9 August 2007

Railworkers strike for jobs and safety

RMT strike in Wales

Around 20 members of the RMT union from South Wales and South West England joined a picket line at Corus steel works Margam to protest at plans by rail freight operator EWS to cut groundstaff by half.... By Alec Thraves, Socialist Party Wales

9 August 2007

Come to the summer camp

Friday 24 - Monday 27 August, Danbury Youth Camp, Essex This year's summer camp will be an excellent opportunity for members and supporters of the Socialist Party to enjoy a weekend of discussion, debate and relaxation with like-minded people...

9 August 2007

Welfare Green Paper: Making profit out of poverty

THE GOVERNMENT'S Green Paper - Work, Better Off; Next Steps to Full Employment - rolls back many rights and benefits that have formed the basis of Britain's welfare state for 65 years... By Adam Dudley

9 August 2007

Occupation at Kendal ward

FOLLOWING A huge public demonstration last year, campaigners in Kendal were delighted when the Primary Care Trust decided not to go ahead with the discriminatory closure of the only local mental health in-patient unit...

9 August 2007

"How many more will suffer?"

Geoff Wright, campaigning in Leicester against health cuts affecting people with mobility problems

Leicester cutbacks - : THE UNIVERSITY Hospitals Leicester NHS Trust has ditched plans to revamp three hospitals under the ruinously expensive private finance initiative (PFI) scheme, but the cuts in jobs and services continue... By Steve Score

9 August 2007

Save our NHS: Stop fat cat robbery

Health workers demonstrate in Hackney, photo Paul Mattsson

Save our NHS: Thousands of nurses and doctors are unable to find jobs in our health service after millions of pounds have been spent on training them.

Jon Smith, GMB branch secretary, Sheffield Children's Hospital, writes (in a personal capacity)

9 August 2007

Blood Service restructuring chaos

NATIONAL BLOOD Service workers have been amazed to discover that their Chief Executive, Martin Gorham, is stepping down... By An Amicus member

9 August 2007

Local government pay dispute - No to 2%!

IN MARCH 2007 Gordon Brown announced that he was capping public-sector pay awards at 2%... By Marc Glasscoe, Lincoln City UNISON, personal capacity

9 August 2007

Care workers stand firm (report 9/08/07)

Glasgow : "This strike is solid and we are staying out for all 600" said Ann of the Gorbals area team... By Ian Leech SCW UNISON steward (Personal capacity)

9 August 2007

Campaigners force Labour councillors to back off

How far will they go? OPPOSITION TO council plans to shut schools and leisure centres in Cardiff pushed local Labour councillors into retreat when over fifty people attended a meeting organised by the Socialist Party on 25 July in Llanrumney... By Ross Saunders

9 August 2007

Postal action round-up

Devon: PUBLIC SUPPORT for the Communication Workers Union (CWU) action remains strong and in Bideford on 2 August only four out of 80 crossed the lines and scabbed... By Sean Brogan

9 August 2007

Exchanging socialist ideas worldwide

THE COMMITTEE for a Workers' International (CWI) held its annual summer school in Belgium. The socialist gives here some excerpts of the reports given by its sister European sections.

9 August 2007

Floods: Profits rise, workers pay

Flood waters have subsided in most areas and electricity has been restored. Running water has been returned to most homes in the county, but we can't drink it, wash-up in it nor clean our teeth with it yet... By John Ewers, Gloucestershire Socialist Party

9 August 2007

Jean Charles de Menezes: Security forces not held to account

AN INVESTIGATION by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) into the fatal shooting of Brazilian migrant worker, Jean Charles de Menezes, in Stockwell tube station by police in July 2005 has concluded that the counter-terrorism chief Andy Hayman 'misled the public'... By Dave Carr

9 August 2007

Solidarity with postal workers

SINCE JULY, Royal Mail workers in the Communication Workers Union have been taking action in defence of the postal service as a public service... By Bill Mullins, Socialist Party trade union organiser

10 August 2007

Solidarity with health worker

TWO HUNDRED people packed out Cross Street Chapel on 25 July to show support for victimised health worker Karen Reissman... By Hugh Caffrey, Manchester

10 August 2007

Bosses get away with murder

One law for the rich...: BUDGET CUTS at the Health and Safety Executive (HSE - part of the Department for Work and Pensions) mean that a growing number of major accidents at work are not being investigated...

14 August 2007

Glasgow Social Care Workers win clear victory

"Pay hike joy for striking council staff" was the headline of the Glasgow Evening Times....

24 August 2007

World economy fundamentally unsound

Editorial: Over the last week, billions of pounds have been wiped off share values worldwide as stock markets plunged...

24 August 2007

NGH hospital Sheffield: Pay cuts "the thin end of the wedge"

TO USE New Labour Health Secretary Alan Johnson's own words, staff working in bulk stores at Sheffield's Northern General Hospital are definitely "not happy bunnies"... By Alistair Tice

24 August 2007

Thousands march in Tewkesbury

THOUSANDS OF flood victims in Tewkesbury, the epicentre of Gloucestershire's mini-Katrina, joined last week's march called by the town council... By Chris Moore

24 August 2007

Boris Johnson - buffoon or bonus for Tories?

TORY LEADER David Cameron believes he scored a coup by convincing Boris Johnson to stand for London mayor... By Paula Mitchell

24 August 2007

Potty about Potter

With over 325 million copies of all seven books sold worldwide, the last four books have also been, consecutively, the fastest selling in history...Suzanne Beishon asks: Why?

24 August 2007

Postal dispute: If talks don't deliver - escalate the action

Two 24-hour strikes, followed by sectional action has forced Royal Mail management into negotiations with the Communication Workers' Union (CWU)... By Jane James

24 August 2007

Belfast airport workers' victory

Five years after being sacked by security firm ICTS for striking over pay, 23 airport workers have won an industrial tribunal.

24 August 2007

TUC conference fringe meeting

National Shop Stewards Network

TUC conference fringe meeting

Tuesday 11 September

5.30pm, the Quality Hotel, West Street, Brighton.

Speakers include: Bob Crow, general secretary RMT, Chris Baugh, assistant general secretary PCS, Glenn Kelly, UNISON national executive, personal capacity, Rob Williams, convenor, Visteon car plant, Dave Chapple, CWU postal sector.

For more information see: www.shopstewards.net

24 August 2007

Glasgow council workers' victory: United strike action wins

Glasgow Social Workers on strike , photo Duncan Brown

After 20 days of all-out, indefinite strike action, over 600 Glasgow social care workers won a clear victory.

"Pay hike joy for striking council staff" was the headline in a recent issue of Glasgow's Evening Times..."

Brian Smith, UNISON secretary Glasgow social work services, writes in a personal capacity.

30 August 2007

Massive deprivation in Norris Green, Liverpool

The press and TV have been full of glaring headlines about crime in Liverpool following the death of 11 year old Rhys Jones... By Tony Aitman

30 August 2007

Horror and heartbreak in Croxteth - What is the cause? What is the answer?

The appalling murder of young Rhys Jones has generated outrage, disbelief, anger and a demand for a solution to the brutalisation of a section of youth... By Tony Mulhearn

30 August 2007

Heathrow expansion protests

A WEEK of protests against the proposed third runway at Heathrow airport culminated on 19 August in a demonstration along the proposed site and a blockade of Heathrow operator BAA's headquarters.... By Neil Cafferky

30 August 2007

Stop climate change

Heathrow airport runway protest, photo Marc Vallée

HURRICANES HAVE hit the Caribbean, large areas of the UK and Asia are recovering from floods, southern Europe suffers drought; so how can we save the environment?... By Ben Robinson, International Socialist Resistance

30 August 2007

The War on Democracy

Review: John Pilger's first cinema-released documentary is a damning indictment of US policy in Latin America, past and present. ... By Edd Mustill

30 August 2007

Social class in Britain today

STATEMENTS SUCH as "the working class has disappeared" or "the barriers between the classes no longer exist" have been repeated for many years...