Workers' Movements
News about Workers' Organisations, Struggles and Precarity
UK Celebrates Mayday
11-05-2008 15:27
Mayday has been celebrated in one form or another for thousands of years. Pagans marked the day as the end of the hardships of winter. Following the struggle amongst American workers for the eight hour day and the murder by the US state of four anarchists involved in that struggle in 1886, the day has come to be marked as International Workers' Day.
Mayday in the UK has generally been a restrained affair compared to some European celebrations. Nevertheless, there are trade union marches across the country. In recent years, issues of immigration and free movement have become increasingly prominent on these demonstrations.
Newswire: May Day Demo Manchester | A Couple More May Day Pictures | Mayday Celebrations - Space Hijackers | Nottingham May Day 1 Pictures - Event | Nottingham May Day 2 Pictures - Parade | Mayday march and rally in Nottingham | 436,000 Liverpool Residents Snub May Day March | West Midlands IWW celebrate Mayday in Birmingham | “The first May Fayre in Mayfair for 300 years.” | Glasgow May Day | Video of May Fayre in Mayfair, London. | Nottingham Celebrates Mayday with Moazzam Begg | Sucessful street party, London. (sent by mobile)
Regional Features: Nottingham Celebrates Mayday | May Day On Merseyside
Previous Features: Mayday 2007 | Mayday Weekend 2006
Links: EuroMayDay | Wikipedia on Mayday
Nottingham Celebrates Mayday
05-05-2008 19:18
Mayday has been celebrated in one form or another for thousands of years. Pagans marked the day as the end of the hardships of winter. Following the struggle amongst American workers for the eight hour day and the murder by the US state of four anarchists involved in that struggle in 1886, the day has come to be marked as International Workers' Day.
In Nottingham this year, there were two Mayday events, both organised by the Mayday Organising Committee, an off-shoot of the Nottingham Refugee Campaign Group. As has happened for the past few years, there was a march and rally, starting and ending at the Brewhouse Yard on the Saturday May 3. The second event was a public meeting held on May 1 itself, addressed by local asylum seeker Amdani Juma and former Guantanamo Bay detainee Moazzam Begg.
Newswire: Nottingham May Day 1 Pictures - Event | Nottingham May Day 2 Pictures - Parade | Mayday march and rally in Nottingham | Nottingham Celebrates Mayday with Moazzam Begg
Previous Features: Mayday! Mayday! Celebrations in Nottingham (2007) | Mayday in the East Midlands (2006)
Links: Nottingham Refugee Campaign Group | Wikipedia on Mayday
May Day On Merseyside
28-04-2008 17:31
Notts Workers Join National Strike
26-04-2008 18:46
On April 24, teachers, further education lecturers and civil servants took coordinated national strike action against the public sector pay freeze. The decision by the National Union of Teachers (NUT) to call the first national teachers' strike in twenty-one years, attracted the most interest, but they were also joined by the University and Colleges Union (UCU) and the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS).
The strikes follow a central government directive to keep annual cost of living pay increases below 2% at a time when the Retail Price Index places inflation at over 4%, meaning in effect that public sector workers are expected to take a pay cut.
In Nottinghamshire, dozens of schools were closed by strike action, with many more partially closed. While their were few pickets of schools, there was a presence at a number of colleges and outside government offices in the city. A march from the Forest Recreation Ground to the Congregation Hall, Church Gate for a rally was well attended despite the inclement weather
Newswire: Photos of April 24 Strike in Nottingham | Strike to close one third of Nottingham schools | Interview with NUT activist | Notts Indymedia Worker's Movements Topic Page
Previous Features: Public service workers out to protect pensions | All-out unofficial strike at Cottam Power Station near Lincoln
Links: Nottingham City NUT | Nottinghamshire NUT | NUT | PCS | UCU
Library Staff Speak Out Against Uniforms and Management Bullying
12-03-2008 09:31
Over a year ago, a rumour was doing the rounds in Nottingham libraries about the introduction of uniforms for library staff. The union reps looked into it and it was brushed aside as 'not going to happen for ages'. A couple of months ago they were surpised to hear that the uniforms would suddenly be introduced by March. No consultation, no advanced notice. So why does the council feel there is a need for uniformed staff in our libraries? And why does it threaten its own staff members with dismissal if they were to speak openly about these changes?
One library assistant did decide to speak out. Barbara, who's identity we cannot reveal, has worked in Nottingham's libraries for many years. She told Notts Indymedia in an interview about her anger over the decision by the City Council to introduce uniforms. In addition, she talked about the depletion of library service resources and the bully tactics employed by City Council managers to keep its staff in line.
Interview: Nottingham Library Assistant Speaks Out About Uniforms And Bully Tactics
From the newswire: Changes To The Library Service | Nottingham Library workers still resisting uniforms | Make nottingham Real, not PR stunts, uniforms & pool closures
Links: Nottingham Library Service | Unison | Evening post coverage: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Sign the petition in support | Download poster (PDF)
Hands Off Iraqi Oil!
26-02-2008 10:04
On Saturday 23rd February, a number of actions took place in the UK and Netherlands, in solidarity with the Iraqi peoples' struggle against the plunder of their oil reserves. The callout for action by the Hands Off Iraqi Oil Campaign resulted in actions in, London, Liverpool, Wrexham, Coventry, Bristol, Southend, Amsterdam and Washington [video]
In February 2007 the Iraqi cabinet approved an oil law which, if passed into law, would allow the likes of Shell, BP and Exxon to take over control of most of Iraq's oil reserves, depriving ordinary Iraqis of scores of billions of dollars. Shell and BP, with the help of the UK Government have been actively pushing for this law and these contracts since 2003.
Action reports: 1 | 2 | 3 |4 |5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Audio reports: London tour
Hands Off Iraqi Oil | Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions | Stop the Iraqi Oil Law | The Stirrer coverage | 2007 IMC article |
Full article | 3 additions | 3 comments
Indian court orders 'arrest without bail' of Dutch activists
05-12-2007 21:36
A court in Bangalore has issued an order for the 'arrest without the possibility of bail' of seven campaigners over their websites postings about labour conditions of an Indian supplier of fashion label G-Star. The activists are from the Clean Clothes Campaign and the India Committee of the Netherlands; the director of their Netherlands based ISP, Antenna, is included.
The case could have implications for activists posting anything on the web, with the court using the Convention on Cyber Crime to call for extradition. It all happens with the backdrop of the continuing campaign about labour conditions and particularly the huge number of child workers in India coming up against the religion of 'free trade'.
The case has been running for some time now. As the legal threats get worse the campaign are asking for solidarity. As G-Star is the only remaining buyer from the jeans manufacturer at which the CCC and ICN have highlighted the labour rights violations they are asking people to make demands of them listing things you can do [cleanclothes.org]. In the UK No Sweat! have called a picket of G-star [nosweat.org] focusing on their Covent Garden store. There are lots of outlets around on their store locator [g-star.com].
Calendar Of Resistance Launched
04-12-2007 20:54
Nerve magazine introduces Liverpool’s Capital of Culture year with a Merseyside Resistance Calendar 2008.
The calendar records and celebrates the region’s rich tradition of radicalism and dissent. History is for the most part written by and for the rich and powerful and ‘official’ histories of Liverpool are no exception. But an essential part of our history are those people and groups who put themselves on the line for their communities and what they believed in and who ‘had a go’ without waiting for society’s approval.
Posties Consider Ballot Result
24-11-2007 23:59
Starbucks Not Welcome At University
21-11-2007 15:54
Nottingham university students have been campaigning tirelessly over the last few weeks to get their University to get Starbucks off campus, and stop them selling their unethical beverages in the Hallward Library. Students were shocked when, a few weeks ago, their café in the main library on campus suddenly started serving Starbucks coffee. In a move that has upset a large part of the student body the university decided to change coffee supplier without any sort of student consultation and now the students are up in arms.
For the last two weeks students have manned an ‘anti-Starbucks’ stall outside the Hallward Library where the Starbucks coffee is being served (at nearly double its pre-Starbucks price). The movement against the corporatisation of our educational facilities has been swift; nearly 700 people have joined the Facebook group against Starbucks, hundreds of people have signed the petition and loads of cups of tea and coffee have been sold from a makehift stall outside the library to students who don’t want to pay £1.45 for a coffee.
Notts: Telling Starbucks to 'Buck Off' at Nottingham Uni. | Amnesty Protest in Nottingham City Centre - Close Guantanamo Bay [Please] | Starbucks national day of action, 18th August
UK: Whitechapel Knees Up against Starbucks | Sheffield IWW - Starbucks skanked to death | Anti-Starbucks picket in Cardiff | Chiapas Solidarity picket of Starbuck, Edinburgh
Links: IWW Starbucks Workers Union | Boycott Starbucks | Starbucks continues to Greenwash with Weak Environmental Policy | Starbucks Social Responsibility Newsletter
