Europe

[Sabocat]

Post any worker actions in Europe here.

[Sabocat]

One-day national strike in France: over a million march against Gaullist policies
By Antoine Lerougetel
6 October 2005


Over a million workers struck and demonstrated on Tuesday in 150 towns all over France against the neo-liberal policies of the Gaullist government of President Jacques Chirac and Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin. The actions were called by all seven of the main trade union confederations and all the parties of the left, including the Socialist Party.

Workers took part to express opposition to declining wages and pensions, the dismantling of safeguards for workers in the Labour Code, new labour contracts making it easier for employers to sack workers, and steep cuts in unemployment entitlements. Other issues raised were the housing crisis, government harassment of immigrants, and police attacks on social protests—especially those of secondary school students who have been demonstrating in defence of public education.

In the Paris region, rail and Metro strike action significantly reduced public transport service, and public transport was disrupted in many other cities and towns across the country. Air traffic was affected, and the Lyons airport was entirely shut down. Many classes were cancelled throughout the school system, and some schools were closed.

On the same day as the mass demonstrations throughout France, the build-up of tensions within the political élite found expression in an open split within the leadership of the ruling Gaullist party, the Union for a People’s Movement (UMP). Prime Minister Villepin and Nicolas Sarkozy, the right-wing interior minister and UMP chairman, clashed over how to deal with the growing popular resistance.

At the regular Tuesday meeting of UMP deputies to the National Assembly, Villepin turned on Sarkozy for his provocatively hard-line “free-market” rhetoric, declaring, “We must beware of our own utopias. In the history of France, ruptures (a favourite expression of Sarkozy) and revolutions always end up in a bloodbath.”

Villepin’s rebuke reflected growing fears within the French corporate and political elite over the rise of popular resistance to the regime’s right-wing social policies, concerns that have been intensified by the rejection of the European constitution in last May’s national referendum in France and the electoral debacle suffered by conservative candidate Angela Merkel in this month’s German elections.

Teams of WSWS supporters distributed thousands of copies of the WSWS Editorial Board statement “Answer the government/corporate offensive with socialist internationalism.” The serious and reflective mood of the marchers was evident in widespread interest in the statement. Many demonstrators, having begun to read the leaflet, came back and took more for their friends.

Press commentators pointed out that the mobilisation, which equalled in size the anti-government actions of March 10 of this year, was the largest mass action so soon after the summer break in more than 30 years. Social movements in France tend to reach their height in the spring, and such a large mobilisation in the early fall foreshadows a very large confrontation between the working class and the government in the coming weeks and months.

Police estimates of the turnout were sharply at odds with those made by the unions, but it is safe to say that at least 100,000 participated in Paris and 50,000 in Marseilles, where SNCM ferry workers on strike against denationalisation, supported by port workers, headed the procession. There were marches of between 10,000 and 20,000 in scores of medium-sized and small towns.

Up to half of France’s 900,000 education workers struck, and large contingents of teachers and non-teaching staff were prominent, as well as students, who had taken the lead in opposing last year’s Fillon education reform. Amid calls for the repeal of the laws, which lengthen teachers’ working hours, introduce partial annualisation, and undermine educational equality, the demands focused on cuts in the education budget and the reduction in teaching posts, the sacking of thousands of teachers without tenure and the elimination of primary school classes. There is also widespread opposition to the support voiced by the new education minister, Gilled de Robien, for the overwhelmingly Catholic private education sector, which accounts for nearly 20 percent of France’s pre-university education provision.

Other public sector workers were well represented on the demonstrations, with over 25 percent of civil servants on strike, alongside some 20 percent of postal workers and 30 percent of electricity workers, who marched, in particular, against the growing wave of privatisations. Many hospital workers participated to protest against cuts in health care.

A major feature of the day of action was the participation of private sector workers, whose unionisation rate is only 7 percent, and who are more vulnerable to victimisation than workers in the public sector. These workers, largely written off by union bureaucrats and middle-class radical groups like the Ligue Communiste Révolutionnaire (LCR—Revolutionary Communist League) and Lutte Ouvrière (LO—Workers Struggle) as being too cowed to strike, could be seen in large numbers on the streets.

Hewlett-Packard workers, under threat of mass redundancies, headed the Paris demonstration, and were also to be seen alongside ST Microelectrics workers on the streets of Grenoble. British Airways flight attendants and Air France and Orly Airport workers had contingents in Paris, along with workers from Eurocopter and Saint-Gobin.

Retail workers from Géant Casino, Auchan, Trois Suisses and la Redoute, as well as staff from Legrand, Renault trucks, Airbus, Alcatel and Ford marched and demonstrated. In Lille, in northern France, Heineken brewery workers protested against “infernal work rates,” and glass workers from Boissois Glaverbel marched against job cuts.

A significant feature in Paris was the massive presence of administrative and management workers organised by the CFE-CGC (French Confederation of Management). Three thousand took part and denounced the “bargain basement sale of the Labour Code.” Richard, a Eurodisney administrator, told the press, “The mobilisation of management is enormous today. We are there to make the businesses function, but not against the people who work with us.”

Large delegations marched behind trade union banners sporting the badges and insignia of their organisations: the Communist Party-influenced CGT (General Confederation of Labour), the Socialist Party-aligned confederations, FO (Workers Power) and the CFDT (French Democratic Confederation of Labour), as well as the education and teachers’ unions—the FSU (Federation of Unified Unions) and the Socialist-orientated UNSA (National Federation of Autonomous Unions). However, it was noticeable in Paris that many workers came with colleagues, friends and family without trade union badges or banners, taking the opportunity to show their desire to resist the neo-liberal offensive.

In a move to revive the credibility of the parties of the Plural Left coalition (Socialist Party, Communist Party, Greens) of the preceding government of Lionel Jospin, the LCR, which has long presented itself as a genuine socialist alternative to the Stalinists and social democrats, signed a joint call on October 1 for the October 4 actions. The phrase-mongering of the document, opposing “the free-market and repressive offensive organised by the Chirac-Villepin-Sarkozy government,” was aimed at providing a fig leaf for the parties which, in government, were responsible for the biggest round of privatisations since World War II. They carried out a sustained offensive on social rights, in line with European Union policy, which the Socialist Party, in particular, had taken a leading role in drawing up in the commissions of the EU.

Small delegations of the Plural Left parties were in evidence on the processions. Libération of October 5 observed: “After having signed a joint appeal ... the SP, the CP, the Greens and the LCR shared the pavement alongside the Paris march. After the snowballs in Guéret in March hitting the spectacles of Hollande (François Hollande, first secretary of the Socialist Party), and the egg to the head of Fabius (Laurent Fabius, former SP prime minister and campaigner for a “no” vote in the European Constitution referendum) at La Coureuve, the welcome reserved for the Socialists on the demonstration could not be taken for granted. The SP boss had, besides, opted to avoid any risks by participating in Tulle. His ex-second-in-command [Fabius] chose Rouen.”

In statements to the press during the day, the main trade union leaders made it clear that they would adopt their time-honoured practice of holding back the mass movement by means of stop-and-go tactics, building up illusions that the government would negotiate a retreat before any real battle was joined. Bernard Thibault of the CGT declared, “The government and the Medef [France’s principal employers’ association] have a few days to give tangible signs that they have got the message. The CGT is already ready to envisage a follow-up if an appropriate response is not forthcoming... ”

Jean-Claude Mailly of FO said: “Either the government and the employers respond to the issues, or they won’t and we will see what ensues.” Gérard Aschiéri read from the same script: “Will the government take notice? That is, negotiate on salaries, employment, the public services? If it doesn’t, we are ready discuss follow-up action.”

The only fear that the government and the employers will have from such statements is that they will not suffice to hold back the movement.

A drama teacher interviewed in Amiens expressed her concern about the government’s attacks on education and education workers and recognised that they were only the continuation of the policies of the previous Plural Left government of Lionel Jospin. Asked whether she thought that such a recycled alternative to the present government would turn back the tide, she exclaimed, “We have to believe that it would.”

Link (http://www.wsws.org/articles/2005/oct2005/fran-o06.shtml)

[Sabocat]

Metalworkers in Italy hold nationwide strike

Metalworkers in Italy held a nationwide strike on September 30 to demand an increase in pay. The workers are calling for a salary increase of €130 (US$156) per month. The strike is the latest action in an ongoing dispute between metalworkers and the employers’ association Federmeccanica dating from January. Metalworkers previously struck for 12 hours in pursuit of their demands.

Thousands of workers participated in demonstrations and protests in many towns and cities including Milan, Naples, Reggio Emilia, L’Aquila, Torino, Vicenza and Taranto.

The employers’ association has offered a pay increase of €60 (US$72) per month, with a conditional clause allowing them to decide on working time flexibility without further negotiation.

Hospital staff in Belgium strike

Staff at hospitals in Brussels began a campaign of industrial action on October 3 in protest at management’s refusal to consider some of their demands regarding working conditions.

Hospitals affected by the strikes included the Saint-Pierre, Bordet, Reine Fabiola, Brugmann, Paul Rien, Magritte and the Iris-Su. At the Iris-Su all categories of health staff were involved in the industrial action with the exception of doctors.

Semiconductor factory workers in Germany strike

Staff employed by the German semiconductors manufacturing company Infineon held a “warning strike” on September 30 to protest plans to close a factory in Munich-Perlach. The workers are members of the IG Metall trade union. The union reported that some 160 employees took part in the industrial action.

The company announced in February that it would close the plant by 2007, as part of a restructuring strategy. Its closure will result in most of the 800 workers being made redundant, the dismantling of the factory and the transfer of part of the production facilities to another site in Regensburg. Infineon stated last week the costs associated with this were less than those required to modernise the factory.

According to Infineon, last month rival chip maker X-Fab decided not to purchase the ageing Munich-Perlach plant on the basis that its economic and structural deficits were “insurmountable.”

Tanker drivers in Scotland take industrial action in pay dispute

On September 30, more than 20 tanker drivers in the north of Scotland began a four-day strike over pay. The strikers are members of the Transport and General Workers Union. During the industrial action the drivers established a picket line in Aberdeen and protested at depots in Mintlaw, Elgin and Inverness.

The workers are employed by Gleaner Fuels, a company delivering exclusively for Shell UK. The drivers also deliver supplies to petrol stations as well as domestic and commercial users throughout Grampian, the Highlands, Argyll and Bute and remote areas such as the Western Isles.

Link (http://www.wsws.org/articles/2005/oct2005/wkrs-o07.shtml)

[Sabocat]

Belgium workers hold general strike

Workers in Belgium held a general strike on October 7, the first in the country since 1993. The strike was called by the FGTB/ABVV union to protest government plans to raise the retirement age from 58 years to 60 years.

The FGTB/ABVV is Belgium’s second largest trade union and it has calculated that the plans will result in 25 percent of men and 22 percent of women losing the right to take early retirement at age 58 after 35 years of employment history from 2008, when the changes will take effect. In 2012, when the employment history prerequisite will be lifted to 38 years, ABVV said the change will affect 49 percent of men and 53 percent of women.

The strike brought much of the country to a standstill, with transport, schools and government services hit. It resulted in the cancellation of trains, including the Eurostar service from London and the Thalys connection from Paris to Brussels. Workers in many factories and employees at the country’s ports struck, including Antwerp, one of Europe’s largest. Staff at the Ford car plant in Genk, east Belgium also participated. At Brussels international airport there were flight delays due to baggage handlers supporting the strike.

National pay protest in Russia

On October 13 an estimated one million teachers, doctors and other state employees participated in nationwide protests in Russia. The workers are demanding higher salaries. Various trade unions were involved.

Some 2,500 protesters demonstrated behind metal barricades near the White House in Moscow, whilst hundreds of armed police officers with dogs looked on.

One of the workers who attended the Moscow demonstration told the media that she earned just 1,600 roubles ($56) per month: “I would like someone from the government to stay in our hospital for just one day to see how people are treated. But they usually stay in private clinics and don’t see what we see every day.”

Many teachers attended the protests, behind banners proclaiming, “Destroy education and you’ll lose the future” and “No change to the legal status of educational institutes.”

More than 9,000 teachers from 288 schools protested in the Volgograd region. Thousands of teachers demonstrated in the central square at the Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk’s and demanded the resignation of Education and Science Minister Andrei Fursenko.

Delegations of students also participated in the demonstrations and called for their stipend to be increased to the level of the minimum wage, which stands at just 800 roubles per month.

Demonstrations and protests of several thousand workers and students were held in other towns and cities, including Vladivostok and Khabarovsk. Those attending held banners calling for a “decent life,” “a decent wage” and more respect for their work.

The government announced that wages of public sector workers are to be increased by 8 percent on March 1, by an additional 4.5 percent on May 1 and by a further 6.5 percent on September 1. These increases will make hardly any difference because of the low levels of basic income. In Russia, the average monthly wage for a young teacher is just over $50. A senior teacher receives about $110. Young doctors get about $70, while senior doctors receive $175.

French Eurotunnel maintenance workers strike

French maintenance workers on the Channel Tunnel took strike action on October 11 resulting in the cancellation of one in four trains. According to Eurotunnel, 100 workers walked off the job in the morning in a dispute over management plans to restructure the firm. The workers returned to work in the afternoon and normal services were resumed.

The strike follows a June agreement between Eurotunnel and trade unions to implement a cost-cutting programme. Under the agreement Eurotunnel is to shed 750 jobs from its 3,200-strong workforce through attrition and voluntary departures.

Eurotunnel is $11.3 billion in debt and opened talks with the trade unions following the strike in an attempt to resolve the dispute.

Train drivers in Stockholm, Sweden strike

Train drivers employed on Stockholm’s underground system took unofficial strike action on October 6. The strike paralysed the underground system as all lines were affected by cancellations. Around 6:30 a.m. only 18 out of 55 trains were in operation. During the stoppage many trains were prevented from leaving the depots in Högdalen in the south of the city and Vällingby in the northwest.

The drivers struck in support of Per Johansson, the chairman of the Connex chapter of the Swedish Union of Service and Communication Employees, who was fired by the Connex transport company last week. The workers state that the union representative was dismissed for criticising Connex’s safety work.

Link (http://www.wsws.org/articles/2005/oct2005/wkrs-o14.shtml)

[DaCuBaN]

Parliament cleaners strike

About 140 cleaners at the Houses of Parliament are set to strike on Wednesday of next week.

The cleaners, members of the T&G union, are campaigning for a living wage as well as sick pay, holidays and a pension.

This will be the second day of action by the cleaners, who earn just £5.20 per hour. A number of MPs and Lords have now asked for the cleaners to receive a decent wage.

But civil servant Peter Grant Peterkin, who is in charge of the contract and gets more than £100,000 a year, is refusing to meet with the union to discuss the dispute.

Jack Dromey, T&G deputy general secretary, said, “It seems inconceivable that unelected, privileged civil servants are blocking attempts by parliamentarians to get their cleaners a living wage.”

© Copyright Socialist Worker (unless otherwise stated). You may republish if you include an active link to the original and leave this notice in place.

Link (http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/article.php?article_id=7695)

Note: £5.25 equates to roughly about 8E or US$8. They live and work in London, the most expensive city outside Aberdeen in the UK (A beer for example will set you back between £3-£5 in a regular pub - you don't want to KNOW how much council tax and rent work out as)


Newcastle Hospital Worker's Strike

Over 500 hospital workers in Newcastle were on strike on Monday. The strike is to oppose “leapfrogging” where, because of the agenda for change pay structure, new staff join the workforce on higher pay than their more experienced colleagues.

Phil Donovan, a senior site rep at Newcastle General Hospital, said, “Some people have worked here for 20 years, but people who are just starting are getting better pay.

“This is an issue that will affect people across the health service. But it is the lowest paid workers in the hospital who have decided to come out on strike.

“There is massive support from the public. People driving past are using their horns to show their support.

The strikers are members of the Unison union at the Newcastle Royal Victoria Infirmary, Freeman and General hospitals.

They include low paid porters, cleaners, catering staff and laundry workers.

Some 49 percent of the workers took part in a strike ballot, with 77 percent voting in favour. Workers organised picket lines and early on Monday morning there were 30 to 40 strikers outside each of the three sites. Further action could follow the one-day strike.

Yunus Bakhsh, a member of the Unison health service group executive, said, “This fantastic strike follows real attempts to intimidate workers.

“Those attempts have rebounded massively.

“This is a crucial dispute. It is about the agenda for change pay deal, and on whose terms the deal’s implementation will take place.”

Agenda for change involved sweeping changes in pay for workers across the NHS. Health unions have expressed grave concerns about present workers being held on inadequate pay.

Unions have urged health managers to agree earlier increment dates for experienced workers to make sure these pay differences do not arise.

© Copyright Socialist Worker (unless otherwise stated). You may republish if you include an active link to the original and leave this notice in place.

Link (http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/article.php?article_id=7701)

[Janus]

Wales council strike

BBC News

Parents have been told to expect almost every secondary school in Wales to be closed on Tuesday by a strike over local government pensions.
There are warnings of "widespread disruption" of council services, with, libraries and leisure centres across Wales also likely to be shut.

Some trade unions will take action in a dispute over changes which would see workers retire at 65 instead of 60.

Across the UK it could be the biggest walkout since the 1926 general strike.
The T&G, Amicus, GMB and Unison unions are poised to join the industrial action over the long-running row about the age at which their members can retire on a full pension.

They say the proposals would mean workers choosing to retire at 60 would get a lower pension and in reality would be forced to work an extra five years.

Schools across Wales have been sending letters to parents warning that many of them will close on Tuesday.

Head teachers say health and safety legislation will prevent them from opening the schools to pupils when so many key workers are on strike.

Nick Oaten, the head of Ogmore Comprehensive School, Bridgend, said: "All my canteen ladies are on strike, so I cannot provide breakfast or lunch for pupils.
"My main office staff are on strike and so communications will be severely reduced. My premises manager is also on strike and so there will be no-one to deal with any emergency hazards such as broken glass and spillages."

Brian Rowlands, president of the Association of School and College Leaders, said he expected the disruption to be widespread with almost complete closure of secondary schools.

Some, such as Cowbridge Comprehensive in the Vale of Glamorgan, will open to a limited number of children in years 11, 12 and 13.

Other schools are advising pupils to take sandwiches because catering staff will join the strike.

'Emergency response'

Across Britain 1.5m people are expected to take action, including leisure centre workers, school caretakers, cooks, cleaners, lunch staff and office workers.

Also due to walk out are council workers such as refuse collectors, housing officers, bus drivers, nursery nurses, youth and community staff and tourism officials.
Council services will be badly hit, with all except emergency provision cut for the duration of the strike.

The Vale of Glamorgan Council said there could be "significant disruption," but it would not know exactly what was affected until the morning of the strike.

Isle of Anglesey Council managing director Geraint Edwards advised people not to try to contact the authority except in an emergency - but many vital services would be exempt from the strike, including home and residential care, emergency response teams working in childcare, mental health and highways.

Most schools in Swansea are expected to shut. However, the county's acting chief executive Bob Carter said the dispute was not with the council but with the government.

"The council recognises that the unions' decision will affect services for many thousands of people on Tuesday, but we are expecting to be back to normal the following day," said Mr Carter.

At present members of the local government pension schemes can retire at 60 on a full pension if their age and years of service combined reaches 85.

Last December Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott announced that the government planned to remove the so-called "Rule 85," because it would be illegal when a new European Union directive on age discrimination came into force.

[pastradamus]

NORTH SEA OIL WORKERS GO ON STRIKE

More than 900 divers in the North Sea oil and gas fields have gone on strike, threatening energy supplies from one of Europe's most important sources of energy.

Unionized divers hit the bricks Wednesday after rejecting a proposed pay raise of 37 per cent over three years. They are holding out for a 50 per cent raise, saying they want to share in the oil industry's billion-dollar profits.

"This will have a huge impact on the oil and gas industry as the divers are needed to carry out essential repairs," said Bob Crow, general secretary of the British Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers union. He told the Associated Press "there's no doubt that as the failures culminate it will inevitably hit production."

But British energy companies played down the potential impact of the strike, saying that production has not yet been affected.

The U.K. Offshore Operators Association told AP that most field maintenance is done in the summer when the seas are calmer, but a prolonged strike could affect essential maintenance or emergency repairs.

There was no immediate impact on oil prices.

[pastradamus]

scotland.

FACTORY STAFF STEP UP STRIKE AFTER LEGAL WIN

Workers at a loss-making knitwear factory, which made the clothes for the European Ryder Cup golf team, are to escalate their strike action after winning a legal fight to stop their picket from being banned by management.
The dispute at the MacKinnons of Scotland factory in Coatbridge involves 130 workers, mainly women, who are furious that they cannot have a pay rise this year.
Executives have tried and failed to obtain an interim interdict banning what it says is an aggressive illegal picket outside the factory.
Management have complained of striking workers intimidating non-union workers and shoppers being put off from visiting the neighbouring shop.
While the workers have been told to behave themselves by Lord Wheatley in a Court of Session hearing, they have also retained the right to continue their picket, in a strike that has entered its sixth week. The workers at the factory owned by Edinburgh Woollen Mills (EWM) are to step up their dispute over a pay claim next week from two days' action a week to three days a week, while management have warned they are risking their futures.
Management of EWM, which made a £26m profit last year, say the factory subsidiary is losing hundreds of thousands of pounds annually and workers would not get the 2.5% pay rise that has been given to nearly 3000 other retail staff across the UK.
Workers, who earn an average of about £200 a week, say they have in real terms had a 20% wage cut as a result of 10 years of pay restrictions including six freezes and small increases.
David Houston, group finance director of EWM, said: "They are jeopardising their futures. We cannot be blackmailed by people who believe that for some reason a company can afford to pay when it cannot afford to pay."
Mr Houston said banning the picket was the "optimum option" but he was happy the union had to give undertakings of good behaviour."
The Community Union, which represents many of the workers, says it does not force anybody to stop outside the factory gates and said the picket could not distinguish between people visiting the shop and those going to the factory.
John Steele, senior organiser for the Community Union at MacKinnons of Scotland, said the 2.5% pay rise they want equates to 15p an hour for the typical worker. "The company say they cannot afford this but we don't believe it," Mr Steele said. He added: "It's very peaceful yet the management say there is violence and intimidation and it is a complete nonsense."


© Newsquest (Herald & Times) Ltd. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. Workers at a loss-making knitwear factory, which made the clothes for the European Ryder Cup golf team, are to escalate their strike action after winning a legal fight to stop their picket from being banned by management.
The dispute at the MacKinnons of Scotland factory in Coatbridge involves 130 workers, mainly women, who are furious that they cannot have a pay rise this year.
Executives have tried and failed to obtain an interim interdict banning what it says is an aggressive illegal picket outside the factory.
Management have complained of striking workers intimidating non-union workers and shoppers being put off from visiting the neighbouring shop.
While the workers have been told to behave themselves by Lord Wheatley in a Court of Session hearing, they have also retained the right to continue their picket, in a strike that has entered its sixth week. The workers at the factory owned by Edinburgh Woollen Mills (EWM) are to step up their dispute over a pay claim next week from two days' action a week to three days a week, while management have warned they are risking their futures.
Management of EWM, which made a £26m profit last year, say the factory subsidiary is losing hundreds of thousands of pounds annually and workers would not get the 2.5% pay rise that has been given to nearly 3000 other retail staff across the UK.
Workers, who earn an average of about £200 a week, say they have in real terms had a 20% wage cut as a result of 10 years of pay restrictions including six freezes and small increases.
David Houston, group finance director of EWM, said: "They are jeopardising their futures. We cannot be blackmailed by people who believe that for some reason a company can afford to pay when it cannot afford to pay."
Mr Houston said banning the picket was the "optimum option" but he was happy the union had to give undertakings of good behaviour."
The Community Union, which represents many of the workers, says it does not force anybody to stop outside the factory gates and said the picket could not distinguish between people visiting the shop and those going to the factory.
John Steele, senior organiser for the Community Union at MacKinnons of Scotland, said the 2.5% pay rise they want equates to 15p an hour for the typical worker. "The company say they cannot afford this but we don't believe it," Mr Steele said. He added: "It's very peaceful yet the management say there is violence and intimidation and it is a complete nonsense."


© Newsquest (Herald & Times) Ltd. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. Workers at a loss-making knitwear factory, which made the clothes for the European Ryder Cup golf team, are to escalate their strike action after winning a legal fight to stop their picket from being banned by management.
The dispute at the MacKinnons of Scotland factory in Coatbridge involves 130 workers, mainly women, who are furious that they cannot have a pay rise this year.
Executives have tried and failed to obtain an interim interdict banning what it says is an aggressive illegal picket outside the factory.
Management have complained of striking workers intimidating non-union workers and shoppers being put off from visiting the neighbouring shop.
While the workers have been told to behave themselves by Lord Wheatley in a Court of Session hearing, they have also retained the right to continue their picket, in a strike that has entered its sixth week. The workers at the factory owned by Edinburgh Woollen Mills (EWM) are to step up their dispute over a pay claim next week from two days' action a week to three days a week, while management have warned they are risking their futures.
Management of EWM, which made a £26m profit last year, say the factory subsidiary is losing hundreds of thousands of pounds annually and workers would not get the 2.5% pay rise that has been given to nearly 3000 other retail staff across the UK.
Workers, who earn an average of about £200 a week, say they have in real terms had a 20% wage cut as a result of 10 years of pay restrictions including six freezes and small increases.
David Houston, group finance director of EWM,said: "They are jeopardising their futures. We cannot be blackmailed by people who believe that for some reason a company can afford to pay when it cannot afford to pay."
Mr Houston said banning the picket was the "optimum option" but he was happy the union had to give undertakings of good behaviour."
The Community Union, which represents many of the workers, says it does not force anybody to stop outside the factory gates and said the picket could not distinguish between people visiting the shop and those going to the factory.
John Steele, senior organiser for the Community Union at MacKinnons of Scotland, said the 2.5% pay rise they want equates to 15p an hour for the typical worker. "The company say they cannot afford this but we don't believe it," Mr Steele said. He added: "It's very peaceful yet the management say there is violence and intimidation and it is a complete nonsense."


© Newsquest (Herald & Times) Ltd. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. Workers at a loss-making knitwear factory, which made the clothes for the European Ryder Cup golf team, are to escalate their strike action after winning a legal fight to stop their picket from being banned by management.
The dispute at the MacKinnons of Scotland factory in Coatbridge involves 130 workers, mainly women, who are furious that they cannot have a pay rise this year.
Executives have tried and failed to obtain an interim interdict banning what it says is an aggressive illegal picket outside the factory.
Management have complained of striking workers intimidating non-union workers and shoppers being put off from visiting the neighbouring shop.
While the workers have been told to behave themselves by Lord Wheatley in a Court of Session hearing, they have also retained the right to continue their picket, in a strike that has entered its sixth week. The workers at the factory owned by Edinburgh Woollen Mills (EWM) are to step up their dispute over a pay claim next week from two days' action a week to three days a week, while management have warned they are risking their futures.
Management of EWM, which made a £26m profit last year, say the factory subsidiary is losing hundreds of thousands of pounds annually and workers would not get the 2.5% pay rise that has been given to nearly 3000 other retail staff across the UK.
Workers, who earn an average of about £200 a week, say they have in real terms had a 20% wage cut as a result of 10 years of pay restrictions including six freezes and small increases.
David Houston, group finance director of EWM, said: "They are jeopardising their futures. We cannot be blackmailed by people who believe that for some reason a company can afford to pay when it cannot afford to pay."
Mr Houston said banning the picket was the "optimum option" but he was happy the union had to give undertakings of good behaviour."
The Community Union, which represents many of the workers, says it does not force anybody to stop outside the factory gates and said the picket could not distinguish between people visiting the shop and those going to the factory.
John Steele, senior organiser for the Community Union at MacKinnons of Scotland, said the 2.5% pay rise they want equates to 15p an hour for the typical worker. "The company say they cannot afford this but we don't believe it," Mr Steele said. He added: "It's very peaceful yet the management say there is violence and intimidation and it is a complete nonsense."

[pastradamus]

Postal workers to strike over changes in work practices
Postal workers in Newark, Nottinghamshire, and Manvers, South Yorkshire were to strike for 24 hours this week over changes in work practices without consultation.

These are the first actions resulting from a series of local disputes across Britain.

Other offices holding strike ballots include Antrim in Northern Ireland, Mansfield and four areas in and around Portsmouth, Coventry, Stoke, Bridgwater in Somerset and Wembley in north London.

Brighton & Hove was ready to ballot but has won major concessions from management.

At all these offices managers are either imposing unagreed savings, changing a full-time job to part-time when it falls vacant, or both.

A strike ballot process has also started at Exeter mail centre, site of a recent big unofficial strike, over attacks on the union. The situation is similar to the one in February this year that eventually saw 60 offices preparing to ballot for strikes against imposed cuts and attacks on full-time jobs.

That wave of resistance was broken by the national “efficiencies deal” which was supposed to end Royal Mail’s attacks.

The CWU union announced that “an assurance has been achieved that Royal Mail will not seek to replace full-time jobs with part-time jobs”.

But this is precisely what is now happening.

The union’s postal executive will consider a national strike ballot in two weeks if management fails to deal with the issue in these individual offices and to give an assurance as to future conduct.

Postal workers must push for action in the ballots, but a host of issues are stacking up where national action is possible and may soon become a necessity.

[pastradamus]

FRENCH UNIONS RESIST AFTER MUSLIMS ARE SACKED

Islamophobia isn’t just taking place in Britain. Authorities in France have withdrawn the security clearances for 40 mainly Muslim workers at the Paris airport of Roissy-Charles de Gaulle, one of Europe’s busiest airports.

The police prefecture of Seine-Saint-Denis, linked to the interior ministry, withdrew the clearances, claiming that the workers could become involved in terrorist activity.

The right winger Nicolas Sarkozy runs the interior ministry. He is planning to stand for next year’s presidential election.

According to Jacques Lebrot, the deputy prefect in charge of the airport, these workers “are linked to fundamentalist movements with potentially terrorist aims”.

The workers were called in for an interview by the prefecture. Karim has been working for the courier company Fedex since 2001. He said that all the workers called in for the interview were Muslims.

During the interview Karim was questioned about his religious practices. Karim said, “I explained to them that I was a practicing Muslim but that I had never belonged to an extremist current.

“I practice much less since I got a secure job and had three children. At the end, as I insisted to know what accusation they had against me, they said they were not accusing me of anything.

“They said that because of the international situation they had to interview potentially dangerous people.”

On 20 September Karim received a letter from the prefecture saying they had withdrawn his security clearance on the grounds that the interview hadn’t assured them that he wouldn’t be a threat to the security of the airport.

Since then Karim hasn’t received his wages. In another case a security worker who has recently converted to Islam had his clearance removed. His employers, International Consultants on Targeted Security-France, had previously congratulated him on his work.

Serge Nybelene, the general secretary of the airport CGT union branch, spoke to Socialist Worker about the cases. He said, “The prefecture says that there is a direct or indirect connection with radical Islamic groups. But in their letters the employees concerned received no reason for their security clearances being taken away.

“We are used to having security clearances withdrawn for meaningless reasons. But in this case the prefect doesn’t even have to justify his decision. He says that the interviewee didn’t prove that he wouldn’t be susceptible to becoming dangerous in the future.

“So it is for the accused to prove his innocence and not the accuser to prove the person is guilty! The focus is on Muslim workers because we are coming up to an election.”

The attack on Muslims is part of Sarkozy’s plan to win the backing of the right for the election.

Philippe de Villiers, an Islamophobic politician, has written a book called The Mosques of Roissy in which he talks about secret prayer rooms at the airport. He claims that Roissy is a nest of radical Islamists.

For Serge there is no doubt that politicians want “to go onto the Front National [France’s Nazi party] terrain. The wave of Islamophobia has to stop now. Muslim workers have been doing their prayers since the airport existed.

“But suddenly the prefect sent orders and the prayer mats either disappeared or were thrown away without their owners being told. Then some workers were told to trim their beards ‘correctly’.”

As Socialist Worker went to press, workers at the airport were meeting to discuss a proposed strike over the withdrawal of security passes.

Serge said, “The CGT has brought two cases to court in order to stop what’s happening. We are talking to a group of MPs to call for a debate on the question.

“We have also called on our members at the airport to debate mass action.”

In the meantime several workers who have had their security clearances withdrawn are taking their cases to court in order to have their wages paid as well as winning reinstatement

[pastradamus]

Update

North Sea oil workers accept raise, end strike

More than 900 striking North Sea divers and support staff accepted a pay offer from employers, a union said yesterday, ending a 10-day strike that had raised concern about disruptions to oil output. Britain's National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers union said a large majority accepted the deal that will increase current pay rates by 44.7 per cent in the next two years. The divers will begin returning to work immediately, the union said.

Employers welcomed the end of the strike. A spokeswoman for the United Kingdom Offshore Operators Association, which represents British oil and gas producers, said the strike did not affect output

[Janus]

BERLIN (AFP) - A leading German trade union Sunday said it would deepen a strike at Deutsche Telekom, Europe's biggest telecoms operator, by calling on 14,000 workers to join the protest against a cost-cutting plan.

The strike could widen from 11,000 workers to 14,000, said Ado Wilhelm, an official from the services trade union Verdi due to the "intolerable stance" of the management.

"There will be significant go-slows" for clients, he told AFP saying that the areas to be badly hit on Monday included the key states of Berlin, Brandenburg, Bavaria and North Rhine-Westphalia.

About 11,000 of the 30,000 Telekom workers eligible to strike took part in the industrial action which began Friday, the Verdi union said.

Workers are angry at Telekom's cost-cutting plans to transfer up to 50,000 staff to a newly created T-Service customer service division, where they would be paid nine percent less to work a longer week.

In exchange, they would be offered job security until 2011.

The measures are designed to help Telekom face up to the collapse in its fixed-line business.

[Leo]

Spontaneous walkouts at Airbus: the workers make their voices heard

(http://en.internationalism.org/icconline/2007/airbus-walkouts)

As we go to press, and the day after the first round of the Presidential elections, we have learned that the workers of the Airbus factories have again expressed their anger against the attacks of capital.

On Wednesday 25 April, the management announced a rise in bonuses for this year: 2.88 euros[1].

Feeling that they were being treated like dogs being thrown a few scraps, the Airbus workers reacted immediately. In Toulouse first of all, anger on the shop floor turned into struggle. One assembly line decided to stop work on the spot and without any warning, then the workers went to other shops to ask them to go with them to the managers’ offices. From shop to shop the determination not to let this get through was growing. One worker recounted his experience: “yesterday when I arrived at 1600h, everyone in my section was aware of the 2.88 euro bonus. The guys refused to work, and a spontaneous strike movement broke out. The whole FAL (assemblage section) followed suite”. And this striker insisted that this was a spontaneous reaction against the advice of the unions: “a union official spoke to us and tried to get us to go back to work, saying that the symbolism of this movement had been noted, but that now it would be good to get back to work”. What this testimony reveals is that the unions are patent saboteurs of the struggle and that the workers will more and more be obliged to count only themselves if they want to fight back. Thus, a union official, concerned about his loss of control, tried to ‘discretely’ inform his members about the strength of the workers’ militancy and implicitly asked them to calm down: “This action was not a trade union initiative. We have to take care about what we’re doing”.

The same scenario at St Nazaire and Nantes. There was a great deal of indignation. The workers followed in the footsteps of their colleagues in Toulouse by launching ‘wildcat’ strikes. They then left the factory en masse to block the entrance. And here again it was without and even against the union offices. “This didn’t come from any union. This came from the fact that the workers themselves are completely fed up”, one worker said to the press. On both sites, the announcement of a derisory bonus was felt as an insult, rubbing salt into the wounds of daily pressure and suffering: “we are being asked to work extra hours on Saturday even though they’re not hiring anyone new and temporary contracts are not being renewed” as another worker angrily put it. 2.88 euros: within a few hours, this figure had become a symbol of the inhumanity of the worker’s condition.

Obviously, in Toulouse as in St Nazaire, the unions, though unable to prevent this explosion of workers’ anger, very quickly regained control of the situation and jumped onto the bandwagon. Thus, as a worker from the Toulouse factory remarked, “a few hours later, before the mid-day meal in my shop, FO had organised a simulated walk-out while carefully avoiding inviting all the workers to join in”.

By acting collectively against their exploiters, by refusing to be treated like cattle, the Airbus workers have shown what the dignity of the working class means. They have made a clear statement: faced with incessant attacks by the bosses and the state, there is no solution except united struggle. Despite all the manoeuvres of the bourgeoisie aimed at setting workers against each other, the social situation is marked by a growing tendency towards active solidarity between proletarians. A St Nazaire worker put it very plainly: “we wanted to act in solidarity with the movement in Toulouse”. By going from line to line, shop to shop, then plant to plant, this reaction by the Airbus workers shows the road that the whole working class has to take in response to the bourgeoisie’s endless provocations. It also shows that the trade unions are indeed a force for capitalist discipline. In the months and years to come, the workers will have no choice but to face up to union sabotage in order to develop class unity and solidarity.

Finally, these explosions of anger at Airbus (as well as the multitude of small strikes in the car industry, the post, among the teachers, etc) show that despite the whole election barrage and the ‘triumph of democracy’, there is no truce in the class struggle.

Beatrice 24.4.07 (translated from RI 379 )

[1] This outrageous announcement could well be a provocation to help get through the details of the job-cuts announced on 27 April. This doesn’t alter the fact that the spontaneous reaction of the workers was exemplary.

[Zurdito]

http://www.tuc.org.uk/publicsector/tuc-14101-f0.cfm

City postal workers begin strike

About 32,000 homes and businesses are affected
Postal workers in Staffordshire have gone on strike
over the suspension of nine colleagues.
The industrial action at the Burslem depot in
Stoke-on-Trent affects 32,000 homes and businesses in
the ST6 post code and is due to finish on 2 January.

Royal Mail bosses and the Communication Workers Union
(CWU) met on Monday in a last-ditch bid to avoid the
walk out.

Royal Mail said 200 managers had been drafted in and
it was "determined" to deliver the post in time for
Christmas.

The dispute dates back to September when 12 members of
staff were suspended over allegations of bullying and
harassment. Three were later reinstated.

'Losing money'

The union said calls for an independent review of the
disciplinary action were not met by Royal Mail.

Managers said they were disappointed that strike
action had gone ahead.

Mick Kavanagh, from the CWU, said: "Our members have
taken industrial action because of the injustice
that's going on here.

"We don't take it lightly that our members are going
out on strike before Christmas. They are losing money
as well."

The Royal Mail's area general manager for the North
West Midlands, Tom Willis, said the company was
determined to deliver all the Christmas post to people
in the affected areas.

He added: "No decisions have been reached in any of
the nine outstanding conduct cases which are being
handled in accordance with the procedures agreed with
the CWU and this includes the right of appeal, if necessary."

[Tower of Bebel]

http://www.tijd.be/artikel/Januari_is_stakingsmaand.6172191 (in Dutch)

The Belgian press says January is Belgium's month of strikes! Not one day passed by without a strike in one of Belgian's major fabrics or companies.

(from the provided link:)

01 januari: NMBS
02 januari: NMBS en Coca-Cola Gosselies
03 januari: Coca-Cola Gosselies
04 januari: Coca-Cola Gosselies en GB's rond Luik
05 januari: GB’s rond Luik
07 januari: TEC Charleroi
08 januari: Opel Antwerpen
09 januari: Opel Antwerpen en ISS Audi Brussels
10 januari: ISS Audi Brussels en Techspace Aero Herstal
11 januari: ISS Audi Brussels en Techspace Aero Herstal
14 januari: Syncreon (toeleverancier Ford Genk)
15 januari: Syncreon (toeleverancier Ford Genk) en AGC Automotive
16 januari: Syncreon (toeleverancier Ford Genk), Lear Corporations (toeleverancier Ford Genk), Magna Belplas (toeleverancier Ford Genk), Marine Harvest Pieters en AGC Automotive
17 januari: Ford Genk, Lear Corporations (toeleverancier Ford Genk), Magna Belplas (toeleverancier Ford Genk), Marine Harvest Pieters en JLG Manufacturing Europe Maasmechelen
18 januari: Ford Genk, JLG Manufacturing Europe Maasmechelen, DHL Opglabbeek en Johnson Controls Geel (toeleverancier Opel Antwerpen)
19 januari: Ford Genk, JLG Manufacturing Europe Maasmechelen, DHL Opglabbeek en Johnson Controls Geel (toeleverancier Opel Antwerpen)
20 januari: Ford Genk, JLG Manufacturing Europe Maasmechelen, DHL Opglabbeek, Johnson Controls Geel (toeleverancier Opel Antwerpen) en TEC Luik
21 januari: Ford Genk, JLG Manufacturing Europe Maasmechelen, DHL Opglabbeek, Johnson Controls Geel (toeleverancier Opel Antwerpen), TEC Luik, Kempico Gierle, Luikse staalindustrie en Coulier Hamme
22 januari: DHL Opglabbeek, TEC Luik, Kempico Gierle, Coulier Hamme, Waalse treinbegeleiders en Tenneco Automotive Sint-Truiden
23 januari: TEC Luik, Waalse treinbegeleiders, Tenneco Automotive Sint-Truiden en Inergy Automotive Herentals
24 januari: Inergy Automotive Herentals en Sabca Limburg Lummen
25 januari: Inergy Automotive Herentals, Sabca Limburg Lummen, Rettig Zonhoven, Waalse treinbegeleiders, Galva Belgium Houthalen-Helchteren en Prayon Ruisbroek
26 januari: Inergy Automotive Herentals, Sabca Limburg Lummen, Rettig Zonhoven, Waalse treinbegeleiders, Galva Belgium Houthalen-Helchteren en Prayon Ruisbroek
27 januari: Sabca Limburg, Galva Belgium Houthalen-Helchteren en Prayon Ruisbroek
28 januari: Sabca Limburg, Prayon Ruisbroek, TEC La Louvière, Galva Belgium Houthalen-Helchteren, Hydromation Tongeren, Cockerill Mécanique Prestation Seraing, Alro Holdings Dilsem-Stokkem en PSA Antwerpse haven
29 januari: Sabca Limburg, Prayon Ruisbroek, TEC La Louvière, Galva Belgium Houthalen-Helchteren, Hydromation Tongeren, Alro Holdings Dilsem-Stokkem, PSA Antwerpse haven, Lintor Olen, De Lijn Antwerpen, D. Logistics Packing Tienen, WVA Genk, Arcelor Packaging International en Daikin Europe
30 januari: Sabca Limburg, Prayon Ruisbroek, TEC La Louvière, Hydromation Tongeren, Alro Holdings Dilsem-Stokkem, Lintor Olen, D. Logistics Packing Tienen, WCA Genk, Arcelor Packaging International en Daikin EuropeToday, many strikes still continue, though most (like in January) are only held for one day.

PS: NMBS are Belgian's railways.

[Melnitz]

Strike in Bellinzona, Switzerland:


March 7, 2008 - 4:39 PM
Protests greet rail cargo job cuts announcement

The announcement by the cargo division of Swiss Federal Railways that it's cutting more than 400 jobs has triggered a wave of protests.
The cuts – which will affect depots cross the country – come after the freight operation suffered a loss of SFr190 million ($185 million) last year.

Workers at one of the four affected sites immediately went on strike and are planning demonstrations on Saturday.

The state-owned company – with a workforce of more than 4,400 –said it would relocate a further 200 jobs, mainly to the western town of Yverdon.

"Our decision is well thought out and necessary," Thierry Lalive d'Epinay, chairman of the board of the Federal Railways, said on Friday.

The aim is to cut spending by SFr70 million annually in an effort to lift the unit out of the red. The cargo division has repeatedly posted deficits and changed top management since a major reorganisation eight years ago.

The measures, proposed by a task force set up by the board of directors last year, are due to take effect next year.

The administrative headquarters of the cargo division in Basel is likely to be hardest hit, while 126 jobs will go at the locomotive repair facility in the southern town of Bellinzona.

The sites at Fribourg and Biel are also set to lose jobs.

Angry reaction
The main railway workers union called on management to reconsider its decision and announced a series of protests.

It criticised the board of the Federal Railways for neglecting its duties and came out in support of workers in Bellinzona who have begun a strike.

Politicians from the Ticino region, including Bellinzona, are calling for talks with Transport Minister Moritz Leuenberger and for a fair solution taking account of regional interests.

Other cantonal and local authorities expressed their disappointment and urged the government to provide financial support for those affected by the latest restructuring of the cargo unit.

The federal government said the job cuts were unfortunate, but the cargo division had to act quickly to shore up its financial situation. The government spokesman said the collective labour agreement should ensure that no layoffs occur.

For its part the Road Hauliers' Association demanded a partial privatisation of the cargo division in a bid to remain competitive in the long run – a proposal rejected by Federal Railways.

Pushed by the market
Cargo boss Nicolas Perrin argued that regional interests should not influence company strategy. He said that the move was in the best interests of the company.

"Swiss Federal Railways Cargo is an business enterprise," he said. "We cannot make our decisions based on regional politics."

Market forces and international competition have put a strain on the Federal Railways over the past few years. Management had been contemplating reducing the cargo division since 2006.

Moves are also underway to make transportation by truck a less attractive alternative to rail.

A comprehensive SFr5.9 billion renovation of the country's rail network is in the works and authorities have plans to sharply increase fees for truck traffic.

[Revolucija]

Workers' demonstrations in Belgrade (May 1)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFPDPrM3H8M
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdg7EHZ5ido (When Boris Tadic, the current President of Serbia, came out workers have hooted him out. Syndical burocrats accused anarcho-syndicalists for this incident)

Pictures from the walkout are here (http://inicijativa.org/tiki/tiki-browse_gallery.php?galleryId=53).

[Spartakistis]

Massive PAME Mayday Rallies Across Greece

Thousands and thousands of workers participated in the mayday manifestations and rallies organized by PAME in 70 cities and towns across Greece, all marked by massive turnout and a striking participation of youth.

In Athens many thousands of workers, men, women, immigrants, young workers and students gathered at Syntagma Square responding to the call of PAME and the class-oriented trade-unions. A representative of General Union of Palestinian Workers, and an women immigrant worker from Ukraine greeted the rally alongside with trade-unionists from different sectors. The main speech behalf of PAME was delivered by George Perros who amongst other underscored PAME's support for immigrant workers in Greece and voiced our solidarity with the working class of Turkey, condemning the banning and oppression of the Mayday demonstration in Istanbul by the Turkish government.

The rally put also forward a special resolution demanding referendum over the Lisbon Treaty and thousands of signatures where collected among the workers.

The rally concluded with a mass demonstration towards the US Embassy with slogans against imperialism and in solidarity with the workers’ mobilizations, and the peoples who struggle. At the port of Piraeus all ships were immobilized due to the strike declared by the class-based unions of the Mechanics of Merchant Marine and of the lower crews. It is worthy mentioning that the sold-out trade-unionists of PASOK, ND and SYNASPISMOS that form the majority of the direction in the Pan-Hellenic Seamen’s Federation had only called for a 4-hours stoppage of work during hours with no ship departures.

This year the bankruptcy of the leadership (PASOK-ND-Synaspismos) of the General Confederation (GSEE ) had been more than obvious, since they managed to gather only a handful of people failing to realize the announced demonstration since the few participants dissolved in disarray following minor conflicts among them.

At the same time, Giorgos Toussas, MEP and CC member of KKE travelled to Turkey, following invitation by the Communist Party of Turkey, and joined the demonstration in Istanbul at Taskim Square where he conveyed the solidarity of the Greek communists and denounced the ban of the workers’ march and their brutal oppression by the Turkish government.

Info by the International Relations Section

[Bilan]

UK council workers set to strike

More than half a million local authority workers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are to stage a two-day walkout on July 16 and 17 after rejecting a 2.45 percent pay offer. In addition, up to 100,000 civil servants in several government departments could also take industrial action on one or both of the same days because of long-running disputes over pay. The workers involved include those employed by the Department for Work and Pensions, the Transport Department and Home Office. Workers are in dispute with around 14 departments over pay and jobs and have already held a number of strikes. The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) will ballot its entire membership later this year for a fresh round of industrial action, but it already has mandates to call strikes in a number of departments.
Social workers, housing benefit staff, teaching assistants, dinner ladies, cooks, cleaners, architects, traffic wardens and refuse collectors will join the strike in the biggest show of industrial unrest for years.
Prosecutions in Scotland’s courts are likely to be brought to a standstill. Crown Office staff also may join the industrial action. Property transactions, art galleries and payments to farmers are also likely to be affected. Jobcentre and benefit office workers and other civil servants could take industrial action later in the year in separate disputes. The chancellor, Alistair Darling, has repeatedly urged unions to push through low pay deals, citing inflation that has risen to 3.3 percent, the highest level in more than a decade. Unions are calling for 6 percent this year and state that rises in food and fuel prices mean their members cannot survive on low pay increases.
Postal workers in Oxford vote for strike action
Postal workers in Oxford, England have voted to take industrial action. Members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) at two Royal Mail offices in the city met July 1. A BBC brief said that the delivery staff insist their workload has increased sharply because of cuts in the number of workers.
Royal Mail has said changing duties to match workloads over the summer was included in a national agreement after strikes last year.


Rubbish workers take wildcat action in Peterborough, England

According to libcom.org, July 1, dozens of city refuse collectors called a wildcat strike in Peterborough and are refusing to work until their pay dispute has been resolved. Around 70 workers have walked out amid claims their city council paymasters have gone back on an agreement to pay them thousands of pounds in back pay.
The workers say they are owed compensation as a result of a salary restructure by the authority. The strike initially involved around 40 workers, but by 9:30 a.m. the majority of the council’s rubbish collection workforce had joined them.
The impromptu walkout was sparked after the council implemented a wholesale review of salaries among its 6,500 employees. One striker said, “People are financially stuck because the council has messed us about. We have loans and overdrafts to pay and need to know when we will be compensated. We are not going to do any work until further notice, until things are sorted out.”
Strike organisers say further industrial action will be taken on a day-by-day basis until the pay dispute has been resolved.


London Underground cleaners set to repeat strike

According to a BBC report, hundreds of cleaners on the London Underground are to launch further strike action in the ongoing row over pay and conditions. More than 700 cleaners employed by four sub-contractors are demanding that hourly rates be raised from £5.50 to £7.20, as well as improved holidays and pensions.
The 48-hour industrial action by members of the Rail Maritime and Transport (RMT) union follows a 24-hour walkout last week.


Workers at UK electronic firm strike to oppose jobs losses

The workforce at a Fujitsu electronics component factory in Solihull have taken industrial action after confirmation that 140 jobs will be lost in a transfer to a US factory. Officials at the West Midlands’ plant said it needed to move its printed circuit board operations to a plant in Texas.
Factory staff took part in a four-hour walkout on July 1, according to the BBC, which disrupted two shifts. A 24-hour strike was held last month. Altogether, 700 people are employed at the Solihull site.
An official of the Communication Workers’ Union (CWU), Andy Kerr, said, “If this work leaves the Fujitsu plant in Birmingham it will be another nail in the coffin of manufacturing in the West Midlands.”


Irish Bank workers picket company HQ as part of strike

Around 600 members of the Unite trade union are to place pickets at the headquarters of the Bank of Ireland and at the ICS Building Society head office July 8 as part of a one-day strike over the implementation of a stock issue scheme. The finance union IBOA has already said its 6,000 members at Bank of Ireland will stage a one-day stoppage next week as part of the same dispute.
The industrial action by both unions is being timed to coincide with the annual general meeting of Bank of Ireland on July 8.
The Irish Times reported that the Unite union said that there was 91 percent support in a ballot for industrial action, up to and including full strike action at Bank of Ireland, over a broken agreement to pay a 6 percent staff stock issue. It said that in May the bank had announced unilaterally that it was halving the agreed staff stock issue for 2008 from 6 percent to 3 percent of salary.
Unions have said that as part of a productivity deal agreed in 2005 staff should receive up to 6 percent of salary in stock and a reduction of the working week, in return for co-operation with major changes. Unite said this programme had led to more than 2,000 job losses and cost savings, which generated a 48 percent growth in profit before tax between 2005 and 2008.


Hungarian rail workers to resume strike action

The heads of the Free Union of Railway Workers (VDSZSZ) announced June 30 that rail workers will go on strike again July 12.
The union, representing around a quarter of MÁV workers, staged brief strikes early this year to demand that staff working for companies outsourced by the state railway company receive a further 10 percent pay increase and that all MÁV employees be paid Ft 250,000 each from the proceeds of last year’s sale of MÁV Cargo.
According to caboodle.hu, union deputy chairman Balázs Bárány told Népszabadság that the union had trusted the new leadership at the Transport Ministry, but they have now run out of patience.



From WSWS (http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/jul2008/wkrs-j04.shtml)