LINDA PENTZ GUNTER reports from the one of 2,700 protests against the Trump government’s power grabs, on a day when seven million people defied fear-mongering in a outpouring of joy and hope in what might be the biggest protest in US history
You are not the only one
Throughout the Post Office Horizon scandal, affected workers were isolated and made to feel solely guilty for what they were accused of. We need more workers to join the trade union movement to see that, no matter what, they are not alone, says postal worker JOHN CARSON
The Mount Pleasant Post Office in London, January 9, 2024
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There is no chance of defending and renewing an NHS which is still savagely undermined by having to pay mark-ups of up to 23,000 per cent to Big Pharma — let’s take control of pharmaceutical manufacturing and distribution, writes DREW GILCHRIST
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Lewisham People’s Assembly organiser BEN WOODWARD reports on uproar in south London as campaigners condemn an ‘undemocratic stitch-up’ after the council waved through redevelopment of a vibrant shopping centre into ‘luxury flats’
FOLLOWING the airing of the drama series, Mr Bates vs The Post Office, at the start of January, the outpouring of sympathy and solidarity with the victims of the scandal has been great to see.
From politicians, journalists, celebrities to regular folk on the street, the sheer sense and scale of the injustice has offended all. This has been particularly true in Royal Mail, where postal workers have regularly fielded questions about the situation from friends, family and customers (despite Royal Mail being split off from the Post Office and privatised in 2012/13) and have expressed their own shock and disgust to see the outrageous cases of the malicious prosecutions of many decent, ordinary, hardworking subpostmasters — part of the wider postal family.
Of course, the truth of this situation and the full extent of the lies told by the Post Office were not revealed suddenly by a successful television show — it was revealed in organised action led by Alan Bates’s group, Justice for Subpostmaster Alliance, formed in 2009, and which brought together the shared experiences of subpostmasters across the country in order to fight for fight for redress and compensation and to expose the lies and cover-up surrounding the cases.
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Royal Mail’s job quality has plummeted, with gruelling hours, two-tier pay, intense surveillance, and poor work-life balance for postal workers — but our union is fighting back, writes CWU branch secretary JOHN CARSON
Companies that forced staff to risk their lives during January’s extreme weather or face financial penalties have revealed the urgent need for enforceable safety standards beyond mere guidelines, argues JOHN CARSON
ANDY HEDGECOCK previews a new musical about the Post Office Horizon scandal that employs different community choirs as it tours