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A PLANNED strike by track workers on London Underground has forced the private company on the network into a climbdown over six sacked employees. Metronet, which runs two thirds of the track, had said it would not take back under any circumstances six workers it singled out at Farringdon depot.

BUS WORKERS in Stratford, east London, experienced first hand last week the sham of New Labour's "big conversation". Around 100 drivers, engineers and workers in the canteen at Stagecoach's depot on Waterden Road heard transport minister Alistair Darling urge them to "ask whatever they want".

THE Communication Workers Union (CWU) telecom executive is calling on BT workers to accept the latest offer over London weighting. But many members are angry at the call. The offer is for a £200 increase now and a further £25 next year.

SUPPORT IS flooding in for 4,500 nursery nurses in Scotland who began their third week on all-out strike on Monday. A delegation of strikers arrived in London on Tuesday to spend four days visiting branches and workplaces. The strength of the strike and the solidarity are putting immense pressure on COSLA, the Labour-dominated local employers.

BUSH AND Blair's imperialist project needs to have an internal enemy, someone to scapegoat, someone to blame for both national and international ills. Muslims are now the new bogeymen, the new Communists. I was a victim of this recently. On 9 February I was passing through the US from Mexico on a transit flight back to London.

European Social Forum London, 14-17 October 2004 It's happening in London The organisers of the European Social Forum (ESF) in London have booked Alexandra Palace, a huge venue in Haringey, which will provide space for tens of thousands of activists.

COUNCIL WORKERS rallied outside Newham Town Hall in east London on Monday lunchtime against a major threat to their trade union branch. At the heart of the fight is the right of trade unions to represent their members, and for members to democratically decide what the union branch does. Up to 100 members of the Unison union joined Monday's rally. They were supported by trade unionists from the local further education college and Unison branches in other London councils.

"WE'RE SICK of waiting," was the unmistakable message delivered to BT last week. Scores of Communication Workers Union members lobbied the company's London HQ demanding an increase in the allowances paid to employees working in the capital.

Defend Farringdon Six TUBE WORKERS on a privatised part of London Underground were set to strike on Friday this week over the sacking of six colleagues. Metronet, the private company now responsible for two thirds of the tube track, sacked the six infrastructure workers after it found empty beer cans in a cabin near Farringdon station.

RESPECT has written to firefighters' union members. The letter is signed by George Galloway MP, national secretary John Rees and executive member Linda Smith. Linda is the London Region treasurer of the FBU.

FULL-PAGE ads appeared in the press last week from the "Doctors for Reform" group. The group called for moves towards people being made to get compulsory private medical insurance to pay for NHS treatment. Doctors for Reform claims to be "an independent, non-party group". Really? It shares the same London address as the Reform think-tank.

"WE NEED an end to the premiership of Tony Blair. On 20 March we will be demanding that Blair must go." That call from George Galloway MP was made to the 600 delegates from across the country at the Stop the War Coalition conference in London last Saturday. The conference came against the background of the build-up to the 20 March national Stop the War Coalition demonstration, and with the war once again plunging Blair's government into crisis.