THE ELECTION for general secretary of the 900,000-strong TGWU union is set to be another major test of strength for both Tony Blair and the left in the unions. Tony Blair will be hoping that the TGWU can become a bulwark against the rise of the so-called awkward squad of left wing union leaders.
POSTAL WORKERS across Britain are voting on who should be their union's next deputy general secretary (postal). It is important that John Keggie, the candidate supported by the Blairites in the union, is soundly defeated.
HACKNEY COUNCIL in east London is pressing ahead with its disciplinary of Unison union branch officer John Page. In December 2002 Hackney council suspended Unison branch officers John Page, Brian Debus and Will Leng after they raised concerns about racism in a draft report to the council.
THE GAP between the New Labour government and trade unions was strongly underlined at the Scottish TUC in Inverness last week. Some of the strongest criticism of Tony Blair came over the war. A series of speakers condemned the government for taking Britain into the war.
TRADE UNIONISTS and campaigners were set to march through central Manchester on Saturday in a united protest against racism. The demonstration and rally was called by the TUC and the Unison union, and backed by the Anti Nazi League. It is a recognition of the danger posed by the British National Party (BNP), which has been targeting the north west of England.
Any gloating over the occupation of Iraq does not look set to last long as Tony Blair pushes ahead with his massively unpopular privatising agenda. Blair could be facing bigger parliamentary revolts by Labour MPs than he did over the war.
Tony Blair tried to get backing for the war on Iraq by claiming that it would bring peace to the Middle East. But Bush and Blair's "road map to peace" for Israel and Palestine is a con. It is overwhelmingly weighted in favour of Israel, the US's watchdog state in the Middle East.
GUARDS ON three more train operating companies have voted to join the campaign of strike action by the RMT union to defend safety. That brought the total number of companies involved in a strike called for Thursday of this week to 12. Delegates to the RMT's train grades conference in Manchester last week applauded news of the three latest ballot results and discussed the importance of the whole dispute.
THOSE commentators who like to claim the anti-war movement is dead, or only involves the "Hampstead middle classes", should have been in Liverpool on Tuesday last week. Some 900 people from all walks of life heard George Galloway MP and John Rees speak at a rally organised by the Merseyside Stop the War Coalition. It was easily the biggest political meeting in Liverpool for a decade and nearly filled the massive St George's Hall.
SOME 91.5 percent of NUJ members at Newsquest Bradford voted last week for more strikes. That is an even bigger majority than when they first balloted. Strikes are now planned between Wednesday of next week and Sunday 27 April. Twenty seven MPs have signed an Early Day Motion, a parliamentary petition, calling on the US-owned newspaper publisher Gannett, which owns Newsquest, to make a realistic pay offer to journalists.
