National Shop Stewards Network: Brighton launch meeting

Nearly 40 trade unionists attended a launch of the National Shop Stewards Network (NSSN) in Brighton.

Organised by local Socialist Party members to get the network started, reps were present from various branches of NUT, UCU, Unison, RMT, GMB, and both halves of Unite.

The meeting heard from Socialist Party industrial organiser and NSSN co-organiser Bill Mullins about the Lindsey construction worker strikes and went on to discuss how to build a network in the area.

Many of the contributions focused on the lack of political representation for the unions and how they could be broken from Labour, the Campaign for a New Workers Party was raised and many reps signed the declaration including a member of the RMT national executive.

A small committee of volunteers was put together and will now focus on building the network, particularly spreading it across the South East (the attendance was mainly from Brighton), bringing in unions not present (CWU, FBU) and to get plans together to support a UCU strike at Sussex Downs college on 24 and 25 March.

It is also vital in our area that we begin to organise more shop, call centre and financial workers as it is likely that these groups will be hit first and hardest by job losses in the town.

Phil Clarke, Lewes, Eastbourne and Wealden NUT secretary, personal capacity

For more details about the NSSN see: www.shopstewards.net and for more details about the CNWP see: www.cnwp.org.uk

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