Teachers strikes in Catalonia, Spain over attack on conditions; French teachers in Marseille walk out over pay, childcare workers in Belgium over staff shortages; miners at Sibanye-Stillwater, South Africa on pay strike for four weeks defy lock out with demonstrations; weeks-long pay strikes by UK refuse workers in Coventry out for two months against Labour council; Chep pallet workers in Manchester begin strike week 18
Heathrow Workers Newsletter No.5
What’s been going on?!
If you’ve been a worker at Heathrow over the last year, chances are, you’ve either been through a redundancy process, seen your pay and conditions attacked, lost all your overtime, been on furlough, or all of the above. It has been a unique experience. Previous aviation crises, like the fallout from the 9/11 attacks in 2001 and the financial crisis of 2008, while severe, are dwarfed by the sheer scale of the current disruption. It has been draining, both emotionally and financially. As is the case with situations like this, we have seen the best and the worst of people. We tend to show our true colours when faced with this level of adversity. We’ve witnessed workmates throw others under the bus to save their own jobs, bullying, harassment and snivelling to management of the highest order. But, many people have shown a lot of courage and decency. Workers have been striking to protect their colleagues pay and condition
STRIKING bus workers in Manchester will raise a new trade union banner tomorrow as they lead the city’s May Day march.
Four hundred bus workers employed by Go North West, part of public transport giant Go Ahead, have been on strike for eight weeks, resisting pay cuts and worsened conditions planned by the employer using the scandalous fire-and-rehire tactic.
Their union Unite is waging a nationwide campaign in support of the strikers and against fire and rehire, which the TUC says is being used by employers to attack the pay and conditions of 2.3 million workers.
The bus strikers’ new banner, which will lead Manchester Trades Council’s May Day march from the city centre to the picket lines outside the strikers’ Queens Road bus depot, is based on a photo of the pickets taken by Morning Star photographer Neil Terry.
UK: Workers must adopt new strategy to defeat union’s isolation of Go North West bus strike
The indefinite strike by almost 500 bus workers at Go North West in Manchester has entered its sixth week.
The company is seeking to impose an inferior fire and hire contact that will see huge cuts in pay and wipe out long-established terms and conditions. Workers face cuts in pay of up to £2,500 a year, with Unite the union stating that the firm plans to also impose a 67 percent cut in sick pay for workers with over five years’ service.
As it stands, the company will sack hundreds of striking Go North West strikers in just over a month’s time, having set a deadline of May 8 for workers to sign new contracts or be fired.