Sulking for Labour

Strange goings on within the rail union RMT. The union leadership decided to close down the special annual conference on the grounds that they did not like the way delegates were voting.

To the shock and bemusement of delegates, the Assistant General Secretary, the President and a number of the National Executive members closed the recent RMT Conference and walked out. The move was well-orchestrated, and followed an overwhelming vote to remove the President from the chair of the conference. This grossly unconstitutional act is the latest move in a vindictive campaign against the perceived ‘left' within the union. So far, it has included ballot rigging in order to get a preferred candidate on the national executive, and the suspension of union activists from holding office within the union.

Railroading

Since the Hatfield train crash, The call for re-nationalisation of Railtrack has become a stock demand on the left. It has to be said that this is not an unrealistic demand. But where would it lead us?

Police - overtime binge on our taxes

The London Metropolitan Police force led the way on May Day - in taking every chance they could to screw overtime pay.

Following weeks of press and police harrassment, May day protests went ahead as planned. Niketown in Oxford Street didn't do a lot of business on May 1st. Meanwhile, doctors called a day of action over lack of resources and understaffing.

Elsewhere, demonstrations against capitalism and for workers were assaulted by massed ranks of police determined to clear the unwashed masses from the streets so that New Labour can keep the cash registers ringing all the way to the election.

Bad news for them - the New Labour honeymoon is long-over, and any feelgood factor is rapidly evaporating as the latest ‘economic downturn' begins to establish itself in the London Stock Exchange.

Hackney Showdown

Workers at the London Borough of Hackney went on strike on Tuesday 1st May over widespread attacks on pay and conditions. The action follows 24-hour stoppages in December and March, and a three-day stoppage in January.

Meanwhile, all sections have been applying localised “withdrawal of goodwill” to fit the problems workers face in their own sections. This means going back to not covering for vacancies, working to grade and job description, not doing extra hours, etc. Not only does this link in with the corporate dispute, but it also gives workers a chance to take direct action over issues which immediately affect them, and to gain confidence from immediate results.

CSL3 tribunal update

The CSL3 were shop-stewards in London Borough of Newham's privatised Housing Benefits section. They were sacked for allegedly leaking information about CSL's terrible record to the disastrous nature of the organisation's activities to “Inside Housing” magazine, but the real reason was that they were doing their job well and CSL wanted rid of them (see February issue of Catalyst).

The sacked workers have taken a Tribunal case against CSL, which was due to start in October. However, CSL requested and were granted an adjournment until the new year. Coincidentally, CSL have now lost their contract with Newham Borough over inefficiencies – exactly the issue the CSL3 were trying to bring to everyone's attention!

Hacked off in Hackney

 

Hackney council sees itself as New Labour's laboratory for wholesale privatisation of local public services. Back in May, Catalyst reported on the attacks on council workers' pay and conditions in Hackney. Since then, in many ways, things have gone from bad to worse.

HACKNEY - FOR SALE - this offer is not available to the poor!

Address: 15 Atherden Road, Lower Clapton, Hackney

Description: Formerly a nursery, but we got rid of the kids + their whining parents. We even fibbed in court, to get rid of the squatters who had reopened it as a community centre of all things. We told the master that we were not going to sell this building but, Ha! - It is now freed up to give lots of potential for profit as a yuppie wine bar or a private health club for city workers to unwind and spend lots of their hard earned dosh.

Nazi no-brains

Lancs and Manchester Solidarity Federation groups and Burnley anti-fascists have been taking on the fascists, especially in Burnley and Oldham. More details and analysis will follow in the next issue of DA. Meanwhile, to get involved, contact Lancs SF, PO Box 469, Preston PR1 8XF. (lancashiresolfed@blueyonder.co.uk). Also, “Clarets United Against Racism and Fascism” is a group of Burnley supporters committed to fighting racism, xenophobia, nationalism, etc. on the football scene. They are at CUARAF, c/o PO Box 469, Preston PR1 8XF. claretsunited.cjb.net

Problems at work No.4 How and why could I start to raise health and safety issues at work?

The amount of Health and Safety legislation in Britain has increased over the last 20 years (much of it coming from the European Union). However, it is largely unenforced, so bosses can ignore it. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is the government's official enforcement body and has a history of letting bosses off lightly. Even so, its own figures show that many accidents at work go unreported and the vast majority are avoidable.

Although the government and bosses clearly do not care much about our health and safety, the fact that the legislation exists means we have a chance to use it ourselves in order to improve our own health and safety, not to mention getting right up and tickling management noses in the process.

Steaming turd award

National Temporary Workers' Week was thought up by the ‘Recruitment and Employment Confederation' bosses' club, supposedly ‘to recognise the value of the UK's temporary and flexible workforce', but actually to get their faces in the paper and some free advertising.

Well, here's some free advertising. Workers in Bristol marked the end of National Temporary Workers' Week by presenting corporate giant Manpower with a pile of shit. Bristol Against Casualisation Campaign (BACC) entered the company's plush city centre office to hand over the prestigious ‘golden turd' award, presented to capitalists for crimes against the working class. Arch scumbags Manpower made £1500 million in profits off the back of our labour last year, and with job insecurity and poverty pay spreading like a bad case of impetigo, they were well overdue a visit.

Consignia Yourself Alright!

News that Consignia (Royal Mail) is to shed one in ten of the workforce came as no surprise to anyone who has been watching the signs over the past twelve months. Rumours have persisted that second deliveries are to be abolished for years now. In fact, it was only the insistence of the Department of Trade and Industry during the Tory years of the 1980s and 1990's which prevented the Post Office Board from doing the dirty deed before now.

The last few years have seen the amount of mail taken out on first deliveries grow as Royal Mail has deliberately depleted the mail which was once set aside for second deliveries and forwarded it onto already overloaded early morning rounds.