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.

Strike against job cuts at the BBC

Journalists at the BBC are to strike on Friday 15 July over compulsory redundancies.
The NUJ has called for urgent talks with the corporation to resolve the threat of compulsory redundancies for the small number of outstanding cases and for the reinstatement of a member dismissed in the BBC World Service.
Industrial action will go ahead if the BBC fail to address these issues.
NUJ general secretary Michelle Stanistreet said: "We know that there are hundreds of people who want to leave the BBC and who have been denied that chance.
"Yet at the same time people are now being targeted and forced out of the door ...
"This unprecedented attack and threat to the livelihoods of NUJ members now and in the immediate future is a direct result of the licence fee deal done behind closed doors by the BBC Executive in 2010.
"We believe that the BBC's resources should be spent on protecting core journalism and programming for audiences. This means prioritising its staff...
"It is not right that people are being forced into compulsory redundancy in the BBC World Service in the UK when an extra £2.2 million has been granted by the Foreign Office for the next three years to mitigate the cuts.
"Whilst journalists are bearing the impact of these cuts, the BBC is not acting to properly tackle the major problem of excessive executive pay - salaries at the top of the BBC are a staggering 21.5 times the median salary and 47 times the lowest salary".

From: http://www.socialistparty.org.uk/articles/12406/13-07-2011/bbc-journalists-to-strike-on-friday

Mark Serwotka on Question Time

Please see this Question time featuring PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka, who will be speaking in Bristol on Monday 4th April, 7.30pm Colston Hall (Hall 2), Colston Street. Also look out for the excellent question from a PCS member in the audience at about 8 and half minutes in.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006t1q9