J10 - coordinated strike day

Well done to all the members of UNITE, UNISON, GMB, NUT, PCS and FBU who struck nationally today, and to those who took part in local strikes, notably on the London underground.

I took a day's leave today to show my support.  The government and right-wing media like to sow divisions between private and public sector workers.  Public sector workers deliver services we all rely on, which will only deteriorate if pay, pensions and conditions are driven down.  It can't be right that people who look after children, sick people or old people get paid less than parasites in the city.  Worsening terms for public sector workers is part of making them more attractive for privatisation.  It's obvious that if the government gets away with cutting pay and conditions for public sector workers, employers in the private sector will be encouraged to turn the screw yet further.

I visited local authority pickets at two sites in Manchester, in Hurpurhey (where I saw a young worker join UNISON and the picketline rather than go in) and West Gorton, at a building I used to work in before the council took it over:

 

I then went to a PCS picket outside the courts, where a march set off to the main TUC rally.  Sadly, the TUC hadn't organised a march in Manchester, but lots of strikers joined in anyway:

The march joined the main rally in Piccadilly Gardens:

The big question everyone was talking about was - what next?  The FBU are escalating their action against plans to make them work to 60 or have their pension cut - they have called fifteen strikes over eight consecutive daysfrom 14-21 July.  The NUT and local authority unions are talking about more strikes in the autumn.  The TUC has called a national demonstration on 18 October.

Everyone I spoke to was clear on one thing.  They don't want to see any repeat of the loss of momentum after November 30th 2011 (N30), when some unions signed up to a rotten deal while others failed to call action and allowed the campaign to fizzle out.  People know that one day won't be enough to seriously shift this rotten government.  They want to see a serious "plan to win" - nobody wants to lose pay for a token gesture.

Labour did better this time.  Instead of attacking strikers, they sat on the fence.  But everyone knows that as the General Election approaches, union leaders tend to get more and more timid.

If the million+ who struck today want to win, they are going to need to try to do three things - build in, build out, build up.

Build in
Strikes are always uneven, and this was no exception.  The strikes mobilised huge numbers of workers.  They now need to be organised to strengthen organisation inside and between workplaces, to make sure that every worker is spoken to and future action is stronger.

Build out
Everyone got great strength and encouragement from taking action together today.  Activists in unions that didn't participate (e.g. NASUWT, UCU) need to campaign to come on board.  Activists in unions that were partly involved need to campaign to drawn in more sectors.  For example, many people (including health workers) were asking why health workers in UNITE and UNISON weren't out today, as they were on N30.  Why were PCS members out but UNITE members in MOD & Government Departments were not?  Can private sector workers coordinate their own campaigns with those in the public sector?  UNITE is particularly well placed to do this.

Build up
The government can withstand the a one-day strike every few months.  Some union leaders may be happy to keep action at this level, keeping issues simmering away in the hope that Labour will gain at the next election.  But this won't be enough to defend out public services or the pay and conditions of those who work in them.  That will take escalation.  Some union leaders are nervous about escalation, fearing that members won't support more action.  But members are far more likely to support action they believe can win, if they explain how they plan to win.  This won't happen if members just sit back and hope.  People need to get involved in the union in their workplaces and branches and campaign for it to happen, leaving union leaders in no doubt that the appetite is there and that action will be supported if called.

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Today's strikes by PCS (and UNITE!) and how stop cuts and austerity

Today (budget day) the PCS union called 250,000 members in the civil service out on strike in a dispute over pay, pensions and working conditions.  This was a very important step, restarting national industrial action after the massive set-back suffered when a number of unions signed up to shoddy deals on public sector pensions in December 2011 and the rest dithered rather than carrying forward the tremendous action on November 30th 2011 - allowing the government to impose cuts.

Other unions are now talking about rejoining the fray, notably with the NUT and NASUWT teaching unions which have announced joint rolling strikes starting in the north-west on 27th June.

There's an argument raging in the TUC about how to fight cuts and austerity effectively.  Some say we should wait for a Labour government.  Quite aside from the problem that members are losing their jobs and services now, this argument is continually undermined by Labour leaders who fail to promise anything noticeably different even if/when they get in office.  UNITE says it doesn't share this view, and recognises the need for working people to take action now to defend our livelihoods.

Within UNITE there have been some excellent debates since the TUC passed a motion about consulting unions about the practicalities of a general strike.  UNITE's response to the TUC on this has been amongst the better ones.  This was discussed in some detail at last week's UNITE Executive Council and Len McCluskey spoke at length about it when he spoke at an electioneering meeting in Manchester on Monday night.

In the debates within UNITE, most people recognise that large scale coordinated strike action will be needed if members are going to successfully resist cuts and austerity.  But there are big debates about how we can achieve this.  Some argue that we need to focus on "raising the consciousness" of members first.  Others, including myself, have argued that taking action goes hand in hand with building organisation, confidence and consciousness, rather than the action coming afterwards.

The debate is reflected in the current contest for UNITE General Secretary.  Len McCluskey makes excellent general speeches about the need for action, but the current leadership has done little to deliver it in the here and now.  At last week's Executive Council meeting I was the only person to raise the issue of solidarity with the PCS strike.  At Len's campaign meeting on Monday the strike wasn't mentioned at all.  Jerry Hicks' campaign has focussed strongly on the need to close the gap between fine words about action at some unspecified point in the future and deeds in the here and now.

In the context of these important debates, it was great to see over 100 UNITE members at the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) on strike today, deliberately choosing to coordinate their strike with the national PCS action.  On their picket line in Manchester this morning the UNITE members were very clear about the fact that coordinated action had to start somewhere and their desire to see it spread.

When PCS, NUT and NASUWT are planning large scale action, every member of UNITE and other unions has a responsibility to seek every opportunity to coordinate action to maximum effect.

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Another watershed in the decline of manufacturing

The news of the end of manufacturing at Toshiba's Plymouth plant, with the loss of 270 jobs, means the end of mass TV manufacturing in the UK.

The government's failure to intervene to protect jobs and working people is an absolute scandal, especially set against their blank cheques for war and to bail out the banks.

After the economic disaster unleashed by the "free market" lunacy that has dominated the world in recent decades, you might have thought that all parties would be distancing themselves from such policies as quickly as they could. But you would be wrong. Instead, the prescription is basically more of the same.

I hope there's a good UNITE presence on the "Jobs, Education, Peace & Justice" demonstration on 27th September at the Labour Party conference, which has been called by PCS, UCU, NUT, NUJ and a variety of campaigning organisations.

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Pay fights hotting up

With inflation high thanks to food & fuel prices, the fight to protect our living standards is vital for working people.

This week will see several important struggles which all trade unionists should get behind. A few more victories like Shell would do us the world of good!

Local Authorities
UNITE members in local authorities will be striking over pay on Wednesday 16th and Thursday 17th July, alongside colleagues from UNISON.

Manchester Airport
UNITE members working for Initial Cleaners at Manchester airport will be striking over pay for three days from 6am Thursday 17th July to 6am Sunday 20th July.

This is a very low paid group of workers, so financial support will be particularly important. Cheques payable to "UNITE 6/577a Branch" can be sent to Marie Jockins, 12 Horrocks Close, Huyton, L31 7UJ.

Argos Distribution
UNITE members working at Argos distribution centres are striking over pay. There will be 24 hour strikes on 17th and 24th July, followed by staggered 4-day strikes in early August.

NHS Pay
It's not a strike - yet - but UNITE is organising protests about NHS pay on Friday 18th July.

Manchester Pay Rally
Plans are taking shape for a pay rally in central Manchester at 12 noon on Thursday 17th July, hopefully bringing together several of the strikes.

Bolton Schools Strike
NUT and UNISON members at Withins school in Bolton will be striking on Tuesday 15th July against it being turned into an "Academy". I believe the Hayward school will also be out. Nice timing if the local authority strike closes it for the following two days as well!

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24th April - Resisting Pay Cuts

24th April is becoming a more and more important date in any trade unionists calendar. At the centre of it are the NUT, UCU and PCS taking national strike action, mainly against the pay freeze. But others are joining in too, including UNITE members at Birmingham City Council.

Since my recent post about the events in Manchester leading up to 24th April, Manchester Trades Council, UCU and PCS have jointly organised a march and rally for the 24th:

Assemble 12:00 in Albert Square. March leaves 12:30 on circular route back to Albert Square for a rally.

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A busy few weeks in Manchester

There’s lots going on in Manchester in the next few weeks, with the big strikes on 24^th April at the centre of it.

Tue 8 April: Public Service Not Private Profit public meeting

Debate the future of public services with speakers: Janice Godrich (PCS National President), Dai Hudd (Prospect General Secretary) and Avis Gilmore (NUT Regional Secretary).

6:30-8:30pm, Tuesday 8^th April, Mechanics Institute, Princess Street, Manchester M1 6DD

Mon 14 April: “Reinstate Karen Reissmann” Public Meeting & Free “Thank You” Social

Timed to coincide with UNISON Health Conference in Manchester, the meeting will be addressed by Karen Reissmann, Graham Pink (whistleblower from 17 years ago) and Alan Hartman (Manchester User Network).

7:15pm, Monday 14^th April at the Radisson Hotel, Peter Street, Manchester (the old Free Trade Hall building).

More info, including leaflets from www.reinstate-karen.org.

Tue 15 April: Fair Pay For Teachers

Pay rally with Bill Greenshields (NUTE Vice-President), Linda Newman (UCU President), Bernadette Gallacher (UNISON NEC), Dave Owens (PCS DWP Group Exec).

7:30pm, Tuesday 15^th April, Mechanics Institute, Princess Street, Manchester M1 6DD.

Sat 19 April: National Shop Stewards Network north-west conference

OFFU Manchester is supporting this conference, which will be an opportunity to bring together activists from across the movement to debate and build solidarity.

11am-3pm on Saturday 19^th April at the Mechanics Institute, Princess Street, Manchester M1 6DD.

More info, including leaflets, from www.shopstewards.net.

Thu 24 April: National strikes by NUT, UCU, PCS +

Thursday 24^th April will be a major focus for anger against pay restraint, cuts and privatisation. As well as the national strikes, a number of other groups intend to take action on the same day.

Please do what you can in your own workplace (even if you aren’t on strike), and take people down to show support on the picket lines.

Most big towns and cities are having rallies etc on the day - I hope Manchester will be among them.

Mon 5 May: May Day in Manchester

Assemble 11:30am, bank holiday Monday 5^th May at All Saints, Oxford Road, Manchester. International Workers’ Day march to a rally in St Peter’s Square. The themes are “Healthcare for all”, “Peace”, “Justice for Refugees” and “Trade Union Rights”.

This will be followed by a meeting 2pm-6pm in the Friends Meeting House, Mount Street, Manchester (behind Central Library). Provisional programme:

1. 'Workers of the World Unite' with Paul Mason, BBC Newsnight journalist and author of 'Live Working or Die Fighting, how the working class went global'

2. The Flying pickets. Manchester launch of 'The Flying Pickets the 1972 builders' strike and the Shrewsbury trials' with authors Dave Ayre, Reuben Barker, Jim French, Jimmy Graham & Dave Harker

3. Will Kaufman 'Woody Guthrie: Hard Times and Hard Travellin' (see www.uclan.ac.uk/facs/class/humanities/staff/kaufman1.htm)

Shelter Strike

UNITE members at housing charity Shelter have already taken two days strike action against the imposition of worse pay and conditions. The strikes were sufficient to force the employer to talks at ACAS, which resulted in a new offer. The Shelter shop stewards are recommending rejection of the offer, which members are currently being balloted on. They are asking supporters to:

1. Donate to the strike fund. Cheques payable to “Shelter Strike Fund” can be sent to Shelter Shop Stewards, c/o 48 Swindon Close, Gorton, Manchester, M18 8JQ
2. Invite a speaker to your meeting by contacting shelterstewards@googlemail.com
3. Send messages of protest to Adam Sampson, Shelter, 88 Old Street, London, EC1V 9HU or adam_sampson@shelter.org.uk asking for it to forwarded to the Board of Directors
4. Send copies to letters of protest and messages of support to shelterstewards@googlemail.com
5. Contact your MP about the issue and ask them to support Early Day Motion 1016 (http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetails.aspx?EDMID=35214)

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