Scotland Follow

PRESSURE IS growing among Scottish Power workers to make their strike all out. An important shop stewards' meeting was scheduled for this Saturday in Penrith, where the progress of the dispute will be discussed and tactics debated. A series of three two-day strikes have seen very solid support from around 1,500 workers in North Wales, Merseyside and Scotland. There have been some localised power cuts.

Scottish Power workers struck for two days last week, and planned another two days action this week. The strike, involving 1,500 workers in North Wales, Merseyside and Scotland, has been totally solid. There have been big picket lines of up to 100 at a time in Liverpool, Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Workers on ferries running from the Clyde in Scotland were due to start all-out strike action from Monday night. Some 40 pierhands working for the Caledonian MacBrayne (CalMac) company are striking.

Over 1,500 power workers in Scotland, Merseyside and North Wales struck for two days this week. They are fighting for job security and decent conditions against their Scottish Power bosses.

Around 350 people attended the Scottish Socialist Party's Socialism 2001 event in Glasgow last weekend. It was lively, informative and exciting with speakers ranging from novelist James Kelman to Tony Higgins from the Scottish Professional Footballers Association.

Workers at the Scottish Environment Protection Agency are voting in a consultative ballot over attacks on pay and conditions.

Workers at the huge multinational firm Scottish Power began a two-day strike on Tuesday of this week.

Workers at Scottish Power in Scotland, Merseyside and north Manchester are set to take strike action on Tuesday and Wednesday. Scottish Power is one of the world's top ten utility multinationals. It also owns Southern Water and Pacificore in the US. The workers do essential jobs, maintaining and repairing breakdowns in the electricity network.

Speculation was growing this week over who would be the next first minister of Scotland after the resignation of Henry McLeish. His downfall began in April when it emerged that McLeish had claimed full expenses from the taxpayer on his constituency office as a Westminster MP. At the same time he had been subletting it to private firms.

Despite the repression they suffer from the Taliban, Hilla says all women in Afghanistan oppose the US bombings:

Workers at Scottish Power and Manweb are to be balloted this week on management's latest offer.

Stewards reject deal Shop stewards at Scottish Power have rejected management's latest offer. However, the new offer will be put to a ballot of union members. The workers, who are members of the AEEU, GMB and TGWU unions, have been fighting management's plans to transfer workers in the "wire business" to a new company.