This is a letter written by Liverpool SolFed and printed in the Liverpool Echo newspaper yesterday (6th July 2011).

The June 30th strikes were well observed in Brighton, with the vast majority of schools shut, five picket lines across the city and a huge march and rally through the town centre.

Jobcentre picket: PCS and supporters set up banners & stall at 7am. BBC radio interviewed PCS organiser & interviewer disclosed that he was going to London after to plan future NUJ action. 2 pickets formed, at entrance to Jobcentre and at staff entrance. Approx 10-15 non-union staff arrived early and entered building. A solid picket of 30-40 formed by 8.15, ready for 8.30 opening. Much beeping of car horns and public goodwill. 2 supporters handing out claimants' leaflets were told forecourt is private property and were physically removed by security.

On Saturday 2nd July WYSF held a leafleting session outside Vodafone in Hull as part of a campaign against tax dodging and anti union practices. We gave out 500 leaflets and had a pretty positive response.   This included one person asking about groups in Nottingham, who was refered to the National Website.

A joint statement released by our Spanish sister section, the CNT, along with several other Spanish unions (leer en español).

The unions Confederación General del Trabajo (CGT), Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT), Solidaridad Obrera (SO) and Coordinadora Sindical de Clase (CSC) met on June 24 in Madrid to discuss how we can respond to the attack we the workers are under, an attack without precedents, one that bushwhacks our acquired rights, one made a reality by the government and European institutions, the bosses and the markets. How we can coordinate a struggle, and a response, based on class unity and action.

After the last UCU pensions strike in March, several rank & file union members, upset at the lack of inter-union unity, set up the Manchester University Staff Against the Cuts group (MUSAC). The group has been meeting regularly and consists of members of Unite, Unison and UCU. Members of Manchester EWN are also involved.

It has been good to meet with people whose criticisms of the existing unions match our own in many ways. The group has held a weekly stall in the University, giving out leaflets in support of various anti-cut campaigns.

As around 750,000 public sector workers took strike action, Liverpool Solidarity Federation offered our support to picket lines around Bootle as well as joining a march and rally in the City Centre. We found that strike action was strongly supported, not just by the staff walking out but by the broader constituency of those affected by and fighting the cuts.

July 1st is Action Mesothelioma Day, an annual event in which awareness is raised about the continuing suffering caused by asbestos-related cancer. Here a member of Manchester Solidarity Federation and the Greater Manchester Asbestos Victim Support Group talks about the destructive effect asbestos has had on the lives of thousands of workers.

With June 30^th widely recognised as a strike about cuts as well as pensions, people across the country joined in on the day to show their support and anger. In South London, the aim of generalising the strike was realised through the double fun of critical mass and street party!  The results were tangible, with multiple road blockages giving a jab in the side of the economy whilst public sector workers dealt the right hook of the day.

North London was alive with the sound of pickets yesterday, as hundreds of people around the boroughs stood outside their workplaces to take on bosses and persuade workmates not to cross the line. Focussing on the particularly vibrant borough of Hackney, North London Solfed can report a strong showing from the places we visited, with scabbing kept to a minimum - though sadly not every staffer had worked out that it's worse for kids to have badly-treated teachers than for them to miss a day of school.

Bridge Academy

Download the pdf here.

Job Centre workers in the PCS union are on strike today to defend their pensions, but this is our fight too. The government’s attacks on job centre workers go hand-in-hand with their attacks on claimants. On the one hand they lower the terms and conditions of job centre staff, on the other they force claimants onto privately-run workfare schemes like the Flexible New Deal, through for-profit companies like Maximus, Skills Training and Careers Development Group. Meanwhile they force ill and disabled people off the sick (ESA) and onto Jobseekers Allowance (JSA).