Red and Black Telly: AN ALTERNATIVE ” QUESTION TIME ” ?
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Monthly Archives: May 2018
#SaveSouthendNHS statement on STP consultation
Deliverave, Sundance strike, and cleaners breaking the bank: workplace news round-up for late May
A quick update on a few ongoing workplace disputes:
On Friday 1st June, the IWGB will be hosting a “DeliveRAVE” party to raise funds to cover the legal costs of an ongoing tribunal appeal for Deliveroo workers. IWGB members at the University of London are still set to strike on the 6th demanding an end to outsourcing and equal terms and conditions with other UoL employees. The University has begun to promise concessions, but workers are sensibly refusing to call off their action until they’ve seen actual improvements.
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The joys of precarious working (spoiler alert – there aren’t any!)
A preliminary summary of an IWW organising effort, winter 2017/18
For PDF click here: IWW_west_London_review
Shift-changes, London’s western logistics corridor and the Wobblies – A preliminary summary of an IWW organising effort, winter 2017/18
Dedication
This text is dedicated to our friend, comrade and fellow worker Peter Ridpath, who died on April 8th, 2018. Peter was a kind and dedicated member of the IWW London Branch and came out to support us in west London many times. Born in East London in 1948, Peter was a genuine working-class militant. He went from school into a series of factory and labouring jobs with spells of unemployment where he read voraciously, mainly on literature, history and politics. He became a bookseller and organised his co-workers. In his retirement Peter supported many strikes and pickets, especially the actions of the Sparks, a rank-and-file network of building workers.
Peter joined the IWW in 2009 and quickly became an indispensable part of the branch…
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How Universal Credit can muck up your holiday
On first glance, Universal Credit rules look deceptively promising: you are able to be out of the country for as long as a month. BUT, there is no holiday from all the things you have committed to do. And, while you might be able to argue that you can search and apply for jobs on the computer wherever you are, you are expected to be able to attend a job interview immediately. This could be a problem even if you are only somewhere else in the UK.
This holiday rule includes people who are in low-paid work that pays less than the equivalent of 35 hours a week on the minimum wage, and who have to look for more or better paid work in order to qualify for help from Universal Credit. People have been caught out after assuming that they are still entitled to their statutory holidays. One way…
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Mid-May round-up for workplace organising and upcoming events
A quick round-up of workplace organising, upcoming events and other news:
Picturehouse workers have voted to take further strike action in their long-running living wage dispute, although no specific dates have been announced yet. Similarly, the United Voices of the World union are reporting that cleaners at Kensington & Chelsea town halls are set to strike for the London Living Wage, but haven’t confirmed any dates yet, and FCC Environment workers in Hull are talking of striking for a month but it’s not clear when exactly they’ll start. The IWGB are currently asking for money to help fund a legal battle against Deliveroo over contract terms. Meanwhile, cleaners organising through the grassroots union CAIWU have won a healthy pay rise at Rolls Royce, and Thomas Cook cleaners are also getting organised and gearing up to try and win the London Living Wage.
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Just another collection of problems
Rona’s poor health meant that she missed too many college courses and lost her bursary. So she left college and signed on. But the DWP won’t give her any benefits because she hasn’t produced a letter from the college to say she is no longer a student. The jobcentre did ask her for a letter, but that was two days before she had an operation, and she had other things on her mind. So she was left to rely on her son for support. She will arrange for the letter, but she doesn’t feel strong enough to fight for any back payments. We suggested she ask the council for a Scottish Welfare Fund grant to help until her benefit is sorted.
John and Amy had had to get professional help to sort out another muddle due to the DWP using out of date information. They have been living separately for…
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Happy ending at the opera: cleaners and porters beat the Royal Opera House and Kier
At the start of this year, cleaners and porters organising through the grassroots union CAIWU managed to win a substantial pay increase, taking them up to the London Living Wage of £10.20 an hour. Shortly afterwards, five workers involved in union organising were sacked, with another being given a final written warning, sparking a lengthy dispute that continued throughout March and April. Cleaning contractors Kier have now totally caved into pressure from the workers and their supporters, and fully reinstated all five of the sacked workers, admitting that their actions were “unfair” and “disproportionately harsh.”
Below is a short comic by Spanish artist Yeyei Gomez, telling the story up to April:
Industrial Workers of the World Dorset 