Belfast
Protests in Belfast in support of women's right to choose
The Alliance for Choice in Northern Ireland is heading up a campaign for the extension of the 1967 Abortion Act to Northern Ireland. On Wednesday 22nd there will be a vote on an amendment to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill in Westminster to extend the Act to NI - 41 years after its introduction in the rest of the UK.
Organise!, political activists, and pro-choice campaigners will be staging a series or protests in the next week in the run up to the Westminster vote on the extension of the 1967 Abortion Act to NI.
Subway picketed in Belfast to support sacked worker
Organise!, WSM, trade unions and various political activists picketed a Subway restaurant in Belfast today in support of sacked Polish worker Natalia Szymanska.
The protest at the Subway restaurant on Great Victoria Street in central Belfast was, despite the poor weather, attended by around 60-70 people, during what should have been the fast-food outlet's busy lunch-hour, all showing their solidarity with Natalia.
Queens University placing excessive targets on probationary staff
The University and College Union at Queens University Belfast is highlighting the excessive demands being placed on workers currently in probationary periods.
The ongoing concern over increasing demands on probationary staff has been highlighted in a current dispute with management in the School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences. UCU suspect that excessive workloads being placed on staff not yet in confirmed-positions may be widespread throughout the university.
Starbucks Global Day of Action - Belfast picket
Organise! and the WSM picketed Starbucks in Belfast city centre today from 12 to 1 pm. Despite the miserable weather around 12 people joined the picket and leafleted passers by and potential customers outside the coffee shop.
At the start of the picket 3 people had gone inside to leaflet customers and staff. There was a very positive response to the picket however one person was falsely accused of assaulting a Starbuck's member of staff after leafleting staff and customers inside.
Queens University pursuing compulsory redundancies
Queens University in Belfast is for the first time ever attempting to make staff compulsorily redundant. Following a meeting with UCU, these plans were dropped from the proposal to be tabled at a later date.
For the first time ever, Queens University is attempting to introduce compulsory redundancies for staff. Normally, voluntary means are used to resolve staffing issues, but Queens senior-management were attempting to rush-through the compulsory redundancy plan tomorrow at Standing Committee meeting.
Unite injunction against Belfast sacked shop stewards
The Unite union has served an injunction against protesting shop stewards, threatening them with fines and imprisonment.
“Unite are trying to deny us our democratic right to peacefully protest.” – Gordon McNeill
The dispute between the sacked airport shop stewards and their union, Unite, was dramatically escalated on Tuesday afternoon.
Unite hunger striker Gordon McNeill in bad shape
Gordon McNeill is now on the fourth day of a hunger and thirst strike outside Transport House in Belfast.
His health is deteriorating rapidly and visibly. A healthy person might expect to live a week or so without food and water. Gordon suffers from a heart condition and has not recovered from the previous five day hunger and thirst strike at the start of April. He has already reached a critical stage.
Gordon has made it clear that he will refuse medical treatment if he is hospitalised.
Airport workers suspend hunger strike
Airport workers suspend hunger strike after union gives guarantees that their demands will be met.
The five day hunger strike by three sacked airport shop stewards, Gordon McNeill, Madan Gupta and Chris Bowyer was suspended at 5.30 this afternoon after the workers received a letter from the union solicitors guaranteeing that their demands would be met.
Pickets win re-instatement of migrant worker
Following three successful pickets of Delaney’s restaurant in Belfast Dasa Kacova has won all her demands and been offered her job back.
A young Slovakian worker was sacked on the spot from Delaney’s restaurant for asking why she had to remove her jumper at work on a cold January day. Delaney’s owners refused to meet with the worker or with her trade union representative.
Unofficial action at Royal Mail continues
Despite official strikes being called off, wildcat strikes and other disputes continue in the postal service.
Belfast
Postal workers in Belfast have won an important victory against management after unofficial action on Friday of last week. It took the workers just one and a half hours to force down bosses’ attempts to change start times.
Managers insisted that the workforce put forward their start times by two hours.
