ECAP urges all to give solidarity with the current wave of strikes. It is encouraging that different groups of workers are coming together and are being joined by community activists like Living Rent and climate change activists – hopefully more people are realising that there are no single issues and that all struggles are linked. People not Profit!
Solidarity with post office counters workers
– demonstrate this Saturday 27 August at Waverley Market, Waverley Bridge entrance, Edinburgh city centre
10.30am onwards till 11.30ish.
Gary Clark of the Communication Workers Union writes
“We have post office counters on strike on Friday 26th and Saturday 27th and we plan to hold public activity on Saturday 27th outside Waverley Market from 10.30am, we are asking for support for that. We will have 115,000 postal workers on strike on those days and around 10,000 in Scotland with 3,000 in my branch”
Contact details and info on Royal mail strikes below
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1610645395858096/posts/3207668839489069/ (photo Calum B.)
Edinburgh Strike Support WhatsApp group
*Welcome all! Living Rent, Scotland’s Tenants’ Union, has created this forum to coordinate picket line solidarity with striking workers and to help build a movement of support for striking workers in Edinburgh. It’s open to everyone.
https://chat.whatsapp.com/C4lNDvCCyJ27bPcRdjwz16?fbclid=IwAR1hSlzC9hN8OmrW6QlFsNpB6pGLev0W8bODdzJo-B1h0Jq0s4MuT3tUsBA
You can also access the link here https://www.facebook.com/groups/1610645395858096/posts/3210032069252746/
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Edinburgh bin workers strike
Waste and Cleansing workers in Unite the Union City of Edinburgh Council branch are taking strike action over the paltry pay offer for local government workers in Scotland.
The strike takes place from 5am on Thursday 18 August to 5am on Tuesday 30 August. There will be daily pickets at the city’s waste depots:
- Seafield Depot, entrances on Fillyside Road and Seafield Road from 5:30 to 8:30am and 7pm to 8pm at Fillyside Road only.
- Bankhead Depot on Bankhead Avenue from 5:30 to 8:30am
- Cowan’s Close Depot at 7 Cowan’s Close from 5:30 to 8:30am
- Craigmillar Depot on Old Dalkeith Road from 5:30 to 8:30am
- Russell Road Depot at 38 Russell Road from 5:30 to 8:30am
- Burgess Road Depot at 30 Burgess Road in South Queensferry from 5:30 to 8:30am
- Murrayburn Depot at 33 Murrayburn Road from 6:30 to 8:30am.
Map of pickets at www.unitececbranch.org/wherearethepickets
COSLA (Convention of Scottish Local Authorities) initially offered local government workers in Scotland an insulting 2% rise. Due to the strike action this has been increased but is still well below inflation – in real terms a pay cut. The unions are calling for a £3,000 increase based on a 35 hour week—a change from the current standard 37 hour week.
Edinburgh is the first council to take action, with waste and cleansing workers taking action in 14 further Scottish councils 24 to 31 August. More council workers around Scotland are due to join the strikes in September.
In this first wave of strikes, workers in Waste and Cleansing are fighting to win for all local government employees. These workers are the city’s disease prevention units. They provide a vital service that protects the health and safety of all citizens. They worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic, often exposed to risk, and have received no reward or recognition for this.
Further information at www.unitececbranch.org/tag/pay-2022/
Tweets of solidarity appreciated @unitececbranch.
Contacts:
Graeme Smith, branch convener graeme.smith2@unitetheunion.org
Brian Robertson, branch secretary brian.robertson2@unitetheunion.org
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Royal Mail strikes
Gary Clark of the Communication Workers Union writes
The CWU in Royal Mail will be on strike on Friday 26th August, Wednesday 31st August and Thursday and Friday 8th/9th September, my branch has over 60 units to cover but we want other trade unionists to support us in the so-called parcel hubs.
Royal Mail will be opening these and they are planned to be staffed by 4,000 across the UK, many of which will be CMA/Unite members which is a scandal and something we’ll be raising with Unite and we are asking all Unite branches to raise this as a matter of urgency through their branches.
We would ask people to show support at the following offices. Please share among your networks
Yours in Solidarity
Gary Clark
CWU Scotland No.2 Branch Secretary
Email: bsec@cwuscot2.org
Tel: 07790033775
Pickets will be at these offices from 6am
Edinburgh East Delivery Office
7-11 East Telferton
Edinburgh
EH7 6XD
Edinburgh City
18 Russell Road
Edinburgh
EH11 2DJ
Bathgate Delivery Office
2 Inchmuir Road
Whitehill Ind Estate
Bathgate
EH48 9EP
Livingston DO
Howden East
Livingston
EH54 6TT
Dunfermline DO
Woodmill Road
Dunfermline
KY12 7AD
Kirkcaldy DO
Forth Avenue Ind Estate
Kirkcaldy
KY1 1AA
Falkirk DO
1 Garrison Place
Falkirk
FK1 1AA
Stirling DO
17 Whitehouse Road
Springkerse Ind Estate
FK7 7XX
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Industrial Workers of the World – revolutionary union
The Industrial Workers of the World newsletter Wildcat has info and analysis of the current strikes especially the rail workers actions. https://cloud.iww.org.uk/s/qCXxLS4b2wKAgDe
Also see https://iww.org.uk/ and https://iwwscotland.wordpress.com/
