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Unite the Resistance Conference
Care UK strikers the latest speakers to confirm for 15 November Unite the Resistance ‘Organising to Win’ conference
Care UK strikers ended the first two week strike after reballoting for strikes, the dispute took a step forwards making the front page of the Observer on Sunday 10 August. A delegation of strikers are attending the Unite the Resistance conference on 15 November to share their experience of so far 48 days striking for the future of the NHS. For updates on their strike visit their facebook page
Bryan Kennedy, sacked Unite convenor at One Housing Group where members are continuing to strike calling for his reinstatement and who has led strikes against attacks on pay is among others confirmed to speak at the conference.
We are now looking towards an autumn that will see up to a million workers in local government in Unison, Unite and GMB strike on 14 October as the next day ofstrikes against the Tories’ pay insult.
In Scotland, Unison’s 70,000 local government workers are to ballot for strikes and could join action on 14 October.
We have seen an escalation of FBU’s battle to defend firefighters’ pensions with a further eight days strikes in August. Around 600,000 health workers in Unison, Unite, GMB are balloting to join the pay revolt, with strikes potentially taking place on 13 October followed by industrial action.
The NUT teachers’ union and PCS civil service workers’ union will both be discussing their next steps following the fantastic 10 July coordinated strike of 1.4 million. The 18 October is the TUC and Scottish TUC’s national demonstrations under the banner “Britain Needs a Pay Rise”.
The Unite the Resistance conference on 15 November is a space to come together as trade unionists and activists from every part of the country, with delegations from across the unions and workplaces, to discuss and debate how to take the fightback against austerity forwards and develop a strategy in our unions to win.
Alongside the battle over public sector pay and pensions, zero hours contracts, the attacks on union rights, low pay and the scapegoating of claimants and migrant workers are all key issues affecting millions.
We want to debate how we can build on 10 July and see more – and even bigger – strikes to beat back the Tories. We want to highlight the role unions can play in the fight against attacks on the NHS, public services, benefits and the rights of disabled people. And we want to discuss the possibility of building union organisation today – both in the public and private sectors.
Forums & workshops include
• Strategies to win: How do we beat the austerity agenda?
• The fight against zero hours contracts and organising the unorganised
• Migrant workers: part of the union, part of the solution
• Mass strikes and the movement, the role of strikes in the fight against austerity
• The law and the multinationals: Do workers still have power to beat the bosses?
• This is what we want: demands for the election campaign and the next government
Speakers include:
Mags Dalton and Roger Hutt, Doncaster Unison Care UK strikers
John McDonnell MP
Ian Lawrence, NAPO general secretary
Mandy Brown, Lambeth College UCU
Bryan Kennedy, Sacked Unite One Housing convenor
Billy Hayes, CWU general secretary
Peter Pinkney, RMT president
Jane Aitchison, Unite the Resistance joint secretary
Jeremy Corbyn MP
Ian Hodson, BFAWU national president
- Posted by: Unite the Resistance at 1:59pm on 29 August 2014
- Website: uniteresist.org/2014/08/care-uk-strikers-the-latest-speakers-to-confirm-for-15-november-unite-the-resistance-organising-to-win-conference/
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