Thursday 4 September 2014

Date: Wed, 3 Sep 2014
shopstewardsnet@lists.riseup.net
info@shopstewards.net

NSSN Bulletin 208 – Come to the NSSN rally at the TUC this Sunday: All out together on October 14! 

Read the full NSSN e-bulletin 206 here:
http://shopstewards.net/2014/09/nssn-208-come-to-the-nssn-rally-at-the-tuc-this-sunday-all-out-together-on-october-14/

The 2014 NSSN conference agreed that the Network will hold a public rally at the TUC Congress in Liverpool to lobby delegates to keep up the pressure for further co-ordinated strikes – 2pm Sunday September 7th in Jury’s Hotel
opposite Echo Arena conference centre in Albert Dock.
 
This year’s TUC Conference meets as public sector unions contemplate mass joint strike action on October 14th against the government’s continuing pay freeze. In reality, workers’ living standards are down by an average of 8% since the economic crisis struck in 2008, with young workers losing 15%! No wonder record numbers are using food banks and pay day loan companies.
 
Cameron talks about a recovery but it is only for the rich. The stark reality of this class divide is making ordinary people ask “Where’s our share?” This is the pressure that has forced the trade union leaders to call the 1million- strong strike on July 10th and now the action in October. With health unions now balloting, a strike of N30 2011 proportions could be posed. With the national TUC demonstrations taking place in London and Glasgow 4 days later, if built for energetically and linked to a serious struggle to combat low pay, there exists the potential for a mobilisation that could rival the March 26th 2011 TUC demo that saw 750,000 fill the streets of London.
 
On N30, 2million public sector workers went on strike together to defend their pensions in the biggest single day of strike action since the 1926 general strike. It could and should have been the start of the sustained and escalating action that could have defeated the ConDems but the TUC alongside conservative union leaders signed up to the pensions deal and halted the momentum. It opened up the door to the brutal austerity offensive that has seen hundreds of thousands of public sector workers lose their jobs.
 
That’s why we believe that all public sector unions must commit to the next day of strike action and a timetable for action must be rolled out.
 
PCS General Secretary Mark Serwotka is one of the confirmed speakers alongside Ronnie Draper BFAWU General Secretary, Steve Gillan POA General Secretary and Ian Lawrence NAPO General Secretary. There will also be rank & file speakers from the Doncaster Care UK dispute and a blacklisted worker.
 
Download NSSN leaflet Transport is being organised around the country, including buses from London and Yorkshire – email us on info@shopstewards.net if you want to come
  • For transport details from North Staffs please call or text 07845893607
 
NSSN News
Get your trade union branch or trades council to affiliate to the NSSN – it only costs £50. Already affiliated? Please think about renewing it. Also, many of our supporters pay a few pounds a month. You can set up a similar standing order to ‘National Shop Stewards Network’, HSBC – sort code 40-06-41, account number 90143790. Our address is NSSN, PO Box 54498, London E10 9DE.

Affiliation letter here ........
http://shopstewards.net/2014/02/nssn-affiliation-letter/
 
South London NSSN public meeting: ‘All Strike Together on October 14’ (supported by Battersea & Wandsworth Trade Union Council) – 7.30pm Thursday October 9th in Bread & Roses pub 68 Clapham Manor St, London SW4 6DZ
 
And if you can, come to one of our regional Conferences. If there is not one in your area, get in touch to either assist in organising or have a speaker at one of your meetings or events. Contact Rob or Linda on info@shopstewards.net

Thursday 21 August 2014

NSSN Staffordshire
 





Date: Wed, 20 Aug 2014
From:
info@shopstewards.net
shopstewardsnet@lists.riseup.net

NSSN 206 – Performance Management: Turn on, log on, tune in

Read the full NSSN e-bulletin 206 here :http://shopstewards.net/2014/08/nssn-206-performance-management-turn-on-log-on-tune-in/
 
The CWU in British Telecom has just undertaken a survey of members whether to ballot for strike action over Performance Management (PM). A majority are in favour. But PM is increasingly being used throughout the world of work. This week, a CWU member lifts the lid on this bullying culture (names have been changed):-
 
“A confidential meeting between a line manager and team member is taking place. Targets have been revised and raised. Now each member of the manager’s team must hit 100% of expected job standards, but not to worry as the individual has achieved 130%; an increase of 30%.

They are continuously improving and being Right First Time. However, some of the job activities have had their time allowed to complete cut by 33%, and in others, 50%. Well done, no matter, the individual seems to be coping well with this new revision and is on track to meet expectations. But hold on there. The manager has been informed that within the 130% productivity, not enough risk is being taken. It turns out that 16% of that 130% should in fact be 30%. On that alone, the 30% increase in productivity and meeting targets must be put aside.

It also turns out that on one occasion, when the manager wanted an Instant Messenger chat, the individual had been 10 minutes late back from lunch. This same technology, the manager is informed, did not pick up the extra 20 minutes yesterday spent saving a job from ending up as a Service Level Agreement for the company. No matter. The member is told to watch their timekeeping, put on a development plan and is marked “Development Needed”. When they had walked in the room they had been on a mark of “Achieving Standards”.

Reports come in the tea break. Another manager elsewhere has marked all of his team as “Development Needed”. For 30 minutes a pissed off worker has been held back by team mates as he verbally berates this manager who, after marking all the team down, is still sitting amongst them on the same floor in open view of all. It is regarded as crass piss taking. The team member sits down exhausted, it is never ending, and they are always on your back. What’s the  point, no one is doing f**k all about it.

Archie is screaming, swearing and kicking all his desk drawers. Everything is falling on to the floor. He is literally in tears. “What’s up mate?” “Fucking software, cancelled out all my macros again. Got to get this f******g job out ‘cos I’m expected to do two jobs a day; they’re on my back again”. 


Poorly designed and replatformed software has meant that jobs get stuck in being processed on the web based computer tools. The pressure is on for despite Senior Managers knowing full well of this known but unresolved problem, targets were recently raised. Archie is on a final warning and is desperate. Welcome to the working world where for the working week, in the world’s oldest democracy, an absolute dictatorship of the employer rules the floor. It is suffocating.”

NSSN News
NSSN rally & lobby of TUC Conference on September 7th in Liverpool - The 2014 NSSN conference agreed that the Network will hold a public rally at the TUC Congress in Liverpool to lobby delegates to keep up the pressure for further
co-ordinated strikes – 2pm Sunday September 7th in Jury’s Hotel opposite Echo Arena conference centre in Albert Dock. PCS General Secretary Mark Serwotka is one of the confirmed speakers alongside Ronnie Draper BFAWU General Secretary and Steve Gillan POA General Secretary. Download NSSN leaflet
http://www.scribd.com/doc/235907571/NSSN-TUC-rally-2014-leaflet

Transport is being organised around the country – email us on info@shopstewards.net

If you want to come get your trade union branch or trades council to affiliate to the NSSN – it only costs £50. Already affiliated? Please think about renewing it. Also, many of our supporters pay a few pounds a month. You can set up a similar standing order to ‘National Shop Stewards Network’, HSBC – sort code 40-06-41, account number 90143790. Our address is NSSN, PO Box 54498, London E10 9DE.

Affiliation letter here
http://shopstewards.net/2014/02/nssn-affiliation-letter/

And if you can, come to one of our regional Conferences. If there is not one in your area, get in touch to either assist in organising or have a speaker at one of your meetings or events. Contact Rob or Linda on info@shopstewards.net

Monday 4 August 2014

SUPPORT NSSN LOBBY OF TUC on 7th SEPTEMBER 
The NSSN conference on July 5th agreed that the Network will hold a public rally at this year’s TUC Congress in Liverpool to lobby delegates to keep up the pressure for further co-ordinated strikes – 2pm Sunday September 7th in Jury’s Hotel opposite Echo Arena conference centre in Albert Dock. Whether you’re a delegate or not, come along and help us keep up the pressure!
 
There is a link below to a leaflet advertising the rally and lobby. Please pass it on to as many trade unionists as possible and other workers too! 
 

Thursday 31 July 2014

NSSN Staffordshire
FBU Gaza statement

Read the full NSSN e-bulletin 203 here:http://shopstewards.net/2014/07/nssn-203-fbu-gaza-statement/

The vast majority of trade unionists are outraged by the events in Gaza over the last few weeks and many have attended the protests and demonstrations that have taken place. In this week’s NSSN e-bulletin, we re-produce the FBU’s
statement on Gaza.
The Fire Brigades Union deplores the horrific attacks on Gaza and calls for an immediate, negotiated and total ceasefire. The union sends our support, solidarity and sympathy to all those affected by the conflict, including the families of the victims.

In particular, the FBU applauds the tremendous work done by firefighters helping the victims of atrocities, and who put themselves at even greater risk in order to assist others.

The FBU notes with horror that so far the Israeli armed forces have killed hundreds of people in Gaza, and the death toll continues to rise. These deaths include workers in health, education and journalism, with 80% of those killed being women and children. Around 120,000 people are seeking shelter, with food and water now running out. The assault amounts to the collective punishment of a population already suffering terribly from the effects of the blockade.
The FBU is appalled that UK-manufactured military equipment could be used in the attack on Gaza and calls for the suspension of UK arms sales to Israel.
The FBU is concerned by the bias shown by most broadcasters reporting the conflict and demands that Palestinian voices are heard.

The FBU condemns the one-sided approach of British ministers, who should be pressing the Israeli government to cease the attacks and enter into meaningful peace negotiations. The FBU welcomes the offer from Scottish hospitals (and
endorsed by External Affairs Minister Humza Yousaf) to offer specialist treatment to the injured should that be possible. Similar offers should be made elsewhere in the UK and across Europe.

The FBU demands: 
An immediate ceasefire.

Peace talks aimed at finding a lasting and just solution to the conflict. The Israel government lift the blockade on Gaza.

Support for the boycott of illegal settlements, settlement goods and those corporations benefiting from the occupation and the wall.

The Israeli offensive is completely unjustified. The FBU believes that only a ceasefire observed by all – including those firing rockets into Israel – followed by serious negotiations with all parties can bring peace to the region. There is no military solution to the conflict – only a political solution based around two states can bring justice to all involved.

The FBU supports the PGFTU’s three-day general strike in the West Bank in protest at the Israeli government’s actions.

The FBU supports demonstrations called around the UK to stop the war on Gaza and calls on our members and friends to attend these mobilisations.

NSSN News

Over 300 shop stewards, union rep and anti-cuts activists attended the 8th Annual NSSN Conference on Saturday July 5th. The speakers included Ronnie Draper BFAWU bakers’ union General Secretary, POA General Secretary Steve Gillan, Janice Godrich PCS President and Peter Pinkney RMT President…plus Ginger Jentzen from the victorious Seattle $15Now campaign.

Watch a video of the first session here -
http://shopstewards.net/2014/07/nssn-conference-1st-session-feat-peter-pinkney-and-ronnie-draper/

See photos from the conference here -
http://shopstewards.net/2014/07/in-pictures-nssn-conference-2014/

Watch the video shown at the start of the conference – All strike together & Memorium for Bob Crow -
http://shopstewards.net/2014/07/video-all-strike-together-memorium-for-bob-crow/

The conference agreed that the NSSN will hold a public rally at this year’s TUC Congress in Liverpool to lobby delegates to keep up the pressure for further co-ordinated strikes – 2pm Sunday September 7th in Jury’s Hotel opposite Echo Arena conference centre in Albert Dock. PCS General Secretary Mark Serwotka is one of the confirmed speakers.

Get your trade union branch or trades council to affiliate to the NSSN – it only costs £50. Already affiliated? Please think about renewing it. Also, many of our supporters pay a few pounds a month. You can set up a similar standing order to ‘National Shop Stewards Network’, HSBC – sort code 40-06-41, account number 90143790. Our address is NSSN, PO Box 54498, London E10 9DE.

And if you can, come to one of our regional Conferences. If there is not one in your area, get in touch to either assist in organising or have a speaker at one of your meetings or events. Contact Rob or Linda on info@shopstewards.net

Friday 11 July 2014

Stoke strike rally to End low Pay!
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PCS picket at Hanley Job Centre
 
Albion Square in Hanley was virtually taken over by workers on strike with large PCS pickets outside the tax office at Blackburn House and at the benefits office at the side of Wilko’s along with Unison members picketing Hanley Town Hall. Many people passing by congratulated strikers for taking a stand. PCS members also picketed Hanley, Kidsgrove and Longton Job Centres.
 
There was a large and lively picket of GMB, Unison and Unite members outside Cromer Road Council Depot with passing cars honking support along with many other picket lines including Unison members at the Civic Centre in Stoke.
 
Later in the day, over one hundred strikers and supporters came together at a colourful and noisy rally outside the Civic Centre in Stoke. The crowd including teachers, fire fighters, council workers, civil servants etc waved union banners, flags and placards as they listened to speakers from all the unions on strike. There was also a Green Party banner, Trade Unionist & Socialist Coalition (TUSC) banner and of course our NSSN banner and placards!
10 July 2014 public sector strike rally pic 2     
 












North Staffs DWP branch secretary, Pete Rofe, speaking at the rally explained the crucial need for “an escalation of the action and called on the TUC to name the date for a 24 hour general strike as soon as possible”.
 
Some Labour councillors joined picket lines and attended the rally to show their support for the strike. This should be welcomed but as one striker told us supporters, "It's no good supporting workers fighting for a decent pay increase while they are sacking local council workers and slashing our public services".
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Monday 7 July 2014









HELP THE NSSN BUILD SUPPORT FOR 10 JULY STRIKE!
 
nssn baner
The line-up for the July 10 strike is now complete. Fire-fighters defending their hard won pension rights will be walking out on the same day as up to 1½ million council and school workers, teachers, civil servants and others who are resisting the continuing public sector pay freeze.
 
Workers from Unison, PCS, Unite, GMB, NUT, FBU and NIPSA will be on strike together. Transport for London workers as well as power control operators on London Underground will also be out on strike that day, meaning that RMT and TSSA can be added to the growing list. 

It’s vital that we build for the strike and get our message across – the need to use the strike as a launch pad towards a 24 hour general strike of public and private sector workers. That's why NSSN supporters across Staffordshire will be building support for Thursday’s strike action.

We will be leafleting workplaces on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

  • Can you spare an hour or two this week, in the day or evening, to help?
  • Can you give out some leaflets in your workplace? – you don’t have to be upfront about it, you can just leave them where workmates will see them. It doesn’t matter whether your workplace is on strike or not.
  • You could give leaflets out to friends, leave some on buses, in shops – anywhere really.
  • You don’t have to collect leaflets – we can drop them off for you.

We will also need help on the day of the strike to give out leaflets on picket lines, on the streets and at the Strike Rally outside the Civic Centre in Stoke on Thursday from 11.30am onwards.


One NSSN supporter is taking the day off work on Thursday – can you do the same or for a few hours?

Can you get your union banner and take it along to a picket or to the rally?

Have you got any other ideas how we can build support for workers taking strike action on Thursday?
 
Please get in touch asap if you are able to do any of this stuff so we can plan how your valuable time can be put to good use.

You can call or text  us on 07845893607 any time


END LOW PAY
Fight ’till we win!
Build for a 24 hour general strike

J10 – striking against low pay
Over a million public sector workers are taking strike action to demand an end to the pay freeze. Public sector pay has been virtually frozen since 2010, meaning inflation has cut 16% out of the value of a pay packet.
But the super-rich are not touched. Britain now ‘boasts’ 104 billionaires, with a collective wealth of £301 billion, up by more than a fifth in a year. To add insult to injury it’s reported that their cost of living is actually falling. Prices for caviar and fine wines are dropping.

We pay the price
Almost half a million local government workers earn less than the living wage, set at £7.65 or £8.80 in London. This is not enough to live a decent life – but is more than the measly current £6.31 minimum wage level.
 
Unison, GMB and Unite are calling for a pay rise of £1 an hour for local government workers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. That would mean that workers on the lowest scale wages would rise to £7.45 an hour.
 
The Socialist Party gives its backing to this campaign – but we also go further. We argue for a campaign for the immediate implementation of the living wage a step towards a minimum wage of £10 an hour with no exceptions, and with regular increases to cover price rises. At their recent national conferences the demand for £10 an hour was taken up by the BFAWU bakers’ union and the GMB.
 
A higher minimum wage needs to be part of a programme of other measures, including a major investment in job creation, an end to zero-hour contracts, the introduction of rent controls and the construction of new council housing.
But, if we are to win, J10 must be a step in a determined campaign of action. Workers have shown their determination to struggle time and again. Two million walked out in de-fence of pensions in mass coordinated strike action on 30 November 2011.
 
But their courage has not been matched by the right-wing trade union leaders who, instead of building on the big success and popularity of the strike, settled for a few crumbs. That gave the Con-Dems and their big business masters the confidence to relentlessly turn the screw in pushing down workers’ pay and conditions.

First step
The 10 July strike is another opportunity to launch a battle against austerity. In doing so, the unions could draw behind them millions of unorganised workers and all those suffering from these brutal cuts.
 
Unison has already named 9 and 10 September as the next dates for action in this pay strike. They should be the next steps in mass coordinated strike action, building for a 24-hour general strike that can smash the pay freeze. This will open up the prospect of defeating this government of the 1%.
 
It is understandable that some workers are sceptical about the prospects for this struggle given the woeful role of the right-wing trade union leaders in recent years. However, the only way to defeat the attacks of the employers and the government is to determinedly set out to organise and fight until we win. The strike on 10 July is an important first step.
 
The best way to keep pressure on the union leaderships is by building the broad lefts, democratic fighting left organisations in the trade unions, through organising local strike committees and involving more members in the activity and structures of the unions.

Monday 23 June 2014


Trades councils conference shows that workers won't wait for TUC

Kevin Parslow, Waltham Forest Trades Council delegate
Trades councils - the local arms of the TUC - held their conference in Cardiff on 14/15 June. This year, there was a pleasant sting in its tail!

The very last motion debated was on political representation for the working class, proposed by Swansea Trades Council. It noted that the "lack of a political voice representing the needs and interests of trade union members is a serious concern for the entire trade union movement".

It then called on conference to encourage "trades councils to initiate discussions on how best to secure the kind of political representatives working class people need, considering all options."

Socialist Party members Ronnie Job from Swansea and Katrine Williams from Cardiff TC moved and seconded the motion, explaining how both locally and nationally, Labour Party representatives were divorced from the real needs of working class people.

There was opposition, with some delegates urging conference to 'wait' and be patient, support Unite's political strategy and other arguments against the motion that have been heard many times before.

But the conference decided, by 34 votes to 31, with 4 abstentions, to support the motion. The announcement was received with spontaneous applause!

No doubt the TUC leadership will not be best pleased with this resolution nor with the motion passed earlier in the conference which agreed "to restate in the 2014-15 programme of work that the TUC should facilitate a programme of co-ordinated industrial action involving unions and local TUCs, up to and including strikes".

These decisions show that the grassroots of the trade union movement are not prepared to sit and wait for the TUC to act but are urging action and a class-based political stance.
NSSN Staffordshire 
nssn baner
Strong support for today's HMRC action!

There has been strong support on the first day of a week of rolling action by our HMRC members in PCS. Read  more ...........

PCS members locally will be on strike this Thursday 3 July. Join the picket to show support - from 7am between B&M's and Albion Hotel, Old Hall St, Hanley  

*********************************************************************************************

For full NSSN e-bulletin 198 "The July 10 pay strike.......IS ON!!" -  with info about current national & international disputes plus a diary of events go to :-http://shopstewards.net/2014/06/nssn-198-the-july-10-pay-strike-is-on/

Come to the NSSN Conference on July 5th - “Strike together for a pay rise”

Its official – Unison’s local government workers have voted to strike on July 10th against the ConDem pay freeze (read here - https://www.unison.org.uk/media-centre/local-government-workers-vote-for-strike-action).

This raises the prospect of well over a million public sector workers striking together in a ‘Coalition of the Willing’ unions that could also include Unite, GMB, PCS and the NUT. It is possible that the FBU, who were again on strike last Saturday could also take part on the biggest day of co-ordinated strike action since N30 2011.

That 2-million strong strike against the Government’s attacks on public sector workers’ pensions was arguably the biggest single day of strike action since the 1926 General strike. It could and should have been the platform for the decisive action that could have won a victory on pensions which would have blown a hole in Cameron’s austerity offensive.

Instead, particularly the leaders of Unison and the GMB with the support of  the TUC and its then general secretary the now Sir Brendan Barber stopped the struggle in its tracks. Undoubtedly, that loss of momentum only emboldened the ConDems to unleash the most vicious package of cuts since the 1920s. The NSSN along with militant unions like the RMT, PCS and POA attempted to build rank and file pressure to maintain this action.

Nevertheless, in the process, the ConDems have created a huge anger and frustration that would make the July 10th strike the most popular thing the unions could ever do.

This is the lesson of the tube strikes which had massive public support for the RMT because in the midst of all political parties signed up to austerity, workers want to see someone fighting back. That is why the unions should organise public strike rallies on July 10 to bring behind them all those suffering from these brutal cuts. The N30 demonstrations that took place in virtually every town and city were massive and these could be bigger.

But the main lesson that has to be learnt from N30 is that they have to be the start not the end of sustained action that takes in all the public sector and spreads to the private sector and even those workers currently not organised in the unions. Just over the last months we have seen a rash of disputes from workers in Doncaster Care UK and Safety Glass in Tyneside to One Housing and the indefinite strike in Lambeth College. These along with the big protests by the legal profession against the cuts to legal aid, the protests and stoppages by construction workers and the people that were attracted to Saturday’s Peoples Assembly march show the potential that the unions could realise if they put themselves at the head of this movement. The 750,000-strong TUC demonstration on March 26th in 2011 as well as the mass mobilisation of N30 that year shows once and for all the authority that the unions have when they act decisively.

The 8th annual NSSN conference is meeting on July 5, five days before the pay strike. I appeal to all activists in the trade union and anti-cuts movements to come along to discuss how to build the biggest strike possible on July 10 and how to sustain it into the autumn and beyond to win what could be a decisive victory against this fat cat government.

Rob Williams NSSN national chair

* * * NSSN News * * *

Come to the 8th Annual NSSN Conference on Saturday July 5th – ‘What recovery?
We want our share! Fight Together for a Pay Rise! – Break the pay freeze, fight for a real living wage, oppose zero-hour contracts, fight for PAYE’. Leaflet – http://www.scribd.com/doc/221151679/NSSN-2014-conference-leaflet


It will be on from 11am-5pm in Conway Hall – 25 Red Lion Square, Holborn, London WC1R 4RL – delegate/visitor fee £6. Confirmed speakers include;
Ronnie Draper BFAWU bakers’ union General Secretary
POA General Secretary Steve Gillan
Janice Godrich PCS President
Peter Pinkney RMT President… plus a speaker from the victorious Seattle $15Now campaign!!
Confirmed workshops include:-
Fast food rights/zero-hour contracts/living wage/$15Now
Fighting NHS cuts
Construction: fighting the umbrella scam and blacklisting
Political representation for workers after the Collins Review
Housing workers fighting back

Email us now if you want to come as well as if you want leaflets – info@shopstewards.net.

If you want to put yourself forward for the NSSN steering committee, email us by 12noon on Thursday July 3rd

Get your trade union branch or trades council to affiliate to the NSSN – it only costs £50. Already affiliated? Please think about renewing it. Also, many of our supporters pay a few pounds a month. You can set up a similar standing order to ‘National Shop Stewards Network’, HSBC – sort code 40-06-41, account number 90143790. Our address is NSSN, PO Box 54498, London E10 9DE.
 

And if you can, come to one of our regional Conferences. If there is not one in your area, get in touch to either assist in organising or have a speaker at one of your meetings or events. Contact Rob or Linda on info@shopstewards.net

Monday 12 May 2014

NSSN Conference July 5: “Fight Together for a Pay Rise!”

May 8, 2014 in News
 
Workers are saying “What recovery? We want our share!” Millions of public sector workers are having their pay again pegged to 1% when RPI inflation is nearly 3% and energy prices are up 9%! Average household income is already 6% below 2003 levels. NHS workers are not even getting this miserly rise and correctly health unions have attacked ‘divide and rule’ tactics. But the best way to avoid this is to seriously prepare for co-ordinated strike action across the public sector. Unison health conference yesterday passed an emergency motion mandating the union to ballot its members in the NHS for […]
 

Monday 17 March 2014

NSSN Bulletin 183 – Bob Crow: A fighter for the working class

 
Bob Crow’s profoundly shocking death on Tuesday 11 March at the young age of 52 deprives RMT members of the most inspirational and effective leader in the trade union movement at a time when workers across the world face economic attacks and imperialist aggression to an extent not seen since the 1930s.
 
Perhaps this partly explains why his friends, colleagues and comrades have been deluged by messages expressing solidarity, condolence and almost inconsolable sadness from workers’ representatives from Cuba to Iraq and all points in between. This is no media-concocted emotional frenzy. Bob’s brilliance as a media performer, whether as more ...........

Tuesday 14 January 2014

NSSN Bulletin 174 – Happy New Year…the resistance has already started in 2014!
NAPO affiliates to the NSSN - checkout  the latest union to join the NSSN
http://shopstewards.net/2014/01/napo-affiliates-to-the-nssn/

For full NSSN e-bulletin 174 with listings of union & anti-cuts disputes and information, national & international  -  http://shopstewards.net/2014/01/nssn-174-happy-new-yearthe-resistance-has-already-started-in-2014/

2014 has started in the same way as 2013 ended – yet more stories on an almost
> daily basis about the economic catastrophe facing working people. Food banks,
> pay-day loan shark companies, bedroom tax, living standards slashed, yet
> Osborne claims that another £25billion cuts has to be found…and it has to come
> yet again from the poorest in society, while the rich continue to prosper.
>
> But just as last year ended with a swathe of strikes, we have already seen
> action this year – PCS members were on strike on New Year’s Eve and January
> 2nd! And the fantastic action by barristers and solicitors on Monday against
> the attacks on legal aid show once and for all that if the mass joint strike
> action that we’ve been campaigning for is organised this year – it would have
> huge support from all those facing these brutal cuts.
>

> The NSSN will continue to campaign for a 24 hour general strike this year as
> well as support all workers in struggle. Our national steering committee that
> met last Saturday therefore was proud to offer our total support to the RMT,
> whose strike ballot against attacks on jobs and terms & conditions on London
> Underground closes this Friday. We’ll be at the flashmob outside Euston
> station at 3pm this Friday and the public rally on January 16th to show our
> solidarity. Come and join us! The resistance has already started in 2014!
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
>
> NSSN News
>
> Your New Year’s resolution – I want to get more involved in the NSSN!
> Brilliant! Then we’d love you to work with us, in your union branch, local
> community and on some of the regional or national initiatives we support.
> Anything you can assist with or would like to develop? Give us a shout.
> Contact details at the bottom of this bulletin.
>
> Get your trade union branch or trades council to affiliate – it only costs
> £50. Already affiliated? Please think about renewing it. Also, many of our
> supporters pay a few pounds a month. You can set up a similar standing order
> to ‘National Shop Stewards Network’, HSNC – sort code 40-06-41, account number
> 90143790. Our address is NSSN, PO Box 54498, London E10 9DE.
>
> And if you can, come to one of our regional Conferences. If there is not one
> in your area, get in touch to either assist in organising or have a speaker at
> one of your meetings or events. Contact Rob or Linda on info@shopstewards.net
>
> January 18 2014 Southern NSSN conference (hosted by UNITE Bracknell) ‘Building
> the Fightback against Austerity’ – 2pm to 5pm, Priestwood Community Centre,
> Bracknell read more
>
> The 8th Annual NSSN Conference will be on Saturday 5th July in Conway Hall –
> 25 Red Lion Square, London WC1R 4RL – delegate/visitor fee £6