The struggle against workfare continues. As a part of the national day of action members of the North London SolFed picketed several shops around Holloway.
As the stores coped with increased demand, Christmas season traditionally meant opportunities for temporary work in retail. This is changing. Under the guise of work experience, businesses increasingly take on benefit claimants instead. For today’s picket we chose shops where we heard this was happening. We started at Superdrug and  later moved to Argos. We held pickets outside, where we engaged with customers. We also went to the shops and talked to staff – if we don't stop workfare together, it may replace their jobs too.

This article was written by a SolFed member and originally appeared in the "How do you build a movement?" column of the Occupied Times.

The article focuses on a practical approach to organising in which theory follows practice, is designed to appeal beyond a politicised core, and by which a movement is built by achieving concrete and escalating victories.

OT Issue 18 here.

It is a disgrace that public funds are being spent on blacklisting trade unionists on the Crossrail project. 

Workers have been dismissed from the largest construction project in Europe for raising safety concerns about high voltage cables and for joining the UNITE union. For nearly 3 months there have been daily protests about blacklisting on Crossrail and the firms involved have constantly denied that it is taking place.

On Tuesday Ian Kerr, chief officer of the Consulting Association blacklisting organisation told MPs that his members had talked at length about Crossrail during meetings to discuss the list: "An awful lot of discussion took place at Consulting Association meetings about the Crossrail project.'

The demonstration on Saturday 24th November against the closure of A&E and Maternity wards at Lewisham Hospital drew a huge turnout of between 10,000 and 15,000 people yesterday.
Seasoned older marchers agreed it was the biggest demo in the borough since the New Cross Fire of 1981 or Lewisham’s 1977 mobilisation against the National Front.
The numbers, in pouring rain and on the same day as a demo against the ongoing atrocities in Gaza, showed massive popular feeling and determination to fight the closure.
The crowd was very local and very diverse, all the different populations of Lewisham from the local pensioners forum to small woolly-hatted girls holding placards saying “I could have died by the time the ambulance reached Woolwich” walking alongside huge numbers of NHS workers.

The North London local of the Solidarity Federation would like to offer our sincerest congratulations and solidarity to the Counihan family who recently had their housing benefit reinstated by Brent Council.  The fight you've led has been inspirational and militant.  It serves as an example for the sort of struggles that are going to be needed if we're to win the to fight against the onslaught of cuts facing the working class.

We will be advertising your upcoming march and public meeting to our members and contacts. Congratulations again and please keep us informed of upcoming actions and campaign developments on northlondonsf (at) riseup.net

Leaflet about the campaign available here:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/114270652/Counihan-6th-Dec-Leaflet

What: Pret a Manger communications blockade

When: Thur 29th November, 2:00 - 4:00pm

Call, email, and text Pret on the 29th November between the hours of 2:00 and 4:00pm demanding that Andrej be reinstated and that Pret stop victimising all union members.

See full article for email addresses and phone numbers.

Workers are taking action against privatisation plans in a wave of occupations of hospitals and clinics across Madrid, with massive support from patients and from the population of Madrid. Today a 48 hour strike in health care in Madrid saw 80% of workers on strike. This is just the first of four planned walkouts. Huge demonstrations in support of public health care carried banners like “Health care, we don’t sell it, we defend it.” and “100% free and public.” There have been other occupations outside Madrid, such as the hospital occupation in Zaragoza just before the general strike. A grassroots mobilisation called marea blanca, “white tide” has been building in health care for several months. The privatisation reforms would mean patients paying upfront to see a GP and to have essential treatment.

What: Pret a Manger communications blockade

When: Wed 28th November

Since forming PAMSU earlier this year, Andrej and other workplace activists have faced victimisation from management.  For Andrej, this has reached a point where he has been sacked on trumped-up disciplinary charges.  His final hearing will occur on Thursday the 29th of November.