Pay, hours, conditions

Lambeth College workers struck on Thursday 1 May. Workers are fighting the introduction of reduced terms and conditions for new workers, creating a two-tier workforce at the college, and threats to the terms and conditions of current staff. An all out indefinite strike by members of the UCU union had been announced. However the bosses at Lambeth College obtained an injunction against that action. The 1 May strike was exempt from the injunction and so went ahead. The new package of conditions, which include reduced sick pay entitlement, increased hours and reduced holiday, are a national...

On 1 May, UCU members at Lambeth College in South London will begin indefinite strike action to block attacks on their conditions. These attacks include increased working and contact hours, cuts to annual leave, additional duties for no extra pay, reduced redundancy notice and drastically reduced sick pay. Management are attempting to impose the new contracts on new workers, current staff who are promoted, and hourly-paid staff. They have also said that these new conditions may be rolled out to cover all staff. Unison members, part of the Lambeth Council branch, are also balloting, but are not...

Unison members who work in local government have voted by 70% in a consultative ballot to reject the employers’ meagre 1% pay offer. As reported in previous issues of Solidarity , workers have faced a real-terms pay cut of 20% in the last four years. A formal strike ballot will take place from 23 May to 23 June. Strikes could begin on 10 July. The union leadership’s plan appears to be for a one-day strike in July, potentially followed by a further two days of strikes in September, where it could be possible to link up with our Health section, whose conference recently voted for action over...

Workers at The Ritzy Cinema, Brixton, struck for the second time on Friday 18 April and Saturday 19 April, part of an escalating campaign of action for the Living Wage. The picket line, timed to coincide with the release of The Amazing Spiderman 2, was lively and well attended. The energetic picket activity included a kids’ club, face painting, break dancing, music and Spiderman himself. The BECTU strikers successfully closed the cinema for the second time, for the entire duration of the strike. Brixton, Lambeth, is in the midst of an acute, and worsening, housing crisis with house prices and...

Members of the University and College Union (UCU) in Higher Education are being balloted this week over the employers’ offer of a 2% pay rise for 2014/15. The offer comes as branches were preparing to start a marking boycott over the imposed 2013/14 rise of just 1%. The marking boycott has now been delayed for a week – to Tuesday 6 May – while the ballot takes place. Workers' Liberty members active in UCU will be campaigning for a no vote. The total offer on the table is now just 3% over two years, plus a little extra on the bottom point of the pay scale that will bring most directly-employed...

Cinema workers at the Ritzy cinema in Brixton have announced 11 April as the date for the first strike in their dispute over pay. Members of BECTU at the cinema have conducted a long-running campaign to win the London Living Wage of £8.80 an hour. The typical hourly rate at the Ritzy is currently £7.24. Workers voted to strike by an 85% majority. Sparks win contract fight Electricians working at a Network Rail construction site in Three Bridges, Sussex won new contracts following a wildcat strike on 4 April. Following attempts by the agency through with they were employed to worsen their terms...

Unite, Unison and GMB have initiated a ballot for Local Government workers with the recommendation to reject the derisory 1% pay increase offered by the Local Government Employers. The offer is in contrast to the current RPI rate of inflation of 2.8%. The cost of living for many of the lowest paid makes the offer unacceptable and pushes more workers further into poverty. All three unions have called for rejection of the offer and indicated this will be the beginning of strike action. A serious campaign must be fought to ensure a strong turnout to reject the offer is coupled with willingness...

Members of the University and College Union (UCU) will begin a boycott of marking on 28 April unless Higher Education bosses make concessions on pay. Higher Education workers have already struck six times against a 1% pay offer for 2013-2014. The boycott will be of all formal assessments. Talks between the unions representing workers in higher education and the Employers Association were held on 26 March; those talks were over 2014-15 pay claim (which is being presented by the union as a continuation of the current dispute). However no offer was made. Further talks will be held on 15 April...

Workers at the Ritzy Cinema in Brixton, south London, have voted by an 85% majority to strike to win the London Living Wage. Ritzy workers have waged a long-running battle for the pay increase, but Picturehouse Cinemas, the chain that runs the Ritzy, has so far remained intransigent, to the point of banning local publication Brixton Bugle from the cinema for running an article supporting the workers. The workers are members of BECTU, which represents workers in theatres, cinemas, and the television industry. Lambeth College strike Members of the University and College Union (UCU) at Lambeth...

Cleaning workers at the School of African and Oriental Studies (SOAS) in central London will strike again on 21 March. The workers, who are members of Unison, struck on 4-5 March. They are employed by private cleaning contractor ISS, and are demanding the same holiday entitlement, contractual sick pay, and pension scheme as directly-employed staff. Workers are not satisfied with the progress made since the 4-5 March strike, so will walk out again for 24 hours on 21 March. Pickets will be mounted from 4am at the school’s central buildings in Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square.