The Great Ormond Street Hospital security guards' strike is on!

 

Tracey Scholes

 

I've got some great news! Manchester bus driver Tracey Scholes has been reinstated in her job, after her employer threatened to dismiss her because she was too short to operate buses after they adjusted the wing mirrors. You and nearly 30,000 others joined a petition and wrote emails to her employer's CEO. The online support raised the pressure nationally on Go North West, and helped Tracey and her colleagues at Queens Road depot to stay strong in challenging the decision. Sharon Graham, General Secretary of Unite said: "It's appalling that Tracey was put through this ordeal when a negotiated outcome was always available. Employers must understand that Unite will defend members' jobs, pay and conditions." You can read more about this story here. This decision shows the power of working people standing together against wrong decisions by our bosses. On our own, we're easier for an employer to ignore. But joining together in a union helps us reset the balance, as well as gaining important rights when there are problems at work. If you're a bus driver too and aren't yet in a union, you can join Unite here. And unions aren't just for drivers - you can find one that matches your own sector here. On behalf of Tracey and her colleagues, thanks again for your support, Lee Lomas, Unite the Union

Not a union member yet? Join today.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/jan/17/manchester-bus-driver-dismissed-for-being-too-short-given-job-back-after-appeal

THE POLICE CRIME SENTENCING AND COURTS BILL 2021

 

THE POLICE CRIME SENTENCING AND COURTS BILL 2021 View this email in your browser

THE POLICE CRIME SENTENCING AND COURTS BILL 2021  The Police Crime Sentencing and Courts (PCSC) Bill gives the police increased powers to stop and search which will impact disproportionately on Black youth. The sections of the Bill restricting the rights of travellers include provisions that would criminalise the way of life of Gypsy and Traveller communities. The specific provisions relating to protest propose increasing the powers of the police to place conditions on the right to public processions and assemblies but without detailing what those conditions might be. They introduce a new consideration for the police to take into account, the level of noise. This requires the police to determine whether the level of noise is such that it could cause “serious disruption to the activities of an organisation which are carried on in the vicinity of the procession” or such that there may be a relevant or significant “impact” on persons in the vicinity. The very nature of peaceful protest is that it is noisy – whether through chanting, shouting, or Samba / drumming /musical support. Having put into place their own conditions on the protest assembly or procession, the police may immediately arrest protestors. While legal challenges to the lawfulness of the arrests and prosecutions may result in acquittals, this is no consolation to the protestor whose rights are abruptly curtailed by arrest.  The current provisions of the Public Order Act allow for defendants to argue lack of knowledge when prosecuted for violating any conditions imposed by the police on the protest.  The PCSC Bill disallows this defence by making it an offence where the person “ought to have known” of the conditions, effectively criminalising protestors who inadvertently commit a breach by being in the wrong place at the wrong time.  The Home Secretary would have an extensive power to declare the kind of protest and causes it deems inconvenient or unacceptable and provide the police with a licence to limit them. The Bill gives the Home Secretary the power to make regulations defining what would amount to “serious disruption to the activities of an organisation” or “serious disruption to the life of the community. Union activity such as pickets and protests outside places of work may be impacted by these proposed changes. By relying on the “serious disruption to the activities of organisations”, these powers could be used to clamp down on commonplace union activity. Now the Government has put forward a raft of amendments granting the police new and oppressive powers to stifle dissenting voices further. Liberty has warned that the Bill is one part of a larger campaign by the Government to remove itself from accountability and undermine everyone’s ability to stand up to power. They say: These additions to the Policing Bill must be seen for what they are: a power grab. The right to protest must be defended.

Copyright © 2022 UCU London Retired Members Branch, All rights reserved.

Latest GJA Newsletter.

 

Latest GJA Newsletter.
"Until we solve this crisis, or it overwhelms us before we can, we are now permanently between COPs. Targets now have to be ratcheted up at every COP.
As we move into 2022 and towards the COP in Egypt, carbon emissions are still increasing, intense weather patterns are wreaking havoc; and there are four crucial shifts pending..." Now read on!
Please pass on to anyone you know who might be interested.

https://www.greenerjobsalliance.co.uk/news/

Victimised bus driver David O’Sullivan’s preliminary hearing opens in London

 

Victimised bus driver David O’Sullivan’s preliminary hearing opens in London

Laura Tiernan

11 hours ago

David O’Sullivan’s unfair dismissal claim against Metroline bus company is scheduled for a preliminary hearing at Watford Employment Tribunal today. O’Sullivan was dismissed one year ago after he alerted colleagues to the spread of COVID-19 at Cricklewood bus garage in London.

David O’Sullivan (WSWS Media)

O’Sullivan asserted his rights to a safe workplace under Section 44 of the Employment Rights Act. A public transport worker for three decades, he was accused of spreading “inaccurate and damaging information”, “inciting unlawful industrial action” and of “bringing the company into disrepute”. A disciplinary investigation dismissed O’Sullivan’s safety concerns and found him guilty of “gross misconduct”.

Today’s preliminary hearing is listed for case management. It will confirm the legal grounds for O’Sullivan’s unfair dismissal claim and establish a timeline for the case. There are huge delays at the Employment Tribunal and he has been advised that a full hearing may not take place until summer next year, at the earliest.

O’Sullivan told the World Socialist Web Site yesterday that he’s prepared for the fight ahead, “This case is not just about me, it’s about 73 preventable deaths of London bus workers. It’s about the rights of key workers to a safe workplace. We cannot accept drivers being sacked because they insist on health and safety protections to prevent our colleagues from getting ill and dying.”

A £20,000 crowdfund to support O’Sullivan’s legal case was completed last night. O’Sullivan said, “I am very grateful. I’d like to thank every single person who donated. It’s a significant achievement.

“The pandemic has killed more than 176,000 people in the UK, and millions more globally. These were preventable deaths, and this situation cannot be allowed to continue. I would like to thank the World Socialist Web Site and my colleagues on the London buses for getting behind me. I am doing this for all of us.”

Ahead of today’s hearing, some of O’Sullivan’s colleagues on the London buses sent messages of support. Names have been changed to protect against victimisation.

Daniel from Cricklewood garage said: “For Dave to risk his job to defend the drivers was a really brave thing to do, because he also has a family. He’s from an older generation and is a revolutionary person. Everyone knows what’s happening. No-one is happy with the situation, it’s just that we have bills to pay, but we support him.

“When Dave was dismissed, everyone was not happy, because we knew what management was hiding. They were covering up who was sick with COVID. Dave found out what was happening, and he published it. He wanted to tell everyone. He knows about our rights, and they did not like that. I hope he wins.”

Priya from Cricklewood garage said: “Be strong David, and we wish you all the best. Respect. Nothing has been done to protect us. There is so much they should be doing to fix safety. They’ve got the money, but they don’t want to spend it on us.

“When I got sick last year from COVID I was off work for nearly four weeks, but it was very hard because I got less than £100 a week statutory sick pay.

“People with COVID are being pressured to return to work before they are well—as soon as their isolation period finishes. At first, they were being forced to come back after 10 days. Now they are putting on Blink [the company app] to come back after six days, because the government is changing the rules. So, after five days, you are back at work on the sixth day. It took more than three weeks for me to fully recover [from COVID].

“We had two drivers at the garage who died with COVID. The company tried to hide this as much as possible. When the second driver died last year, all the drivers were crowding around. He was a very nice man. Nothing had been done, by the management or the union to protect us.

“I want David to get his job back. It’s not fair. He is an older driver too, and he was only trying to help us.”

Lamal from Cricklewood garage said O’Sullivan’s case is “the battle between an abusive management power and a working class employee. Whatever the outcome, it will represent a victory because David has the power to fight the unjust forces against him and he has the following of his colleagues.”

Thomas from Cricklewood garage said, “the treatment of the drivers during COVID was the worst thing you can think of. By both the management and by the union. At the same time, they were getting us to work longer hours.

“Recently they’ve brought back to the garage drivers they previously sacked, putting them on worse conditions. We’ve got one driver who was sacked and after a few days he was asked if he wanted to come back on a W0 contract. It basically means he would go from earning about £15 an hour to starting on £12. Of course, he said no.

“The situation is even worse now. So many people left the buses because of how they were treated in the pandemic. So they have extended our hours again. Last week I was supposed to have short duties, but I worked 11 hours a day, seven days straight, that’s 77 hours in one week. And just a 45-minute break.

“I had COVID, and I know at least five other drivers who had COVID too. The company doesn’t do any contact tracing. Recently, one of our drivers got a positive COVID test. A driver asked why the company didn’t notify us. They said that because of new government laws, you don’t have to be contacted because you don’t need to isolate, because you’re double jabbed. The truth is that they don’t want you to isolate because they are short of drivers.

“Dave is being used as an example to not go against the company. I hope that he will win to prove that we workers have basic human rights too.”

Vincent from Stamford Brook (RATP) said: “David has my full support, and the truth has to come out. Fight until the end! They [Metroline] tried to deny responsibility for the duty of care they have for drivers’ health and safety. David was just trying to do his duty of care as a worker and as a responsible human being.

“The outcome of this case has to be the truth, and for the company to be held responsible. The results have to be public. The court has to not only give an example to other companies, but a warning to other companies as well. It’s not only about money, it’s about lives.”

Vincent also condemned the union for its role in helping to frame-up O’Sullivan, “Unite on the buses are working closely with TfL [Transport for London] and the operators. They are out of order and it’s an absolute disgrace.”

The WSWS urges bus and transport workers to join the fight for O’Sullivan’s reinstatement. For more information, please visit the campaign page.

Join the campaign to reinstate London bus driver David O’Sullivan!

O’Sullivan was sacked for upholding workers’ health and safety during a pandemic that has killed 60 bus drivers in London alone.

FIND OUT MORE

Our new year’s resolution for 2022: to rise up and fight back Bernie Sanders

 

Striking Kellogg workers in Battle Creek, Michigan, in December. Photograph: Seth Herald/AFP/Getty Images

Our new year’s resolution for 2022: to rise up and fight back

Bernie Sanders

Corporate greed and class warfare are crushing working people. No one is going to save us – we need to rise up together

 

As we begin the year 2022, in these unprecedented times, I know it’s easy to give in to despair.

We are facing a raging pandemic with seemingly no end in sight. We are rapidly moving toward oligarchy and while income and wealth inequality grows, millions struggle to obtain the basic necessities of life. We have a dysfunctional healthcare system with more than 84 million uninsured or underinsured and nearly one out of four unable to afford prescription drugs. Climate change is ravaging the planet and systemic racism and other forms of bigotry continue to eat away at the fabric of our society. We have a corrupt political system in which corporate money buys elections and a mainstream media that largely ignores the pain that ordinary people experience.

And, in the midst of all this, Republicans across the country are working overtime trying to undermine democracy by making it harder for people of color, young people and those who oppose them to vote in our next elections.

In other words, the challenges we face are enormous and it is easy to understand why many may fall into depression and cynicism. This is a state of mind, however, that we must resist – not only for ourselves but for our kids and future generations. The stakes are just too high. Despair is not an option. We must stand up and fight back.

Here is some good news: working people all over the country are taking on corporate greed and they are winning

And here is some very good news. While the corporate-owned media may not be actively reporting it, working people all over the country, with extraordinary courage and determination, are taking on corporate greed, and they are winning.

Workers at John Deere waged their first strike in more than three decades, stayed on the picket lines and eventually won a contract with strong wage increases, a ratification bonus and improved health insurance.

Striking nurses in Buffalo won raises that moved all workers to at least $15 an hour and a reduction in staff shortages. These nurses fought not only for themselves, but their patients – and they won.

Kaiser Permanente healthcare workers won a major victory after rejecting a contract that would have given new workers lower wages and benefits.

Nabisco workers, struggling against forced overtime, inadequate wages and pensions, a two-tier health system and the outsourcing of jobs, went on strike and won. Once again we saw workers fighting not just for themselves, but for the next generation of workers.

More than 1,400 Kellogg’s workers in Michigan, Tennessee, Pennsylvania and Nebraska went on strike for months and won, fighting back against a plan to give new workers lower wages and benefits.

Starbucks employees in upstate New York, for the very first time, organized a union shop in a fight against a giant corporation that did just about everything it could to stop them.

Those are just some of the inspiring efforts that took place last year. Let me tell you about what’s happening right now as workers continue to stand up to some of the most powerful corporate interests in the country.

In Huntington, West Virginia, 450 steelworkers at the Special Metals company have been engaged in a major strike for almost 100 days. Special Metals is a profitable company owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway. Buffett, of course, is one of the richest people in the world, with wealth of over $109bn.

While Special Metals made $1.5bn in profits last year and Mr Buffett became over $40bn richer during the pandemic, executives at this company offered workers an outrageous and insulting contract that includes a zero pay increase for this year, and a totally unacceptable 1% pay raise next year, while quadrupling healthcare premiums and reducing vacation time.

Sadly, the corporate greed that is going on in West Virginia is not an aberration. In Santa Fe Springs, California, about 100 bakery workers, who make cakes for Baskin Robbins, Safeway and Cold Stone Creamery, are on strike against the appropriately named Rich Products Corporation at the Jon Donaire Desserts production plant. About 75% of these employees are Latina women who are often forced into mandatory overtime with little to no notice and sometimes work up to 16 hours a day.

This is a company that made $4bn in revenue last year. During the pandemic, Bob Rich, the majority owner of Rich Products, increased his wealth by more than $2bn. While the workers he employs barely make more than California’s minimum wage, Mr Rich currently has a net worth of more than $7.5bn. Yet, despite his billions in wealth, the “best and final offer” Mr Rich has put on the table for his workers is an insulting $1-an-hour wage increase. That is pathetic.

But it’s also not unusual in the world of corporate greed. In Brookwood, Alabama, about 1,100 workers at Warrior Met Coal have been on strike since April. Just like the bakery workers in California and the steelworkers in West Virginia, these are workers who also have worked as many as seven days a week and up to 16 hours per day.

In 2016, under great pressure to keep the company afloat and keep jobs in their community, these coalminers agreed to a $6-an-hour pay cut – more than 20% of their average salary – and a substantial reduction in their healthcare and retirement benefits as part of a restructuring deal made by Wall Street vulture funds like Blackstone and Apollo.

Meanwhile, the executives at Warrior Met and their Wall Street investors made out like bandits. Since 2017, Warrior Met has rewarded $1.4bn in dividends to its wealthy shareholders while handing out bonuses of up to $35,000 to its executives. Yet, while the company has returned to profitability, Warrior Met has offered its workers a measly $1.50 raise over 5 years and has refused to restore the healthcare and pension benefits that were taken away.

The struggles that these workers are experiencing are not unique. There are millions of other Americans in exactly the same position – people who have to fight tooth-and-nail against wealthy and powerful corporate interests for decent wages, healthcare, pensions and safe working conditions. And let’s be clear. Class warfare in this country is intensifying. Greed is on the rise.

The greatest weapon our opponents have is their ability to create a culture that makes us feel hopeless and diminishes the strength of solidarity

What history has always taught us is that real change never takes place from the top on down. It is always occurs from the bottom on up. That is the history of the labor movement, the civil rights movement, the women’s movement, the environmental movement and the gay rights movement. That is the history of every effort that has brought about transformational change in our society.

And that is the struggle we must intensify today. At a time when the demagogues want to divide us up based on the color of our skin, where we were born, our religion or our sexual orientation, we must do exactly the opposite. We must bring people together around a progressive agenda. We must educate, organize and build an unstoppable grassroots movement that helps create the kind of nation we know we can become. One that is based on the principles of justice and compassion, not greed and oligarchy.

The greatest weapon our opponents have is not just their unlimited wealth and power. It is their ability to create a culture that makes us feel weak and hopeless and diminishes the strength of human solidarity.

And here is our new year’s resolution. Like the thousands of workers who stood up and fought courageously in 2021, we will do the same. No one individual is going to save us. We must rise up together.

Happy new year.

• Bernie Sanders is a US senator and the chair of the Senate budget committee. He represents the state of Vermon

Brian Barnes obituary

 https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2021/dec/28/brian-barnes-obituary

This is the Guardian obituary of the artist Brian Barnes who was famous for 

his murals, mainly in and around Battersea in south London. He was a Green Party member. More details of his work can be found in

For Walls With Tongues Publication, £20 incld. p&P

For Walls With Tongues is a collection of essays developed from interviews with some of the mural painters active between 1966 and 1985 in the UK; supplemented with 5 essays about artists who we researched but could not interview and an essay by Professor Bill Rolston about external murals in Northern Ireland.

It is available from bookshops or directly from Greenwich Mural Workshop using the contact email from this website.

Priced at £20 including post & package. Payment can be made either by cheque sent to Carol Kenna, GMW, 78 Kinveachy Gardens, Charlton , London SE7 8EJ  or by BACS payment, details given on request.

 

Brian Barnes obituary

Detail from a Brian Barnes mural on a wall in Battersea, south-west London

Steve Lobb

Tue 28 Dec 2021 17.01 GMT

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My friend Brian Barnes, who has died aged 77 of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, was a celebrated muralist and a leading light in the community arts movement. Warm-hearted, funny, outspoken and a hugely gifted artist, he created murals around south London for more than 45 years.

He was born in Farnborough, Kent, and raised in nearby St Paul’s Cray, the first child of William Barnes, chief executive of the Mullard electrical components company, and his wife, Eileen (nee Hiley), a seamstress at Morphy Richards. His parents supported him in everything and he had a happy childhood. Brian’s first school was Gray’s Farm primary, then Midfield secondary school for boys.

Aside from painting murals, Brian Barnes designed and printed campaign posters for activists. Photograph: Silvia

He began a course at Ravensbourne College of Art (now Ravensbourne University London) in 1961, leading to a national diploma in design. There he met Aileen McKeegan, studying fabric design, and they married in 1964. Brian stood out as a determined realist painter and went on to study at the Royal College of Art, where he graduated in 1969 with beautifully composed and detailed work.

Moving to Battersea, south-west London, the couple found a leftwing group of friends and became activists, campaigning for better social provision in housing, parks and jobs and protesting against rent rises and the redevelopment of Battersea power station and the riverfront for the wealthy.

The necessity of creating art expressing social concerns gave Brian a new direction, and a bolder style for his work. In 1973 he began printing silkscreen posters at home for campaigns. Demand grew and by 1977 his print workshop was producing hundreds of posters for the community.

Then came the murals. His first, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, in 1975, was vast, and was painted with 90 volunteers, near Battersea Bridge. On the “good” end were pictures of socialist goals, in the centre a “rainbow” broom swept away the capitalists’ failure. It became a popular landmark. A year later the wall was demolished. Protesters arrived in thousands, Battersea Bridge was closed and the artist arrested.

More large scale gable-end murals followed; sunny evocations like Day at the Seaside and Battersea in Perspective. Then anti-war murals: Nuclear Dawn in Brixton, with its threatening skeleton, and Riders of the Apocalypse in New Cross, featuring world leaders riding rockets around a besieged world, above a tender rendering of messages at Greenham Common. There were many more murals for creches, nurseries, schools, towns, estates and railway stations.

Detail from a Brian Barnes mural in Stockwell, south London, celebrating the life of the second world war special operations agent Violette Szabo

The Stockwell war memorial, begun in 1999, was the work he returned to often. It is a joyful mural with many images, dedicated to the fallen in the world wars, and celebrating local residents such as Vincent Van Gogh and the second world war special operations agent Violette Szabo, as well as the Windrush immigrants who spent their first night in Britain in the area.

Brian was appointed MBE in 2005 for services to the Battersea community. He is survived by Aileen and their children, Eloise and Glenn, and grandchildren Daniel, Lilya and Natalya.