South Bank University, London, saw lecturers strike for three days last week against compulsory redundancies. Now lecturers are withholding marks, which means that exam boards can't go ahead.
THE firefighters' FBU union leaders have been campaigning for unity in the fight to win a £30,000 wage. But right in the middle of the campaign they have suspended two union officials. Joe McVeigh and Neale Williams have been suspended following allegations of electoral irregularity in the Bowgate branch of the FBU. The accusations concern the ongoing election for the London delegate to the national council.
THE INQUEST into the death of Harry Stanley opened last Monday. Harry was shot dead by police as he walked home from a pub in Hackney, east London. No criminal charges are being brought against the police as a result of Harry's death.
AROUND 100 people attended the Stop the War Coalition activists' conference in central London last Sunday. Activists from 25 local Stop the War Coalition groups discussed continuing to organise against the so called "war on terror" and the US's plans for an attack on Iraq.
A NURSE recruited to help NHS staff shortages is the latest victim of the government's crackdown on immigration. Edina Mukwaira spent three years at Middlesex University studying to become a nurse. She was due to start a job at the beginning of this week at the Royal Free Hospital in north London.
Good lessons in taking action
SOUTH BANK University lecturers in London were set to strike as Socialist Worker went to press. They will be out for three days this week, from 11 to 13 June. Lecturers will also be withholding marks as part of their action against 128 proposed redundancies.
NINE THOUSAND London Underground workers are to vote on industrial action. The RMT union ordered a strike ballot over safety and privatisation as the Labour government's moves to sell off London Underground suddenly moved forward last week. Despite earlier talk of the process being tangled up in legal manoeuvres till next year, maintenance workers now face privatisation at the end of this month. RMT members are to be balloted from 14 June. Voting will end on 24 June.
TRADE UNIONISTS from across the country met in London last Saturday to discuss the threat posed by the Nazi BNP. Speakers stressed the crucial role trade unions play in combating the far right. However, delegates expressed their anger at how New Labour has fanned the flames of fascism through its racist policies towards asylum seekers.
UP TO 15,000 firefighters marched through London on Tuesday. On Wednesday and Thursday 50,000 council workers across the capital were to strike. And on Monday almost one million council workers across Britain started voting on strikes. All these fights focus on one issue-the miserable level of pay many public sector workers get.
IS THE mood changing? There is a growing feeling for action among public sector workers. This feeling is sharpest over pay and in London, thanks to the crazy costs of living in the capital. In every area the feeling is growing for united action linking different fights and issues.
The second series of comedian Linda Smith's radio show A Brief History of Timewasting starts next week. It is a sitcom that takes a wry view of everyday life in London's East End.
