AUCPB - CLASS STRUGGLE UK 22 APRIL

FB AUCPB UK EVENTS


AUCPB UK CLASS STRUGGLE 22 APRIL

21 APRIL
Engineers strike in Lancashire
Vehicle maintenance engineers in the Unite union at Lancashire County Council struck on Wednesday of last week against cuts to their conditions as part of a “single status” job evaluation.
=========================
21 APRIL
Wildcat walk-out shocks Dundee council bosses
Hundreds of council workers in Dundee walked out unofficially today when their management reneged on a temporary worker agreement. The workers include the council’s joiners, painters, plumbers, scaffolders and others who carry out essential work in the city.
Unions and management had an agreement that temporary workers would be automatically made permanent after two years in employment. Bosses now want to increase this to four years.
Workers in the Unite, Unison and Ucatt unions held a 300-strong meeting this morning at which they overwhelmingly voted to walk-out against these plans.
==========================
19 April
PCS strike
A national strike by around 7,000 call centre workers on Monday, demanding better conditions and public services, was a big success.
The solid action by PCS civil service workers’ union members had a massive impact on the 37 Jobcentre Plus contact centres around Britain.
Pickets reported a mass stayaway as staff made their feelings clear about the conditions they are forced to work under.
They were also angry that the government’s Work and Pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith described their action as “Neanderthal-like”.
“Some of the conditions we face are draconian,” said Andy Campbell, a PCS rep at Cressington House in Liverpool.
“And this affects the services we provide, which would be much better if staff were treated with respect.
“Workers in the centres have to achieve call time targets, and if you’re up against that you’ll always have to look at cutting corners.
“Because of this service users, who are phoning to claim benefits or get advice from the department, are getting a raw deal.
“The strength of the strike shows what staff think of the conditions they work under.
“The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) should listen to us.”
Another striker in Telford said, “A recently unemployed person who had never claimed benefit before needed reassurance. They had always worked for the last 30 years.
“But staff were unable to provide the support they needed as we must complete the call within 16 minutes.”
==============================
21 April
Victory for Yunus as judge orders reinstatement
A judge at an employment tribunal this week ordered the reinstatement of Yunus Bakhsh, the high profile nurse and activist who was sacked illegally for his trade union activities.
Health bosses in Newcastle first suspended then sacked Yunus after they received “anonymous” complaints against him.
It emerged later that some of those who witnessed against the high profile black trade unionist in a management investigation had previously joined racist-inspired groups on Facebook.
Last year, an employment tribunal ruled that Yunus’s sacking was because of his trade union activity and that he had been the victim of disability discrimination.
Now, a judge has ordered that bosses reemploy Yunus in his job as a psychiatric nurse, compensate him for lost earnings, and pay a penalty for discriminating against him.
=========================