CONNEX SOUTH East has imposed new rosters that threaten 90 guards' jobs. The move shows just what is behind the refusal of Connex and a dozen other train operating companies to agree to restore the safety role of guards. That safety dispute led to a strike by 3,000 guards in the RMT union last week. A further 24-hour strike is planned for next Thursday.
UP TO 14,000 BT workers are set to strike for 24 hours on Monday. The action is the first in a series of stoppages called by the workers' CWU union in a fight to stop a divisive new pay and bonus scheme. Those involved in the action are engineers and control staff doing work for BT's residential customers.
SOME 140 nursery nurses who are members of Unison in Kirklees schools struck last Friday. The action is in support of a pay regrading claim. The strikers got support from parents, colleagues and members of the public. A local radio station could find no parents willing to criticise the nursery nurses at one of the biggest schools affected.
ACTIVISTS IN the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) met in Birmingham on Wednesday of this week to prepare for a planned recalled conference next Tuesday. But the FBU executive was to meet later this week to consider calling off the conference and seeking yet more tiny changes to the terrible deal the employers have offered.
"THE UNION needs change from the top down. I want to be there arguing for socialist politics and action at all levels of the union," says Glasgow health worker Margaret Bean.
PLANS ARE being finalised for a week of protests at the G8 world rulers summit set for the French town of Evian at the end of May and beginning of June. The key demonstration will be on Sunday 1 June, but protests, actions and counter-conferences will take place from Wednesday 27 May through to the end of the summit on Wednesday 3 June.
COUNCIL TENANTS in Nuneaton and Bedworth have voted decisively to reject plans to privatise their homes. The Labour council wanted to privatise over 7,000 homes. But in a ballot with a 70 percent turnout 60 percent of tenants rejected the plan.
PAY BATTLES and the mass movement against the war on Iraq shone through the NUJ journalists' union conference held in Llandudno, North Wales, last week. The conference was the largest the union has held for years. Strikes against low pay at around 20 local and national newspapers over the last year and scores of union recognition victories resulted in more branches electing delegates.
GOVERNMENT "MODERNISATION" plans for the NHS came under attack this week from workers gathered at the health conference of the biggest NHS union, Unison. The whole of the conference united against the government's plan for foundation hospitals.
