Union solidarity round-up: 20 to 26 April

Trade unions rallied in Westminster last week over the ongoing scandal of the Labour government’s undelivered election promise of a generation-defining wave of insourcing into public services, ending a catastrophic era of mismanaged services and wasted budgets. The Trade Union Coordinating Group rally, which met on Tuesday 14, consisted of PCS, RMT, Equity, UCU, Napo, POA and BFAWU.

UK activity

PCS members working at Ofgem with a mandate for strike action are waiting for managers to respond in their long-running dispute over pay, jobs, working conditions and industrial relations. Members at the Civil Aviation Authority (with Prospect), and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government all continue action short of a strike.

Unite bin workers at Birmingham City Council continue their indefinite action. Members working as health visitors at Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board in south Wales, who began their strike on 16 March, continue until 13 May. Members who survived recent redundancies at glass bottle company Encirc in Cheshire went on strike last week, refusing to work night shifts since Thursday until Tuesday 28 next week, and then again between 9 and 15 May.

Over 230 Unite members working as bus drivers at First South Yorkshire’s depot in Doncaster continue their ongoing action, begun in March over pay, striking this week on 22 and 24 April. Over 300 drivers at East London Bus and Coach Company (Stagecoach) are striking on Friday (24) over fatigue and inadequate breaks. And over 100 members working as bus station and network traffic controllers at Transport for London will strike from Thursday (23) to Saturday (25) over plans to increase time spent working at weekends and distances travelled to workplaces.

RMT members at London Underground continue their dispute over drivers’ new compressed four-day working week, striking this week for two 24-hour periods between Tuesday and Friday. And members at Cleshar CS Ltd working on the Windrush this week will add to 24-hour strikes in February and March, walking out on Thursday (23) over their well-below-inflation pay offer.

NASUWT members teaching at Haydon Bridge High School in Hexham will continue their action over management’s failure to improve behaviour management systems, striking this week from Tuesday (21) to Thursday (23), with three more days next week. NEU and Unison members at the St Ralph Sherwin and the Our Lady of Lourdes multi-academy trusts in the Midlands will strike between Tuesday (21) and Thursday (23) over redundancies, pay and conditions. UCU members at London Metropolitan University will strike again, this week from Tuesday (21) to Thursday (23) over redundancies and course closures, with further dates planned this month. And UCU members at Durham University continue indefinite action short of strike over high workloads.

Finally, Unison members at the National Coal Mining Museum continue their strike begun in September last year, which is set to run until 26 June. Members working as porter drivers for Greater Manchester Mental Health are striking in protest at being paid at a band beneath their actual work; they will walk Tuesday (21) to Friday (24) this week and, then 27, 28, 29 and 30 next week. And GMB members in the north west working at Cadent Gas continue their action over working hours with a walkout again, this week on Friday (24).

International

In Portugal, following the general strike last December, tens of thousands protested in the capital Lisbon on Friday (17). Although the government has scrapped some planned measures, its wave of labour legislation still threatens workers through increased outsourcing and other proposals around overtime.

In the USA, politician Pete Hesgeth has ordered the removal of all collective bargaining agreements in his defence department. While Hesgeth cites national security, unions suggest the ruling party’s own insecurity is the only apparent rationale.

And in Nigeria, union activist and leader Joe Ajaero ahs been announced as the latest recipient of the internationally acclaimed Arthur Svensson Prize. Despite imprisonment and violence, Ajaero has helped lead the Nigeria Labour Congress in securing worker wins and holding private interests to account.