Category Archives: Trade Unions

Teachers, doctors and Tube workers were on strike but you had to have German TV to see it

Did their Tory bosses order the BBC to keep coverage of the strikes off its website yesterday?

Apparently the only way to see the size and scale of the march that took place in London was via German television.

See for yourself:

Excellent journalism from German television.

But the BBC belongs on the ‘naughty step’ – again.

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How is this new offer to health unions going to do any good?

A nurse: doesn’t this person deserve fair pay?

Apparently Health Secretary Steve Barclay is going to make a new offer to health unions, in his latest bid to end the NHS strikes in England.

But from the reports, it’s a rotten offer.

We’re hearing he’s offering a one-off payment – a bonus – of up to six per cent for 2022-23, coupled with a permanent pay increase of five per cent for the current financial year onwards.

That’s nothing like enough to cover all the money that NHS workers have lost since the Conservatives slithered back into office in 2010. Nurses have lost 20 per cent in that time.

And it won’t cover the increased costs that have been caused by inflation. You see, just because inflation goes down, that doesn’t mean prices do the same. Quite the opposite, in fact – they continue rising, just at a slower rate.

And nurses, together with all the other striking NHS workers, are struggling to make ends meet.

The impression This Writer has is that the government wants nurses to struggle and this is just another attempt to look reasonable.

Remember: MPs almost have parity with the level of pay they had in 2010 – they aren’t suffering in anything like the same way as nurses. And they get publicly-subsidised meals and drinks in the House of Commons facilities.

This Writer is glad to hear that not all of the 14 health unions are expected to support the new pay offer.

I’m aware that they may be tired of strikes, but derisory pay offers are an attack on the quality of healthcare and must be opposed.

Source: Government makes revised pay offer to health unions, reports say – UK politics live

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Rail strike: Network Rail says a deal is close – the RMT says otherwise. Who’s right?

Network Rail’s chief negotiator Tim Shoveller reckons a “repurposed” version of a pay off made to rail union members last September may bring the rail strike to an end – but is he telling the whole truth?

He told Sky News that a ballot on the offer had won support from 36 per cent of the RMT members who voted on it:

But RMT General Secretary Mick Lynch pointed out that 36 per cent in favour meant 64 per cent – an overwhelming majority – were against the offer. He said the companies have continued to make profit during every strike day because the government has taken the losses instead – around £320 million.

And he added that the government and the railway companies are determined to run down pay, conditions, and – crucially – safety in a rush to grab as much profit as they can from the UK’s rail network, that suffers from crippling underinvestment:

This Writer is just a lay-person but from my position it seems this industrial dispute is far from being over – and won’t be until the company bosses and the government start listening to the concerns of the people who do the actual work.

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If you’ve forgotten why posties have been going on strike, here’s your answer

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Nurses have taken strike action – but should you believe media propaganda about it?

Nurses across the UK went on strike yesterday (December 15) after the government refused to reopen pay talks, saying the demand for a 19 per cent pay rise was “unaffordable”.

Here’s a BBC report:

Is a 19 per cent pay increase unrealistic?

It would only bring nurses’ remuneration back up to the level it was at in 2010, after all. Why was it affordable then, and not now? The economy has grown since then, so where has all the money gone?

Note the claim by the Tory minister Caulfield, who said she feared nurses’ industrial action would put lives at risk. That’s clearly untrue because the BBC had already reported that nurses had agreed to go back if a life-threatening situation required them.

Here’s Labour’s Dawn Butler, who came out to support nurses on the picket lines:

Ms Butler’s comments about the way the Tories behaved during the Covid pandemic are highly pertinent. Think of all the billions they wasted on useless equipment, just to funnel money to their friends and party colleagues – and now they’re saying they can’t afford a pay rise for nurses.

Clearly, Tory priorities are wrong. They would rather enrich fraudsters than give life-savers proper remuneration.

Ms Butler’s claim about food bank use is accurate too:

Still not convinced? Let’s have an economist’s view. I’m excerpting from a longer Twitter thread, coming in at the point where he discusses pay increases:

So now you know.

The strikes are not a result of greed by trade unionists.

They are part of a class war being waged on working people – on you – by your Conservative government.

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Jonathan Pie clarifies the situation on strikes and the government

The joy of Jonathan Pie is the way his clips highlight the difference between what a news reporter might say on-air, and what they actually may think.

In this case, we see him discussing how striking workers may be upsetting the apple-cart while he’s on-air, and expressing support for those same workers when he isn’t.

And it is very clear which line of discussion we are expected to support.

Here’s the clip. If you don’t agree with striking workers after this, you may have no soul:

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Jeremy Hunt tries – and fails – to justify refusing nurses’ pay demand

Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt has tried to claim it is reasonable to give nurses a pay cut – any pay rise that doesn’t equal inflation is a cut – by claiming it is in line with an independent review.

His argument might seem reasonable to people who don’t realise that his government is still funnelling money to the extremely rich people in (for example) the financial sector, for no reason.

I thought it might be useful to contrast his words with what might be the thoughts of a great British … character – in order to put them into context.

Enjoy.

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Striking workers win inflation-level pay rise despite Tory claims

So much for the Conservative government’s claims that striking harms the public and doesn’t get workers what they want.

More than 2,000 London bus drivers were set to walk out on strike – but will not now do so after they won an 11 per cent pay rise from the firm employing them, Metro.

It makes nonsense of the Tory government’s rhetoric and hugely weakens its position with regard to all the other strikes that are taking place over the winter.

Here’s what Maximilien Robespierre has to say about it:

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Raab and Williamson weren’t the only ones: multiple complaints emerge about bullying in government

Gavin Williamson: he resigned rather than allow bullying accusations against him to be investigated in full view of the public. Now Dominic Raab has also been accused. But how many other government ministers are also presiding over a ‘toxic work culture’?

Civil servants have made complaints about bullying by “several ministers” – not just Dominic Raab and Gavin Williamson – but the current system is not adequate to mount a proper investigation, it has been claimed.

Dave Penman, head of the FDA union that represents civil servants, said he had received multiple complaints about several ministers in Rishi Sunak’s Conservative government – but the “toxic work culture” can’t be adequately addressed by current procedures.

As he explains to Sky‘s Kay Burley, he has written to Sunak, calling for reforms to allow proper investigation of complaints against ministers:

As you can tell from the clip, Mr Penman was not interested in bandying around gossip about particular individuals, saying – rightly – that any complaints should be substantiated before they are publicised.

But the allegation is there: bullying is apparently prevalent in not just one or two but several government departments.

After failures by previous prime ministers – notably Boris Johnson, who defended Priti Patel in the face of the evidence – there isn’t even an independent investigator in place.

Sunak will need to be seen to act quickly on this matter.

But will he? Or is this yet another episode in which he’ll prove himself to be weak?

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Firefighters reject below-inflation pay offer and will ballot on strike action

Dept. of Below-The-Attention-Of-The-BBC: I saw this tweet from Fire Brigades Union general secretary Matt Wrack…

So – nurses are to strike, civil servants are to strike, and now the fire brigades are preparing to do the same.

I clicked across to the BBC website to read the report on what this means for the Tory government in what is fast shaping up to be a Year of Discontent among working people.

Nothing.

Fortunately, other news purveyors have been quicker off the mark. Here’s the Evening Standard:

FBU general secretary Matt Wrack, said: “FBU members have spoken. This result, on a two-week turnaround, shows that there is remarkable strength of feeling amongst firefighters and control staff on this derisory pay offer.

“The ball is in the employers’ and Government’s court. There is still an opportunity to resolve this dispute and we will be writing to Fire Ministers and Government departments across the UK requesting urgent meetings.

“We have firefighters using foodbanks. Our members worked through the pandemic to help protect their communities, taking on extra duties to do so.

“A further real-terms pay cut is an absolutely disgusting way to thank them. Whilst strike action is always a last resort, our members simply can’t go on like this.”

Source: Firefighters reject 5% pay offer, paving way for ballot on strike action

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