Peter Pinkney, RMT President and Natalie Bennett support for the rail and Tube strikes

London Underground tube network shut down. 
RMT, UNITE, TSSA and ASLEF all won ballots for industrial action that has led to over 24 hours of industrial action on the tube and on the railway 

Peter Pinkney, RMT President has been on the picket lines : 

"Despite negotiating for three months TFL have not moved to understand the problems. This dispute is not just about money for the workers, it is also about working practices, and also about the safety of the public.
We must remember that these workers are the same people who were rightly called heroes ten years ago after the tube, and bus bombings. These same people are now looked on with scorn by the bosses, right wing press and the Mayor. 
The public are on our side. On the picket line in Brixton, this morning, I lost count of the members of the public who wished us well. 
The unions are united in our determination to protect our workforce and the public. 
The policy of TFL, and this government is to force more austerity on us, not to provide a better service. If they wanted to provide a better service, they would not be shutting all the booking offices. 
We don't like seeing the public suffer, but the truth is, we haven't caused this dispute, the Government and bosses have. The press should start looking at them instead of constantly attacking trade unions. 
We want a just settlement, and the ball is firmly in their court to come up with something. 
Today the tube workers have showed the way how to fight back against injustices by unscrupulous employers, and I hope other trade unions will take up the baton, and begin the fight back" 
Peter Pinkney is a member of the Green Party Trade Union group

Natalie Bennett stands 'in solidarity' with striking rail and tube workers

9 July 2015

GREEN Party leader Natalie Bennett has expressed support for the rail and Tube strikes. The Rail and Maritime Transport union have begun a three-day walkout after a dispute with First Great Western over job cuts and safety, while around 2,000 London Underground workers are on strike today.

Bennett said:

“I stand in solidarity with the workers striking this week. These strikes are the last resort of workers seriously concerned over issues of safety, staffing and pay, and it is clear that employers in both cases have failed to provide the reasonable assurances that their employees have the right to ask for.

"In any significant change to services and the conditions of those who work on them - be it the night Tube or the new inner-city trains - the needs of those who will be staffing them must be a high priority, and workers forced to take industrial action to ensure that this is the case have my support.”

- See more at: https://www.greenparty.org.uk/news/2015/07/09/natalie-bennett-stands-%E2%80%9Cin-solidarity%E2%80%9D-with-striking-rail-and-tube-workers/#sthash.hVWrqLdJ.D84KoPl3.dpuf

TUBE STRIKE ON AS LU FAIL TO MAKE ANY SERIOUS PROGRESS IN TALKS🚇

B Heard Media

BREAKING...
TUBE STRIKE ON AS LU FAIL TO MAKE ANY SERIOUS PROGRESS IN TALKS🚇

🚇General Secretary Mick Cash said:

"Despite strenuous efforts by union negotiators to press London Underground to address the issues of fairness, safety, work\\life balance and equality at the heart of this dispute they have come up with nothing in the talks this afternoon.

"The action is on and RMT will be mobilising picket lines and effective action with our sister unions and there are no further talks planned at this stage. "

🚇https://www.rmt.org.uk/campaigns/political/right-to-strike/

📣https://m.facebook.com/bheardmedia

RMT RED FLAG STRIKE RALLY 8/7/2015

• Tomorrow at 5:30pm Tomorrow · 69°F / 51°F Chance of Rain

• Show Map London Paddington Station Praed Street, W2 1HQ London, United Kingdom

RMT members on London Underground and First Great Western Trains are taking simultaneous strike action to defend their jobs, terms and conditions and our service. They are staging a strike rally at Paddington Station from 17:30 in a show of strength and unity. Please come and show support for these workers in their struggle. Bring red flags. Bring friends. Bring solidarity.

Staff and parents at Small Heath School are fighting academy conversion.

Staff and parents at Small Heath School are fighting academy conversion. The following report is from one of the organisers;

Following our strike a month ago against the threat of academisation at the school, Small Heath School NUT, NASUWT and ATL members took another day’s strike action on Thursday 2nd July.  It was another vibrant, confident and solid strike and the 3 entrances to the school were picketed by large numbers of teachers, parents and students (a group of parents even brought wonderful food to the picket line!).  Messages of support were received from far and wide.  Again, the strike made the news.

The strike got a wonderful boost the evening before with a parents’ meeting that was also attended by many staff.  Every parent that spoke supported the striking teachers and agreed that the strike was necessary .  Richard Hatcher from Birmingham CASE and Salma Yaqoob addressed the parents and both inspired a number of parents to come forward to begin to organize a community campaign to fight alongside staff.

The teaching unions remain united in opposing any planned academisation of the school and there will be a further union/parents’ meeting at The Rex Centre, Small Heath at 5-7pm on Tuesday, 14th July.  Parents want this to be a springboard for their actions over the summer in building a campaign that will be ready for the battles that lay ahead next term!

acknowledgements to https://birminghamcase.wordpress.com/2015/07/02/second-strike-at-small-heath-school-prompts-solidarity-from-parents-on-the-picket-line/ and Martin Francis

Sotheby’s sells a Warhol for £20.9m as cleaners protest for better conditions

 02 July 15

Sotheby’s sells a Warhol for £20.9m as cleaners protest for better conditions see https://www.facebook.com/groups/GreenLeft/permalink/10153471539206255/

This is an attack on the trade union movement locally and an attempt by the City Council to make it more difficult for the trade unions to defend their members and the public services in the City.

We note with dismay the proposals submitted on behalf of Coventry City Council that would significantly cut the amount of time that local union officers have to act on their members’ behalf, with many unions facing a greater than 50% reduction. 

This is an attack on the trade union movement locally and an attempt by the City Council to make it more difficult for the trade unions to defend their members and the public services in the City. 

We note that:

·       These cuts will seriously affect industrial relations within the authority.

·       They will lead to more stress and anxiety for council employees.

·       They come at a time when the Tory government is planning even greater cuts and attacks on local services as well as our members pay and conditions.

·       The cuts to facilities time will cost more money than it saves.

·       Coventry Council is attempting to force this through without following proper procedure as is dictated by our collective agreements.

 The Joint Trade Unions have lodged a formal dispute with the City Council about the way it is conducting its so-called consultation and in respect of the fact that they are not following proper procedure.  This dispute has the backing of UNISON, UNITE, ATL, NASUWT, and NUT at both local authority and regional level.

We call upon Cllr Ann Lucas, Leader of Coventry City Council, as well as the Labour Party Group, to withdraw these proposals.

Sign the petition at https://www.change.org/p/councillor-ann-lucas-coventry-city-council-withdraw-the-current-proposals-to-cut-trade-union-facilities-time-in-coventry-city-council?recruiter=69619084&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=autopublish&utm_term=mob-xs-share_petition-reason_msg

Cuts to Legal Aid

Dear All,
There has been too little in the news about this,

A few weeks ago the Ministry of Justice announced the implementation of significant cuts to Legal Aid rates in criminal cases that will come into effect from today. The cuts impose an 8.75% reduction in solicitors' fees. As a result solicitors up and down the country (including those who practice at the Magistrates' Courts in Haringey) have decided to undertake no work on new legal aid cases from today. Criminal barristers are balloting among themselves between now and the 14 July to decide whether to join solicitors in a similar action.

This cannot be called a 'strike' because regardless of the outcome of the ballot each barrister must make his or her own decision on whether to refuse to do new legal aid work. However, if enough lawyers decide to join this action then the effect will be to bring the criminal justice system to a halt. No lawyer wants to do this but many of us feel that we are left with no choice. If the cuts come into effect it will not be possible for lawyers to properly represent their clients and we simply will not have a fair and effective criminal justice system.

We have endured years of reductions in fees whilst repeatedly pointing out to the Ministry of Justice how it could make significant savings to its budget, without cutting legal services to the most vulnerable. Even without these cuts we will be struggling with massive, ill-thought out changes to legal aid contracts.

We have been here before - last year in fact when Chris Grayling backed down from introducing similar cuts in the face of action by the legal profession. Now the Government, no doubt emboldened by the election victory, is back for another go. It is vital that they do not succeed.

There is some information about this on the London Criminal Courts Solicitors' website (www.lccsa.org.uk) When I get the chance, I will write something more substantial about the nature of the cuts, the issues at stake and how people can support the action. (although I already owe Mike a blog piece on the Human Rights Act). Hopefully, when presented with a true picture of what is going on Green Party members will support us.

Many thanks