Unite

The National Executive of the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) has voted to strike on 10 May in the battle against government pensions reform. Its decision follows the announcement of the health section of the Unite union to “aim for” a strike on that date. Unite now says its 100,000 NHS members will be “staging protests and industrial action” on that date. The Executive of the University and College Union (UCU) meets next week to decide on its participation. The National Union of Teachers (NUT) Executive also meets next week, and will discuss further action. Although this strike...

An industrial bulletin for healthworkers, with articles on the Unison vote on the pensions deal, the potential strike on 10 May and the Unison SGE elections. Click here to download the PDF.

A recent decision by the leadership of the Unite union’s health section to “aim for” another strike over pensions on 10 May offers a glimmer of hope in the battle to revive a national industrial campaign on the issue. NHS workers in Unite voted by 94% to reject the government’s pensions deal, but Unite officials mobilised against left-wingers on its National Industrial Sector Committees (NISCs) to prevent the union giving a lead on, or participating in, strike action since 30 November. According to Gill George, a Socialist Workers’ Party member on the health NISC, there has been a “change of...

Bosses at the Mayr Melnhof Packaging (MMP) plant in Deeside locked up the facility in advance of a community picket organised by workers locked out of MMP's Bootle plant and their supporters. The picket was part of an attempt by the locked-out Bootle workers to build solidarity for their dispute by reaching out to Deeside workers. On Sunday 1 April, Unite held a meeting to discuss its strategy for the campaign. This focuses on legal action in court and through Employment Tribunals (including claims for unfair dismissal and claims under TUPE regulations) and a “leverage” campaign targeting...

Tory commentator Charles Moore speculated in his Daily Telegraph column that the leadership of his own party is deliberately seeking a high-profile confrontation with the labour movement in order to contrive its own “miners’ strike moment”. In Moore’s own words, “all hell broke loose” after the speculation (which spoke of a “private message” being handed down from Tory HQ to constituency activists) was misinterpreted as Moore leaking an actual document. He has since issued a public apology. But the government’s response to the threat of strike action by fuel tanker drivers, including Francis...

Four of the 149 workers locked out of the Mayr Melnhof Packaging plant in Bootle near Liverpool have been sacked following sham disciplinary procedures. A further 48 have been issued with redundancy notices, in addition to the initial 49 redundancy against which workers were taking official action when they were first locked out over a month ago. The Bootle workers are now organising a flying “community picket” to visit the company’s plant in Deeside, Mobilising the solidarity of the Deeside workers could be crucial to the Bootle workers’ dispute. The picket will take place from 11:30am-2pm on...

Local government unions at Southampton City Council have settled into a low-level war of attrition with council bosses after an impressive campaign of creative, rank-and-file-driven industrial action in 2011 failed to prevent the imposition of new contracts. Members of Unite and Unison are still staging action short of a strike, which council bosses admit is costing them money. But, particularly since the focus shifted from the local battle onto the national pensions campaign (which now also stands on the brink of total collapse and defeat), unions seem to be investing their hopes in unseating...

Over 60% of oil tanker drivers working for seven major firms have voted to take strike action in a national ballot organised by Unite. Drivers at Turners (94% in favour on a turnout of 82%), Norbert Dentressangle (75%, 71%), Wincanton (68%, 72%), BP (60%, 86%), and Hoyer (60%, 80%) will all strike. DHL drivers voted to take action short of a strike, and drivers at Suckling voted against any industrial action. The ballot is part of an ongoing campaign by Unite on myriad issues within the oil haulage industry, including health and safety, casualisation and pensions. The campaign’s key demand is...

On 4 March 2012, the long-held suspicions of hundreds of trade union activists in the construction industry were confirmed when it was revealed that the British state had been colluding with construction contractors to prevent union activists from getting work. The “Consulting Association” (CA), a shadowy body funded by most major construction contractors, held data on numerous individuals which included information that could not have come from anywhere except police records. The CA has also been revealed to be holding an “RMT file”, suggesting that the extent of their data collection could...

Throughout the pensions dispute, it has been rare for activists to get the chance to debate the direction of the dispute and the best tactics to win. On Saturday 24 March, at AGM of the United Left in the Unite union, over 100 activists had the chance to question Unite leader Len McCluskey. In his speech McCluskey talked about civil disobedience and a demonstration in defence of the health service, He also talked about the loss of momentum on pensions dispute. He said that if he had been in charge (he became General Secretary in January 2011), there would have been action straight away. With...