Solfed members were on the pickets in London for the biggest wildcat strike of 2011 and one of the biggest electricians' walkouts of recent years. Below we summarise some of the events around Blackfriars as thousands of electricians downed tools against the breaking of national working agreements which will mean pay cuts of up to 35% and defied an injunction against official strike action brought by Balfour's legal team just days before. Below that we've collated summaries from elsewhere.
On November 30th, South London Solfed set out to support the strike in Lewisham. Members and friends got together with food, drink and positive energy for the pickets. We started at the town hall at 7am and moved north through the borough stopping at Kaleidoscope (NHS), Job Centre Plus, Lewisham Hospital, Wearside refuse centre and Goldsmiths college.
As well as bringing supplies, we helped leaflet and tried convincing workers not to cross picket lines. We found few union members willing to challenge their colleagues in a meaningful way. Having a group of 30 supporting picket lines boosted visibility and confidence, but workers will have to become more active in their workplaces to make the real difference. We hope that as this struggle goes on the social stigma attached to scabbing returns and we see stronger picket lines.
While David Cameron and his cabinet of millionaires live it up in their multiple luxurious mansions, they propose to hit those who have only one roof over their heads with an all-out assault on housing benefits and social housing.
The Government’s proposals include:
Yesterday, Liverpool Solidarity Federation members joined picket lines in Liverpool and Bootle to offer support to strikers and attended a 20,000-strong march through the City Centre. Below are several personal reports from members' blogs.
See reflections from striking Solfed members at Truth, Reason & Liberty and Working Class Self-Organisation.
A choice: race to the bottom or fight and win - blog by a Solfed member in the private sector who supported the strike.
An eyewitness account by a Hackney picket:
I went from my picket line to the CLR James library picket at about 10. On the bus up there I was a bit disturbed to see a police helicopter hovering above Dalston Junction. When I got to the library there were a huge number of TSG kettling about 35 people with a mobile sound system. I managed to speak to people in the kettle and they told me that two people had been beaten up and arrested earlier when people had tried to block the road.
I called people on my picket line and asked them to come quickly to the library. A small group of us stood around for ages occasionally having short conversations with the kettled protesters or telling the police that they were disgusting. I phoned my picket again and was dismayed to find out that they had all gone to another picket line that was nearer.
Brighton SolFed were out in force today for the public sector strikes, which saw a huge turnout of perhaps 10,000. Three feeder marches converged on Victoria Gardens in the city centre before marching around town and ending with a rally at the Level. A brief personal report and pictures are below:
Biggest march I've seen in Brighton, I'd guess 5-10,000. Couldn't see the back or the front of the march and it was overflowing the Level where it ended. Cops tried to randomly arrest a bystander and apparently some black bloc types dearrested them.
WYSF attended pickets and demos across the north:
Leeds report:
In Leeds WYSF joined a picket of a public sector building (name omitted to protect the individual member), before joining the march and demo. An estimated 10,000 took part, the biggest demo in Leedsin a long while. SF were joined by AF and quite a few people came up and took papers and expressed support for the Red and Black flags. Lots of support from the public and the march was “clapped” all the way into the city centre.
N30 report from Hull:
Plans to have a twenty-four walkout by public sector workers have led to Cabinet Office Minister Francis Maude branding the protests as “stupid and wrong”. He also threatened tough new laws to make it harder to strike.
Bristol Solidarity Federation members will be joining and supporting the “Day of Action” from start to finish. We call on workers from all industries to also join the strike. Stop work, refuse to cross picket lines, support the striking workers anyway you can and join the rally from College Green. Join the picket lines that will be going on right up to midnight.