Labour MPs and councillors back 30 November strike and say ‘we won’t cross picket lines’

 
On 30 November thousands of ordinary Labour members will be backing public sector workers in their dispute with the government. In Scotland all Labour MSPs have pledged their support and will not cross picket lines at Holyrood. Likewise Labour AMs in Wales will not cross picket lines at Cardiff Bay.
 
Today, dozens of Labour MPs and councillors from across the UK have pledged their support for the strikes in a letter to the Guardian (full text below). The group says, "We stand in full solidarity with workers on 30 November - and encourage our fellow Labour politicians to do so too" – in sharp contrast to the equivocation from the Labour leadership. The MPs and councillors are also following the lead of Labour politicians and Wales and Scotland by refusing to cross picket lines at Westminster or town halls.
 
John McDonnell MP, LRC Chair, said:
 
"We expect Labour MPs and councillors to stand in solidarity with trade union members striking on Wednesday.
 
"The public and Labour Party members especially are behind these strikes and expect Labour politicians to back our fellow trade unionists. There can be no ifs or buts on this one."
 
Charlynne Pullen, Islington Labour councillor, said:
 
"On 30 November I will be standing side by side with council officers as they take strike action against a government that is proposing to slash their pensions and is refusing to engage in meaningful negotiations."
 
Greg Marshall, Broxtowe Labour councillor and co-ordinator of LRC Councillors' Network, said:
 
"I give full unconditional support for those taking strike action. This government is attacking the terms and conditions of ordinary workers who deliver our public services, in order to finance the reckless behaviour of the bankers. People understand that these attacks are not fair. I oppose all cuts to jobs and services and will stand alongside those in order to defend them. 
 
"The Labour Party still remains the party best placed to represent the interests of the working class  - we were of course founded to give ordinary people a political voice. We should be firmly standing in solidarity with those taking action against the Tory led attacks on pensions."
 
 
Full text of the letter:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/nov/28/labour-solidarity-and-pensions-strike
 
Labour MSPs in Scotland and Labour AMs in Wales will refuse to cross picket lines on 30 November in solidarity with millions of public sector workers.
 
As Labour MPs and councillors we will not cross picket lines at Westminster or town halls. Instead we will be joining picket lines to do what Labour politicians should do: be on the side of labour.
 
The Government's attack on public sector pensions is totally unjustified and unsupported by any economic or actuarial case. It is a crude attack on public sector workers who are already suffering a pay freeze while many face the threat of losing their jobs. This is part of a wider attack by this government on public services and the welfare state, which Labour must resist.
 
We stand in full solidarity with workers on 30 November - and encourage our fellow Labour politicians to do so too.
 
John McDonnell MP, LRC Chair
Ronnie Campbell MP, Blyth Valley
Martin Caton MP, Gower
Jeremy Corbyn MP, Islington North
Paul Flynn MP, Newport West
Michael Meacher MP, Oldham West & Royton
Linda Riordan MP, Halifax
Cllr Kingsley Abrams, Lambeth
Cllr Lynne Allen, Hillingdon
Cllr Tony Belton, Wandsworth
Cllr Matthew Brown, Preston
Cllr Barry Buitekant, Hackney
Cllr Van Coulter, Oxford
Cllr Jim Grundy, Ashfield
Cllr Clive Grunshaw, Wyre / Lancashire
Cllr Kevin Hind, Bury St Edmunds
Cllr Mike Jones, Maghull
Cllr Jay Kramer, Hastings
Cllr Geoff Lumley, Isle of Wight
Cllr Greg Marshall, Broxtowe
Cllr John McGhee, East Ayrshire
Cllr Ian Morrison, Ashfield
Cllr Kier Morrison, Ashfield
Cllr Lachlan Morrison, Ashfield
Cllr Tom Neilson, North West Leicestershire
Cllr Mick O'Sullivan, Islington
Cllr Andrea Oates, Broxtowe
Cllr Charlynne Pullen, Islington
Cllr Mike Rowley, Oxford
Cllr Jenny Smith, Bristol
Cllr John Tanner, Oxford
Cllr Sam Tarry, Barking & Dagenham
Cllr Kieran Thorpe, Welwyn Hatfield
Cllr Claire Traynor, Maghull
Cllr Patrick Vernon, Hackney
Cllr Andy Walker, Redbridge
Cllr Dave Young, Calderdale
 
 -Ends-
 
Notes:
 
The Labour Representation Committee (LRC) is a socialist grouping within the Labour movement, with over 1100 members and around 100 affiliated organisations, including six national trade unions.

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November 30th here we come - striking figures from unions

Been too busy to blog organising the biggest strike action since 1926 :D

It is looking good in Havering where jointly with the other unions we will have over 20 picket lines. :D and then sending 2 coaches up to the march and rally.

Thanks to Geoff Dexter on fb for the below.

N30 here we come - the numbers from each of 29 unions striking in order of size.


Unison local government and health—1.1 million
PCS civil service workers—290,000
NASUWT teachers—227,500
GMB local government—225,000
... NUT teachers—219,100
Unite local government and health—137,000
UCU lecturers—nearly 100,000
ATL teachers—96,500
EI S Scottish teachers—over 54,000
Nipsa Northern Ireland public sector—43,000
Prospect specialist civil services—32,000
National Association of Head Teachers—24,400
Chartered Society of Physiotherapists—over 22,300
Society of Radiographers—17,500
Ucatt construction workers—15,200
FDA senior civil servants—12,000
Napo probation workers—over 8,000
Into Northern Irish teachers—6,400
Immigration Service Union (non-TUC affiliated)—4,500
Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists—over 3,500
UCAC Welsh teachers—3,200
POA secure hospital staff—around 3,000
Association of Educational Psychologists—over 2,700
AHDS Scottish headteachers—over 1,300
RMT members employed at the Royal Fleet Auxillary,
Tyne & Wear Metro and Orkney Ferries—1,300
Aspect school inspectors—estimated 1,000
Siptu Northern Ireland public sector—around 700
CWU TV Licensing workers—over 500
TSSA Northern Ireland transport workers—300
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TUC recording to support nov30 strike

Hi all,
please support this release to support the strike on november 30th - see information below.

It's a fantastic idea that we can try and get in the charts for Nov 30.

And the fantastic Robb Johnson was part of it so it must be good!! (Ps you can see the latest Robb song at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h30xX9c-uSo )

Marshajane


The TUC has brought together a group of public sector staff as The Workers to re-record the classic song Let's Work Together as a charity track that celebrates everything that is good about the public sector and raises money for today's pensioners.
 
The song will be launched on Monday 21 November to chart on Sunday 27 November – the week of the TUC Day of Action.
 
The Workers are 14-strong and include a firefighter, probation officers, a teacher, civil servant, social worker, student support officer and health service staff including a nurse, midwives, a physiotherapist and a clinical engineer.
 
The aim of the song is to get people talking about the importance of the public sector and its staff in a week when the government wants to focus on union bashing.
 
The single will also raise money for charity. A major part of the sale price, equivalent to about 40p out of the 99p cost in most outlets, will be donated by the TUC to Age UK to show support for today's pensioners.
 
Let's Work Together will be available to download from 2pm on Sunday 20 November on itunes, amazon and other major online retail outlets. Further information about the band and how to buy the single is available at

www.theworkers.org.uk

The more singles that are bought, the higher the chart placing and the more attention the song will get. This is why we need your support!

-          Help create a pre-release buzz around the song release on Friday 18 November by uploading the band's website to your facebook profile, tweet about it and email colleagues. By Friday the website will have all of your biographies, the video, a snippet of the song and info on where to buy it.
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76% headteachers vote yes to strike N30

From www.naht.org.uk


Ballot result shows overwhelming 'YES' vote

The result of the industrial action ballot in England and Wales over pensions is as follows:
 
Total no of votes cast: 13101 (53.6% turnout)
 
Thosevoting 'Yes': 9919 (75.8% of valid vote)
 
Those voting 'No': 3169 (24.2% of valid vote)
 
Total no of spoiled voting papers: 13
 
In one of the highest turnouts in recent ballots, members of the National Association of Head Teachers have voted overwhelmingly to strike over proposals to cut pensions.
NAHT's National Executive is reviewing this result and considering what further action should now follow. Further information with be sent to each member in due course.
 
The result is a testimony to the intensity of feeling over an issue which many school leaders see primarily as a threat to staff recruitment and retention and ultimately, therefore, as a threat to educational standards for the nation's children.
 
Teachers are already doing their bit to address the economic downturn by accepting a pay freeze and sharing the burdens of a strapped economy along with every other tax payer. The pay freeze is saving the government hundreds of millions. The proposed cuts are unfair, ill thought-through and purely being used to pay for the mistakes of the financial sector
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Schools - All out N30

Having been far too busy touring schools in Havering first getting the vote out and now organising pickets I'm afraid the blog has been rather neglected so apologies for that!

The vast majority of unison members are incensed by this attack on our pensions and already we have many more members saying they will be picketing and coming on the rally than in previous strikes.

We are also recruiting like mad with people queuing up at one school yesterday to join unison :D

We are hoping to close every school in Havering on the 30th and at least 10 I think will have picket lines anyway to hand out leaflets to the public etc.

The NUT closed over a 1/3 of schools when they were on strike in June and with unison and gmb out I'm confident that we will close many more.

I knew obviously that members were angry at being asked to work longer pay more and get less and that as 78% of members who voted, voted yes the strike had lots of support - but I have been pleasently surprised by the vibrancy of the meetings and the amount of members who are now volunteering to become activists on the day and hopefully in the branch.

This pensions campaign as well as defending our pensions has the opportunity to reinvigorate our trade union movement.

In the schools I am visiting this after noon I will hopefully be able to confirm that the Headteachers returned a yes vote in their ballot.

It was encouraging to read this in today's independent www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/schools-to-be-shut-by-head-teachers-strike-6259187.html

Russel Hobby NAHT General Secretary said
"If I had to predict it, it would obviously be a Yes vote. No union has so far voted No and the majority of votes were cast before the Government's revised offer.

"We're stronger in the primary sector and most primary schools would shut" in the event of a strike."

The NAHT represent 85 per cent of primary schools and 40 per cent of secondary schools in England, Wales and Northern Ireland - other headteachers I've spoken to in Havering are in the ATL or NUT, so with all the unions on strike in schools my target is 100% shut in Havering!

We are having weekly joint strike committee's with other unions in Havering and have already booked 2 coaches up to lincolns inn fields for the march and rally on the day.

So apologies again for lack of blogging but its hard (very enjoyable!) work at moment!

All out #N30!
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