News and views for trade Unionists and supporters in the Green Party
Thursday, 16 November 2023
Tuesday, 31 October 2023
GPTU welcomes RMT victory over ticket office closures
The Green Party Trade Union Group are proud to have played our part in supporting the campaign to keep ticket offices open along with thousands of others. It is a victory that shows mass mobilisation and a cogent argument works.
Congratulations to the RMT and all its members. The union statement is below:
RAIL UNION RMT today welcomed the government’s complete withdrawal of its ticket office closure plans in light of passenger watchdog objections as a complete victory.
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said that it was a resounding victory for the union’s campaign and a win for passengers, community groups and rail workers alike.
“We are now calling for an urgent summit with the government, train operating companies, disabled and community organisations and passenger groups to agree a different route for the rail network that guarantees the future of our ticket offices and stations staff jobs to delivers a safe, secure and accessible service that puts passengers before profit,” he said.
Friday, 18 August 2023
save our ticket offices
I want to write to you to make an appeal for one more effort in the campaign to save our ticket offices. If you haven’t already done so, please respond to the consultation, and please encourage your workmates, friends and family to do the same by sharing on WhatsApp.
There are now just 2 weeks to go before the public consultation ends on plans by the Tory government and the private train operating companies to close almost every ticket office in our stations.
The response has been overwhelming. We’ve seen a massive groundswell of public opinion that’s taken the government and the companies by surprise, forcing them to extend the consultation period.
These plans are wildly unpopular because people understand that ticket offices are part of a public service that serves our people.
But the government and the train companies are determined to push their plans through and cut thousands of jobs from the railway. If they get their way, a quarter of our station staff face losing their jobs.
Behind the weasel words about ‘modernisation’ and ‘getting people from behind the glass’, this is about saving government money and feed corporate profits. It’s as simple as that. We can still stop this.
If you haven’t already done so, please take a minute to respond to the consultation.
Every voice raised through this consultation will make it harder for the companies and the government to get their way.
On 31st August, my union will be marching on Downing Street and we’d love to see you there and you can find details below.
But the most important thing now is to register your objection, so please do that now. |
Thanks for your support.
Your sincerely, |
Mick Lynch General Secretary, RMT
|
Monday, 14 August 2023
Sign the petition - give St Mungos workers a fair pay rise here
St Mungos indefinite strike
Sign the petition - give St Mungos workers a fair pay rise here
St Mungos do have the money! See here.
News about St Mungo's here
See St Mungos online hub here
Strike fund
Unite members at St Mungo's are striking for a 10% pay rise after our pay has been cut in real terms by 25% since 2010. At the same time, the salary of our CEO has increased by 77% since 2013, from £107k to £189,418.
St Mungo's is a leading UK homelessness charity in the UK, with many workers supporting homeless people on the frontline. We've been expected to take larger and increasingly complex caseloads over the past decade, with homelessness and rough sleeping increasing drastically and services cut, whilst our pay has been slashed year- on-year.
Now we're saying enough is enough. We've made it clear to senior management that we cannot continue to support vulnerable people in our services when many of us are struggling to afford our own bills.
93% of members that voted in our strike ballot voted to strike and we are planning to strike for 4 weeks to begin with to make our message heard.
Please contribute to our hardship fund to ensure we have the leverage we need to get the pay rise St Mungo's workers on the frontline need and deserve.
Just giving account here.
You can find out more about why we're striking here.
Write to your local councillor - see here
At the end of this industrial action, should there be a surplus of funds, the Branch will redirect those funds into similar hardship funds in the future.
Bank details:
Please use reference St Mungos Hardship fund
Account number: 20040626
Sort code: 608301
Account: Unite Housing Workers LE/1111 Branch
Cheques payable to Unite Houisng Workers LE 1111 Branch
St Mungo's workers have now voted for indefinite strike action. They are appealing for finainial support.
Just giving account here.
Bank details:
Please use reference St Mungos Hardship fund
Account number: 20040626
Sort code: 608301
Account: Unite Housing Workers LE/1111 Branch
Cheques payable to Unite Houisng Workers LE 1111 Branch
Strike fund
Unite members at St Mungo's are striking for a 10% pay rise after our pay has been cut in real terms by 25% since 2010. At the same time, the salary of our CEO has increased by 77% since 2013, from £107k to £189,418.
St Mungo's is a leading UK homelessness charity in the UK, with many workers supporting homeless people on the frontline. We've been expected to take larger and increasingly complex caseloads over the past decade, with homelessness and rough sleeping increasing drastically and services cut, whilst our pay has been slashed year- on-year.
Now we're saying enough is enough. We've made it clear to senior management that we cannot continue to support vulnerable people in our services when many of us are struggling to afford our own bills.
93% of members that voted in our strike ballot voted to strike and we are planning to strike for 4 weeks to begin with to make our message heard.
Please contribute to our hardship fund to ensure we have the leverage we need to get the pay rise St Mungo's workers on the frontline need and deserve.
Just giving account here.
You can find out more about why we're striking here.
Write to your local councillor - see here
At the end of this industrial action, should there be a surplus of funds, the Branch will redirect those funds into similar hardship funds in the future.
Bank details:
Please use reference St Mungos Hardship fund
Account number: 20040626
Sort code: 608301
Account: Unite Housing Workers LE/1111 Branch
Cheques payable to Unite Houisng Workers LE 1111 Branch
Monday, 7 August 2023
Better Buses national week of action, 1st to 8th October
Better Buses national week of action, 1st to 8th October, calling for an end to cuts and fair funding for bus services. Events/campaign stalls/meetings and rallies will be taking place across England and Scotland.
The national Better Buses campaign was launched at the national hybrid conference in June which attracted well over 100 people from across England and Scotland. Supporters included a wide range of unions (national, regional and local) as well as pensioners/disability groups and transport campaigners.The conference agreed to establish a national campaign group and to call the week of action. Agreed campaign name: "Better buses - Good for People, Good for the Planet".
Contact the campaign for information, a draft leaflet for the week of action and a full report of the conference or join our google group by emailing betterbusesnational@gmail.com
Wednesday, 2 August 2023
WE STAND WITH AMAZON WORKERS!
WE
STAND WITH AMAZON WORKERS!
Workers
demand dignity
£15
per hour now!
Thousands of Amazon workers in Coventry, the UK and internationally
have been joining trade unions to demand fair pay and dignity at work, in a
massive mobilisation of the trade union movement.
The first strike by hundreds of workers took place at Coventry
Amazon in January following earlier wild cat action across the country by
Amazon workers following an insulting rise of 50p an hour.
Subsequent industrial action and pickets resulted in
workers flooding into the GMB trade union. On Saturday 5th August a
massive rally will take place.
Workers recognised that if they were going to get anything better
than the derisory 50p pay rise offered by Amazon they would need to join a
trade union and fight.
Many of the workers are young, women and come from
different ethnic communities in Coventry. Care has been taken to ensure all
workers feel part of the struggle.
INDUSTRIAL
ACTION BUILDS THE UNION
Amazon is renowned
as being anti trade unions and has been trying desperately to flood the plant
with new workers to stop the GMB reaching the 50% of workers to gain formal
union recognition at the site. Unfortunately for the Amazon bosses many of
these workers are joining the GMB as well. They can fiddle as much as they like
but the GMB will win!
WORKERS DEMAND THAT AMAZON RECOGNISE
OUR UNION
Trade unionists
and members of the community in Coventry & Warwickshire know this will be a
big fight but it is fair to say Coventry remains a relatively strong trade union
city with good links and a history of solidarity. Support groups will be formed
across the country following on from the initiative in Coventry.
Messages of
support and donations have already been received from local, regional, national,
and international workers including Amazon workers in trade unions fighting the
same struggle. Please send support and join the protests in Coventry and at other
sites that will be taking action in the future.
THIS STRUGGLE HAS BEEN A REAL
INSIGHT INTO HOW THE
WORKERS MOVEMENT CAN BE BUILT
It has been brilliant
to see these workers leading this strike and the trade unions across the city and
beyond giving solidarity. I am proud that both Green Left and the Green Party
Trade Union Group has sent support.
As Green trade unionists
and Ecosocialists we recognise the absolute right for workers to be represented
by a trade union, that the Tory anti Trade Union laws must be removed and that
workers just transition rights must include a right to decent pay and conditions.
Roy Sandison Member
of the Coventry Amazon Support Workers Group (Personal Capacity). Green Party
Trade Union Group Member and Green Left member.
Monday, 24 July 2023
SPEAKERS' CORNER: SATURDAY 22 JULY
SPEAKERS' CORNER: SATURDAY 22 JULY
Around 80 people turned up to support our 3rd. Speakers' Corner on Saturday - they were treated to a range of excellent speeches, & the heavy rain that was forecast fortunately didn't come: after a little drizzle at the start, the sun came out!!
For those unable to come, here are some video clips, courtesy of Tina Rothery of the Anti-Fracking Nanas, of some of the day's events (more-or-less in order!!):
2. Early group photo:
3. Clara Paillard (Tipping Point UK/ Unite) - Voices from the Global South
4. Willie Black (Scot E3/Unite):
4. Gail Bradbrook (Co-founder of XR): https://www.facebook.com/tinalouiseuk/videos/1233333554050534
5. Markus Campbell-Savours (Labour Party councillor/Unite):
6. Joseph Healey (Left Unity/Unite):
And here's what George Monbiot (Environmental journalist and activist) thinks about the plans for a new coalmine:
“Fossil fuels are one of the main drivers of climate breakdown - and the most polluting of all fossil fuels is coal. It is a complete betrayal of ‘climate leadership’ for this government to have approved the UK’s first deep-sea coalmine in decades. It will release 9m tonnes of CO2 emissions a year - greater than the combined emissions of Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast.
“More than for decades ago, the International Energy Agency declared that if climate goals are to be reached, no new coalmines could be built. More recently, the UN’s Acceleration Agenda calls on governments to commit to no new coal. It’s not complicated: opening a new mine will make the climate crisis worse - and will accelerate the collapse of other Earth systems. What Cumbria - and the world - needs is a rapid just transition to clean green energy jobs.”
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