62 from 60.

    Inspiration

    Workers in France signalled the start of their resistance with burning torches as they set out in defence of their pensions:

     

    French worker’s militancy is well-known – not least when compared to British workers. However, the UK has seen waves of strikes recently. Many people here seem to have been inspired by the idea of bigger, more coordinated action:

    One commenter suggested the use of some of the militantly disruptive French tactics employed over the years:

    The scale of the strikes, even outside major cities, impressed another Twitter user:

     

    British workers

    The British labour movement – distinct from the Labour Party – is in a moment of intense action. Many industries, like nursing and teaching, are currently fighting for better conditions, and some are actually winning against their tight-fisted bosses.

    There is still more to do the advance the struggle here in the UK. We could do much worse than look to our French counterparts for examples of passionate protest and mass resistance.  After all, at its very best, the workers’ struggle should have no borders

    Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse (AFP).

    Featured image via Wikimedia Commons/ Jeanne Menjelout, cropped to 770 x 403, licenced under CC BY 2.0. 

    By Joe Glenton

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Economic, social and cultural rights must be enshrined in UK law | Letter

    A new report has found that our basic human rights are not being upheld by the British government, says Jess McQuail

    This week UK government representatives will meet world and business leaders at Davos to talk a big game on inequality. Yet at the same time, a new report from more than 70 civil society organisations across England and Wales has found that our basic human rights at home are in crisis.

    Over the last six months, the UK human rights organisation Just Fair has been accepting evidence from organisations on the front line of the cost-of-living crisis for a report to the United Nations on rights in the UK. The evidence is damning, and points to a government falling short in many areas and for too many people.

    Continue reading…

  • A second protest is also going right to Sunak’s front door next week – this time, NHS workers

    After the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) announced a protest opposite Downing Street, a group of NHS workers has also organised one. It’ll be just two days after the RMT’s strike, with both unions taking the fight directly to Rishi Sunak’s front door.

    RMT: taking the fight to Downing Street

    As the Canary previously reported, the RMT will be protesting opposite Downing Street on Monday 16 January at 6pm. It’s over the Tories’ anti-strike laws. We previously wrote that:

    the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill… will force trade unions in certain industries to make sure some people work during strikes – defeating the object of industrial action entirely. The Tories call this “minimum services levels”. They’re mainly focusing on the emergency and transport services to begin with.

    The law will force unions to give-in to what the government and/or employers say minimum service levels should be – depending on the sector. Business secretary Grant Shapps will be deciding what a minimum service level looks like for emergency and transport services.

    So, the RMT is not having it – rallying people to go to Downing Street, where the heart of the problem lies. The union said:

    we will simply not accept this attack on our fundamental and democratic rights to strike.

    Now, NHS workers will also be paying Sunak a visit – this time, as an extension of their strikes.

    NHS workers say enough is enough

    Royal College of Nurses (RCN) members will be striking on Wednesday 18 and Thursday 19 January – staging walk outs across England. Then, Unison ambulance staff will strike on Monday 23 January. To coincide with the RCN 18 January walk-out, grassroots campaign groups NHS Workers Say No, Keep Our NHS Public, and NHS Staff Voices have organised a solidarity rally on 18 January:

    People will march from University College London Hospital to Downing Street, where a rally will be held. Speakers include the Communication Workers Union (CWU) general secretary Dave Ward, author Michael Rosen, Labour MP Beth Winter, and grassroots NHS workers – like midwife Laura Godfrey-Isaacs.

    The groups said in a Facebook post:

    With shocking news of 500 people dying avoidable deaths per week due to delays in emergency care, alongside heightened awareness of the government’s heinous plans to destroy the NHS – something it has been doing for years – we are seeing more NHS workers coming out in support of strikes.

    We are tired of working to the bone in order to keep patients safe and healthy, while the government refuse to do the same for us!

    Staff are striking as we face yet another year of cuts to our pay – this has left us with the highest waiting lists on record and a national staffing crisis. We have been raising the alarm for years, but our callous government refuse to listen.

    We must come out in opposition and make it clear WE DO NOT support plans to further privatise the NHS in order to keep the wealthy rich and satisfied, while regular people like us pay with our taxes and our lives.

    We must come out and show them we will no longer allow this to continue.

    Please join us.

    Going beyond just strikes

    Meanwhile, NHS Workers Say No has joined as a signatory on an open letter from campaign group EveryDoctor:

    The letter states:

    In January 2017, the Chief Executive of the British Red Cross described the situation in the NHS during winter pressures as a humanitarian crisis. We are now witnessing a wholesale collapse of our NHS and social care system, with millions of people on waiting lists and hundreds of people dying needlessly every single week.

    Given this loss of human life, the leaders of all nations must declare this a humanitarian crisis. With every day they fail to act, more people are needlessly dying.

    It’s remarkably positive that NHS workers are going beyond just striking. Doing protests and publishing pointed letters will draw attention to years of Tory underfunding and wilful decimation of the NHS. This multi-pronged approach is what’s needed at this time. So, see you all outside Downing Street on 18 January – if we don’t see you before at the RMT demo on the 16th.

    Featured image via NHS Workers Say No and the Telegraph – YouTube

    By Steve Topple

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • A busy week for the CWU and UCU as the Tories run ‘scared’ over strikes

    Two of the UK’s biggest unions have had a busy week. The Communication Workers Union (CWU) and the University and College Union (UCU) have both made major announcements. This means that spring will be another major headache for the Tories – and as a Novara Media journalist summed-up on Question Time, the government is running scared as it is.

    UCU: 18-days of strikes

    First, the UCU has announced industrial action across a massive 18 days. The union and its members will strike in February and March – meaning 70,000 staff at 150 universities will walk out. The UCU posted on Twitter that “every single UK university will be shut down”. Its general secretary Jo Grady said there will also be a:

    marking and assessment boycott in April, which will hit summer graduations… we will [also] launch a re-ballot campaign to send a clear message to our employers that we are in this dispute for as long as it takes.

    The UCU’s previous action was across three days – now paling in comparison to this next round of strikes. However the issues remain the same: university bosses have cut workers’ real-terms pay by around 25% since 2009. The pension fund that manages university workers’ retirement pots has also been managed appallingly – cutting up to 35% off people’s final pension income. So far, bosses have only offered workers a pay rise of between 4-5%. So, the UCU is upping the ante in a very significant way.

    Royal Mail could have given CWU workers £1.7k more pay

    Meanwhile, the CWU is re-balloting its members for industrial action against Royal Mail. Its strikes were high profile in 2022 – and the union refused to budge amid Royal Mail’s derisory offers. As the CWU said on its website:

    last year’s two national Royal Mail ballots ‘expire’ on 19th January (Pay) and 17th February (Change) respectively. The union is, therefore, holding another national strike ballot, which will encompass all of the issues in dispute.

    Ballot papers will be dispatched to members on Monday 23rd January and the result will be declared on Thursday 16th February.

    Plus, there were two debates in parliament over Royal Mail, and the CWU’s dispute with it. During one on Tuesday 10 January, Labour MP Dawn Butler noted that:

    If half of the money that was given to shareholders was given to the actual workers, then there would be no need for this dispute and strike… the members of the CWU deserve a pay rise and the company can afford it

    Indeed – half of the £400m Royal Mail paid out to shareholders in 2021 would have given CWU members an extra £1,739 each in wages that year. Then, on Thursday 12 January Labour MP Kate Osborne had organised another debate in parliament on Royal Mail. CEO Simon Thompson must be getting twitchy with all these MPs airing his dirty laundry in Westminster – because Osborne said during the debate:

    Instead of negotiation… Thompson is attacking employees on social media and taking disciplinary action against workers taking legitimate action.

    With countless NHS workers also set to hold more strikes along with civil servants, as well as the National Education Union (NEU) ballot closing on Friday 13 January and the British Medical Association (BMA) junior doctors ballot open until 20 February – the Tory government has got continuing problems on its hands. Its response is anti-strike laws, which will attempt to impose minimum service levels during industrial action on some industries. However, as Novara Media journalist Ash Sarkar said on BBC Question Time on Thursday 12 January:

    This government is scared of what happens when workers organise collectively together. They’re scared that after 12-years of stagnant and falling living standards… people are realising that the only power they have is collective bargaining and… withdrawing their labour.

    The Tories should be scared – because the next few months will be worse for them than the last, and rightly so.

    Featured image via BBC iPlayer – screengrab, the UCU – screengrab and the CWU – screengrab 

    By Steve Topple

  • New Zealand doesn’t offer tenure to academics, but the AUT employment dispute shows it’s more than a job perk

    ANALYSIS: By Jack Heinemann, University of Canterbury

    Late last year, the Auckland University of Technology (AUT) initiated a process to eliminate 170 academic jobs to cut costs. The Employment Relations Authority (ERA) found AUT’s approach breached its collective employment agreement with staff and their union and ordered it to withdraw the termination notices.

    Tertiary education runs on an insecure labour force in New Zealand and elsewhere. The AUT decision illustrates that even traditionally secure positions are becoming less so.

    Tenure is the traditional protection for academics in the tertiary sector, but New Zealand does not have tenure at its universities.

    Tenure is more than a perk

    A common argument against tenure is that it leads to a complacent, under-motivated university professor. These concerns are hypothetical — evidence that tenure causes productivity differences is lacking.

    In fact, one of few large studies on the subject found the opposite. Good administrators should be able to manage any actual productivity issues as they do in all other workplaces.

    On the other hand, lack of tenure creates risks for free societies. Tenure is common practice in other liberal democracies. UNESCO says:

    Security of employment in the profession, including tenure […] should be safeguarded as it is essential to the interests of higher education.

    Tenure is important, if not indispensable, for academic freedom. Academic freedom is essential to a university’s mission, and this mission is a characteristic of a democracy. As University of Regina professor Marc Spooner put it:

    A country’s institutional commitment to academic freedom is a key indicator of whether its democracy is in good health.

    Scholarship is not piecework
    The ERA said AUT misunderstood terminology in the collective employment agreement.
    The clash term was “specific position”. AUT’s position was that specific positions are identified by professional ranks (from lecturer to professor) and the numbers of each role across four particular faculties.

    The ERA did not agree and concluded an essential component for identifying specific positions is the employee, being the person who is the current position holder or appointee to a position.

    AUT’s assertion would be like the air force using the rank of “captain” to adjust its number of pilots. The number of captains does not tell you what each captain does, be it to fly planes or fix them.

    Without tenure, a standard less than this minimum established by the ERA can be used to eliminate academics who have legitimate priorities that do not align with the administrative staff of the day, or are the victims of any other concealed discrimination. The ERA clarification makes it more difficult to inhibit intramural criticism, the right to criticise the actions taken by managers and leaders of the university.

    The authoritative review of freedom of speech and academic freedom in Australian universities singles out the importance of academic freedom for this purpose, saying:

    It […] reflects the distinctive relationship of academic staff and universities, a relationship not able to be defined by reference to the ordinary law of employer and employee relationships.

    The ERA clarification helps to prevent the firing of academics who are teaching, researching or questioning things administrators, funders or governments don’t want them to. But it is a finger in a leaking dyke. Tenure is a tried and tested general solution.

    Health of the democracy
    We only need to observe the events in the United States to recognise the importance of tenure. This benchmark country has a proud tradition of tenure. Nevertheless state governments are dismantling tenure to impose political control on curriculums. Our liberal democracy is not immune to this.

    We need more than tenure-secured academic freedom to enable universities to do the sometimes dreary and at other times risky work of providing societies alternatives to populist, nationalist or autocratic movements. But as the Douglas Dillon chair in governance studies at the Brookings Institution, Darrell M. West, wrote, academic freedom is a problem for these movements.

    Recognizing the moral authority of independent experts, when despots come to power, one of the first things they do is discredit authoritative institutions who hold leaders accountable and encourage an informed citizenry.

    In a system with tenure, a university would have a defined stand-down period preventing reappointment to vacated positions. For example, if an academic program and associated tenured staff that teach it were eliminated at the University of Arkansas for financial reasons, the program could not be reactivated for at least five years. The stand-down inhibits whimsical or agenda-fuelled restructuring as a lazy option to manage staff.

    If a similar trade-off were to be applied to how AUT defined specific positions, then no academics could be hired there for five years. It is very different to be prevented from hiring academics than it is to, say, not re-establishing a financially struggling department or program.

    Herein lies the true value of tenure. It is greater than a protection of the individual. It protects society from wasteful or ideologically motivated restructuring as an alternative to poor management. Tenure is security of the public trust in our universities.The Conversation

    Dr Jack Heinemann is professor of molecular biology and genetics, University of Canterbury. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons licence. Read the original article.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Mick Lynch and the RMT call emergency demo over Tory anti-strike laws

    THIS ARTICLE WAS UPDATED AT 6PM ON THURSDAY 12 JANUARY TO REFLECT A CHANGE TO THE DEMO. THE RMT ARE NOW HOLDING AT AT 6PM ON MONDAY 16 JANUARY, OPPOSITE DOWNING STREET

    The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) and its general secretary Mick Lynch have called an emergency protest. It’s over the Tory government’s authoritarian new anti-strike law – and will be happening on the day parliament debates the new bill.

    Tories: trying to stop strikes

    The Tories are trying to push this new anti-strike law through parliament. It’s called the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill. The new law will force trade unions in certain industries to make sure some people work during strikes – defeating the object of industrial action entirely. The Tories call this “minimum services levels”. They’re mainly focusing on the emergency and transport services to begin with.

    The law will force unions to give-in to what the government and/or employers say minimum service levels should be – depending on the sector. Business secretary Grant Shapps will be deciding what a minimum service level looks like for emergency and transport services. As the Canary previously reported, Lynch has already called Shapps “incompetent” – while we noted that he is an ‘all-round clusterfucker’. Shapps has not said what these minimum service levels will look like yet. However, Lynch pointed out that:

    The government’s own impact assessment of minimum service levels shows it wouldn’t work.

    Moreover, the Tories minimum service level nonsense ignores the fact that in sectors like rail and the NHS, minimum service isn’t even being met on non-strike days anyway:

    The sharpest end of the Tories already brutal new law is that it gives bosses the option to sack workers who break it.  For example, if workers went on strike when the government claimed their industry hadn’t met the minimum service level, bosses would have the power to sack them. You know things are bad when almost everyone who is not right wing agrees something is dire (including Keir Starmer’s Labour Party) – and that’s the consensus on the bill. So, the RMT is taking emergency action.

    RMT: not having it

    The RMT has organised a demo opposite Downing Street on Monday 16 January:

    It said in a statement:

    This week the Government tabled legislation that launches a fundamental attack on our democratic and human rights to withdraw our labour. The Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill will give the Secretary of State for Business the power to set Minimum Service Levels following “consultation” across six different sectors including Transport, Health, Fire and Rescue, Education, Nuclear and Border Security.

    The second reading of this Bill takes place in Parliament on Monday 16th January and we are mobilising an emergency demo to send a clear message to Government that we will simply not accept this attack on our fundamental and democratic rights to strike.

    The RMT’s demo is already gaining some support:

    Everybody out – to parliament on 16 January

    Clearly, the Tories are not bringing in their new anti-strike law in isolation. It’s part of their wider crackdown on anything they see as getting in the way of the capitalist system’s interests – and therefore, by default, them and their rich mates. However, under Rishi Sunak, the Tory government is treading a very fine line at present. It is still way behind in opinion polls and generally the majority of the public seems to still support many of the ongoing strikes. So, this anti-strike law may be a step too far even for it – and with unions already mobilising to oppose it, it remains to be seen how far the bill will get.

    Featured image via Guardian News – YouTube, Good Morning Britain – YouTube, Lorraine – YouTube and the RMT – screengrab 

    By Steve Topple

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • No wonder Tory MPs don’t want to give our nurses a proper payrise

    Alt Text: a cartoon entitled “One Rule For Them” showing a bar chart. One half shows that MPs’ pay has gone up from £65,738 in 2010 to £84,144 in 2022 – excluding expenses. That’s a 28% increase. The other half shows that a highest bracket, newly qualified nurse’s pay has gone up from £27,534 in 2010 to £32,934 in 2022. That’s a 19% increase.

    Alt Text: a cartoon entitled "One Rule For Them" showing a bar chart. One half shows that MPs' pay has gone up from £65,738 in 2010 to £84,144 in 2022 - excluding expenses. That's a 28% increase. The other half shows that a highest bracket, newly qualified nurse's pay has gone up from £27,534 in 2010 to £32,934 in 2022. That's a 19% increase.

    By Ralph Underhill

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Rupert Murdoch rag rehashed old article to attack junior doctors

    Rupert Murdoch-owned the Times has run what it thinks is a hit-piece on a senior British Medical Association (BMA) member. The article is a clear piece of anti-strike propaganda. It frames the medical professional as the “daughter of Corbyn-backing activists”. This right-wing catnip comes as junior doctors are looking likely to strike – except the story isn’t new. The piece was actually first published in December, with the Times rehashing it now to maximise the damage to the BMA.

    BMA: junior doctors set to strike?

    Sky News reported that on Monday 9 January that the BMA started balloting around 45,000 junior doctors over strike action, for the first time since 2016. As Sky News noted, the potential industrial action is over the 26.1% real-terms cut to junior doctors’ pay since 2008. It reported that:

    If they reach the 50% ‘yes’ threshold, junior doctors – any doctor below consultant level – will begin a 72-hour “full walkout” in March.

    They will not provide emergency NHS care during the strike and trusts will need to arrange emergency cover to ensure patient safety, the BMA said.

    The BMA junior doctors’ strike would come on top of the nurses and paramedics who have also been taking industrial action. So, enter the Times to ensure its right-wing readers positively froth at the mouth over the thought of workers using their legal right to strike after nearly 15 years of pay restraint.

    Enter the Times

    The Times took aim at Dr Emma Runswick. She is the deputy chair of the BMA council. However, Runswick is no ordinary chair. The Murdoch rag screeched that she’s also “unashamedly socialist” (God forbid) and the daughter of:

    Jeremy Corbyn-backing trade union activists.

    Clearly, the former Labour leader is still living rent-free in the right-wing media’s heads. However, this kind of propaganda – tying the BMA in with Corbyn – is perfect anti-strike content for the press. The Daily Mail ran a similar story to the Times on Saturday 7 January, again about Runswick and how the:

    Far left hijacks doctors’ union: Investigation reveals how a unit of militant young medics have infiltrated the BMA in a bid to engineer 72-hour walkout by junior doctors

    A union being left-wing and organising strikes? ‘What madness is this?’ Daily Mail readers must ask. Well, it’s an obvious case of manufacturing right-wing consent for anti-trade union sentiment. However, in the case of the Times it was also blatant manipulation – the Murdoch shitrag had already published the article on Runswick in December.

    Desperate anti-strike propaganda

    As writer Mic Wright noted on Twitter:

    A cursory search of the Wayback Machine shows that the Times did indeed first publish the piece on 17 December. Due to the Times being paywalled it’s not possible to see how it’s changed the article since then – not that that really matters. The point is that this obvious propaganda from the Times is par for the course from the right-wing media over strikes – especially NHS ones. Oh, and a bit of Corbyn as well, which reeks of desperation. C’mon, the Times. You can do better than this, surely?

    Featured image via the Times – screengrab

    By Steve Topple

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Every worker needs to sign Strike Map UK’s letter to the PM

    The Tories want to roll out even more authoritarian, anti-trade union laws. However, if they thought workers were going to take it lying down, they were wrong – as one group shows.

    Tory attacks on core democratic rights

    As the Canary‘s Joe Glenton previously wrote:

    Unelected British prime minister and billionaire Rishi Sunak wants to take away your right to strike. At least, that’s what he seemed to be getting at when he floated the idea of a new anti-worker law this week.

    The proposed legislation could see public sector workers who refuse to come in and provide a ‘minimum’ service during industrial action sacked. The laws may also allow employers to take legal action against trade unions.

    This is a clear attack on a core democratic right – and the Daily Mail reported that the laws could be brought to parliament by the end of the month.

    Business secretary and all-round clusterfuck Grant Shapps had a hand in the new laws, too. However, trade union leaders have already mocked Sunak and the Tory government, hitting back at their plans. National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers’ (RMT) general secretary Mick Lynch said Shapps was “incompetent” and that:

    I think these laws will be a failure. Working people are not going to put up with an oppression of their rights, and we’ll fight back. We’ll oppose it in parliament, we’ll oppose it on the streets and we’ll oppose it in the workplace.

    Now, thanks to the group Strike Map UK, workers are already opposing the Tories’ planned authoritarian laws – and you can get involved, too.

    Strike Map: striking back

    Strike Map UK has launched an open letter to Sunak. It’s being supported by the likes of the Fire Brigades Union, the Morning Star, and People’s Assembly. The groups want to encourage:

    workers, union reps and branch officers to sign their workplace up to reject these changes and pledge to fight to protect our right to strike.

    The letter is addressed directly to Sunak. You can read and then sign it here. Part of it states:

    These authoritarian and restrictive laws will further tighten what the incoming Trades Union Congress (TUC) General Secretary, Paul Nowak, has described as the “most restrictive trade union laws in western Europe”. The right to strike is a fundamental democratic right. These proposals will remove this right.

    Employers and Government have together offered pay cuts, as a crippling cost-of-living crisis – fuelled by inflation – continues to drive many into poverty and financial difficulty. What is needed now is action to support workers of Britain. Not threats and punitive laws.

    Hundreds of people have joined strike clubs throughout the country to offer support to striking workers. Thousands of people have pledged to visit picket lines in person this year. Half a million people have visited Strike Map since the current wave of strikes started this summer. Public opinion is with striking workers.

    Resist, resist – resist

    Strike Map UK tweeted that as of Sunday 8 January, workplaces representing over 50,000 workers had signed up:

    People were tweeting saying they’d signed the letter, such as National Education Union (NEU) national executive member Gawain Little:

    The Canary is backing Strike Map UK’s action, and we’ve signed our workplace up to it. As Glenton previously wrote for us:

    These new proposals must be seen in their proper context. Under the Tories, a range of authoritarian bills have passed into law. And they have brought with them the sense of democratic space narrowing before our eyes.

    With the Spy Cops Bill, the Policing Bill, the Overseas Operations Bill, and the Snooper’s Charter, it is evident that many of the basic rights which have been won over many years are being stripped back by successive Tory administrations.

    Trade unions – already subject to severe restrictions from the Thatcher era – seem to be the next target.

    Everyone must resist this and other regressive, authoritarian laws. As Strike Map UK says, the Tories will face “the determined opposition of workers” – and they won’t know what’s hit them.

    Featured image via Strike Map UK

    By Steve Topple

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Rishi Sunak’s new law to sack strikers is an affront to democracy

    Unelected British prime minister and billionaire Rishi Sunak wants to take away your right to strike. At least, that’s what he seemed to be getting at when he floated the idea of a new anti-worker law this week.

    The proposed legislation could see public sector workers who refuse to come in and provide a ‘minimum’ service during industrial action sacked. The laws may also allow employers to take legal action against trade unions.

    This is a clear attack on a core democratic right – and the Daily Mail reported that the laws could be brought to parliament by the end of the month.

    Undue disruption?

    In his first major speech since becoming PM, Sunak said that the right to strike:

    …has to be balanced with the right of the British public to go about their lives without suffering completely undue disruption in the way we’ve seen recently.

    ‘And that’s why I have said we will introduce new legislation that restores that balance and crucially protects people’s lives as well as their livelihoods.

    Resistance

    However, trade union leaders and even Labour politicians fired back. Trade unions are currently trying to overturn existing anti-trade union laws. ASLEF (Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen) general secretary Mick Whelan told Sky News:

    We’re currently – with 11 other trade unions – taking legal action against the last set of laws they put in place, and we would look at doing that in future as well.

    And I think if the government gets away with what it’s doing, we’ll be left with an inherently unsafe railway system.

    Even Labour leader Keir Starmer, known for his complicated relationship with the unions, made some encouraging noises:

    I don’t think this legislation is going to work and I’m pretty sure they’ve had an assessment that tells them that. It’s likely to make a bad situation worse.

    Authoritarian shift

    These new proposals must be seen in their proper context. Under the Tories, a range of authoritarian bills have passed into law. And they have brought with them the sense of democratic space narrowing before our eyes.

    With the Spy Cops Bill, the Policing Bill, the Overseas Operations Bill, and the Snooper’s Charter, it is evident that many of the basic rights which have been won over many years are being stripped back by successive Tory administrations.

    Trade unions – already subject to severe restrictions from the Thatcher era – seem to be the next target.

    Featured image via Wikimedia Commons/Alarichall, cropped to 770 x 403, CC BY-SA 4.0.

    By Joe Glenton

  • IWGB releases report on the hidden cost of living in the gig economy

    Radical trade union the Independent Workers’ union of Great Britain (IWGB) has released a report on the cost of living for those working in the gig economy.

    The union tweeted a statement from a private-hire driver called Helio:

    Helio is just one of the workers who have contributed evidence to the IWGB’s Real Cost of Living & the Gig Economy report.

    The report – published on 20 December 2022 – found that:

    • Platform workers report pay cuts of up to 50% at a time when 8 in 10 are being forced to cut back on household food and energy spending.
    • New survey of over 260 workers for platforms like Uber, Deliveroo and Amazon reveals triple-impact of the crisis on workers in the gig economy.
    • Most respondents are having to work longer hours or take up second jobs in the run up to Christmas.

    ‘Paid poverty wages by multinational corporations’

    According to IWGB:

    Many gig workers are paid poverty wages by multinational corporations like Amazon, Uber and Deliveroo. However, because they are categorised as self-employed, they are also liable for business costs such as fuel and insurance. As a result, platform workers are doubly impacted by the cost of living crisis, while also facing intensified exploitation in the form of pay cuts.

    Exploiting “families who can barely afford to keep warm”

    Shaf Hussain, a courier based in London, said:

    Gig platforms have this great reputation for finding innovative new ways to turn a profit in tough times but what they hide behind their algorithms is that our quality of life is being driven down at twice the rate those profits rise. This money is being squeezed from families who can barely afford to keep warm and fed this winter. But it can only continue until enough of us come together and say enough is enough

    Meanwhile, Alex Marshall – the IWGB president – argued:

    Gig workers are amongst the hardest hit because they are facing a double blow, not just from the economy but from their bosses, who are essentially cutting pay while the costs of the job, like fuel and insurance, skyrocket. The gig economy has always preyed on poverty and precarity, so the cost of living crisis creates a perfect climate for corporations to push down pay and conditions in the name of profit, whatever the cost to workers, their families and society as a whole.

    An economy preying on poverty and precarity

    IWGB represents many workers who are surviving on poverty wages paid in the gig economy. You can support them by donating to the union, or by joining its ‘solidarity squad’.

    A full copy of the report and its background data is available from IWGB on request.

    Featured image via Freestocks.org (cropped to 770x403px)

    By Tom Anderson

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • ERA knocks back ‘flawed’ attempt by AUT to axe 100 plus academic staff

    RNZ News

    The Employment Relations Authority (ERA) has knocked-back an attempt by one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s largest universities to axe more than 100 staff.

    The Auckland University of Technology planned to make 170 academic staff redundant, but the ERA has now ruled that its process was flawed and breached the collective agreement.

    Now the school may need to walk back its dismissals, and start all over again.

    ERA said AUT had called for voluntary redundancies too early, before the institution had even decided which positions to cull.

    The Tertiary Education Union (TEU) is celebrating the ruling as a win. However, AUT says the union and the university have interpreted the decision differently and it would be seeking clarification.

    Lawyer Peter Cranney, in an email to members of the TEU yesterday, said the ERA was considering a compliance order that would require AUT to withdraw all the notices it had already issued.

    “Although a compliance order is discretionary, the [ERA] authority has indicated it will not decline the granting of the order it needed,” he wrote.

    “The parties will now have three days to consider the matter; and if a compliance order is necessary, the AUT will need to comply within five days.”

    Cranney said any compliance order would be issued by Friday.

    Trust difficult to rebuild, says union organiser
    TEU organiser Jill Jones said the decision meant people at risk of losing their jobs no longer were.

    “It’s great because what it does show is our collective agreement has been respected by the Employment Relations Authority,” Jones told RNZ Morning Report.

    But although staff members were “absolutely” thrilled with the decision of the ERA, there was a breakdown of trust with their employer and it would be difficult to rebuild it.

    “Its been a long, hard road for these staff members. They’ve paid a very large price.

    “These are members that really, really care about their students and the high price that they’ve paid for this bungled redundancy is that lots of things have happened.

    “It’s felt as if, to them, it’s been a very callous and uncaring process and it’s going to be difficult to come back from that.”

    With issues of trust and many staff feeling targeted and bullied, AUT had a “very big job” ahead to rebuild that trust, she said.

    Frances* was one of the unlucky 170 to receive a redundancy letter.

    “This level of disruption and instability in our lives is just crippling,” she said.

    The ERA decision had not brought much comfort.

    “It’s kind of a double-edged sword,” she said. “I’m really happy that we’ve seen some justice be recognised through the court system, but I don’t know what’s going to happen next.”

    Frances expected AUT to withdraw her notice of dismissal, but did not expect a happy ending.

    “I’m not deluded, they’re still going to come for me I’m sure, but they’ll have to start from scratch and do it properly,” she said.

    “That’s all we ask, that this is done properly.”

    Poor handling of the situation had destroyed staff morale, she said.

    “For three months, I’ve been feeling disengaged, demotivated, angry, upset, waiting, waiting, waiting for this letter,” she said.

    “This whole process has been about targeting, humiliating, and bullying people.”

    AUT seeks clarification of ‘complex findings’
    An AUT spokesperson said the findings were legally complex and it regretted that a “procedural issue” highlighted had made staff more uncertain.

    “Although the ERA has published its findings, it has not issued orders.

    “AUT’s view of these findings differs from that of the TEU. AUT is endeavouring to clarify and resolve the issue promptly.

    “Given the differing views between the parties it will therefore be necessary to return to the ERA tomorrow for clarification on some aspects.”

    AUT said ERA’s findings found no bad faith in how it had acted — and AUT had formed a differing view of the collective agreement.

    “The ERA has noted that AUT should have identified the specific positions potentially declared surplus and, at this point, written to offer voluntary redundancy to the people in these specified positions.

    “Following clarification of the procedural issue we will write to those impacted by the decision to confirm the way forward.”

    * Name changed to protect identity. This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ. 

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Braverman says she wants to deliver Rwanda deportations at scale as soon as possible – as it happened

    This live blog is now closed. You can read our full report here:

    And here is the key quote from the summary of the judgment.

    The court has concluded that, it is lawful for the government to make arrangements for relocating asylum seekers to Rwanda and for their asylum claims to be determined in Rwanda rather than in the United Kingdom. On the evidence before this court, the government has made arrangements with the government of Rwanda which are intended to ensure that the asylum claims of people relocated to Rwanda are properly determined in Rwanda. In those circumstances, the relocation of asylum seekers to Rwanda is consistent with the refugee convention and with the statutory and other legal obligations on the government including the obligations imposed by the Human Rights Act 1998.

    Continue reading…

    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • New Caledonia unions win pay rise for lowest earners

    RNZ Pacific

    Unions in New Caledonia have secured a 4.2 percent increase of the lowest salaries from January 1, 2023.

    The concession by the employers’ organisation MEDEF was announced as a large crowd rallied for a general strike outside its offices in Noumea.

    According to police, 1500 people had gathered to press their demands while the unions said they mobilised 5000 members.

    The unions had sought an across-the-board pay increase of six percent in the private sector to offset the impact of inflation, which in November was 4.4 percent.

    The wage hike applies to those earning between the monthly US$1440 minimum pay and those earning up to US$1775.

    MEDEF said inflation has hit businesses hard as production costs are rising faster than product prices, in particular with the rise in the cost of energy.

    Decline in GDP
    The organisation said New Caledonian companies faced a decline as GDP had dropped by 5.9 percent since 2018.

    MEDEF said the social partners became aware early on of the negative impact of imported inflation on the purchasing power of New Caledonians.

    It said that as early as May it and the unions unanimously and jointly asked the government to hold a conference on wages.

    MEDEF said since April there had been proposals for tax reform which combined economic recovery and resetting of net wages.

    It said raising wages had therefore always been a key aspect of the planned tax reform.

    The government plans to hold a conference next week to discuss reforms in view of the crisis facing public finances.

    This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ. 

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Jeremy Corbyn has amplified the Shelter worker’s strike brilliantly

    Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was out on a Shelter picket line on Wednesday 14 December – and he highlighted just why the charity’s staff are striking.

    Shelter: everybody out

    As Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported, Shelter staff have been on strike since Monday 5 December. More than 600 workers at the housing and homeless charity are taking industrial action. The strike by Shelter staff, to last until December 16, will affect the charity’s offices in London and around the UK. Unite the Union describes the situation as “a bitter dispute over pay”. Unite said Shelter’s management had imposed a 3% pay rise, which it claimed “has left many of its own staff being unable to pay their rent” and struck with the possibility of being made homeless themselves. As the Canary reported, inflation is still running at over 10% – so Shelter’s 3% pay offer is effectively a pay cut. One of the staff striking, who wished to remain anonymous, told AFP:

    At the very base level… those working for a housing charity shouldn’t be experiencing housing insecurity as a result of being unable to pay rent.

    Another Shelter employee who is a single parent said they had been forced to use an overdraft on their bank account and ration energy use to curb rising bills:

    I get stressed when the kids’ school wants me to pay for another school trip. The best acknowledgement my employer can give me for all my hard work is decent pay.

    Now, Corbyn has come out in support of Shelter workers.

    Corbyn: ‘you will win’

    On 14 December, the former Labour leader joined a picket line and shared a quick, one-minute video on social media. He spoke to Bronya, who works for Shelter. She said:

    We’ve found that our staff are facing the threat of homelessness, too, because we’re not being paid fairly. So, we’re here on the picket line demanding fair pay for our staff so they don’t have to face the things that we’re there to help people with.

    As usual, Corbyn was unflappable about workers’ striking. He said of the action:

    Do you know what? You’re going to win – and you’re going to win not just for yourselves but for decency in our society, and all the homeless people as well. Thank you.

    Meanwhile, AFP reported that Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said it was:

    unforgivable that workers at Shelter find themselves actually being haunted by the prospect of being made homeless.

    Shelter has sufficient reserves to pay its hardworking and dedicated staff a decent pay rise but it has chosen not to.

    Our members at Shelter will receive Unite’s complete and unyielding support in their fight for a better deal.

    Enough is enough

    Part of Shelter’s spiel on its website says:

    Home is a human right. It’s our foundation and it’s where we thrive. Yet, every day millions of people are being devastated by the housing emergency.

    We exist to defend the right to a safe home. Because home is everything.

    It is perverse that a charity claiming to have this as a mantra is leaving its own workers in housing insecurity. Enough is enough – Shelter needs to fix this, and fast.

    Featured image via Jeremy Corbyn – screengrab

    Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse

    By Steve Topple

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Now the Guardian has run a hit-job on the CWU – but it backfired

    The Guardian seems unable to hide its centre-right, divide-and-conquer agenda anymore – once again it’s gone on the attack over striking workers. This time, it thinks it’s being subtle – when in reality a sledge hammer would be more discreet. However, it didn’t go quite according to plan.

    Guardian: shameless

    As the Canary previously reported, some media outlets have been undermining striking workers recently, when they should know better. First, the supposedly impartial BBC ran a divisive piece on the National union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) strike. It was about how people’s Christmas travel plans had been affected by the industrial action. However, one of the stories had obvious holes in it – and the BBC had to remove it.

    Then, the Guardian joined in. As the Canary previously reported:

    First, the supposedly left-wing outlet has put a call-out for stories on its website. It was around the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) Union Border Force strikes happening over Christmas.

    The Guardian was asking people if their:

    holiday travel [had] been affected by the strike?

    It wanted readers to send in their stories. This was at least the second time the Guardian had run this kind of article. A previous call-out was for hospitality bosses and workers regarding strikes more broadly. Clearly, this kind of cheap, divisive hackery suits the Guardian‘s editors, because it’s now done another one of these ‘reader stories’ requests.

    Aiming for the CWU

    This time, the Guardian has striking Communication Workers Union (CWU) staff in its sights. It tweeted:

    The shameless rag asked its readers:

    how they’re dealing with disruptions to their deliveries this winter. Were you aware of a delay when you bought the item or have you been taken by surprise? Are you doing more shopping on the high street instead?

    It was clear what workers and companies the Guardian was referring to, as it had tagged the article ‘Royal Mail’. People on social media had mixed responses. However, many people were calling out the Guardian for this obvious hit job on CWU members:

    However, as well as the CWU the Guardian call-out was also causing a pile-on against underpaid and overworked gig economy couriers, too – with some people defending posties but complaining about companies like Evri. So, the Guardian managed to not only pit Royal Mail workers against the rest of us, but also courier workers against their CWU colleagues, too.

    Divide and conquer

    As the Canary previously wrote:

    Guardian editors surely must know better than to put out content that is divisive and playing into government agendas.

    Of course, the Guardian is merely aiding and abetting the Tories with this content – at a time when the government is actively blocking resolutions to disputes for the likes of the RMT.

    But don’t worry – if you thought the Guardian couldn’t sink any lower, it just did. It also did a call-out for people who’ve ‘had to take someone to a UK hospital due to ambulance delays’. You can fully expect the shitrag to do a call-out for people affected by the nurses’ strike, next.

    Featured image via Channel 4 News – YouTube and the Guardian – screengrab

    By Steve Topple

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Richard Madeley channels Alan Partridge in car crash RMT interview

    Good Morning Britain (GMB) host Richard Madeley managed to unite much of social media against him on Tuesday 13 December. It came after the archaic TV presenter ‘interviewed’ (if you can call it that) National Union of Rail, Transport and Maritime Workers (RMT) general secretary Mick Lynch. The segment on GMB was such a disaster that some viewers thought comic character Alan Partridge had invaded their screens.

    RMT: everybody out

    RMT members were out on strike on 13 December. It was part of a series of walkouts after the union rejected a pay offer by Network Rail that was well below the rate of inflation. The RMT is taking action on:

    • 13-14 December.
    • 16-17 December.
    • From 6pm on Christmas Eve until 7am on 27 December.

    Of course, the action over Christmas won’t directly affect passengers because few trains run on Christmas Day and Boxing Day. This hasn’t stopped the corporate media fueling anti-strike sentiment, though – with the BBC pushing fake stories about the RMT disrupting people’s Christmas plans, and the Guardian using its best divide-and-conquer tactics to foment disquiet. So, to continue this trend, enter Madeley on GMB – doing his best Jeremy Paxman impression, but ending up looking more like Alan Partridge.

    A-ha! I’m Richard Madeley!

    Madeley was tasked with interviewing Lynch – no mean feat to be fair, given the RMT head’s reputation for making corporate journalists soil themselves. However, the GMB host clearly believed he’d had his Weetabix on 13 December – it’s just that no-one else thought so.

    The former This Morning presenter put it to Lynch that “many people” were:

    appalled that you are striking over Christmas, over this Christmas week.

    This seemed to be in reference to the RMT’s 24-27 December strikes. Madeley asked why the union couldn’t have taken strike action in January. Lynch began to answer by saying:

    Well, we’re not targeting Christmas. It isn’t Christmas yet, Richard. I don’t know when your Christmas starts, but mine starts on Christmas Eve.

    The GMB host then lost it. He accused Lynch of being “disingenuous”, saying “commercial Christmas starts in December”. Madeley continued to labour this point – despite it not being what he originally said in his question. Lynch attempted to answer, but Madeley continued his rant, saying:

    You said that Christmas started on Christmas Eve, and that’s nonsense. I won’t let you get away with nonsense. Christmas does not start on Christmas Eve. So, let’s just be clear. It starts in early December and that’s what we’re talking about.

    Of course, what Madeley is actually talking about is not your Christmas or mine – one that, given the catastrophic cost of living crisis, is likely to be a miserable affair. The GMB host is talking about business owners (the same class of people denying RMT members a proper pay rise) and the middle and upper classes – for whom December is all about spending. You’d be forgiven for struggling to pick up that point from Madeley’s incoherent waffle, though – as Lynch asked:

    Richard, why don’t you just interview yourself

    So, narcissist Madeley channeled the best bit of script from the 1980s Ladybird Book of Journalism:

    I’m holding you to account on behalf of the viewers

    You could almost feel his ego swell as he thought he’d duped the audience into believing he was something other than a washed-up, right-wing hack from a bygone era:

    ‘Back of the net’ – except it was an own goal for Madeley

    Sadly for Madeley, most people weren’t fooled by his piece of am-dram performance art:

    The comparisons to Steve Coogan’s comedy creation ‘Alan Partridge’ came thick and fast:

    Madeley looked and sounded like a dickhead. Of course, the broader point here is that that’s exactly what GMB bosses want. The host acting like a clusterfucking TV character is a ratings win for ITV. It’s hopefully a win for the RMT too – as Lynch came across like the rational one to Madeley’s Partridge. ‘Back of the net’, you might say.

    Featured image via Good Morning Britain – YouTube and Baby Cow – YouTube

    By Steve Topple

  • BBC News hits another low, pushing fake anti-RMT propaganda

    BBC News has had to change an article after people pointed out that part of it was blatantly false. The story was about people affected by the National Union of Rail, Transport and Maritime Workers’ (RMT’s) strikes. However, the problem with the BBC piece is that it still left more false claims in the article. Overall, it shows the entrenched pro-government bias of the supposed ‘public service’ broadcaster.

    BBC: a dodgy article

    On Thursday 8 December, the BBC published an article called:

    ‘Rail strikes mean I won’t see my son over Christmas’

    The original version, which didn’t have comments from anyone supportive of the strikes, said:

    Owen will no longer be able to see his son over the festive period due to the Christmas rail worker strikes.

    The 34-year-old from Doncaster was planning to travel to see his 12-year-old boy who lives with his mother in Derby on 27 December, but will not make it because of the walkouts.

    BBC News continued by saying:

    Having supported strikes earlier in the year, Owen says he’s now against them due to the festive strikes “ruining” his Christmas.

    “I have always been a staunch socialist…but it’s been a year now,” he says. “Enough is enough.”

    However, there was a problem with Owen’s story – as people on Twitter pointed out:

    The Canary has checked the bus times (unlike the BBC), and there are indeed buses from Doncaster to Derby on 27 December.

    So, the BBC tweeted it had made an error, once it had changed the article:

    The BBC also added in a story to the edited version from “Jamie”, who was more supportive of the strikes.

    Basic errors

    However, the article was still wrong – as one Twitter user pointed out, there was another inaccurate story in the updated version:

    Again, the Canary checked this, and indeed there’s a normal train service on the night of 15 December. Michael Race, who wrote the story, had originally put out a request on Twitter for people to talk to him:

    It seems that Race failed to fact check the claims of people who got in touch with him. This is contrary to the BBC‘s own guidelines on what it calls “user-generated content”. So, as one Twitter user summed up:

    absolutely incredible that you would publish a verifiably false bit of information in your story for the bbc. is your disinformation reporter going to do a piece on you?

    did you always grow up and get in to journalism wanting to be a lickspittle or did you just see the money?

    BBC: punching down as always

    Where to begin with all this?

    The basic level of fact checking by the BBC is dire. Then, there’s the issue that Race’s article originally only had comment from people who didn’t support the strikes – zero balance from a public service broadcaster. Plus, there’s the fact that the article got past editors in the first place – showing that when it comes to accuracy around workers, the BBC is unconcerned.

    However, the larger problem here is that this is typical BBC establishment punching down – pitting citizen against citizen while absolving those in power of responsibility. This is despite BBC chairman Richard Sharp’s claims of a “liberal bias” at the organisation. Funny he’d say that – given that he’s donated over £400,000 to the Tories. So, it seems the BBC agenda of bias towards the government and the powerful continues – even when it is blatantly biased journalism, not fit for GCSE Media Studies.

    Featured image via Sky News – YouTube and BBC News – YouTube

    By Steve Topple

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Corporate media peddles ‘vile propaganda’ over NHS strikes

    As trade unions announce that ambulance workers will strike on Wednesday 21 December, the corporate media has predictably gone on the attack. However, as one NHS frontline worker told the Canary, it is the Tory government which is actually to blame for the fact workers have no choice but to strike in the first place.

    Ambulance strike

    Three trade unions are taking coordinated action across most ambulance services in England and Wales on 21 December. Unison, Unite, and the GMB Union members will walk out over pay and conditions in 10 regional service areas. As BBC News reported:

    The walkouts will involve paramedics as well as control room staff and support workers, with the military on standby to help out.

    Unison general secretary Christina McAnea was on Sky News on Tuesday 6 December. As she said of her members:

    none of them want to be out on strike.

    Sadly, NHS workers have little choice. As the Canary previously reported:

    Successive Tory governments have decimated NHS staff wages. In 2010, the coalition government froze public sector pay for two years, then imposed a 1% fixed increase. This year, the Tories have capped NHS pay rises at 4% for most staff.

    For paramedics specifically, this has meant the Tories have cut their wages by around £5,600 in real terms since 2010. This hasn’t stopped the press piling on workers, though.

    Right-wing press: rabid

    As the Twitter account Socialist Action shared, the right-wing corporate media has been out in force trashing striking ambulance workers:

    For example, the rabid Express went with the headline:

    Fears ambulance strikes could put lives at risk as urgent talks with unions due tomorrow

    It noted that:

    People with emergencies that are not life-threatening who are made to wait more than six hours for an ambulance during strikes could be put at risk of dying, Steve Barclay [the health secretary] has suggested.

    Barclay said this without irony, in spite of the fact that countless people have died this year due to ambulance waiting times of up to 17 hours – which, in turn, are due to his party’s decimation of the NHS.

    A nurse speaks

    Holly Turner, a nurse from campaign group NHS Workers Say No, has some strong views on the right-wing anti-worker propaganda. She told the Canary:

    NHS staff have been subjected to continued attacks on their pay and safety at work for over a decade. They simply refuse to stand with their hands being their back whilst our health service is ripped apart, with patients dying in the process. What are we expected to do? Keep agreeing to get materially poorer year on year and watch the service disintegrate? What other options are open to us, when we don’t even have direct bargaining with the employers or the government? If the government wanted to try to avoid strikes they’d return to direct negotiations, which they are resolutely refusing to do.

    Government and right wing attacks on us are well underway, but we will not be deterred as we cannot leave the most vulnerable to suffer whilst hardworking staff are driven into poverty.

    The corporate media’s vilification of people it was encouraging us to clap for just over two years ago is highly predictable – but it also barely holds up to scrutiny.

    Featured image via the Express – screengrab and Roo Pitt – Flickr, resized under licence CC BY 2.0

    By Steve Topple

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Sky News exposed what the public really thinks about RMT strikes

    The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) has just announced more rail strikes. Naturally, some of the mainstream media are pushing back against the strikes. However, a Sky News reporter managed to sum up the feelings of much of the public – as he dropped a nationalisation bomb live on TV.

    RMT: more strikes coming

    As the Guardian reported, the RMT has said its members will be striking:

    from 6pm on Christmas Eve until 7am on 27 December, curtailing some of the last passenger trains before Christmas and potentially disrupting a wide programme of engineering works on the railway. Most trains do not run on 25 or 26 December.

    This is on top of strikes which are happening on 13-14 and 16-17 December. The RMT announced the extra strikes after it rejected a pay offer by Network Rail that was well below the rate of inflation. So, cue the media to try and pit the public against workers – or rather, to divide and conquer us. For example, the Telegraph ran with the headline:

    Rail unions refuse to save Christmas from ‘catastrophe’ after rejecting 8pc pay rise

    The Evening Standard called the RMT “militant”, saying:

    Minister slams union after RMT boss Mick Lynch announces new Christmas walkouts

    It was a similar story on Twitter. The RMT corrected rogue Telegraph hack Allison Pearson:

    Public support for nationalisation and strikes

    However, over on Sky News, reporter Dan Whitehead told a different story. He noted that commuters:

    are not happy. Lots of them talking to me this morning, disgruntled about the strikes going on, calling for nationalisation, saying this simply can’t go on.

    It would be easy to forget amid the right-wing headlines that the public has consistently supported the nationalisation of railways. In fact, since the RMT’s industrial action, support for bringing railways back into public ownership has increased, according to YouGov:

    Polling on support for rail nationalisation

    However, it is a slightly different story when it comes to public support for striking RMT workers. In October, YouGov polling said that people were “more supportive than opposed” to rail strikes:

    But by November, this had changed –  with 47% against, and 41% supporting them. So it seems that the media narratives around striking and Christmas may have swayed some people’s opinions.

    It’s worth remembering that the current wave of strikes – from the RMT to the Communication Workers Union (CWU) and NHS workers – is not just about those workers. It’s about everyone who’s underpaid and undervalued having the will to rise up against their corporate capitalist bosses. The unions leading the way at present should be an example to all of us – whatever industry we work in, or even if we are non-workers.

    Featured image via Sky News – YouTube

    By Steve Topple

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • CWU chief says we’re in a ‘de facto general strike’. He’s not wrong.

    The head of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) Dave Ward has said that the UK is in the midst of a “de facto general strike”. A helpful industrial action advent calendar, released by Strike Map UK, shows that he’s not far wrong. However, a de facto general strike is still not a general strike – and it’s unlikely that will happen any time soon.

    CWU: pushing for “social value” for Royal Mail

    The Telegraph interviewed Ward over the CWU’s ongoing dispute with Royal Mail, and the winter of strikes happening across industries more broadly. Of note was Ward’s argument that Royal Mail needed to diversify its business – not just focus on delivering parcels. Ward said the CWU had already agreed its workers could make “24/7 deliveries”. But the CWU chief also said:

    Can a postal worker become something more than just delivering parcels? Can they become somebody who actually supports people who might be vulnerable in society? We’ve talked about calling on elderly people. Delivering prescriptions is a great idea. Where people who can’t get out and about, we actually pick up their prescription, and we deliver it.

    Ward added:

    adding social value is something that if we spent six months looking at all of the things that are absent from local communities, now, there used to be, that we could come up with a range of services.

    It is unlikely Royal Mail’s management will have any interest in this. Ward told the Telegraph he thinks the chaos at the company is being “driven by [a] potential takeover“. So workers and the CWU will continue to strike. Now, a campaign group has produced an advent calendar-style chart to show us when these and other unions’ strikes are happening.

    The “Strikevent” calendar

    Strike Map UK constantly logs all ongoing and upcoming strikes across the country. For December, when there seems to be industrial action everywhere, it’s produced a “Strikevent Calendar“:

    A calendar of all the strikes happening in December

    It looks like Monday 12 December is going to be another ‘super strike’ day – as eight unions are walking out nationally. Meanwhile, on Friday 9 December the CWU is holding a national strike rally in London:

    Aside from the major disputes, local strikes are also happening – like funeral workers in Scotland taking action against Co-op Funeralcare:

    It’s not just public and private sector workers striking, either. Staff at homelessness charity Shelter have just started a two-week walkout over pay and conditions:

    General strike? Not likely.

    So, as Ward summed up to the Telegraph:

    It’s almost like a de facto general strike taking place by the amount of disputes.

    However, of course this is not a general strike – and there is confusion over whether one would even be lawful anymore. The Telegraph claimed that only the Trades Union Congress (TUC) can call a general strike across multiple unions. It hasn’t done this since 1926. But the Guardian says that general strikes are now illegal.

    Given the Tories’ legal restrictions on strikes, and the TUC’s limp approach to industrial action and workers’ rights – a general strike is unlikely to happen. So it looks like it’s down to unions to coordinate strikes as much as possible.

    Featured image via Sky News – YouTube

    By Steve Topple

    This post was originally published on Canary.