On Saturday 4th February for an hour over lunchtime members of Clydeside Industrial Workers Of The World, Glasgow Anarchist Federation and Solidarity Federation gave out 500 leaflets explaining the demands of the IWW Pizza Hut Workers Union in Sheffield. We asked members of the public to refuse to eat at the prime site Argyle Street Pizza Hut until management negotiates with the collective demands of organised workers in Sheffield.

Today, members of Liverpool Solidarity Federation held a picket outside two branches of Pizza Hut in Liverpool City Centre. This was in solidarity with members of the Pizza Hut Workers’ Union (part of the IWW) in Sheffield who had called for a nationwide day of action against the company as part of their ongoing dispute with Pizza Hut management over pay, conditions and union recognition.

The demands are stated by the union membership as follows:

“In drivers conditions we are demanding regular updates of all moped drivers safety gear. We are also demanding an increase to deliver drivers per-delivery commission, which now stands at 60p, which clearly does not cover costs.

 

WYSF held a picket of Adecco today in Wakefield as part of the international campaign against Adecco's strike breaking practices. Despite the extreme cold and snow approx 100 leaflets where given out. Thanks to all the comrades who turned up.

Today saw members of North and South London SolFed join a picket in solidarity with Sheffield Pizza Hut workers. Organised by the IWW and targeting the busy Pizza Hut at the Strand, twenty picketers gave out leaflets to prospective customers and members of the public. The workers in Sheffield, who've organised with the Industrial Workers of the World, have been in a year-long dispute with the company over wage rates and holiday pay.

Despite the cold weather, the picketers were in high spirits and gave out hundreds of leaflets over the course of the afternoon. The picket was part of a national day of action against the pizza chain, with shops all around the country being picketed at the same time.

Around 50 people joined a demonstration outside the Royal Liverpool Hospital against the privatisation of the NHS. Members of Solidarity Federation, the Anarchist Federation, Women Against The Cuts and the Socialist Workers' Party were all present, along with a number of unaffiliated individuals who supported the cause. Despite the wind and rain, it was a lively gathering which drew in a fair amount of support from the public and service users.

Today, members of Liverpool Solidarity Federation picketed the office of employment agency Adecco in Liverpool City Centre. With the support of members of Occupy Liverpool, we handed out around 400 leaflets to the public during a picket that lasted around two hours.

If you're having trouble with the boss or landlord, or just want to find out more about the Solidarity Federation, we're holding a drop-in session this Sunday morning at 10am at the Cowley Club, 12 London Rd, Brighton. Drop in for a coffee and a chat. We are a revolutionary union initiative - we're not legal experts but we can help you find out your rights and suggest direct action tactics to get what you deserve.

Bristol Solidarity Federation picketed a branch of giant employment agency and arch strike-breakers Adecco last week in solidarity with striking workers at the Asea Boveri Brown (ABB) factory in Cordoba, Spain. The strike was called in protest at ABB plans to make workers employed at the factory by subcontractors EULEN redundant and replace them with EUROCEN non-union labour with no experience or qualifications. EUROCEN is the logistics division of the ADECCO Group of companies. The dispute was fuelled by serious breaches of health and safety in the factory and by management's refusal to honour collective agreements. Adecco has been providing scab labour to try and break the strike.

We have just published the first issue of a new newsletter focussed on direct action solidarity: tackling the little gripes and grievances from workplace bullying to wage theft to stolen deposits. Since mid-2011 the Brighton Local of the Solidarity Federation has been running a stall in locations around the city and more recently in Bognor.

Rather than the usual political stall about the big issues of government cuts and policy decisions we decided to use it to talk directly to people about their issues at work, with their landlords or at the Jobcentre. The aim has been to encourage the idea that these problems we face aren’t just something we are having difficulty with as individuals, but rather that they are part of a whole range of wider issues faced by the working class (those who rely on wages and/or benefits to make a living).

Topping off a successful week that included an all day picket of the union-busting employment agency ADECCO, yesterday the North London local of the Solidarity Federation held our 2012 annual general meeting. Attended by about two-thirds of our membership, the meeting included a mix of long-term members (including one who was in Direct Action Movement before it became the Solidarity Federation) and others who've only joined in the past few months.