Bristol: TV Licence workers to join November 30 strike

From CWU Website: http://www.cwu.org/news/archive/tv-license-workers-to-join-november-30-strike.html

Hundreds of workers at TV Licensing employed by Capita will join millions of public sector workers by going on strike next Wednesday, November 30.

This will be the fourth day of strike action that these members of the Communication Workers Union will have taken in a long-running dispute over pay. The majority of them had never been involved in any industrial action before Capita refused to increase a pay offer worth around 2.6%. Capita makes more than £1 million profit every day and last year gave the CEO and other senior executives a 17% pay rise.

Andy Furey, CWU assistant secretary representing Capita members, said: "There are many similarities between what our members are fighting for - a fair pay rise - and the dispute that public sector workers are in - seeking fair and affordable pensions.

"We both face powerful employers who say they can't afford more. In our case the truth is the company makes over £1 million profit every day and gives its senior executives generous pay rises, while in the case of public sector workers the costings by independent parties like ONS show that the government's changes aren't necessary for affordable funding. In both cases there are political and ideological forces at play.

"We're here to speak for people who being treated wrongly. We want to resolve this dispute through negotiation and I'm again appealing to Capita to return to talks to resolve this dispute before Christmas."

Picket lines Wednesday 30th November:

Bristol: 7:30 - 10:30am 100 Temple Street, Bristol, BS98 1TL

Strikers will join the public sector march from College Green to Castle Park in Bristol.

Staff in Bristol and Darwen, and a small number in Glasgow, work in call centre and support roles and will be on strike on Wednesday 30th November. Enforcement officers who work in the field are on strike from 4 - 9pm on 30th November.

Watch live video coverage of previous strikes at both the Bristol and Darwen sites onCWUTV.