WORKERS AT Newham council, east London, were set to strike for two days this week. We are protesting against the council's attack on our union, Unison. This includes evicting the union from its offices and axing facility time for union offices.
COUNCIL TENANTS in Kingston in south west London have voted against the sell-off of their homes. In another blow to the government's attempts to blackmail tenants to accept privatisation as the only way of getting improvements, 63 percent of tenants voted against the sell-off on a 65 percent turnout.
THOUSANDS OF people joined the emergency Stop the War Coalition demonstration in central London last Saturday. The loud, lively protest called for an end to the torture of Iraqis by US and British troops and the occupation of Iraq. At the rally in Trafalgar Square Lindsey German, the convenor of the Stop the War Coalition and Respect candidate, said, \"The images we are seeing today rank with some of the worst images of war, torture and occupation. Is this liberation? Are these the civilised values of Bush and Blair? This is a fantastic turnout at eight days notice, because we're a fantastic movement. We will continue to demonstrate until every foreign troop is withdrawn from Iraq,
DESPITE THE financial hardship of nearly three months on strike, the resolve of the nursery nurses was still strong at the start of this week. Over 300 strikers in Glasgow demonstrated outside one of the main council buildings on Thursday of last week. A group of nursery nurses hung a banner from the roof of the car park opposite the building saying \"Support your nursery nurses\".
THE LEFT have won another landslide victory in the PCS civil servants' union national executive elections. This is a victory for everyone who wants a fighting, democratic union. There are no crumbs of comfort for the Cabinet Office and New Labour. The left continues to hold the majority of national executive positions, consolidating the position of left wing general secretary Mark Serwotka.
THIS LOOKED like being a very important week for postal workers in south west England. We were coming under intense pressure to deliver election material for the British National Party. But many of us are totally opposed to handling their filth.
AROUND 500 manufacturing workers marched through Birmingham on Saturday on a march called by the TGWU, GMB, Amicus and other trade unions. They were marching to protest against the decline of manufacturing industry. Contingents from Land Rover, Vauxhall, Alstom and other workplaces in the Midlands marched behind their union banners.
IN A magnificent response to the news that the Nazi BNP are to stand for election in 17 of the 22 council wards in Gateshead, anti-Nazi campaigners hit the streets en masse over the last week. Teams of campaigners have been out leafleting local estates and have organised campaigning stalls in Gateshead town centre on busy Saturday afternoons.
RMT UNION members on Network Rail have voted for strikes over pensions, two-tier travel concessions and pay. The vote for action was 58 percent on a 68 percent turnout. \"That's a clear mandate in anybody's book,\" says one RMT member. \"I bet Blair would be happy with a result like that in the 10 June elections.\"
A WAVE of revulsion swept through Nottingham last week after a popular Rastafarian youth worker was shot and seriously injured. Fifty year old Derek Senior was the victim of a racist attack in a pub in Bulwell, north of Nottingham, last September. Derek Senior was beaten with pool cues, and a lock of hair was torn from his head as a trophy.
MORE TRANSPORT has been booked now for the pensions march called by the TUC and the National Pensioners Convention in London on 19 June. Coaches are now coming from over 30 cities and towns across Britain. The march will see today's trade unionists join with pensioners to show their anger over an issue which is becoming more important by the day.
THE STENCH of institutional racism across the police was obvious last week after two incidents in Manchester and north London. Local people in Camden are furious at the death of Kebba Jobe, originally from Gambia, on Saturday 12 May. He died after officers stopped him at Camden Lock. Around 300 people joined an angry march through Camden last Saturday demanding a full investigation of how he died.
