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Strike

Strike

‘A mood for class war’ – protests around the country

Protesters joined picket lines and packed the centres of towns and cities up and down the country on Saturday. We bring you a flavour of how the day went.
Marxism and Class Part Two: Whatever happened to the western working class?

In the second in the series on class, Chris Nineham shows that the working class is as central as ever to capitalism here and across the world
Posties pile on the pressure: CWU’s new strike days - News from the Frontline

Counterfire’s weekly digest with the latest on strikes and workplace struggles
Strike days: let's go onto the offensive

We need wider and deeper co-ordination and escalation to win the strikes, argues Unjum Mirza
Further Education fights back

As the union fightback rises nationally, ten days of strike action in Further Education marks a significant return to industrial action in the sector, argues Tom Whittaker.
Arriva London North: All-out strike! - News from the Frontline

Counterfire’s weekly digest with the latest on strikes and workplace struggles
Liverpool: Solidarity forever! - “till the day I die”

Tayo Aluko reports on struggles past and present on day two of the Liverpool dockers’ strike
Felixstowe and Liverpool: Workers’ democracy vs. bosses’ autocracy

Striking dockers in Liverpool and Felixstowe are demonstrating to every working person who really makes the wealth in this country, writes Richard Allday
Workers’ fightback resumes in a divided country

On 1 October, strikes across the docks, railways and post need to spark solidarity struggle, the only way to defeat the Tories, argues Unjum Mirza.
Making a splash on the Mersey

Liverpool dockers on strike win support from near and far, reports Tayo Aluko
It's all-out class war - Counterfire Freesheet September 2022

Justice for Chris Kaba, the crisis in our schools, why we need to fight for peace in Ukraine, myths of monarchy, the intensification of climate breakdown, Felixstowe and Liverpool dock strikes and more in this month's Counterfire freesheet
In the long run, the class struggle is king - weekly briefing

Lindsey German on what the monarchy represents and the coming intensification of class struggle
Felixstowe and Liverpool: the struggle resumes with a vengeance - News from the Frontline

Counterfire’s weekly digest with the latest on strikes and workplace struggles
UCU strike: A short guide to getting the vote out

The current UCU ballots over pay and conditions and pensions end on 21 October and is an aggregated ballot. This means we need to get over the Tory anti-union threshold of 50% of members voting across the entire higher education sector but if we do, then all universities across the UK will be out. Counterfire UCU members give some tips for activists and branches on how to achieve a high turnout
Why health workers should vote yes to strike

As NHS unions ballot their members for strike action, Helen O’Connor explains why health workers getting organised and taking industrial action is essential to saving the NHS
How our branch smashed the threshold in the Unison HE strike ballot

Nathan Street explains how the University of Bristol Unison branch won their ballot and will be striking for the first time after a decisive campaign
The myths of monarchy and the need for a republic

We print some thoughts from socialists past and present on why democracy and monarchy don’t mix
Keeping the heat up: firefighters latest to consider national strike action - News from the Frontline

Counterfire’s weekly digest with the latest on strikes and workplace struggles
Posties refuse to be bullied: Even bigger picket lines on 3rd day of CWU strike

Counterfire members report from CWU Royal Mail picket lines around the country on the third day of the national strike
TUC unity motions: pressure from below reaches the top table - News from the Frontline

Counterfire’s weekly digest with the latest on strikes and workplace struggles
Tory transport austerity and the mass resistance we need

The RMT and Aslef joint national rail strike on 15 September offers a glimpse of the kind of resistance we will need to defend public services and workers against Tory cuts
Fighting spirit: London rallies to save public transport

Alia Butt reports on a packed-out RMT rally to save London transport as the next round of Tory attacks on workers and services is revealed
Be prepared: Politics will resume shortly

David Jamieson argues that Tory complacency will not last. Soon the British state will wade into conflicts emerging around the cost of living.
Make the bosses pay: defiant CWU strikers rally in London

Peter Bird reports from a lively CWU strike rally in London which saw striking postal workers joined by trade unionists and activists bring solidarity and connecting the struggles
Posties on the picket lines: Solid first day of CWU national strike

Counterfire members show the strength of solidarity on Royal Mail picket lines around the country on the first day of strike
No letters, no papers: posties and journos start their strikes - News from the Frontlines

Counterfire’s weekly digest with the latest on strikes and workplace struggles
As the energy cap soars: Five points on the cost of living crisis

Following the Ofgem announcement raising the energy price cap, Chris Nineham looks at who's responsible for the crisis and how we fight back
Why warehouse workers are striking: Life and Death in the Warehouse review

The BBC's Life and Death in a Warehouse gives us an idea of the conditions warehouse workers are facing and why workers' organisation is long overdue, writes Sam Colclough
We need to win: how the strikes can break the Tories

Unjum Mirza analyses the growing strike wave and the political crisis and argues that the struggle has to move out of narrow industrial confines if we want to win
Felixstowe: Strikers shut down UK's biggest container port

2,000 Felixstowe dockers who are members of Unite have ground the UK's biggest container port to a halt after being offered a real-terms pay cut, reports Richard Allday
'Unity, strength and solidarity' at RMT and TSSA national rail picket lines

Reports and pictures from picket lines around the country on the sixth day of the RMT's national rail strike
CWU: Royal Mail and BT to see biggest strike day in years - News from the Frontline

Counterfire’s weekly digest with the latest on strikes and workplace struggles
The view from the picket line: Solidarity with the RMT rail strike

Vladimir Unkovski-Korica reports on the Glasgow RMT picket line and strike rally and Counterfire members give us a view of picket lines around the country
How low can Starmer go?

Just when you think he can’t get any worse, Starmer finds a way, argues Terina Hine
Unison NHS workers to be balloted for industrial action

Health worker and Unison member Karen Buckley discusses the latest inadequate pay offer for health workers and the possibility of industrial action in the NHS
All out against the Tories: Strike, protest, resist!

The Tories are fighting a class war but they're divided and weak, a united movement of strikes and protests can break them
We have to stand up to police attacks on trade unionists

Following the arrests of GMB organisers Gary Palmer and Helen O’Connor on picket lines, Lucette Davies explains the growing trend of authoritarian actions by the state against trade unionists and why we must resist
No post on strike days: national Royal Mail strike to begin in 2 weeks - News from the Frontline

Counterfire’s weekly digest with the latest on strikes and workplace struggles
Setting the tone for struggle: London protest supports Amazon wildcat strikers

Clare Birkett reports from a protest outside Amazon HQ in London in solidarity with warehouse workers around the country taking unofficial strike action
The revolutionary tradition of the English working class

This weekend the Yorkshire town of Halifax commemorates the great strike of 1842 organised by the Chartists. John Westmorland looks at this movement and its lessons for today
Step up the action: All out against the Tories - Counterfire Freesheet August 2022

Uniting against a weak and divided Tory party, the NHS at breaking point, China and Pelosi, climate catastrophe, uprising in Sri Lanka and more in this month's Counterfire freesheet
The fight last time: Lessons of the 1926 General Strike

A spectre is haunting our ruling class: the spectre of 1926, writes Sean Ledwith
Wildcat walkouts: workers’ anger spreads beyond the unions - News from the Frontline

Counterfire’s weekly digest with the latest on strikes and workplace struggles
Pressure mounts on BT after second day of successful strike action

Tayo Aluko reports on the second day of the CWU's national BT OpenReach strike from his local picket line in Liverpool
How to turn a strike wave into a tsunami

We need class logic - co-ordination, escalation and decisive action - to generalise the growing strike wave and take on the Tories, writes Unjum Mirza
Books for the beach: Socialist summer reading

Chris Nineham's picks of books to read this summer
The strike wave continues: dockers ready to shut down ports - News from the Frontline

Counterfire’s weekly digest with the latest on strikes and workplace struggles
Connection interrupted by solid CWU national BT OpenReach strike

The summer of discontent just got hotter with around 40,000 BT OpenReach workers walking out on strike against poverty pay. Counterfire members report from picket lines
Strong support for second wave of railway strikes

Counterfire members report on the high morale and public support for the strikers on the RMT and TSSA picket lines around the country on Wednesday
Starmer backs the wrong side again…and again

A hat trick of own goals from Keir Stammer and his inability to support the unions should concern us, writes Lindsey German
One struggle, one fight: How we Win

Decisive, sustained, united strike action is needed to win
It’s not just the RMT: CWU posties smash ballot threshold - News from the Frontline

Counterfire’s weekly digest with the latest on strikes and workplace struggles
The mass strikes that freed the Pentonville Five and smashed the Tories

Fifty years on we need to look back at the greatest working class victory since the end of World War Two – the mass strikes that defeated a Tory government, writes John Westmoreland
Hot strike summer: Posties prepare to strike with 97.6% yes vote

115,000 CWU members at Royal Mail have voted overwhelmingly to strike with a 97.6% vote, adding to the growing number of strikes and ballots across the country, writes Shabbir Lakha
Heathrow: no emergency landing for the bosses - News from the Frontline

Counterfire’s weekly digest with the latest on strikes and workplace struggles
Goldsmiths staff and students rally to defend Des Freedman and Gholam Khiabany

The suspensions of Des Freedman and Gholam Khiabany by Goldsmiths University has been met with outrage from Goldsmiths staff and students as well as trade unionists and the wider movement, reports John McGrath
The next round of rail strikes: time to tear the Tories apart

Unjum Mirza reports on the next round of railway strike dates and the need for co-ordination and escalation to beat back the Tories
Unison higher education workers ballot to join the battle

Nathan Street reports on Unison's ballot of higher education workers at 94 universities, the possibility of coordination with other unions and the solidarity needed to win
Why barristers are striking and why you should support them - video

Counterfire's Shabbir Lakha speaks to Kerry Hudson, a criminal defence solicitor and former president of the LCSA, on the criminal barristers' picket line about the crisis in the criminal justice system and why barristers and solicitors are taking action
St Georges Hospital workers aren’t backing down - News from the Frontline

Counterfire’s weekly digest with the latest on strikes and workplace struggles
The potential for a summer of discontent that could bring the Tories down

Unjum Mirza discusses the growing wave of industrial struggle with a backdrop of a collapsing government and the opportunities and challenges that lay ahead
Confronting crisis: Next steps for the left - video

Danièle Obono, Eddie Dempsey, John Rees and Jeremy Corbyn on the interlocking crises we face and strategy for the left at Counterfire's Revolution! Festival
Them against us: which side are you on?

Counterfire’s weekly digest with the latest on strikes and workplace struggles
Tram workers serve an ace at Wimbledon

Unjum Mirza reports on a solid strike by Croydon Tramlink workers in response to a real-terms pay cut
Fighting for justice for all: why barristers are striking

Counterfire's Yonas Makoni speaks to Attiq Malik, a solicitor advocate with Liberty Law Solicitors about why criminal barristers are striking and why we should support them
'The fight never stops': GMB's arrested trade unionists remain defiant

The three GMB trade unionists arrested on a Wealdon picket line in May were met with solidarity outside Hastings Magistrates Court, reports Leah Levane
We need a wage revolution - Counterfire Freesheet June 2022

The Tory assault on the working class, rail strikes, Ukraine, Spycops and more in this month's Counterfire freesheet
A strategy for struggle: Trade unions and the rank and file - video

Following last week's rail strikes, Glen Hart, Yaseen Aslam and Unjum Mirza discuss the opportunities and challenges for the labour movement at Counterfire's Revolution! Festival
Starmer and Lammy know which side they are on – so should we - weekly briefing

Lindsey German on the rail strikes, Labour's attack on the unions and a woman's right to choose
'One struggle, one fight': RMT and Aslef march with striking St George's Hospital cleaners

Cici Washburn reports on the incredible solidarity between striking rail workers and striking hospital cleaners in London on Saturday
Day two of the national rail strike: bigger, livelier and even more determined

On the second day of the RMT's National Rail strike that's bringing the Tory government to its knees, Vladimir Unkovski-Korica reports from the Glasgow Central picket line
Ten points on the rail strike

Lindsey German on the rail strikes, the Tory crisis and class politics
Day one of the biggest rail shutdown in a generation

As RMT members on National Rail and London Underground went on strike, Counterfire reports from picket lines around the country
Support the RMT strikes: List of picket lines and resources

Tens of thousands of rail workers will be striking this week against job losses, attacks on pensions and inadequate pay awards. Show your support and get down to a picket line near you
A chance to derail the Tories – weekly briefing

Lindsey German on the RMT’s national strike and reaction from Paul Mason
‘This is just the start’: Workers back on the streets of London

Tens of thousands of workers marched through London in a defiant rallying of the labour movement and a show of determination to take on the Tories, reports Chris Nineham
Is there something in the air? - News from the Frontline

Counterfire’s weekly digest with the latest on strikes and workplace struggles
Shutdown the railways - Tunnel Vision June 2022

The latest issue of the rail workers' rank and file bulletin Tunnel Vision mobilising for the national strike next week
Biggest rail strikes since 1989 will 'shut the system down'

Unjum Mirza, Aslef Equalities Rep at Brixton depot reports in a personal capacity
London Underground shutdown: Why tube workers are striking

Cici Washburn reports on the RMT's London Underground station staff strike and its impact
St George's Hospital workers strike against divide-and-rule outsourcing

GMB members at St George's Hospital have had enough of the two-tier system and not being paid, reports Kate O'Neil
RMT votes to strike: The biggest rail dispute of a generation

Kieran Crowe explains the context and the significance of the overwhelming vote for strike action by RMT members nationally
'If they have £1bn for the Jubilee, they can afford to pay workers': why tube workers are striking - video

Glen Hart, RMT Southern Region organiser, spoke to Counterfire's Yonas Makoni about why tube workers are striking to resist the Tories and TfL's attempt to put the cost of the pandemic onto the workers
Asda: fuming retail workers prepare to strike - News from the Frontline

Counterfire’s weekly digest with the latest on strikes and workplace struggles
North West FE colleges 'organised, prepared and ready' to strike against poor pay

Jayne Gillies, UCU rep at Bury College, reports on the upcoming strike action at FE colleges in the North West after UCU members roundly rejected insulting pay offers
CWU anger persists: Post Office workers strike across the country - News from the Frontline

Counterfire’s weekly digest with the latest on strikes and workplace struggles
Inflation at 9.9%: strike for better pay! - News from the Frontline

Counterfire’s weekly digest with the latest on strikes and workplace struggles
'Euphoric' Chep striker on their victory after 20 weeks of strike - Interview

Counterfire's Chris Neville speaks to Unite rep Gary Walker on the fantastic victory for Chep workers after 20 weeks of strike action
'This is a good strike': Hackney Council's strike-breaking efforts rebuffed

Hackney Council's attempt to break strike action by its workers was thwarted by a solid picket line that successfully blocked Millfields depot on the first day of strike, reports Carole Vincent
RMT ballot: will it capture workers’ anger? - News from the Frontline

Counterfire’s weekly digest with the latest on strikes and workplace struggles
Hacked off Hackney council workers prepare to strike

Unite members working for Hackney Council have rejected a measly 1.75% pay offer and rallied at the Town Hall ahead of their planned strike action, reports Carole Vincent
The very greedy Caterpillar - News from the Frontline

Counterfire’s weekly digest with the latest on strikes and workplace struggles
Manchester stands with the Chep strikers

Trade unionists and community activists in Manchester marched in solidarity with Chep strikers who remain determined to fight till they win, reports Martin Hall
Svitzer Marine dispute: Teesside tugboat crews win!

Tugboat workers who went on strike have overturned a pay freeze and won an effective 7.5% pay increase, reports John Westmoreland
Exxon marks the spot: Workers at the UK's biggest oil refinery walk out

Outsourced workers at Fawley refinery in Southampton began strike action on Friday in response to a real-terms pay cut, reports Julie Hope from the picket line
Manx teachers have had enough - News from the Frontline

Counterfire’s weekly digest with the latest on strikes and workplace struggles
General strike shuts down Greece: Collective working-class action has great power

Greek workers shutdown the country in a national 24-hour general strike calling for higher wages in the face of rising costs and in clear opposition to war and militarism, reports Kevin Ovenden
In a cost of living crisis, Croydon Hospital workers show how to win - News from the Frontline

Counterfire’s weekly digest with the latest on strikes and workplace struggles
All solidarity to Chep workers on the longest-running strike in Unite history

After 17 weeks of continuous strike, Chep workers are determined to keep fighting until they win and they need all of our solidarity, writes Chris Neville
'Full support' for striking teachers in Walthamstow

Carole Vincent reports from the NEU picket line at Walthamstow Primary Academy where teachers are taking action over pay, workloads and bullying
The cost of living crisis: all out this Saturday!

The People’s Assembly and the RMT are coming together to fight attacks on working people, outlines Chris Neville
Pay the rate! Coventry bin workers refuse attacks on their pay

HGV bin drivers of the Unite union in Coventry vow to bring their employers to their knees in strike rally to demand fair pay, reports Kieran Crowe
Keep up the pressure: stop the P&O jobs massacre

Time to step up the resistance in solidarity with P&O workers, writes John McGrath
Unite in Northern Ireland: all eleven councils on strike - News from the Frontline

Counterfire’s weekly digest with the latest on strikes and workplace struggles
All hands on deck. Stop the P&O jobs massacre - leaflet

Counterfire's leaflet on the outrageous attack on P&O ferry workers
Hull solidarity with P&O workers shows the way

Rank and file workers urgently need to organise to deliver industrial action in the face of P&O’s disgraceful sackings, argues John Westmoreland
University strikes: collectivise our anger

Employers in higher education have plenty of money but won’t spend it on their workforce. Only mass action will force them to concede, argue Counterfire UCU members
P&O Ferries: this is war - News from the Frontline

Counterfire’s weekly digest with the latest on strikes and workplace struggles
No to imperialism East or West - Counterfire freesheet March 2022

The war in Ukraine, the cost of living crisis, Nationality and Borders Bill, the emerging global militarism, wins for strikers and more in this month's Counterfire freesheet
Svitzer Marine Dispute: Teesside tugboat crews take action over pay freeze

After working through the pandemic, making the bosses a fortune, and not getting a rise, tugboat crews are up for the fight, finds Mick Rafferty
No union-busting on our watch: Liverpool factory workers hit back - News from the Frontline

Counterfire’s weekly digest with the latest on strikes and workplace struggles
Winning recognition: a plaque for the matchwomen’s strike – Interview with Louise Raw

Ahead of International Women’s Day, historian Louise Raw spoke to Katherine Connelly about why it is so important that the 1888 matchwomen’s strike is remembered
Still fighting: 33 days of strike later, Gosh workers keep up the struggle

Gary Griffiths reports from a vibrant and defiant rally of striking security guards from Great Ormond Street Hospital
Barts victory: another bloody nose for the outsourcers - News from the Frontline

Counterfire’s weekly digest with the latest on strikes and workplace struggles
Strikes loom in Croydon University Hospital

Ancillary workers at Croydon University Hospital are preparing to ballot to strike against serial exploiter G4S, reports GMB organiser Helen O'Connor
Serco beaten back by Barts strikers in huge victory against outsourcing

Outsourced hospital workers in Barts Trust who went on strike and were prepared to strike again have won their dispute, reports Cici Washburn
Glasgow students stand with UCU strikers

During a nationally-coordinated student strike, Glasgow University students picketed with striking staff in a show of resolute solidarity, reports Sophie Johnson
First they came for Stop the War, now they're coming for tube workers

Unjum Mirza, Aslef Equalities Officer, Victoria Line, writing in a personal capacity, responds to The Telegraph's attack on striking tube workers
Ground to a halt: Solid tube strike shuts down London

Thousands of tube workers have brought London to a standstill with strike action against TfL cuts. Counterfire members report from the picket lines
On strike: Don't cross the picket lines - Tunnel Vision March 2022

The latest issue of the London transport Rank & File bulletin Tunnel Vision
London strikes back: The 1 March shutdown

Thousands of workers in London will be striking in what is likely to be the highest level of industrial action in the capital in a decade, writes Cici Washburn
How to beat inflation: Hastings bin workers win 'whopping' 19.5% pay rise - News from the Frontline

Counterfire’s weekly digest with the latest on strikes and workplace struggles
'Money-hungry bosses have united the cleaners': RMT Churchill cleaners strike for pay justice

Cleaners from across London and south east trains employed by outsourcing company Churchill went on strike to demand £15 an hour and better conditions. John McGrath reports from their rally in Parliament Square
"They want to break us, but we're not broken": why UCU strikers are stepping up the fight

Alistair Cartwright reports from a vibrant rally of London UCU strikers in the second week of their renewed industrial action
GOSH guards protest court ruling - News from the Frontline

Counterfire’s weekly digest with the latest on strikes and workplace struggles
Actavo mass picket postponement is a mistake

The striking scaffolders have led a heroic struggle and won the solidarity of thousands of trade unionists, and the mass picket would have strengthened their hand, argues John Westmoreland
GOSH strikers and UVW challenge draconian court injunction

John McGrath reports on the rally outside the Royal Courts of Justice which saw trade unionists and activists bring solidarity to the strikers as they try to overturn the court injunction
When love strikes: Universities hit with Valentine's day picket lines

University workers are back on the picket lines for a second round of strike action to fight against pay and pension cuts, casualisation and inequality
Why students must support the UCU strikes

Glasgow University students Sophie Johnson and Doncho Atanassov argue that it’s more important than ever for students to show university managements that they are united with striking staff
‘We deserve equality’: Barts strikers will keep fighting Serco

As Barts hospital workers finish two weeks of strike action, they have vowed to keep fighting if they aren’t brought in house
Why the Actavo scaffolders strike might make history

The actions of the Scunthorpe scaffolders have been the key in advancing their cause, and the whole movement must support them in challenging draconian anti-trade union laws, writes John Westmoreland
Our anger is everywhere: posh schools feel the heat - News from the Frontline

Counterfire’s weekly digest with the latest on strikes and workplace struggles
Hands off our pensions! GDST Teachers strike against fire and rehire

On Thursday morning, 1,500 teachers, members of the National Education Union, began the first of six days of strike action to defend their pensions. Counterfire members report from the picket lines
News from the Frontline: The Strikers Speak - video

News from the Frontline's second rally bringing together striking workers and workers in dispute
1972: When workers turned the lights out

On the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Saltley Gate, John Westmoreland recounts the tremendous events of 1972, when rank-and-file militancy and widespread solidarity struck a huge blow to the ruling class
The Battle of Saltley Gate: 'It was sheer, massive solidarity' - video

To commemorate the 50 year anniversary of the Battle of Saltley Gate, Unjum Mirza spoke to Granville Williams who was there about a pivotal moment in the 1972 miners' strike
GOSH strikers remain defiant against injunction threat

Security guards striking for sick pay at Great Ormond Street Hospital are being met with shameful legal threats, reports Yonas Makoni
Universities aren't corporations: Goldsmiths back on the picket lines

UCU members at Goldsmiths University of London are back on strike to reject planned redundancies and restructuring, reports John McGrath
Why 1,500 teachers in 23 schools are going on strike this week

For the first time in 149 years, teachers at Girls Day School Trust schools nationally will be walking out. An NEU member in one of the schools tells us why
'Serco have got to go': Barts strikers are taking a stand

Striking Barts hospital workers are determined to win, reports Carole Vincent
London's hospital workers are leading the way - News from the Frontline

Counterfire’s weekly digest with the latest on strikes and workplace struggles
We can't afford the Tories: It's time to fight - Counterfire Freesheet February 2022

The cost of living crisis, institutionally sexist police, the victories for the working class in 1972, stopping war in Ukraine and more in this month's Counterfire Freesheet
Coventry bin drivers escalate strike in face of council dirty tricks

Bin workers in Coventry remain defiant against the Labour Council's underhanded tactics, report Kieran Crowe and Jack Sherwood
Determined to win: GOSH security guards launch six-week strike

Great Ormond Street Hospital security guards began six weeks of strike action with an energetic and defiant rally, reports Gary Griffiths
'Serco will not divide us, we will win': Barts hospitals strikers speak out

Striking workers at Royal London and Whipps Cross hospitals spoke to Counterfire's Sian Barrett about why they are striking and the confidence on the picket lines
Serco out: London hospital workers strike against outsourcing

Outsourced workers in London Barts hospitals are striking for two weeks for fair pay. Yonas Makoni reports from a vibrant strike rally kicking off the industrial action
No champagne for Actavo: Scunthorpe scaffolders' surprise protest at bosses party

Striking Actavo scaffolders and London community activists protested outside the Festival Supplier Awards ceremony to ensure the bosses got the message, reports Cici Washburn
This is not a drill: fire and rehire resisted in schools - News from the Frontline

Counterfire’s weekly digest with the latest on strikes and workplace struggles
UCU: The battle ahead in higher education

Counterfire UCU members analyse the state of the struggle in higher education ahead of a second round of strike action
Cost of living crisis: We need a pay revolt! - News from the Frontline

Counterfire’s weekly digest with the latest on strikes and workplace struggles
Workers unite! B&Q strikers and Scunthorpe scaffolders rally together

Actavo scaffolders due to resume their strike action next week showed their solidarity with B&Q Wincanton strikers at a rally this week, reports John Westmoreland
Stagecoach's wheels fall off: Victory for South Yorkshire bus drivers - News from the Frontline

Counterfire’s weekly digest with the latest on strikes and workplace struggles
'Beat the council and get what you deserve': Eastbourne stands with striking refuse workers

Lucette Davies reports on the high morale among refuse workers striking in Eastbourne and the support they have from the community
Scunthorpe scaffs fight on with a renewed strike ballot

Despite Actavo's dirty war against the strikers, scaffolders have voted 83% in favour of continuing to strike, reports John Westmoreland
“It’s a full-blown attack on the union”: Why Coventry bin workers are striking

Kieran Crowe reports from a lively picket line of bin workers at Coventry Whitley depot
B&Q strikers are out to win!

As the B&Q strike in Worksop enters its seventh week, the strikers have every reason to be optimistic writes John Westmoreland
The 1972 miners’ strike: a rank-and-file strike

An excerpt from Tony Cliff's Patterns of Mass Strike which describes the impact of the 1972 miners’ strike and the background to a wave of rank-and-file militancy and solidarity from across the working class
1972: A great year for the workers - Tony Cliff

As part of a series of articles marking the 50thanniversary of a tremendous year for the British working class, we republish Tony Cliff’s overview of the decisive events of 1972
Chep strike: Manchester unites for a solidarity rally - News from the Frontline

Counterfire’s weekly digest with the latest on strikes and workplace struggles
Low pay at Luton Airport: strike action to take off on NYE - News from the Frontline

Counterfire’s weekly digest with the latest on strikes and workplace struggles
'The government is literally laughing in our face': why Unison workers are balloting to strike - video

Cici Washburn speaks to Kridos Pavlou, Assistant Branch Secretary of Tower Hamlets Unison, about his union's national strike ballot of local government workers
Universities challenged as strikes escalate

Counterfire members in UCU argue the next steps for escalation in the UCU dispute and the need for political trade unionism
It’s all stacking up for the bosses: Chep pallet strikers escalate action - News from the Frontline

Counterfire’s weekly digest with the latest on strikes and workplace struggles
Scunthorpe scaffolders raise their game against Actavo

Now in the eleventh week of their strike, Scunthorpe scaffolders are escalating their action and building solidarity across the labour movement, reports John Westmoreland
'The bosses never expected this level of determination': B&Q strikers go big

'Infectious and inspiring' B&Q picket lines in Worksop see big turnouts from striking workers determined to win, reports John Westmoreland
The bosses know we’re serious: Unite strike suspended as Tesco floats new deal - News from the Frontline

Counterfire’s weekly digest with the latest on strikes and workplace struggles
Oh my, GOSH: Security guards strike against outsourcing

Great Ormond Street Hospital security guards have begun strike action and rallied against outsourcing and pay inequality, reports Cici Washburn
Spread the action: A striking scaffolder speaks

Scunthorpe scaffolders entering their tenth week of strike send a strong message to greedy bosses everywhere
Manchester marches with striking lecturers

Hundreds rallied and marched through Manchester on the last day of the UCU strike in a big show of solidarity, reports Chris Neville
The fight has just begun: Day 3 of #UCUstrike

Counterfire reports on the third day of UCU strikes from university picket lines around the country
Clarks victory: workers bring bosses to heel - News from the Frontline

Counterfire’s weekly digest with the latest on strikes and workplace struggles
Picket lines and picket signs: Day 2 of #UCUstrike

Counterfire reports on the second day of UCU strikes from university picket lines around the country
Nothing to Lose but Our Chains: Work and Resistance in Twenty-First-Century Britain - book review

Nothing to Lose but Our Chains is a historically informed and wide-ranging discussion of work and resistance in the present day, finds Lindsey German
Why we strike, how we win

Counterfire UCU members on the university strikes this week and the battle ahead
The other shoe dropped: Clarks strikers defeat fire-and-rehire

Warehouse workers employed by Clarks have won after striking for eight weeks to stop the company’s fire-and-rehire plans, reports Shabbir Lakha
'We're at breaking point': University strikes kick off across the country

Counterfire reports on the first day of UCU strikes from university picket lines around the country
'We're already strike-ready': London transport workers rally against planned TfL cuts

TfL workers sent a clear message to the Tories and Sadiq Khan that they are prepared to fight against cuts and attacks on their pay and conditions, reports Cici Washburn
EU mining troubles: what unites striking coal miners and protesting anti-mining activists in the Balkans?

Vladimir Unkovski-Korica joins up the dots as mass struggles from below kick off in the Balkans
Going for gold: Striking staff and students stand strong at Goldsmiths

Goldsmiths strikers rallied defiantly as their strike entered its second week
Goldsmiths strikers: 'We're not going to let them destroy this university' - video

Striking staff at Goldsmiths, University of London tell Counterfire why they're striking and how you can support them
University workers prepare for battle - News from the Frontline

Counterfire’s weekly digest with the latest on strikes and workplace struggles
RMT strikers don't go gently into the night tube relaunch

RMT drivers on the London Underground picketed outside tube stations in response to night-tube relaunch plans that will 'wreck' work-life balance, reports Unjum Mirza
‘My last lunch break was five months ago’: An ambulance service on the brink of collapse

Counterfire spoke to a paramedic in the London Ambulance Service, who asked to remain anonymous, about the crisis in the ambulance service and hospitals
'We're fighting for the soul of Goldsmiths': three-week #GoldStrike starts with a bang

Goldsmiths UCU members started three weeks of strike action with a huge rally showing an overwhelming amount of support, reports Shabbir Lakha
Support striking Scunthorpe scaffolders

After eight weeks of picketing, the Actavo scaffolders’ strike is at a critical point and they need our solidarity, reports John Westmoreland
Better pay en route: Arriva bus drivers pause strike to consider new deal

Arriva bus drivers in North Wales have suspended their strike while they consider an improved pay offer after striking for four days. Ben Alofs reports
Are the wheels coming off the bus operators’ race to the bottom? - News from the Frontline

The 50th edition of Counterfire’s weekly digest with the latest on strikes and workplace struggles
Weetabix takes the biscuit: help put them back in the box

As Weetabix workers continue to strike against the assault on their pay and conditions, community activists stand with the strikers. Margery Thorogood reports from Windsor
UCU strikes are go: The battle in universities continues

UCU members at 58 universities are set to strike for three days in December. This is a pivotal moment in what has become an unprecedented conflict in UK higher education
Fire and rehire at Clarks: march and rally sees big turnout

Clarks staff enter the seventh week of strike and are growing stronger by the day, reports Sean Coote
Why NHS strikes are necessary

The NHS is in crisis, and clinical staff must join other NHS workers in strike action to save the health service, argues Helen O’Connor
Goldsmiths: London lecturers steal the march on HE anger - News from the Frontline

Counterfire’s weekly digest with the latest on strikes and workplace struggles
'We are the catalyst for all low-paid workers in social care': Sage Nursing Home striker speaks out

Cici Washburn spoke to a senior care worker at Sage Nursing Home who went on strike in October, demanding fair pay and sick pay
Time for action: The next steps in the UCU dispute

Following an overwhelming endorsement for strike action by UCU members in UK universities, there can be no room for prevarication
The predictable failures of COP26 and the seeds of hope on the streets

Elaine Graham-Leigh assesses the first week of the COP26 summit and the coming together of a mass movement of working people
Holding the bosses feet to the fire: Strikers light up the climate movement

Tens of thousands marched through Glasgow on Friday as striking workers led the fight for climate justice, reports Chris Nineham
Glasgow: GMB strike braziers are on fire! - News from the Frontline

Counterfire’s weekly digest with the latest on strikes and workplace struggles
The view from Glasgow: Pickets, protests and people power

While world leaders fail to agree on meaningful change at COP26, the city of Glasgow has become a hub of protests and strikes, reports John McGrath
Capitalism will cost us the earth - Counterfire Freesheet November 2021

Climate briefing for activists, more Tory Covid failure, Clarks strikers fight fire-and-rehire, Scotland's wider crisis, socialism explained and more in this month's Counterfire freesheet
The view from Glasgow: strikes, soup kitchens and saving the world

Mark Porciani reports from Glasgow on striking workers, COP26 and the mood in the city

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