Tower Hamlets
An account of unofficial action at Tower Hamlets College
A short account by a participant of a staff rebellion in 2009 against an enforced training session, which helped build workers' collective confidence prior to a big strike.
Some local supporters witnessed an open air meeting of our union branch on Friday 3rd July where we had to take the decision of what to do on the Monday of the last week of work. Monday was not a strike day because it was planned as something more important.
Tower Hamlets College strikers interview
The Commune interviews two participants in the September 2009 ESOL teachers strike in East London against job cuts.
Tell us about what unions workers are in, their organising capacity, and of their previous relationship with management
Tower Hamlets College strike ends in partial victory
After a month-long strike against cuts, teaching staff at Tower Hamlets College have voted to return to work.
UCU said it was "delighted" that an agreement has finally been reached.
UCU head of further education Barry Lovejoy said: "Our members have fought a tremendous campaign and UCU is pleased to have finally reached an agreement with the college.
Tower Hamlets College strike continues into fourth week
ESOL teachers in east London continue their indefinite strike. A striker reports...
Teachers again affirmed support for continuing the indefinite strike action in a mass meeting Tuesday. About 150 people voted to stay out, with 13 abstentions and no votes against.
Solidarity with Tower Hamlets ESOL workers leaflet
A solidarity leaflet for September 12th 2009 rally in support of striking Tower Hamlets College workers.
Solidarity with Tower Hamlets ESOL workers!
ESOL teachers on indefinite strike in Tower Hamlets
Over 250 UCU members at Tower Hamlets College are in day 10 of an indefinite strike against cuts.
The package of cuts includes:
1 - Cuts in courses, particularly English for Speakers of Other Languages courses (1000 places going).
2 - Over 30 teachers’ jobs lost, including 13 compulsory redundancies.
3 - Attempts to turn a community college into a business for selling diplomas.
Morning Star journalists win pay rise
Journalists at Britain's 'daily paper of the left' have won a decisive victory over bosses who claimed they were 'betraying their class' by fighting for fair pay.
The sub-editors and reporters at the historic newspaper, which has a solid reputation backing workers fighting back, won their claim for a £19,000 a year minimum wage.
Bosses at the paper had offered the workers just a 3 per cent rise for the 2008 pay deal — effectively a pay cut as last year's average inflation rate was 4 per cent — claiming that there was no cash to pay more.
East London teachers to strike over unfair dismissal
Dozens of teachers are to stage a series of one-day strikes in support of a colleague who was sacked for wearing trainers and tracksuit bottoms to school.
Staff from St Paul’s Way Community School in Tower Hamlets, east London, are planning five walk-outs beginning next week in protest at the dismissal of Adrian Swain.
Morning Star journalists ballot for strike action
Morning Star journalists could be walking off the job next month in the first ever pay strike at Britain’s “daily paper of the left.”
Sub-editors and reporters at the Morning Star are balloting for industrial action after bosses at the newspaper tore up a commitment to try to close the pay gap with other national journalists, despite receiving hundreds of thousands of pounds in new investment.
The Battle of Cable St, 1936 - Joe Jacobs
Joe Jacobs was in 1936 a local Communist Party activist in London's East End. This is his account of his involvement in the famous defence of the East End against an attempted march by Mosley's fascists.
Joe describes events leading up to the march, including the changes in the CP leadership's tactics as they finally realised their calls for a peaceful demonstration elsewhere would be ignored. His account corrects false impressions later created by official Communist versions of the events.
