Strike Follow

RENEWED determination swept through fire stations and control rooms as members of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) heard that their union has called a snap strike on Tuesday. Some 100 FBU brigade secretaries and other officials met at the TUC headquarters on Friday of last week.

THE NEW book Small Acts of Treachery by Kitty Fitzgerald begins in a secret military barracks, where Eileen Mahoney is being detained by the state as a suspected terrorist. Brought up by her socialist father, Mahoney has been involved in the major movements of the last three decades, from civil rights in Ireland to the 1984-5 miners' strike.

TOM DURKIN-longtime chair of Brent Trades Council, notably at the time of the Grunwick's strike in the 1970s-died just before Christmas at the age of 87. Tom was in every sense a big man, with a booming voice sometimes augmented by his home-made sound systems.

TEACHERS at Kingsland School in Hackney, east London, were set to strike on Thursday of this week in defence of our sacked National Union of Teachers (NUT) rep, Indro Sen. This follows an overwhelming vote by NUT members at the school. Union members in four other secondary schools in Hackney are to hold an indicative vote over whether to ballot over the sacking too.

SOME 600 workers at the Scottish Agricultural College (SAC) held a three-hour strike on Thursday of last week over pay. Alan Denny, national officer in Scotland for the workers' Prospect union, said, "The membership is rock solid. Over 300 people attended meetings across the country."

WORKERS AT Jaguar Halewood on Merseyside, members of the Amicus union, narrowly voted against a strike over pay last week. It now looks likely that union members will take action short of a strike.

JOURNALISTS AT Newsquest Bradford are balloting for strike action after rejecting a 2 percent pay offer. The National Union of Journalists' chapel (workplace branch) has demanded a rise of at least £2,000 per year after the company had a 17 percent increase in profits.

SOME 4,500 workers at Peugeot have been balloting for industrial action over pay. A ballot in December rejected the company's offer (worth 7.2 percent over two years) by 90 percent. The company said it will pay the increase if the shop floor gave up the profit-related bonus worth £660 this year.

SOME 350 bus drivers working for the First Group multinational in Norwich went on strike from Monday of last week in protest at working long hours. "Our work is so tiring and stressful. When I get home I just sit there, crashed out in an armchair. That's not good for my family-or for the public, if I'm driving when I feel like that," said driver Sam Stelling.

NORWICH BUS services ground to a halt last Sunday as bus drivers in the TGWU union started a seven-day strike. We are protesting against our bosses, First Bus, tearing up an agreement. The strike is hitting services hard. The 350 drivers have struck solidly. The picket lines are vibrant and confident.

SOME 4,500 Peugeot workers are set to ballot for strike action in the new year after talks over the pay claim broke down. A series of one-day strikes are planned. The talks followed a 90 percent rejection of the company offer (worth 7.3 percent over two years) in a ballot. The company also wants the shopfloor to increase their pension contributions by 1 percent.

THREATS OF strike action have won an increased pay offer for airport workers. The workers include firefighters, security staff and engineers at major airports including Gatwick, Heathrow and Stansted. The workers' TGWU union had been pushed into opposing the offer by anger from the rank and file after a previous strike was suspended.