Latest editorial
Protesters outside the Houses of Parliament in London, as the Bill on minimum service levels during strikes reaches its second reading. Picture date: Monday January 16, 2023.
THE trade union movement must build a mass campaign of resistance to defy the Tory government’s “pernicious and draconian” anti-strike legislation, the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) is demanding today.
General secretary Matt Wrack urged “mass non-co-operation and non-compliance” with the widely condemned Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill, which is currently at committee stage in the Lords after being rushed through the Commons earlier this year.
The proposals would empower bosses, and even ministers, to sack workers who refuse to cross their own picket lines and provide an as yet undefined minimum service level during walkouts across six key sectors, including health, education and public transport.
This summer’s fire outbreaks highlighted once again the deadly cost of job, equipment and funding cuts to the fire service. Ten years after the Grenfell tragedy, serious lessons still need to be learned, says STEVE WRIGHT
Labour must deliver its manifesto promises in full and begin the bigger task of restoring workers’ collective power, says MATT WRACK
The Tories introduced the 50% strike ballot threshold to make industrial action harder. MATT WRACK argues that a Labour government has no justification for leaving it on the statute book
