Around 450 people marched on Monday in Liverpool for May Day, or International Workers’ Day, which celebrates the struggles and gains made by workers and trade unions. There were marches in many parts of Britain and internationally.
Engineers crucial to the running of Croydon Tramlink, south London, began a strike on 5 May. Around 60 tram, stores and infrastructure engineers in the Unite union are demanding pay parity with workers on the London Underground. These jobs, which require the same qualifications and perform the same roles, are paid up to £10,000 more a year.
The workers were set to strike until 6am on Thursday this week. The strike was called after negotiations between Unite and Transport for London (TfL) collapsed. TfL has rowed back on the initial condition of the negotiations.
This was that if pay disparities were identified a plan would be put in place to match London Underground levels of pay. TfL has now admitted that five Tramlink engineering roles have pay disparities, but has refused to do anything to change this.
Another aspect of the dispute is that engineers are on office worker contracts despite having technical roles. This has hit workers’ pay and prevented them from collectively negotiating pay as a distinct bargaining group. After five years of negotiations, TfL agreed last year to change the contracts, but has not done so.
Unite regional officer Bruce Swann said, “TfL has left this issue to fester for years and the strikes will continue until we resolve them to our members’ satisfaction.” The strikes significantly impacted London’s transport network south of the river.
TfL is systematically underpaying high skilled workers. So workers are rightly striking—and should stay out until TfL fully meets their demands.
Train drivers in the Aslef union launched more strikes this week after five years without a pay rise. They were set to walk out on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday of this week, depending on which operator they work for.
Mick Whelan, general secretary of Aslef, said on Monday he was “incredibly upbeat” about the action. “It’s hard not to be enthused. We’re 22 months into this—the longest rail strike in history. And we’re still getting mandates of 94 to 99 percent. We’ve still got picket lines. There’s no wavering.”
It is true there’s no backsliding, but there’s also no sign of success from occasional and fragmented action. The union has not had talks with the employers—represented by the Rail Delivery Group—for over a year. The Aslef leader has previously said that it would take a change of government to solve the dispute.
But when asked about the prospects for a swift settlement were Labour to come to power, he said, “We’ve got no guarantees that the new government, if and when they win, will do anything different. “We hope they’d be more sympathetic and want this out of the way.” Instead of hoping for presents from Keir Starmer, the union should escalate the strikes.
RMT union members on ScotRail have scheduled strikes over the role of the guard on services along the Barrhead and East Kilbride, routes near Glasgow.
A series of 48-hour strikes are planned for Saturday and Sunday on 18 and 19 May, 25 and 26 May, and 1 and 2 June. Workers voted overwhelmingly for strikes with 97 percent voting Yes on a 79 percent turnout.
Amazon workers in Coventry struck on May Day last week and defied the bosses’ anti-union campaign. Management tried to weaken the union in the run-up to a ballot on union recognition by, for example, posting QR codes to take members to the GMB union web page to leave the union. Despite this—or because of this—the 1 May action was solidly supported by GMB union members.
The union called workers to a series of meetings to counteract bosses’ propaganda. Over 1,000 workers attended in total, with speeches translated into nine different languages. “The meetings were very successful. Great turnout. Everyone raised their questions and got them answered,” says GMB union member Darren Westwood.
The union said the main messages from its members were, “Together vote yes! They tried to ignore us. They tried to silence us. But they cannot silence us now. “We have managers who treat us as numbers. But we have hope. We can make history as one union family.” It is crucial that the strikes continue and to win the recognition ballot.
Richard Milner
Healthcare assistants (HCAs) across England are winning still more battles over being paid the correct amount for the work they do. Unison union members at Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust are the latest to declare victory.
HCAs there last week won an upgrade to band 3 and backpay to August 2019. The news came after just two days of strikes at Bedford and Luton & Dunstable hospitals. For many workers the deal will mean both an improvement in pay and a large payout for the years in which they were underpaid.
However, Unison in the north west of England is winning backpay settlements dated to April 2018. That could amount to a difference of more than £1,000 to some workers. If HCAs are prepared to carry on striking they can win the maximum payout.
HCAs in Darlington and County Durham have declared a dispute over incorrect banding. Their Unison union last week informed management that it intends to fight for a better deal.
HCAs in Sheffield have won re-banding and back pay after threatening industrial action. Bosses caved in before Unison had even prepared for action.
On Monday 6 May, hundreds marched at the Chesterfield May Day gala, led by a recently restored 1984 NUM miners’ union banner—fresh from a recent exhibition. The march had a large Palestine solidarity bloc and dozens of activists carried “Stop Rwanda” signs throughout the march.
A student from the Sheffield university Gaza encampment spoke at the march, as well an activist from the Campaign Against Derbyshire County Council Cuts. A campaigner from Truth and Justice For Orgreave also spoke. At the end of the march, John Burrows from Derbyshire NUM 84/85, Julia Mwaluke, vice president of Unision union, Dima Al Shami from Palestine Solidarity Campaign and Fran Heathcote, general secretary of PCS union.
All speakers spoke about the government’s racist rhetoric against refugees and its complicity in Israel’s assault in Gaza. Heathcote, general secretary of PCS union, spoke on the role trade unionists played in fighting against the Rwanda deportation.
Heathcote said, “Internationalism is a core principle of the trade union movement and standing up for oppressed people everywhere runs through everything we do. And nowhere is a manifestation of this solidarity needed more right now than Gaza.”
Harry James
The first days of strike over proposed outsourcing plans at Heathrow Airport have been called off. Strikes due to take place on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week have now been cancelled following discussions between the Unite union and management.
The remaining strikes from Thursday of this week to Monday of next week are still due to go ahead. Unite said the early strikes were halted as a “goodwill gesture prior to formal talks”. This so-called goodwill gesture only helps the bosses.
Jobcentre security guards were to launch a 24-hour strike in a dispute over pay this week. The GMB union has said that more than 1,000 of its members employed by G4S security company will strike from midnight on Tuesday. More strike days are planned for later this month, on 13, 20, 28 and 29 of May.
Tension at such workplaces is the result of brutal government policies, sanctions and attacks on claimants. PCS union members in G4S in the Department of Work and Pensions are also being balloted for strikes. The ballot will finish on 15 May.
GMB union members at Crane Building Services and Utilities in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, have voted overwhelmingly for strikes over pay. Workers voted 97 percent for action on an 84 percent turnout after bosses offered just a 5 percent rise.
The company designs and manufactures a range of engineered flow control products and items for the heating, ventilation and air conditioning sectors.
Industrial action due to be taken by 40 bus company staff in control rooms in Battersea, south London and Twickenham, southwest London, has been suspended. After Unite union officials negotiated with the company, the bosses put forward a new offer. Unite suspended the strike before a vote on the deal.
Arriva north London bus workers have given a thumping no to bosses’ 1.5 percent pay offer. The Unite union members rejected the paltry deal by 1,097 votes to 23. A formal strikes ballot now needs to follow.
Strikers are demanding an unallocated €1.6 billion go towards workers' pay rise
London march on 27 October
Another day of mass resistance
Plus: 500 on Leeds unity march
