UK Workers' Movements Feature Archive
Hands Off Iraqi Oil!
26-02-2008 09:04
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 20:36
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 19:54
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 22:59
Starbucks Not Welcome At University
21-11-2007 14:54
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
Up with the Posties!
20-07-2007 23:10
Postal workers have walked out twice within two weeks this month, with picket lines mounted at all major sorting and delivery offices across the country. The continuing industrial actions aim to stop the Royal Mail's 'modernisation plans', which the Communication Workers Union (CWU) says would only mean cuts in members' pay and pensions, job cuts and more post office closures. Crown Post Office workers have also gone on strike twice this week over Post Office Ltd plans to close further Crown Post Office branches and transfer services into WH Smith stores.
Reports and pics: Birmingham: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | video | Coventry: 1 | 2 | Solihull | London | Sheffield | Liverpool
Riots and Repression in Oaxaca
18-07-2007 22:00
Since Monday night, riots and violent police repression have been taking place in Oaxaca, Mexico. At least 65 people have been arrested, while one is dead and four heavily injured in hospital. A teacher, who had been arrested unharmed, was beaten into a coma by police [pic proof]. More info on www.indymedia.org
Pics 1 , 2 | alternative Guelaguetza pics 1 , 2 | Indy Scotland report | Narco News | Indymedia Oaxaca | Indymedia Chiapas | APPO
Up with the Posties!
18-07-2007 00:52
Following failed talks with Royal Mail management, postal workers on Merseyside and across the country are taking industrial action against Royal Mail's cost-cutting plans, which are based on the European Union Postal Services Directive. A campaign of walkouts has been planned by the Communication Workers Union leadership, spread over various sites at different times. Liverpool hosted a regional march and rally in support of the posties on Saturday, 21st July.
Up with the Posties!
15-07-2007 02:39
Following failed talks with the Royal Mail management, postal workers across the country went on a second 24-hour strike in two weeks, starting at 7pm on Thursday, July 12th. Pickets were again held at sorting offices in the evening and many more at delivery offices and depots the following morning. In Birmingham, three picket lines were formed at each gate of the main mail centre in Newtown. Solidarity from fellow workers, as well as from members of the West Midlands branch of the Industrial Workers of the World union (IWW), was impressive.
Report and pics | Film: Solidarity with the Posties! | Cov Wobblies support local posties | First round of postal workers strike | Industrial Action at Crown Post Offices Today | Crown postal workers walk out | Victoria Square Crown Post Office Birmingham Solidarity Banner Drop | Solihull Post Office workers walk out again | IWW Solidarity with Coventry Post Office workers strike
Postal workers walk out over planned pay and job cuts
30-06-2007 22:41
Up to 130,000 postal workers took part in a 24-hour strike on Friday -the first in 11 years- to stop the Royal Mail's cost-cutting plans, which the Communication Workers Union (CWU) says would only mean cuts in members' pay and pensions, job cuts and more post office closures. Picket lines were mounted outside sorting offices and mail centres across the country from early morning, disrupting mail deliveries for the day.
In Birmingham, two picket lines at the front and back gates of the main mail centre in Newtown saw, on and off, tens of postal workers and their supporters, while 'Royal Mail police' were trying to break up the picket lines, intimidating and threatening picketers. There was also another picket line in the city centre. [report and pics]
Last week, a well-attended march took place in Gloucester, followed by a rally in the docks, as part of a campaign against the planned closure of the Gloucester Mail Centre. A similar march and rally were held in Coventry city centre last March to protest against the planned closure of Coventry's sorting office.
Mayday Sur 07 - Brief Chronology
15-05-2007 14:15
MayDays of the precarious take place in many cities [euromayday network | lists on imc estrecho and imc uk].
MayDay Sur 007 was a five day gathering with meetings, actions, workshops, manifestation, discussions, parties, and lots of socialising [program | call | Desobediencia Mutante Rumbo al Maydaysur 07 (mutant disobedience on target for Maydaysur 07)]. This year, it took place in Malaga, with people mainly from cities in Andalucia in the south of Spain, a border region between the Continents of Europe and Africa. People came from Sevilla, Granada, Madrid, Tarrassa and Jerez. Here is a rough translation from indymedia estrecho [original].
Maydaysur - Cabaret Pics | Maydaysur - Visiting a Shopping Center
Full article | 4 additions | 1 comment
Iraqi Oil Workers To Strike Over Privatisation Law
11-05-2007 20:20
As efforts to secure lucrative oil privatisation contracts in Iraq for multinational companies progress, so does the resistance.
Read on for more...
Links: basraoilunion.org | handsoffiraqioil.org | carbonweb.org | iraqoccupationfocus.org | uslaboragainstwar.org
Mayday! Mayday! Celebrations in Nottingham
06-05-2007 17:48
Mayday was celebrated properly in Nottingham. On the 1st May the PCS civil service union celebrated by going on strike, picketing and marching, including through Nottingham to a rally in the Congregational Hall. Picket lines sprung up with the sunshine all over Nottingham this May Day. Besides the main civil service workplaces (Revenue and Customs, Department of Work and Pensions, Driving Standards Agency) all sorts of office blocks in the City, housing a civil service work unit, sprouted a PCS picket in the door way: many experienced pickets; many first time pickets. Read full report.
On 5th May another Mayday march decended upon the city. Marchers rallied in the Brewhouse Yard, just around the corner from Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem, departing just before one. The march was led by a samba band followed by the No Borders, No Nations, No Deportations banner. A good few hundred people made their way up Castle Boulevard, onto Maid Marian Way and then down Friar Lane. After having been at the Market Square and once back in at the rallying point, marchers were addressed by speakers talking about Darfur, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the occupation of Iraq, the rise of the BNP, the PCS strike last week and ID cards. There was also music by bands from Zimbabwe, Kurdistan and even Birmingham. Read full report.
On the newswire: May 5th: Mayday 2007 | May Day in Nottingham (Round One) | Mayday in Nottingham (Round Two) | Nottingham Mayday 1 Event Pictures | Nottingham Mayday 2 Parade Pictures | Mayday Events at the ASBO Centre 1, Day Events | Mayday Events at the ASBO Centre 2, Night Events |
Links: UK Indymedia Mayday 2007 page | Wikipedia on Mayday | Global Indymedia article about conference and actions around the world
Full article | 1 addition | 1 comment
Mayday 2007
04-05-2007 23:00
While most workers were still working on their 'special day', hundreds of pickets, rallies, demonstrations and other events took place throughout the world on 1st May to celebrate the International Workers Day and the social and economic struggles of the working class and labour movement.
In the UK, Mayday 2007 was marked with a series of demonstrations, actions, events, pickets and strikes throughout the country. Click at the Full article link for an overview of what went on, and see the Mayday 2007 topic page for full coverage.
Mayday 2007 in the West Mids
04-05-2007 10:51
Well, it was almost pathetic compared to other places such as Turkey, Germany or Switzerland, for example. But at least some things happened on May 1st to celebrate the International Workers Day and the social and economic struggles of the working class and labour movement.
PCS Strike and Rally in Birmingham | Protest Against ESOL Cuts in Birmingham | Mayday Festival in Wolverhampton | See also Indymedia UK's Mayday 2007 topic page
Mayday was also Birmingham Indymedia's second birthday. That's two years of reporting, growing and evolving. Birmingham Indymedia has been a successful alternative to corporate and mainstream media due to volunteers who post, maintain, code, write, support, promote, video, photograph etc. If the Indymedia project is to survive another two years, we need to continue sharing and disseminating the message that another form of media, our media, is possible.
Sheffield Mayday
03-05-2007 09:21
Striking civil servants joined other protestors to march through the city centre on 1st May 2007. The Mayday protest was called by the Sheffield Trade Council, NUJ and Sheffield Keep Our NHS Public.
Elsewhere in Europe the precarious took to the streets and on Monday 7th May the Chesterfield Mayday march and rally took place. See the Mayday 2007 page for reports from across the UK.
Full article | 2 additions | 8 comments
Euromayday 2007
29-04-2007 19:23
Like in previous years, precarious in Europe and beyond have chosen the first of May to take the streets. On Mayday, casual and flexible workers, immigrants, unemployed, temp-workers, part-timers, are stepping out of invisibility: L@s precari@s se rebelan! (The precarious are rebelling). They are demanding new social rights, or, as in the South of Spain, "the right to have rights" in the first place. In some cities, the precari@s march with the trade unions. In others, they set up their own Maydays. Who are "the precarious?" Here is a description from Barcelona EuroMayday Manifesto 2004:
"We are the precarious, the flexible, the temporary, the mobile. We’re the people that live on a tightrope, in a precarious balance, we’re the restructured and outsourced, those who lack a stable job, and those who are overexploited; those who pay a mortgage or a rent that strangles us. We’re forced to buy and sell our ability to love and care. We’re just like you: contortionists of flexibility."
Mayday Mayday 2007!: Barcelona | Berlin | Birmingham | Bristol | Ghent | Glasgow | Hamburg [Video] | Hanau | Helsinki | Japan | Leon | Liverpool | London block, Camberwell and dancing in the city | Madrid | Malaga | Milan | Napoli | Nottingham | Liege | Lisbon | Nottingham | Sheffield | Switzerland | Thessaloniki | Tuebingen | Vienna | Wolverhampton
Portals and Collections: Euromayday Network | Mayday Sur | theagitator blog | videos: precariadotube | precarity-map
Regional Mayday Features in: IMC-Nottinghamshire | IMC-Liverpool | IMC-London
1st May Is Your Day! (Probably)
27-04-2007 17:22
Murdering Medical Careers - and the future of the NHS?
20-03-2007 10:39
To find out more about the background, read MMC: an explanation for patients [parts 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 ]. Other sites of interest include the MTAS debacle, as witnessed by the junior doctors of the Norfolk & Norwich University Hospital, and various artistes of the blogosphere such as Dr. Rant, Professor Scrub and Junior Doc. Maybe there will be an NHS in 10 years time, after all.
'Defend the NHS' National Day of Action
06-03-2007 19:24
Saturday, 3rd March, saw a national day of action to defend the National Health Service (NHS), called by NHS Together, an alliance of health service unions and staff associations together with the TUC. Demonstrations and rallies took place across the country, in Birmingham, Cambridge, Hackney (London), Leeds, Preston, Sheffield and other places. The aim of the protests, according to the organisers, was "to send a powerful message in celebration and defence of the NHS" against more cuts and privatisation. Almost three quarters of NHS trusts in the UK are reported last year that financial deficits are forcing them to make massive cutbacks; wards are being closed down, hospitals shut and jobs cut. Billions are going into 'restructuring' the service along market lines, with millions going on management consultants and financial advisers and millions more, in massive PFI payments, to shareholders and bankers.
Reports and pics: Defend the NHS Day: Sheffield Demonstration [photos] | Demo against the privatization of the NHS in Preston | Hackney Save NHS Demo | Leeds General Infirmary For Sale!
Previous Indymedia Features: Is Britain ready to defend its NHS? | The NHS in Crisis | Sheffield Children's Hospital: Save Ward S2 | Local Trusts Take Scalpel To NHS | Indymedia UK's Health topic page
Links: NHS Together | Keep Our NHS Public
