By Rob Williams, Socialist Party Industrial Organiser Steelworkers from the Unite, GMB and Community trade unions marched down Whitehall to Parliament Square on Wednesday behind the #SaveOurSteel banner. Protesting together with them were striking South London outsourced NHS workers in the GMB on their own demonstration, with both groups of workers joining in with each other’s chants. Workers had travelled ...

By Rob Williams, Socialist Party trade union organiser 2023 is beginning as 2022 ended, with significant nationwide strike action, this time of railway workers in RMT and Aslef. Postal workers continue their fight against Royal Mail bosses and are gearing up for a mandatory reballot after six months of strikes. NHS workers, nurses and ambulance workers have more strike dates set for this ...

By Rob Williams The sparks, rank and file construction electricians in Unite, have yet again defeated the de-skilling agenda of the big electrical contractors. EDF Energy, Balfour Beatty and NG Baileys opened up their offensive almost a decade to the day when workers kicked off their ultimately successful 6-month fight against the BESNA contract, the last main attempt by the ...

By Rob Williams (former Unite convenor at ex-Swansea Ford plant) After months if not years of rumours and speculation, which have shredded the nerves of workers and their families, Ford have finally announced the closure of the Bridgend Engine Plant after nearly 40 years of production. This is a catastrophe for these 1,700 workers, their families and communities and the ...

By Rob Williams,  Socialist Party national industrial organiser and former Visteon (ex-Ford) Unite convenor, Swansea Fordworkers in Bridgend and their families are trying to come to terms with the announcement that over 1000 workers will lose their jobs over the next two years, with the first 370 to go as early as this spring. This comes at the same time that thousands of ...

By Rob Williams and Glenn Kelly Millions of public sector workers will be vainly sifting through Hammond’s budget for details of any pay rises. The reality is that most of them will be looking down the barrel at a full decade of Tory pay caps, maintaining the catastrophe of the fall in living standards. Two million local government workers and half ...

Rob Williams, Socialist Party national industrial organiser and former Visteon (ex-Ford) Unite convenor Bridgend Ford workers have sent a clear message to the company: “Talk about sourcing that will save the plant or we’ll fight.” Nearly three-quarters of the shop floor voted in the industrial action ballot, showing that Bridgend workers are absolutely committed to fighting to save the plant ...

Bridgend Ford workers will be voting in an industrial action ballot, when voting papers go out at the end of this week. They want answers. They know that the clock is ticking and the future of the plant is on the line. The time to act is now before it is too late. This struggle is one of the most ...

How can a buyer be trusted with jobs and communities if they won’t take on workers’ pensions? By Rob Williams, former convenor Swansea Visteon It is becoming increasingly clear from the different bids to take over (or be virtually given) all or part of Tata Steel’s UK operations that none of the potential buyers won’t take on the £15 billion ...