September 2024
Compulsory redundancies at Barnsley College, S yorks, UK
Submitted by stevein7 on Fri, 2011-05-20 01:42
The bastards have just unleashed a major attack at the college. 30% of staff have been told they will lose their jobs, departments closed. The union has already passed a motion to strike in case of compulsory redundancies, tomorrow there will be a meeting and lets see if they are going to do anything about it.
I am posting a leaflet I am going to circulate at the meeting, rejecting ritual and token action, calling for indefinite strike action, no return to work unless the redundancies are withdrawn with no erosion of conditions.
Massive compulsory redundancies -This barbaric attack must be resisted – Our response must be real!
Barnsley College Management has decided to throw a third of staff onto the dole queues, and shut down whole areas.
We knew the attacks were coming, the Union has already voted to strike over any compulsory redundancy, only the scale of the attack is a shock, a full frontal slap in the face.
This attack must not be allowed to succeed.
The stakes could not be higher. On our knees and accept, on our feet and resist.
There is no room for a ritual, no games of 1 or 2 day strikes.
The management has drawn a liner in the sand, and we must cross it, there can only be one outcome –no redundancies, no erosion of conditions.
We must do whatever is necessary to ensure that our colleagues, fellow workers are not abandoned.
Unemployment, cuts, poverty - that is not a future we can accept.
Strike indefinitely until the threat is retracted!
Escalate the struggle!
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I spotted the typo before
I spotted the typo before printing!
"a line in the sand''
The union meeting resulted in
The union meeting resulted in a vote for a strike, due to the legalities this will take place later I think, but not a great loss as the looming holiday period means a strike now would have limited consequences.
However I fully expect the usual fake response, the question is whether the members will put up with it.
Thousands of London postal
Thousands of London postal workers are set to go on strike, the Communications Workers Union says.
The CWU said its members in the capital backed industrial action by four to one in a turnout of 54%.
The union is protesting at plans to close mail centres, which it said raised the threat of compulsory redundancies.
Up to 3,500 Royal Mail staff will take strike action unless reassurances are given over job security and allegations of bullying are addressed, the union said.
CWU official Martin Walsh said: "London postal workers have sent a clear message to Royal Mail in this ballot that they will not be bullied or intimidated by the company.
"Royal Mail's closure plans are a clear threat of compulsory redundancy and this is completely unacceptable.
'In their race to push services to the bottom, Royal Mail will eventually provoke a reaction wider than London."
Mark Palfrey, a CWU divisional officer, said: "This result tells Royal Mail in no uncertain terms that they, as an employer, are completely out of step with their employees.
The union held back from naming strike dates before efforts are made to resolve the dispute through negotiation.
These struggles need to be linked.
Was there any discussion at
Was there any discussion at the Barnlsey meeting of linking with the strikes that may (or may not!) take place on June 30?
The evening before the
The evening before the meeting I had a long talk with a newly unemployed lecturer (union member at Barnsley College) about the situation, we have had sporadic conversation for years.
Looks like I have been having an effect, her opinion of trade unionism has moved towards mine.
We both agreed that token responses,isolated struggle were ineffectual.
We referred at length to the miners' strike and the role of the NUM and TUC, the fact that Scargill did not go beyond the official framework and appeal for an extension of the strike to other sectors which then and now is the only viable strategy for the class.
So despite a mosaic of political allegiancies, I think we have a space for intervention here.
There is a demo in Barnsley and another meeting today.
I have an A3 placard-
Unemployment?
Poverty? War?
Environmental
Destruction?
CAPITALISM
HAS NO
FUTURE!
Got my placard on full
Got my placard on full display at the meeting.
Union rep (SWP) talked about the issues being general.
The president of the union turned up and wished the Barnsley branch luck, and talked about the JUNE 30 date where various unions are balloting for strikes.
Outcome was a call for a 2 day strike in mid June.
I felt that the staff present had no interest in matters other than their immediate problem but that there was no lack of solidarity between those sacked and those still in work.
The union rep expressed his idea that the real aim was to get in cheap staff and get rid of the more expensive.
I had a private word with the National President and said that very soon the issues of unemployment, pay, pensions would require a response beyond any section.
He agreed, going in front of me in his hope to see a general strike.
Speculation, but it would seem that a broader struggle is on the cards and we will have the task of pushing beyond the limits and illusions that the class and its current leaders may be contemplating in an attempt to defend a status quo which is due to plunge over the edge as the ruling class imposes its agenda.
A general strike for … 4
A general strike for ... 4 hours (as in Italy) or an all out strike? Crafty bastards these union officials.
No doubt Mr C, as you well
No doubt Mr C, as you well know there are no partial revolutions.
Still, an intervention was made and a big fire can arise from a small spark.
blog.ucloccupation.com If
If the other strike ballots are won we could see over 800,000 workers on strike together. There is a real possibility that other groups of workers will join them. (Socialist Worker)
Of course these are double edged affairs, on the one hand intended to boost the Unions and their leftist supporters, and the main 'hope' is getting labour back to power.
But there's also a pointer to a real movement that takes these restricted stunts to their logical conclusion- struggle based on class for another society.
Some of this sounds
Some of this sounds promising. I hope the broader struggle materializes and can hardly wait for the status quo to plunge over the edge. In fact the sooner the better. The sooner we all wake up from the long submissive dream, and the illusion that all we need is a bit more money and a few more jobs, and that the ruling class and it's unions really mean us well, the quicker we'll get to the real movement and for the struggle for the new society. But what exactly is the 'pointer' that Steve sees that off-sets the restricting stunts? Meanwhile keep up the good work Steve.
The pointer was my
The pointer was my placard......No just the fact that these are general issues with political content that require a classs response and even the union joint token action indicates that sectionalism is obsolete.
That's the optimistic perspective.
Actually my initial remark was about right- any real 'pointer' in this turbulence will have to come from the revolutionary vanguard, best of all, from us.
At first the penetration will be very limite, but w fully expect the interplay between ruling class attacks and working class defence to transform a situation of passivity.
Steve: when you say that a
Steve: when you say that a real 'pointer' will have to come from the revolutionary vanguard, and 'best of all, from us' who is 'us'? Do you mean just the ICT? And I hope you're right that the interplay between attacks and working class defense will transform the long working class hibernation. I hope so too. But I fear that the long sleep is not so easy to shake off. And that the ruling class is proving smarter in handling us than we like to give them credit for. After all the various forthcoming strikes and days of action blah blah are still being organized by the unions, even the one at Barnsley. So dumb passivity still rules the day, even though you did have a conversation with somebody about what happened back in the 'eighties. Sorry to be a wet rag. But I'm trying to be realistic rather than an idealist optimist, which the ICT quite rightly doesn't like anyway.
I suppose that any source
I suppose that any source calling for an effective struggle can influence the mass of workers caught up in this situation of worsening conditions and ineffective contestation.
The road to consciousness will be through the false solutions and the partial truths. Groups like the SWP may gain influence within the class and any organs it produces, but the crisis will push workers to differentiate between the political expressions.
The maturation of the crisis is the force which transforms the situation, the force pushing greater numbers to accept the revolutionary perspective.
We the ICT do not monopolise socialism, we have long said that the revolutionary party will not be an enlargement of the ICT, so I think it fair to say that now and in the future a multiplicity of sources of calls for effective defence and beyond can contribute to the generalisation of a class movement and consciousness, and the process will progress to ever greater levels of clarity and rejection of the false.
However, I take on board the
However, I take on board the seriouness of the obstacles, the deadening weight of the past and the very real possibility of a tragic outcome.
Reality is a process of change a conflict between opposites, it cannot stay the same,
The crisis pushes to its outcomes of war and revolution.
The Commune, for example, we
The Commune, for example, we say has a variety of correct and defective positions.
On the June 30th date
Even as we know the strike plans to be inadequate – at the end of term, and just one day (again) – if we want to do more than complain about the union leadership, we need to discuss how to build for the chance of something better happening in the future.- What can we do to make sure that the strike happens, and is as strong and well supported as possible?- What about those who say they are reluctant to strike because a one day strike at the end of term won’t do anything?- How can we involved service users and community members to strengthen the strike action and build the movement?- How can we encourage politics beyond simply defending the welfare state we have on a Keynesian basis?- Is there anything we can do to reach out to other groups of workers, encourage action lasting longer than a day, and ensure that the strike is controlled directly by strikers themselves?
We could just turn our back
We could just turn our back on it all, like the ICC did in the past, its all just union maneuvers, but we recognise we will not be invited by the class conscious proletariat busily holding back war whilst being duped by the crafty union bureaucrats, we have to impose a message as best we can.
related The economic
related
The economic recovery is unlikely to benefit ordinary workers, who could see their pay continue to flatline until 2015, a report has suggested.
According to the thinktank the Resolution Foundation, the living standards of the UK's 11 million workers on low and middle incomes were already faltering before the recession, and they may not improve even when the economy begins to grow steadily again.
It also hints that the "squeezed middle" are losing out, as the highest earners take the proceeds of limited growth.
James Plunkett, author of the report, said: "We all know that the recession has hit living standards hard.
But something deeper has changed in our economy - even during the so-called boom years, ordinary workers weren't seeing their living standards rise.
The group, which based its analysis on government projections, said average pay was set to be no higher in 2015 than it was in 2001.
It warned that the combined pressures of stagnating wages and high levels of personal debt would continue to have a huge impact on workers' living standards.
Steve McNamara, a London taxi driver, told Sky News he wasn't surprised by the claims that millions of families will continue to struggle.
He said: "All these reports tell us that the economy is getting better. But the actual reality is that inflation is very high, it's affecting everything we buy and wages aren't going up and it's not good news"
The Resolution Foundation has warned that the politicians must do more to appreciate the impact the financial troubles have had on millions of ordinary families.
It also stresses that the situation is likely to be made worse by government cuts to tax credits.
Just a word of encouragement
Just a word of encouragement to Steve for his work on the ground and reports of other actions (ie London posties). Also: like the placard - good synthesis of what's at stake.
Your work is a fine illustration of how militants must toil in the field of the specific, as well as the more general movement.
Your questions are important:
"What can we do to make sure that the strike happens, and is as strong and well supported as possible?- What about those who say they are reluctant to strike because a one day strike at the end of term won’t do anything?- How can we involved service users and community members to strengthen the strike action and build the movement?- How can we encourage politics beyond simply defending the welfare state we have on a Keynesian basis?- Is there anything we can do to reach out to other groups of workers, encourage action lasting longer than a day, and ensure that the strike is controlled directly by strikers themselves?"
Your activity and analysis have already given general answers - you do what you can, what you must, but the greater reality of class militancy and combativity is not something that we control, even if we must strive to influence it.
Personally, I'm not pesamistic: the evolution of the crisis is, globally speaking, forcing a certain response: IMO, the current phase is seeing a wider response from those proletarians (or would-be proletarians) excluded from the productive process - France, Spain, Greece, the UK, etc, while workers with jobs are more reluctant to take to the streets or to strike. However small, the willingness of your Barnsley colleagues to strike does represent something positive.
The fact that, at the present moment, the forces of control (mainly the unions) are being forced to take a timid 'lead' is neither here nor there. That's what they do, why they exist. The question, as Steve says, is how will the workers respond to their limitations?
Finally, on a down note, I'm really disapointed to see a 'pop' at another left communist group (the coments about the ICC). As well as being factually incorrect, it really demeans the movement as a whole, makes us out to be something out of Monty Python's the life of Brian, reinforcing the whole 'small cult' mentality. You've more important and immediate fish to fry - pushing ahead what (in embryo) already exists on Barnsley. Shame the Manchester Struggle Forum has chosen this moment to pack up!!
I cannot verify this, but
I cannot verify this, but apparently my placard was salvaged by a sociology student and has gone on display in the sociology classroom.
Lenin would have been jealous...
Is there any chance of
Is there any chance of linking up the struggle in colleges across South Yorkshire? As far as I know, Sheffield College is still in dispute (ucucalderdale.wordpress.com), and Rawmarsh Community School in Rotherham were in dispute until very recently (see, for instance, rotherhamadvertiser.co.uk). If you get in touch with the address given in that article about Sheffield, it could be a good first step towards spreading/linking your struggles.
Solidarity and good luck!
Isn’t the Rawmarsh struggle
Isn't the Rawmarsh struggle over? As far as I understood it only one person fell for the redundancy blackmail by the Head but the other 24 kept their jobs although there was a continuing issue about reinstating the union rep. Correct me if I got this wrong and anyway good post anonymous - we have had personal messages about other colleges in London and elsewhere that face similar threats. It seems barmy for them to fight separately.
Sorry for the slow reply…
Sorry for the slow reply... yeah, the Rawmarsh struggle seems to be over, but it's recent enough that I think it'd be worth trying to get in touch with them, and maybe getting someone to come to one of your meetings to talk about why they decided to take action and what they got out of it (for what it's worth, the left seem to be talking it up as a victory, but then they'll do that with anything.) Also, Sheffield University support staff are now out on strike over attacks on their pension scheme... personally, I think it'd be brilliant if it was possible to get workers from your college, Sheffield college and Sheffield University all out on each others' picket lines. Sadly, I'm not an education worker myself, just an interested bystander, so I'm in no position to take any practical steps towards making this happen. Is there any news on the Barnsley dispute, by the way?
I am not a worker there
I am not a worker there (used to be) and I cannot get past the new security.
I am told the redundancy threat was no bluff, over half of those named have already left and taken what redundancy there was.
The first strike day is the 16 th I believe, so I will try to get to the picket line and discuss the issue of linking.
A placard
ONLY
WORKING CLASS UNITY
CAN STOP THE CUTS!
Any good?
Your placard ONLY WORKING
Your placard ONLY WORKING CLASS UNITY - can stop the cuts, is very good Steve. I alsobliked an earlier one which said CAPITALISM HAS NO FUTURE. Working class unity will ensure capitalism has no future.And the sooner the better.Good picketing and linking on the 16th.
Strike date is this Fri
Strike date is this Fri 17th, not 16th.
Meanwhile Today, (Tuesday 14 June), the NUT announced overwhelming endorsement by its members for strike action to defend teachers' pensions. In the NUT's strike ballot 92% voted in favour of strike action with a turnout of 40%We will be campaigning alongside the ATL who have had similar strong results in their ballot of members.The NUT executive will be meeting tomorrow to take the formal decision on a day of national strike action planned for 30 June.
It may all still be contained and toothless, but the public sector and the class in general are taking some big punches and what credibility will the unions have as this prcess develops as we forecast to ever declining conditions?
It's maddening that he class has to go through the school of capitalist crisis, and would that we could avoid the pain to come, but that seems to be the condition for generalising our positions beyond the low ebb that communism has reached.
The media has been full of
The media has been full of June 30th- On June 30, 800,000 members of Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union, Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL), National Union of Teachers (NUT) and University College Union (UCU) are all expected to stage a 24-hour walk out against changes to the public sector pension scheme, cuts and pay.
...........
For us its business as usual, shot by both sides, but the long game is a different story.
Capitalism is forced to provoke the class over and over and remove the safety nets, the conditions upon which working class apathy are constructed.
The unions will only at best repeat their jaded fake contestation the glaringly obvious constant decline is fertile ground for political earthquakes.
30 june may come and go, but the cancer of capitalist crisis will spread.
So this tale of woe got
So this tale of woe got interesting....
This is from a member of staff and the union....
The remaining staff have all been given lesser positions. All but one.
So officially the union struggle has become an action for the one.
There have been a couple of one day strikes.
At todays union meeting the strategy was challenged . The union wanted to continue with the odd day offf. Members said it was ineffective . The issue was raised that the response from the outset was weak and that there is no point in single day action losing a days wage ang getting nowhere.
The call was for 5 days (meaning union strike funds to be paid) or nothing. There was no agreeement and I await the fall out...
There will be a 5 day
There will be a 5 day strike, from 4 Nov.
Union funds paid to strikers.
I suspect they are now escalating a dead issue, the horse has bolted.
It will be a mess, it will be about one person rather than the original issue.
The fact is due to the original weak response, many took redundancy and inferior positions.
Now the strike is over the compulsory redundancy of 1 man.
And finally, the 1 man was
And finally, the 1 man was offered and took a job.
No strike.
The college got away with a lot, but the union has lost a lot of credibility.