Dispatch - public sector pay dispute bulletin thread

Headlines still todo. More on it's way by the end of today.

Work to rule

Southend, Watford, Sevenoaks, South East London, South Devon and individual postmen across the country have been turning up on time, weighing their bags, not using their cars, taking the vans out and cutting off at their finish time. In other words, "doing the job as it should be done". At Southend, Royal Mail have had to bring up to 70 managers a day from all over the South East to deal with the back log from all the cut-offs. It costs you nothing to do this, and is essential if the strikes are going to be effective so backlogs don't get cleared. Why not join in now!

(in a box)
1. Don't use your personal car for deliveries
2. Weigh your bags - follow the legal maximum of 13kg
4. Take your meal break.
3. Cut off at your finish time.

2007 Pay strikes roundup
Glasgow: 600 Social Workers on indefinite strike since 23 July
Wigan: 1,000 workers at Heinz wildcatted for 24 hours 18 July over sub-inflation pay offer
Wakefield & Milton Keynes: Coca Cola workers strike 26/27 July & 13/14 August, plus overtime ban.
Highlands: Airport firefighters and engineers strike from 30 July over 2% pay offer
Manchester parking attendants wildcatted over pay and management treatment (22/05)
200,000 civil servants were on strike in May over pay and job cuts
Norfolk Bin-men worked to rule over job-cuts, and bus drivers struck over pay
More strikes at Grampian foods, Manchester NHS and information about possible strikes by PCS, Unison and Unite members at http://libcom.org/pay-2007
It's essential that we co-ordinate strike action across the public sector for us all to win. Visit picket lines of other workers, leaflet, invite them to meetings. Direct communication between workers in different sectors is the only way this will happen.

New strike dates:

Week 3
• Mail Centres and Airports - 19.00 Thu 09/08 - 19.00 Fri 10/08
• MDECs - 12 noon Fri 10/08- 12 noon Sat 11/08
• Deliveries and Separate Collection Hubs - 19.00 Fri 10/08 - 19.00 Sat 11/08

Week 4
• Network and International/HWDC - 19.00 Mon 13/08 - 19.00 Tue 14/08
• Airports - 12 noon Tues 14/08 - 12 noon Wed 15/08
• Mail Centres - 19.00 Wed 15/08 - 19.00 Thu 16/08
• MDECs - 12 noon Thu 16/08 - 12 noon Fri 17/08
• Deliveries and Separate Collection Hubs - 19.00 Thu 16/08 - 19.00 Fri 17/08

About us
We're a group of workers who are interested in discussing and co-ordinating a response to the public sector pay dispute. We work in several different sectors, including the postal service, NHS, education and local government. To contact us with feedback or comments for the next issue e-mail dispatch(at)libcom.org (not set up yet)

Discuss the strike
Postal workers from around the country are discussing this strike and the best ways to take it forward at www.royalmailchat.co.uk
Posties and other public sector workers are discussing the wider public sector strikes at libcom.org/forums/organise along with updated strike news at libcom.org/pay-2007
Mass meetings have controlled and won strikes at Royal Mail and in workplaces all over the world for decades. Don't just take your meal break, take it with everyone else and use it!

Yeah I wanted to avoid being a general WILDCATS!!!!11!!!! when it was just Oxford, but that's pointless now so could do something more general.

I made an alias for pay-2007 pointing to tags/pay-2007 - this means we can put that url on there, then delete the alias later when we have the panel ready.

is there a final final deadline for this?

what software you use for layout jos? cos i think the look could be improved slightly, i could guarantee to do today and tomorrow.

For reference: sector roundup re-write:
2007 Pay strikes roundup
Civil servants: 280,000 PCS members being consulted on further strike action through August, following strikes of 200,000 on Mayday, and previous strikes and action-short-of strike over a 2% pay offer.
Midwives:
Nurses:
Health workers:
Local government

Glasgow: 600 Social Workers on indefinite strike since 23 July
Wigan: 1,000 workers at Heinz wildcatted for 24 hours 18 July over sub-inflation pay offer
Wakefield & Milton Keynes: Coca Cola workers strike 26/27 July & 13/14 August, plus overtime ban.
Highlands: Airport firefighters and engineers strike from 30 July over 2% pay offer
Manchester parking attendants wildcatted over pay and management treatment (22/05)
200,000 civil servants were on strike in May over pay and job cuts
Norfolk Bin-men worked to rule over job-cuts, and bus drivers struck over pay
More strikes at Grampian foods, Manchester NHS and information about possible strikes by PCS, Unison and Unite members at http://libcom.org/pay-2007
It's essential that we co-ordinate strike action across the public sector for us all to win. Visit picket lines of other workers, leaflet, invite them to meetings. Direct communication between workers in different sectors is the only way this will happen.

Also one thing, with "work to rule," weren't some posties particularly keen on saying "it's not a work to rule, it's just working properly"? maybe we could word differently?

It's been called: "doing the job as it should be done", and "withdrawal of goodwill".

Royal Mail's own briefings have said it can't be classed as a work to rule - cars on delivery were banned in the '80s and still in some offices, aren't insured, etc. etc. so it's just following basic guidelines rather than using every single one to fuck things up.

Also our postal friend says:

I'd say "up the stakes" fwiw.

changed to 'up the stakes'

Second post on this thread:

Work to rule
Discuss this strike
both updated. Then John's text for public sector is an update of an update

Yeah but work to rule is shorter

ok, draft 1.1 in moderation waiting on John.'s extra public sector stuff (i've created space) and a possible change of title for the 'work to rule' bit

i'm having a go at the the design end now in publisher - any of you guys have publisher?

pay roundup so far:
Civil service
280,000 PCS members being consulted on further strike action through August, following strikes of 200,000 on Mayday, and previous strikes and action-short-of strike over a 2% pay offer.
Health
The Royal College of Nursing is consulting its members in England and Wales on a ballot for strike action, and the Royal College of Midwives is undertaking the first ever ballot of its 23,000 members over a 1.9% pay offer. Unison health workers have also rejected the pay offer as “insulting.”
Local government
Unison is consulting its one million members in local government over a 2% pay offer. Areas which have been counted so far have overwhelmingly rejected the offer and voted to ballot on industrial action.
600 Social Workers have been on indefinite strike since 23 July over other pay cuts. Parking attendants in Manchester went on wildcat strike over pay and management treatment. In Norfolk bin-men worked to rule over job-cuts, and bus drivers struck over pay

Education
http://www.nut.org.uk/

Private sector

Elsewhere

Glasgow: ~ Wigan: 1,000 workers at Heinz wildcatted for 24 hours 18 July over sub-inflation pay offer ~ Wakefield & Milton Keynes: Coca Cola workers strike 26/27 July & 13/14 August, plus overtime ban ~ Highlands: Airport firefighters and engineers strike from 30 July over 2% pay offer ~ (22/05) ~ Norfolk Bin ~ More strikes at Grampian foods, Manchester NHS and information about possible strikes by PCS, Unison and Unite members at http://libcom.org/pay-2007

It's essential that we co-ordinate strike action across the public sector for us all to win. Visit picket lines of other workers, leaflet, invite them to meetings. Direct communication between workers in different sectors is the only way this will happen.

John., you can attach it on internal or on the post in moderation

i've edited the end of the public sector bit to put in something about the role of the unions. it's a bit clunky though. anyone any suggestions on a rewrite?

allowed tif files.

Public sector attempt: