A recent wildcat action among workers building an Amazon fulfilment centre in Gateshead was successful at stopping a de-skilling attempt. This follows from the recent victory in the national “No to ESO” construction rank and file struggle over de-skilling at Hinkley Point C. Earlier this year, the construction industry saw a major struggle between rank-and-file
On Wednesday May 26th, rank and file sparks (electricians) blockaded the Atomic Weapons Establishment site at Burghfield, near Reading. The action, which was advertised in a previous Freedom article, was the latest in a series of protests held by construction workers across the country under the slogan “No to ESO”. The protests started in response
Since early March, rank-and-file sparks (electricians) have been holding regular actions targeting construction companies Balfour Beatty and NG Bailey. The dispute started with those companies attempting to bring in workers without sufficient training to carry out electrical work on the Hinkley Point C nuclear reactor, and it now looks set to spread to another part
With drivers at Stamford Brook and Hounslow Heath voting to join industrial action against a real-terms pay cut, the company is facing serious trouble in South and West London. The row has been rumbling on since 2019, when London United, a subsidiary of transport giant Ratp which is contracted to TfL for routes across large parts of
Along with the ongoing protests against the Policing Bill, the past month has seen another, less high-profile struggle playing out across the UK, as electricians and other construction workers have mounted a campaign against employers trying to de-skill their trade. The dispute started after an attempt to introduce a new grade of ESO, which stands for
Hundreds of Deliveroo riders from across the UK are expected to strike in an action to coincide with the company’s IPO valuation, taking place on the 7th of April. An investor briefing produced by the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB), Share Action and The Private Equity Stakeholder Project has highlighted some of the
Construction is one of the few industries left today where there’s still a living tradition of self-organised rank-and-file militancy, especially among electricians. This spirit was shown in a major dispute at the start of the 2010s, when a huge wildcat by electricians defeated an attempt by construction companies to impose a new national agreement that
On 14th January, the workers of the British company Fresh Tom Export in Almería (South Spain), a vegetable grower and trading company specialising in tomato crops, decided by almost unanimous vote to go on indefinite strike. On Tuesday 19th January, the workers started the strike officially and it has been massively followed since then. The
The Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB) Universities of London Branch voted for industrial action at the University of Greenwich today. Outsourced cleaners, porters and security officers are demanding trade union recognition for the IWGB, a commitment to end outsourcing and equal terms and conditions. 69 percent of workers voted in favour of strike
Members of the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB) Couriers & Logistics Branch in Sheffield are going on strike today against app-based ‘gig economy’ corporations including Deliveroo, Uber and Stuart. These key workers face unfair, automated terminations, precarious conditions and declining pay. They are demanding a living wage, a freeze on recruitments which drive
How the Russian anarcho-syndicalist became a political journalist, ended up in the Red Army, and helped organise Kropotkin’s funeral ~ Nikolai Gerasimov ~ In the 1930s, Chicago was the capital of American gangsters.
Concerns about communal democracy and gender equality in the region, despite constitutional guarantees for Kurds ~ Blade Runner ~ On 10 March, Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) commander Mazloum Abdi Kobani was transported to Damascus aboard a U.S.
An early British anti-fascist, her working-class voice was powerful and unique ~ Megan Williams ~ An internationalist thread went through Ethel Carnie Holdsworth’s entire life and career, establishing her as a significant force in early twentieth century British socialism.
There has been little effective, determinative resistance to the fascist coup underway since Trump’s inauguration on 20 January ~ Louis Further ~ Articles of impeachment have been filed.
World news in brief ~ Rob Latchford ~ Colorado police arrested Lucy Grace Nelson (40) on Monday outside a Tesla dealership in Loveland, Colorado, after a week long investigation into previous attacks on the dealership.
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