Solidarity 588, 14 April 2021

Close votes at NEU conference

The National Education Union (NEU) met online from 7 to 9 April for an annual conference of reduced length due to the exigencies of having to meet online.

British Gas workers confront deadline

British Gas engineers who have not agreed to new, inferior, contracts face dismissal on 14 April, as their battle with their bosses' “fire and rehire” offensive reaches its culmination. The engineers, who are members of the GMB union, will strike again on 14 April, the day the new contracts are set to be imposed. The union plans mass pickets at various locations throughout the country. A survey of members returned an 86% majority for a renewed dispute around specific issues in the new contracts. When the contracts were announced, GMB said they would lead to: • An overall 15% reduction in the...

Myanmar trade unionists at online solidarity meeting

On 10 April Momentum Internationalists and Young Labour Internationalists held a solidarity meeting with speakers from Myanmar’s labour movement, which is continuing to lead protests against the military coup in the face of massive repression. The same day as the meeting, the Burmese military killed over 80 people in Bago, north of Yangon, the largest massacre in a single area since it killed over 110 in the working-class Yangon suburb of Hlaing Tharyar on 14 March. A young protester in Bago described being locked down by volleys of gunfire for an entire day: “We were surrounded on all sides...

New police bill protests 17-18 April

“The government wants us to forget about the #PoliceCrackdownBill”, says left-wing feminist group Sisters Uncut, who have taken a lead in mobilising protests. We must “make sure this does not happen...” There will be more protests on 17 and 18 April. The government has delayed the Police Bill’s progress in Parliament, and maybe for a good while. The issue has fallen out of the media, but protests have continued across the country, including in many places which do not often see left-wing protests. Activists are working to sustain and focus the anger about the Tories’ assault on democracy...

Study guide: Fossil Capital by Andreas Malm

See reviews and debate around the book, and Malm's wider politics, here . We are all very critical of Malm's politics: this study guide is not intended as an endorsement. Some of us think that some of his history is interesting — and this study guide aims to encourage critical engagement with the book, if you read it. Possible study schedule A suggested 9 week study schedule: Chapter 1, plus the three-part critique of Malm : Setting the scene, the fossil economy (read chapter 2 if you like, or come back to that later with chapter 12) Chapters 3 and 4: Energy types and prime movers; proto...

The 2021 Police Bill and older laws

The 2021 Police Bill demonstratively limits the right to protest. But the movement against it should also be aware of, and consider expanding its horizons to take on, limitations already introduced in 1986, 1994, and 2011, and usually, so far, used only cautiously by the police. Below, I've compiled some sketch notes from material readily available on the web. I hope someone else is able to build on these notes for a fuller and better-legally-informed survey. Clauses 54 and 55 of the current Police Bill expand police powers in Section 12 and 14 of the Public Order Act 1986 under which a senior...

US debate: call things by their right names

Part of an ongoing debate: click here for other contributions The latest responses by Martin Thomas and Barrie Hardy in the US debate only demonstrate the confusion of those advocating the lurch towards the Democrats. With little caricature, their argument seems to be: Trump is a fascist, therefore vote Democrat; the DSA is a large milieu, therefore join the Democratic Party. This position compounds a poor assessment of US reality, a misreading of history and a strategy of failure. Workers Liberty pride ourselves on Trotsky dictum: “To face reality squarely; not to seek the line of least...

The USA: five quick responses

Paul writes: "The substantial disagreement is about voting Democrat and joining the Democrats to participate in their primaries".

Charity workers plan indefinite strike

Maintenance workers employed by the housing charity St. Mungo's will begin an indefinite strike from 22 April. Although just 12 workers are involved in the dispute, indefinite action is a bold step. The workers are employed in a property services department which provides repairs for the charity's 3,200 housing units. The Unite union says a culture of management bullying is endemic at St. Mungo's. It has also indicted St. Mungo's bosses for their anti-union attitude. A Unite statement said: “Unite’s concerns at the bullying and anti-union culture among St Mungo’s management have only grown...

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