Wage cuts… bedroom tax… racist attacks…
Build for mass anti-cuts action
National Shop Stewards Network demonstration and lobby of the TUC 11 September 2011 , photo Paul Mattsson (Click to enlarge: opens in new window)
The National Shop Stewards Network (NSSN) annual conference is only two weeks away! On Saturday 29 June, trade unionists and anti-cuts campaigners will come together in a vital meeting which will discuss and plan for action against cuts and austerity attacks. This event will provide a focus for the campaign for a 24-hour general strike.
Workers in struggle will be key delegates to the conference. A Unison steward from the East Midlands who is involved in a dispute with support organisation Thera told us: “I was transferred over under the Tupe scheme from the NHS to the Thera Trust charity.
“This year, they started attacking care and support staff’s conditions, including cutting wages drastically.
“We have been building a united fight of transferred workers and the existing workers. Our strikes have already forced some concessions.
“We want national action by the unions to safeguard their members’ rights. Coming to NSSN conference and meeting other workers, many in similar struggles, is a vital step in building that process.”
Other battles against austerity will be represented. Helen Pattison from the ‘No Bedroom Tax in Newham’ (NBTN) campaign explains: “Campaigning against the bedroom tax brought together local trade unionists with those affected, students and others angered by cuts.
“NBTN members will be attending NSSN conference, to organise with those in other areas fighting cuts to jobs and taking strike action against austerity and the government.
“Many workers facing cuts at work will also be hit by the bedroom tax. At NSSN conference we can carry on the fight together.”
Glenn Kelly, Unison branch secretary in Bromley, condemned the atrocious arson attack on the Islamic school in Chislehurst in Bromley at the weekend that threatened the lives of staff and pupils: “It is hard not to link this attack with other anti-Muslim attacks after the terrible attack in Woolwich.
“Unison condemns the killing of Lee Rigby. However the BNP and EDL are trying to exploit the killing for their own ends. The trade unions cannot afford to ignore attempts to whip up racism.
“The trade unions have a key role to play… When our communities, our jobs and our services are under attack, we need the maximum unity of working people.
“We need to offer an alternative to the politics of racial hatred by building a mass campaign against the politics of austerity.
“Working class people need to be brought together by the trade unions, not ripped apart by the racists.
“We should unite the local community in protests, marches and where necessary strike action and even occupations to ensure that our hospitals, schools and fire stations are not allowed to be closed with the resultant loss of jobs.”
