Strike Follow

THE TWO days of strike action by university lecturers in the AUT union were hugely successful. The government and employers are trying to fundamentally change higher education. They want to create a two-tier education system for students. Lecturers could see an end to job security, loss of control over the work process and pay related to where you work, not what you do.

LECTURERS AT Leicester College have suspended their strike in defence of union rights, which has lasted for an amazing four weeks. The all-out strike by members of the Natfhe union was over the college management's attempt to bring in a non-negotiated contract that attacked working conditions. The strikes forced management back to the table.

WORKERS AT the main refuse collection depot in Brighton & Hove staged a 48-hour unofficial strike on Tuesday and Wednesday last week. The walkout followed the suspension by management of GMB steward Richard Warren. Workers returned to work on Thursday after voting overwhelmingly to work to rule-refusing to work overtime or catch up on work missing during the walkout.

MEMBERS of the RMT union working on Metronet, which controls two thirds of London Underground maintenance, voted by five to one for strike action over the sacking of six track workers.

MEMBERS OF the Community and Youth Workers Union (CYWU) were set to strike on Friday this week over pay, conditions, and the continuing crisis in the Youth Service. This is the first time that the union has voted to take strike action 87 percent voted for action.

MAINTENANCE workers at Preston and Chorley hospitals, Lancashire, took strike action on Monday of this week. The members of the Amicus union are fighting attacks on their pay and conditions. Under the government's "Agenda for Change", hospital workers are having their jobs evaluated.

AROUND HALF a million workers in Zambia struck last week against the International Monetary Fund's cuts and the government which implements them. Thousands of Zambians marched on parliament during a strike that closed offices, shops and schools in the capital, Lusaka.

PORTERS AND domestic staff at North Manchester General Hospital are balloting for strike action over pay. They are employed by multinational ISS Mediclean, which is one of the biggest beneficiaries of the creeping privatisation of the NHS.

BRITISH AIRWAYS CitiExpress pilots, who staff its domestic operations, are in dispute over pay. Balpa, the pilots' union, has been conducting a consultative ballot among its 600 CitiExpress members to establish whether they are prepared to strike over cost-cutting and pay.

OVER 4,500 nursery nurses in Scotland are set to begin an all-out indefinite strike on Monday following a magnificent four to one vote. The action pits some of the lowest paid workers in education in Britain against predominantly Labour local authority employers. The fight over pay and regrading is crucial for public sector workers and beyond.

BUS DRIVERS from First Scotland East, West Lothian's main service provider, held a one-day strike last Saturday, as part of an ongoing dispute with management over conditions and pay. Many drivers began an unofficial overtime ban on Monday of this week. Further strike action has not been ruled out.

TEACHERS IN the NUT union in Croydon will strike on Monday in protest at funding cuts and downgrading of jobs. A strike ballot saw a 42 percent turnout and 82 percent of those who voted said yes to a half day of industrial action.