There is a new mood of resistance in the Post Office, with the level of struggle rising. Many of the disputes are centred on the actions of bullying managers. Last week there were at least six unofficial strikes - and workers won clearly in most of them.
TYNESIDE shipyard workers won a swift victory by walking out over safety last week. The walkout began when two workers at the Cammell Laird yard in Hebburn on the south bank of the Tyne complained over procedures for dealing with asbestos. They were working on a giant refitting of the Edinburgh Castle cruise line, a job which has seen the yard's workforce swell to its biggest number for 18 years.
BUS WORKERS in Essex staged their second one day strike over pay on Friday of last week. The strikes are the first for 29 years at Eastern National, now owned by the giant First Bus outfit. The action shut depots in towns across Essex, including Colchester, Chelmsford, Bishop's Stortford, Braintree and elsewhere.
WORKERS IN the Inland Revenue took action which crashed the entire national tax computer system last Friday. The workers, members of the PCS union, staged what they dubbed a "Flexi-Protest Day". This meant all workers sticking to their core hours of 10am to 4pm with a half hour lunch break. In Leeds over 200 staff marched into the Castle House office at 10am.
WORKERS AT sock makers Pex in Leicestershire have won some of their demands after a 12 day picket at the Earl Shilton plant. Pex bosses wanted to shut the plant down leaving many workers without pay owed to them. The workers' protest saw administrators appointed by the high court to take control. The workers hope this will mean getting some of the money due to them.
AROUND 300 students demonstrated at the University of Kent's Canterbury campus on Monday. College management want to cut the portering service, which would threaten safety on campus. Students had already protested on Friday of last week. On Monday students marched around campus rallying support and then rallied outside a management meeting discussing the cuts. "If they're not going to listen we're going to have to occupy," said one student.
PENSIONERS ARE planning to protest across Britain on Wednesday 24 November. A variety of events, ranging from displaying placards on buses, to sit downs in town centres, to blockading roads, are expected to take place.
UNIVERSITY lecturers who are members of NATFHE in the new universities met at a special pay conference last Saturday. They reluctantly voted to accept the vice-chancellors' 3.5 percent pay offer. There was criticism of union leaders for the lack of a proper fighting campaign. Not one day of action was called by NATFHE during the whole pay dispute. Delegates were vehemently opposed to the introduction of performance related pay and "job evaluation" schemes.
JOURNALISTS IN the NUJ union at the Observer have voted for a strike over pay. The 34 to 15 strike vote is over Observer journalists being offered a lower pay rise than those at their sister paper the Guardian. Guardian staff have been offered 3.5 percent, while Observer staff are being offered just 2.4 percent.
AS CHANCELLOR Gordon Brown was praising the achievements of Thatcherism, hundreds of coal miners in the north east of England faced the sack. Private mining firm RJ Budge, which was allowed to buy up coal pits on the cheap by the Tories, announced that it is to close the last remaining working deep mine pit in the north east. Budge is to close Ellington pit, near Ashington in Northumberland, with the loss of 450 jobs.
