“This is about putting profits over people” said one GMB striker at the British Gas workers demonstration in Leeds, summarising the nature of the dispute, now in its 13th day of strike action. Iain Dalton, Leeds Socialist Party Friday 5th February at 12noon was the deadline given to workers before moving on to one-to-one ‘consultations’…
British Gas workers, primarily engineers, are currently locked in battle with boss Chris O’Shea over his attempts to impose attacks on terms and conditions through firing and re-hiring the workforce. Iain Dalton, Leeds Socialist Party The workers, organised in the GMB union, have been taking strike action during January, with Friday 29th being the 9th…
A series of online TUSC meetings across Yorkshire kicked off in West Yorkshire on 20 January. Nina Brown, Leeds Socialist Party Iain Dalton, for the Socialist Party, said working people are facing unprecedented service cuts, increased council taxes and declining living standards. He pointed out that under the leadership of Keir Starmer, Labour councils have…
“Out, Out, Out” ring the chants of workers throughout this film capturing the magnificent struggle of mainly women clothing workers in Leeds in the 1970s. After their union, the National Union of Tailors and Garment Workers (NUTGW) negotiated a wage agreement that continued to retain the unequal pay structure between male and female workers, as…
Unite members at Optare in Yorkshire returned to the picket lines on 16 November for the first day of their now escalated four-days-a-week strike at the bus manufacturers. Iain Dalton, Leeds Socialist Party Threats from the police to fine strikers if they continued to picket, citing the new Covid restrictions, had prevented picketing, until the…
On the very first day of the new national lockdown, police issued dispersal orders to a picket line of striking workers, on the grounds of breaching the new rules. Iain Dalton, Leeds Socialist Party Unite members at Optare in Sherburn-in-Elmet have been social distancing and wearing masks, in contrast to contractors the company employs, who…
At a meeting held on the picket line on Friday 30th October, Optare workers voted to escalate their ongoing strike action in their long-running pay dispute from two days a week, to four days a week starting from Monday 16th November. Iain Dalton, Leeds Socialist Party Two weeks into the strike, many of the deliveries…
For the second weekend in a row, protesters gathered in Leeds in solidarity with the #EndSARS protests in Nigeria. Organised by the Nigerian Student Society at Leeds University and Black Lives Matter Leeds, at least 80 attended despite the poor weather. Leeds Socialist Party members The Socialist Party’s leaflets, reproducing the leaflet given out by…
Leeds Labour-run council has announced plans for massive cuts in services and jobs across the city in the coming months and year, on the basis of pressures on the council due to Covid-19. Michael Johnson, Leeds Socialist Party In September alone, the council made plans for cuts of around £32.6 million, with a reduction in…
“We’ve started this, and there’s no going back” were the remarks of one speaker at the #endsars protest on October 24th in Millennium Square, Leeds. Around 50-60 joined the protest organised by the Nigerian Student Society at Leeds University. As well as slogans against police violence and demands to dismantle the SARS and SWAT police…
