SERTUC activities and news

SERTUC activities and news

New book The Burston School Strike

The third book in our series on the history of labour movement struggles in the Region will be available from 5 September. 60 pages, written by Peta Steel, price £2. Send cash or cheque (payable to SERTUC) to Joanne Williams, Congress House, Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3LS

Burston Strike School Rally

Sunday 4 September with Mick Whelan ASLEF, Attila the Stockbroker, Steve White and the Protest Family, NASUWT Brass Band, Red Flag, Grace Petrie, Banner Theatre 1^st May Band and Jeremy Corbyn MP Labour leader https://burstonstrikeschool.wordpress.com/2016-rally/

SERTUC organising with CGTP and OPZZ

Workshop for Polish workers in the East of England Thursday 22 September 5pm in Kings Lynn, see here https://www.facebook.com/events/1225659134144946/

Cable Street 80 Sunday 9 October

Rally in Altab Ali park, march, rally in St George’s Gardens plus many other community and political events https://www.facebook.com/events/1727212247542774/ and www.cablestreet80.org.uk and https://battleofcablest80.squarespace.com/events/

Retrospect Opera The Boatswain’s Mate by Ethel Smyth

SERTUC sponsored the recording of this opera by Ethel Smyth (who wrote The March of the Women, anthem of the suffragette movement). The recording is available to buy here http://www.retrospectopera.org.uk/CD_Sales.html

Celebrating 50 years of the 1967 Abortion Act

SERTUC Women’s Rights Committee is supporting Abortion Rights’ events January 2017 to October 2018. http://www.abortionrights.org.uk/the-abortion-act-turns-50/

SERTUC CLIC – open meeting Tuesday 6 September

6pm at Congress House (register with svolunteer@tuc.org.uk) with a speaker on the national demonstration Saturday 5 November opposing the cuts and closures of libraries, museums and galleries https://www.facebook.com/events/282708008768589/

Trade union actions

NUT World Teachers’ Day Wednesday 5 October

With Amnesty International and Day-Mer 6pm London. Free, info here https://teachers.org.uk/news-events/events/world-teachers-day

Trades Council actions

Battersea & Wandsworth trades council

North Battersea Alliance against the Bridge family fun day Saturday 10 September 11am to 4pm http://www.bwtuc.org.uk/news/north-battersea-alliance-against-the-bridge-family-fun-day

Peterborough trades council

·        Townsend Productions with play Dare Devil Rides to Jarama Wednesday 19 October 7.30pm £10/£8 book atpeterboroughtuc@gmail.com and info here http://www.townsendproductions.org.uk/feedback/test

·        Peterborough Women’s Festival Saturday and Sunday 4-5 March Women and Education peterboroughtuc@gmail.com for more information

Re-establishing Tower Hamlets trades council

Thursday 22 September 6.30pm, more info from Roger Sutton roger@hsm1.org.uk

Barnsley trades council Festival of Labour

Friday 14 to Sunday 16 October https://www.tuc.org.uk/about-tuc/union-history/regions/union-issues/barnsley-festival-labour-history

TUC

Fund our NHS campaign

See Matt Dykes from the TUC’s blog here http://touchstoneblog.org.uk/2016/08/need-properly-funded-nhs-make-voice-heard/ with links to actions and also much info here http://nhsfunding.info/

Midlands Region TUC demo

Demonstration at the Conservative Party conference Sunday 2 October, Birmingham with Dave Prentis Unison, Tom Roache GMB, Owen Jones writer https://www.tuc.org.uk/events/austerity-has-failed-demonstrate-us-conservative-party-conference-october-2

·        Coach organised by Greenwich & Bexley trades council from Bromley, Woolwich and Lewisham. £10/£5 contactlynnechristinechamberlain@gmail.com to book

·        Coach organised by St Albans, Welwyn & Hatfield trades council from Welwyn Garden City, St Albans and Luton. £10/donation contactnutjon@aol.com to book

Other actions/events

National Pensioners Convention

International Older People’s Day Saturday 1 October briefing paper for download here http://npcuk.org/2296

Ascott Martyrs’ project

Info on the project Tuesday 13 September 7.30pm Ascott under Wychwood (with curry and beer £9.95) book atpaul.jackson@triangle.eu.com 01993 831 967

Lewisham Pensioners Forum

The LPF is looking for Lewisham trade union activists, 55 years plus, who are no longer in full time employment but want to use their union experience, skills and connections to campaign for a better society http://www.lewishampensionersforum.org/index.html or call Doris Smith on 020 8698 9062

NPC conference and lobby

·        Conference The future of public transport Thursday 22 September 11am London. £5 including lunch info@npcuk.org

·        Lobby of parliament Wednesday 2 November 12 noon plus rally in parliament info@npcuk.org

Marx Memorial Library events

·        17-30 October Remembering the International Brigades, two week festival http://www.marx-memorial-library.org/education/festival-remembering-the-international-brigades

·        Fundraising evening with socialist magician Ian Saville at the Harrison Pub Wednesday 21 September 7pm http://www.marx-memorial-library.org/index.php?option=com_civicrm&task=civicrm/event/info&Itemid=218&reset=1&id=84 

London Recruits – an anti-apartheid story

Funding required… The inspirational story of the women and men who joined the struggle against apartheid, London Recruits is a film that trade unionists as well as union branches and regions can help bring to the big screen. Full info here http://londonrecruits.com/

To add to this newsletter contact mdobney@tuc.org.uk

Jeremy Hunt’s secret plans for our NHS

BREAKING: our people-powered investigation has uncovered Jeremy Hunt’s secret plans for our NHS. [1] So far, these plans - drawn up for every single area across England - have been kept under wraps. That changes today. Here's what our investigation found for North West London: The draft plan talks about "reducing demand for acute services by approximately 500 beds" which in practice means cutting that number of hospital beds By 2021, the health and social care system in North West London is projected to be £1.04 billion short of the funds it needs to balance its books while maintaining the same level of care for patients These plans are huge and complicated. Together we’ve started to shed light on them. But we just don’t know enough yet. [2] If we want to have our say on our local NHS services before it’s too late, we need to see every detail. The next step is to take this to our MPs. They’ll be concerned about changes to the NHS too. If MP after MP puts pressure on Jeremy Hunt, it could be enough to force him into publishing his full plans for our NHS. So, Peter, will you sign the petition asking Dawn Butler to lift the lid on the plans for the NHS in your area? SIGN THE PETITION Right now these plans force local NHS leaders to make impossible decisions to save money. But they could be so much better. Imagine an NHS with state-of-the-art technology, and doctors and nurses who have the time to look after every single patient properly. An NHS that puts patients before budget cuts. So 38 Degrees members are building a massive people-powered campaign across the country. From Liverpool to Canterbury, York to Leicester, 38 Degrees members in every area are demanding we see the full plans and get the chance to have our say on them. Together, we’re saying that patients - not politicians - should decide the future of our NHS. Peter, will you join thousands of other people and call on your MP to demand that these secret plans for our local NHS are out in the open? SIGN THE PETITION We’re already making progress together. Already, a quarter of a million of us have signed the petition calling on Jeremy Hunt to lift the lid on the plans. [3] And thousands of us chipped in to fund the people-powered investigation that’s splashed all over the media today. [4] Some of these plans for our NHS are downright scary. From the proposed closure of an A&E in The Black Country to hospital wards in Leeds, these plans will mean a different NHS for all of us. [5] A lot’s still unknown - and it’s up to us to find out the truth. Thanks for being involved, Maggie, Rachel, Laura and the 38 Degrees team PS: Thousands of 38 Degrees members chipped in to pay for an expert investigation to get the scoop on what the plans look like. The experts looked at everything they could find about the plans in every single area, to give us the information you see in this email. But lots is still unclear, and some areas haven’t released any details about their plans to the public. You can see the full investigation here, including what we know about every plan across England: https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/nhs-investigation-blog PPS: The 38 Degrees staff team have tried our best to make sure that the information in this email is accurate and right for your area. But there’s a chance that some people who live on the borders of two NHS areas might see information about the plans for their neighbouring NHS in this email instead. If you spot any problems with the information in this email - or have more information to share about your local plans - please email the staff team atnhssecretplans@38degrees.org.uk NOTES: [1] 38 Degrees blog: Is our NHS at risk of cuts? NHS England’s “Sustainability and Transformation Plans” explained: https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/nhs-secret-plans-faq [2] 38 Degrees blog: The 38 Degrees crowdfunded investigation into secret NHS plans: https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/nhs-investigation-blog [3] 38 Degrees petition: Jeremy Hunt - Reveal your plans for the NHS: https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/nhs-secret-plans-natp [4] BBC: NHS cuts 'planned across England': http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-37186455 The Guardian: NHS plans radical cuts to fight growing deficit in health budget: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/aug/26/nhs-plans-radical-cuts-to-fight-growing-deficit-in-health-budget [5] See note 2

38 Degrees is funded by donations from thousands of members across the UK. Making a regular donation will mean 38 Degrees can stay independent and plan for future campaigns. Please will you chip in a few pounds a week? Start a direct debit

SERTUC activities and news

SERTUC activities and news

New book The Burston School Strike

The third book in our series on the history of labour movement struggles in the Region will be available from 5 September. 60 pages, written by Peta Steel, price £2. Send cash or cheque (payable to SERTUC) to Joanne Williams, Congress House, Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3LS

Burston Strike School Rally

Sunday 4 September with Mick Whelan ASLEF, Attila the Stockbroker, Steve White and the Protest Family, NASUWT Brass Band, Red Flag, Grace Petrie, Banner Theatre 1^st May Band and John McDonnell MP Shadow Chancellor https://burstonstrikeschool.wordpress.com/2016-rally/

Cable Street 80 Sunday 9 October

Rally in Altab Ali park, march, rally in St George’s Gardens plus many other community and political events

https://www.facebook.com/Cablestreet80/?fref=ts

https://battleofcablest80.squarespace.com/events/

Retrospect Opera The Boatswain’s Mate by Ethel Smyth

SERTUC sponsored the recording of this opera by Ethel Smyth (who wrote The March of the Women, anthem of the suffragette movement). The recording is available to buy here http://www.retrospectopera.org.uk/CD_Sales.html

Celebrating 50 years of the 1967 Abortion Act

SERTUC Women’s Rights Committee is supporting Abortion Rights’ events January 2017 to October 2018. http://www.abortionrights.org.uk/the-abortion-act-turns-50/

19 disabled people murdered in Sagamihara Japan

SERTUC International Committee asks you to support and contribute to the Book of Condolence established by Inclusion London, Disabled People Against the Cuts and People First Advocacy https://www.inclusionlondon.org.uk/campaigns-and-policy/comment-and-media/disability-hate-crime-attack-japan-response-deaf-disabled-campaigners-organisations/

Trade union actions

NUT World Teachers’ Day Wednesday 5 October

With Amnesty International and Day-Mer 6pm London. Free, info here https://teachers.org.uk/news-events/events/world-teachers-day

TUC

Fund our NHS campaign

See Matt Dykes from the TUC’s blog here http://touchstoneblog.org.uk/2016/08/need-properly-funded-nhs-make-voice-heard/ with links to actions and also much info here http://nhsfunding.info/

Midland Region TUC demo

Demonstration at the Conservative Party conference Sunday 2 October, Birmingham with Dave Prentis Unison, Tom Roache GMB, Owen Jones writer https://www.tuc.org.uk/events/austerity-has-failed-demonstrate-us-conservative-party-conference-october-2

Trades Council actions

Battersea & Wandsworth trades council

North Battersea Alliance against the Bridge family fun day Saturday 10 September 11am to 4pm http://www.bwtuc.org.uk/news/north-battersea-alliance-against-the-bridge-family-fun-day

Barnsley trades council Festival of Labour

Friday 14 to Sunday 16 October https://www.tuc.org.uk/about-tuc/union-history/regions/union-issues/barnsley-festival-labour-history

Other actions/events

Lewisham Pensioners Forum

The LPF is looking for Lewisham trade union activists, 55 years plus, who are no longer in full time employment but want to use their union experience, skills and connections to campaign for a better society http://www.lewishampensionersforum.org/index.html or call Doris Smith on 020 8698 9062

NPC conference and lobby

·         Conference The future of public transport Thursday 22 September 11am London. £5 including lunch info@npcuk.org

·         Lobby of parliament Wednesday 2 November 12 noon plus rally in parliament info@npcuk.org

Marx Memorial Library events

·         Membership Volunteer wanted (with IT skills) for half a day a week. Contact archives@mml.xyz for more info

·         17-30 October Remembering the International Brigades, two week festival http://www.marx-memorial-library.org/education/festival-remembering-the-international-brigades

·         Fundraising evening with socialist magician Ian Saville at the Harrison Pub Wednesday 21 September 7pm http://www.marx-memorial-library.org/index.php?option=com_civicrm&task=civicrm/event/info&Itemid=218&reset=1&id=84 

Poetry on the picket line

It does what it says on the tin! Much more info available here https://standupandspit.wordpress.com/2016/03/09/poets-on-the-picket-line/ andhttps://www.facebook.com/Poetry-on-the-Picket-Line-1700015110275934/info/?entry_point=page_nav_about_item&tab=page_info

To add to this newsletter contact mdobney@tuc.org.uk

The Grunwick strike began 40 years ago today: 'WE ARE THOSE LIONS' - commemoration events

Saturday, 20 August 2016 

-->

From Grunwick40

It's an important day. Today is the 40th anniversary of the first moments of the Grunwick strike – and we're proud to announce our plans to commemorate it.  We'll be running a series of inspiring, thought-provoking events exploring Grunwick and its legacy, launching with Grunwick Memories on Saturday 27 August. Grunwick Memories is a free event, giving you the opportunity to explore and contribute to the Grunwick archive held by Brent Museum and Archives. Come along and take part in a story sharing session and add your memories and experiences of the strike to the Archive. You will also get an exclusive look at some of the materials that will feature in the upcoming exhibition. Grunwick Memories will take place at Brent Archive, on the second floor of The Library at Willesden Green, Willesden High Road NW10 2SF, from 2-4 pm on Saturday 27 August. Please join us!Email museum.archives@brent.gov.uk or call 020 8937 3600 for more information. Other upcoming events:   • We are those lions: The story of the Grunwick strike 1976-78 exhibition, launching October 2016 at The Library at Willesden Green. Look out for the launch date – coming soon. • The Great Grunwick Mural unveiling, Chapter Road, NW10. Be the first to see our amazing murals in place near the original Grunwick site. The design and unveiling details are still under wraps, but we'll be revealing details over the next few weeks, along with the names of our special guests, who'll be providing music and entertainment. • Explore Grunwick in more detail at our November events, a film screening and discussion on “Race and the Unions” at SOAS, November 2nd, and Grunwick 40: The Conference, The Library at Willesden Green, November 26th – booking for these events will open in October. Yours in solidarity, Grunwick 40 PS: Don't miss out on the reissued anniversary edition of Grunwick: The Workers’ Story, by Jack Dromey and Graham Taylor, with an updated introduction – due out in late September. acknowledgements to Martin Francis http://wembleymatters.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/the-grunwick-strike-began-40-years-ago.html

Grunwick Changed Me

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07npvfh

Grunwick Changed Me

Listen at http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07npvfh

 

Maya Amin-Smith explores the impact of the Grunwick dispute, which began in August 1976, and finds out how members of her family became involved, and how they look back on it now.

The Grunwick dispute, at a film processing plant in north west London, is widely regarded as a landmark in British trade union history. For the first time, a high-profile strike involved women from South Asian immigrant communities, many of whom were fairly recent arrivals in the UK. Few if any had experience of industrial action - and the press at the time quickly noticed what they called 'strikers in saris', an image which challenged the perception that strikes were largely led by white men.

But aside from the public legacy of the Grunwick dispute, what was the personal impact on the people involved?

Maya Amin-Smith was born fifteen years after the strike was abandoned, into an Indian family of East-African immigrants. Her family had settled in the Chapter Road area of Dollis Hill where the Grunwick factory was situated. Indeed, two of her great aunts worked at the film processing plant themselves.

There's little sign now in the narrow streets of Dollis Hill that this was once the site of a long and bitter struggle, but now that the dust has settled, Maya explores the impact that this industrial action has had not only on her family, but on families like hers within the South Asian immigrant community, and how it's remembered now.

Why you should support the #DeliverooStrike

Why you should support the #DeliverooStrike

Freedom and flexibility: the new On-Demand platform economy. Drivers, couriers, cleaners and handymen are now at your beck and call thanks to a host of apps. But what’s it like to work for an On-Demand service?

For scooter drivers and cyclists at Deliveroo “freedom and flexibility” means exploitation and exhaustion. And they’ve had enough of it.

This week Deliveroo drivers organised a strike over changes to their pay. Currently drivers earn less than the London Living Wage at £7/hour + £1/delivery. But Deliveroo want to ditch the hourly rate, and move to zero hours contracts, where drivers would earn a mere £3.75/delivery. Many drivers already work 60 hours or more per week to make ends meet.

Their employment contracts are already desperately precarious, offering no job security, no sick pay, no paid holidays and no guaranteed hours - the epitome of the deregulated workplace. The new terms could mean drivers work whole days for nothing. This strike represents a stand against this move to calculated and maximised exploitation.

The strike started on Wednesday, as hundreds of drivers gathered outside the Deliveroo Head Office on Torrington Place, WC1. Drivers are striking for a fairer hourly rate at the London Living Wage of £9.40 plus petrol costs, plus tips, plus £1/per delivery. When drivers sought to negotiate, Deliveroo responded by sacking them.

This is the true face of Deliveroo and of zero-hours contract Britain. But this strike could change everything.

The Deliveroo strike continues, and they need our help.

Every hour on strike for fairer pay is an hour of lost pay. By raising a strike fund to cover lost pay we can help drivers win the London Living Wage and begin to transform the economy from the bottom up. Please give whatever you can afford.

Find out more about the Deliveroo strike and updates, here.

Follow the strike on Twitter via @IWGB_CLB #DeliverooStrike #Slaveroo

Your information will be held securely and privately. By donating, you agree to receive updates from this campaign and Crowdpac, and consent to the use of cookies in accordance with our privacy policy. You can opt out at any time.

The People's Assembly will be holding a major conference and a national demonstration at Theresa May's first Tory Party Conference as Prime Minister.

The People's Assembly will be holding a major conference and a national demonstration at Theresa May's first Tory Party Conference as Prime Minister. These events will take place over 1st and 2nd October demanding an alternative to 'Austerity Britain'.

Saturday 1 October: The People's Conference: Our Alternative To Austerity

@ Birmingham Town Hall >> Register your place

Sunday 2 October: National Demonstration: Tories Out - Austerity Has Failed

@ Victoria Square, Birmingham >> Please invite and share on Facebook

We face insecure employment, low pay, and a drive to privatise our public services. There’s a growing housing crisis, our NHS is going through the biggest funding squeeze since it’s foundation, and our Education system is over-stretched. Local services have been shut down as huge budget cuts are forced on councils.

Big business, corporations and the richest are squireling away money in offshore tax havens, awarding themselves bonuses, while immigrants are blamed for problems they had no hand in creating. And everyone else is told to tighten their belts.

Austerity has clearly failed the majority but what is the alternative? At the conference we will explore and discuss how it's possible to achieve a society where everyone has secure housing, jobs and decent education. It will counter the lies that will come out of the Tory Conference over the following days, and will propose a series of actions over the coming weeks and months that can create a movement that stops austerity in it's tracks. The demonstration will be a visible display of mass opposition and intervene in the mainstream debate when all we'll hear in the media is the austerity obsessed narrative coming out of their conference.

See you in Birmingham!

The People's Assembly Against Austerity
http://www.thepeoplesassembly.org.uk/