The Immigration Act of 2014 has far reaching strands that pushes society further to the right. It affects many areas of life such as housing and health. In health, the government want clinical, administrative and auxiliary staff to enquire to and report on the immigration status of patients, which could lead to charging or the withholding of healthcare services.
A company that owned two restaurants, both in busy areas of Brighton, decided to claim insolvency. All the workers were called to a meeting to announce that the company was going insolvent and the restaurants would close. Some of the employees were paid off, some were given contracts for a ‘new’ restaurant and some got nothing!
A Valentine's Day dispute leads to satisfaction for two workers. You quit your job and your former employer refuses to pay what he owes you? That sounds familiar. And it is exactly what happened to A. and D. who had been working in the kitchen of a Hanover pub.
Recently I have received some very sad news. Our friend Peggy has passed away in Zaragoza (Spain) after a month in the hospital. Peggy was living in Brighton for nearly two years. She inherited from her family a passion for classical music, and she took part in the Brighton Choir. One of her favourite pieces was Mozart´s Requiem.
In the hospitality sector in Brighton it is very common to find employers who do not pay the minimum wage or pay the holidays owed to their workers. This problem is more common for migrants who do not necessarily have a great command of language or a thorough knowledge of labor laws.
This was the case for an employee of a restaurant in The Lanes. His situation in the workplace was made more complicated by the fact the rest of the kitchen staff, like him, were migrants, so communication was very difficult. He was paid minimum wage, 6.5 pounds per hour, and last minute changes to the rota were quite common, sometimes reaching up to 50 hours per week.
On Tuesday March 17th, St. Patrick's Day, a group of around 10 people accompanied a former worker of the pub. The aim was to ask if the management had an answer to the demands that he, in conjunction with Brighton Solidarity Federation, had made the previous week.
The pub is located in the Western Road area and the worker was a kitchen porter for about a year before he was sacked without any notice. As usual, he was on minimum wage and a zero-hours contract, the worst conditions the law allows.
However, the company decided this wasn't enough and didn't pay him for holiday leave not taken and the one week notice period.
Sun 19 Apr 7pm, Edinburgh Benefit Gig & Cinema shows in Solidarity with Anarchists Against Repression in Spain. Banshee Labyrinth EH1 1LG www.facebook.com/events/579856092149684/
also join us Fri 17 April 12noon - Edinburgh Solidarity Protest against Ley Mordaza and to demand all 'Operación Pandora' charges in Spain are dropped www.facebook.com/events/796730227077630/
• to raise awareness about the repressive reforms such as Operación Pandora, Operación Piñata, Penal Code Reform (more anti-union laws) and Ley Mordaza (the Gag Law) which will attempt to criminalise working class self-organisation and self-defence in favour of capitalism and state coercion.
Newcastle SolFed are holding their annual May Day Bash on Saturday 2nd May at The Telegraph pub, Orchard Street, Newcastle - doors open 7-30pm. This year we will be raising awareness and hopefully a few quid in support of anarchists arrested in Operation Pandora, a Spanish State anti-terrorist initiative that has been used as a represive measure against those opposed to the State and Capital, with dozens of anarchists arrested. Spain has a long and strong tradition of anarchist organising and this abuse of civil liberties supported throughout mainstream Spanish media is a potent reminder of the origins of May Day in 1886, where anarchists in Chicago were framed in the famous Haymarket massacre. The media fuelled the witch hunt against those anarchists, demanding the death sentence which saw 4 of the accused hung, only to be pardoned 7 years later.