Socialist Worker

Issue: 2401

Dated: 29 Apr 2014

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A million or more could strike in a few months

Coming disputes include firefighters, council workers, hospital staff and teachers, reports Charlie Kimber

International Comment Features Reviews What We Think Other

News

Lambeth College lecturers plan to walk out - for as long as it takes

Workers at Lambeth College call an indefinite strike against nasty new contracts, reports Sadie Robinson

Teachers are organising now to make summer and autumn action a success

Teachers are gearing up for walkouts after the NUT union overwhelmingly backed more strikes at its conference last month.

Gwalia care home staff walk out over private bosses’ cuts

Care workers in Neath Port Talbot, south Wales, were set to strike on Tuesday of next week. They face attacks on jobs and conditions—and a pay cut of up to 16 percent.

Care UK strikers step up fight with 14-day stoppage

Doncaster Care UK workers were set to start a two-week strike on Monday of next week. It’s an escalation of their ongoing dispute against attacks on terms and conditions.

British Museum shop closure makes history

Shop staff in the PCS union working for the British Museum Company (BMC) struck for the first time ever on Friday of last week against a 1 percent pay offer.

Opposition continues as anti-fracking protest camps wind down

Two anti-fracking camps at sites where gas firms were carrying out exploratory drilling have packed up.

Passports taken and schools probed in anti-Muslim panic

Hype over a ‘Muslim plot’ to take over schools is part of a broader racist attack, writes Judith Orr

Hillsborough slurs 'from Whitehall'

Insults about the Hillsborough disaster and attacks on Liverpool football fans were posted on a Wikipedia page from Whitehall computers.

All aboard as the freedom riders demand free travel

A noisy mass of people gathered in Barnsley train station on Monday of this week for their fifth “Freedom Ride”.

Tory 'Help To Work' plan punishes unemployed people

People who have been unemployed for more than two years face punishing new rules from Monday of this week.

News in-brief

Less money for new jobs, cuts mean less food safety, academies skip nutrition targets, BP dividends are rising

Ritzy living wage strike returns this Thursday

Low paid workers at Picturehouse’s Ritzy cinema in Brixton, south London, were set to strike on Thursday of this week from 6.30pm.

Trade unionists mark Workers' Memorial Day

Trade unionists and campaigners demonstrated across Britain to mark Workers’ Memorial Day on Monday of this week, including 150 in London, to highlight deaths at work.

CWU union debates Labour, Ukip, Scottish independence and benefits

Some 800 workers attended the Communication Workers’ Union (CWU) annual conference in Bournemouth this week.

Anti-racist protesters come out in force to stand up to Ukip and Nigel Farage

When Ukip’s Nigel Farage went on a speaking tour last week, anti-racists gave him the welcome he deserved.

One thousand oppose March for England racists in Brighton

Around 1,000 people turned out on the rainy streets of Brighton last Sunday to humiliate a sorry and soggy bunch of racists on their annual March for England.

May Day, May Day - get ready to march

May Day marches to mark International Workers’ Day were set to take place around Britain on Thursday, Friday and Saturday of this week, and Monday of next.

Left candidates rally in Tottenham

Some 75 people attended the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC)’s Housing For All rally in Haringey, north London on Thursday of last week.

Meter readers have measure of bosses

Nearly 500 workers at EDF energy firm were set to strike on Tuesday and Thursday of next week over pay. They are members of the Unite union, and include workers who fix and install electricity meters.

Blood won't stop in Reading - yet

Action by pathologists at Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading has been postponed for two weeks while pathologists consider a deal.

One Housing rep Bryan Kennedy's hearing delayed

The hearing of suspended Unite union rep Bryan Kennedy at One Housing Group in London has been postponed due to illness.

Pensions battle in the fire stations is back on as workers prepare for strikes

Firefighters in England and Wales were set to walk out over the bank holiday weekend in a row over Tory attacks on their pensions.

Local government workers to vote on action

The union Unison is to ballot 600,000 of its local government members in England, Wales and Northern Ireland for strikes over pay.

Things they say...

‘We’ve only just got started. The last thing I want to do is give up this job’

Lambeth College bosses get injunction - but a one-day strike will go ahead tomorrow

Bosses at Lambeth College have been granted an injunction against an all-out strike due to begin tomorrow, Thursday.

Strikers defiant on Lambeth College picket lines

Workers at Lambeth College are on strike today,Thursday, against hated new contracts. The UCU union members had planned to begin an indefinite strike today. But bosses got an injunction to stop them, so a one day walkout went ahead instead.Pickets gathered at all of the South London college's sites this morning. It was clear that the injunction hasn't demoralised people but it's made some more determined to fight.

Striking firefighters call for stepping up the action

Firefighters across England and Wales walked out on strike today, Friday, to defend their pensions.

International

Egypt’s military regime sets its sights on the left

An Egyptian court handed out death sentences to 683 Muslim Brotherhood supporters on Monday of last week, and the government has banned the revolutionary youth April 6 Movement

Collapse of Palestine peace talks exposes Israel

Israel has pulled out of the latest round of talks with Palestinians.

International round-up

British planes add to Ukraine sabre rattling | Shoe strike hits China’s bosses | Peasants blockade Colombian roads | May Day general strike in Greece

Comment

Fraud is a symptom of the profit motive in research

John Parrington argues that recent allegations of fraud in stem cell research show the distorting influence of capitalism

Child abuse scandals damn those at the top of society - that's why they cover them up

When Liberal MP for Rochdale Sir Cyril Smith died in 2010, Nick Clegg described him as “one of the most likeable politicians of his day”.

Features

South Africa: The ANC monolith cracks

Irvin Jim, head of the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa, and Dali Mpofu of the Economic Freedom Fighters, speak to Socialist Worker's Ken Olende

The vicious circle of racism behind the rise of Ukip

As Ukip continues to rise, Socialist Worker examines how mainstream parties have created room for it to grow—and how Labour’s complacency could come back to bite it

Reviews

Matisse’s colours shone in the century’s darkest hour

Illness turned Henri Matisse from painter to pioneer of collage. His cut-outs come alive in a landmark exhibition at Tate Modern, says Peter Robinson

The Silver Tassie - an excellent production that brings home the horrors of war

The Silver Tassie is Irish socialist playwright Sean O’Casey’s late-1920s assault on the degrading effect of war. O’Casey was concerned with those at the blunt end of war.