November 2013

Please bring along new people to our next meeting 7.15pm Thursday 21st November, to hear an excellent speaker:

Ronnie Draper, General Secretary Bakers Food Allied Workers Union

 on their recent Hovis strike victory

357 Bakers, Food & Allied Workers Union organised workers, after several weeks of industrial action saw victory in Wigan:

• review of staffing levels
• end zero-hours contracts for 24 staff who now become full-time
• agency staff only for work peaks and after permanent staff have been offered extra hours

same conditions for agency staff

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Black Country People’s Assembly had 14 at the last meeting but is in need of more of our delegates to participate.  Next planning and organising meeting

7:15pm, Tuesday 26th November @ The Pegasus, Jackson Street, Wolverhampton WV6 0QQ

 

5th November marked the 20th Anniversary of the privatisation of the Railways by John Major’s Tory government.- from 7:30am 1500 postcards were handed out for Wolverhampton train station commuters, who responded well, to send to MPs demanding re-nationalisation by RMT, ASLEF, Wolverhampton TUC and Peoples Assembly members as part of the Action For Rail campaign.

Industrial action in the last month:

First UK-wide joint strike between higher education unions took place on 31 October.  Universities across the UK were brought to a standstill by strike action by UCU, UNISON and Unite trade unions in an increasingly bitter row over pay.

 

NAPO, the trade union for Probation and Family Court staff in England and Wales walked out of offices for 24hours on 5th November, only their fourth time in a century.

 

Members of the Fire Brigades Union went out on 1st November and again on the 4th. for their third strike over pensions.

 

Postal workers union CWU’s threat of a strike on November 4th was enough to force further talks.

 

 

International dayschool Saturday 30th November  10am-3pm

workshops on: Labour behind the Label;  Women in Venezuela;  Trade unions in the Philippines

@UNISON offices 24 Livery Street, Birmingham B3 2PA all welcome  FREE LUNCH book daveauger61@hotmail.com

PSC lobby parliament  Wednesday 27th November  – If you are interested in coming to London to lobby your Wolverhampton MP on Palestine please contact us at  wolvespsc@yahoo.co.uk

free filmshows: Friday 15th November 9 Star Hotel   Friday 29th November (No) Laughing Matter 

Friends of Chainmakers first meeting: 3pm TUESDAY 3rd December Cradley Heath Library B64 5JU – all welcome the group is being set up to assist the event and to encourage more local people to become involved.

 

Our WB&DTUC 2014 affiliation forms are being sent to branches this month.