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Age email October 16: all out for
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The first day of strike action by London postal workers on Wednesday October I was solid across the capital, after a two-thirds majority for action in support of the €4,000 London weighting claim. While no date had been fixed for further action as we go to press, there are strong rumours that the next date will be October 16, when London local government workers are also out in support of their own longrunning dispute for the same claim. •Seventy per cent of local government workers voted for selective action last May and thousands of workers have taken action since, including groups of workers in key services who have been called out for weeks at a time. Local government union UNISON held a consultative ballot during September and support for industrial action had risen to 80 percent, despite the length of the dispute.
Lecturers in NATHE are also battling over London weighting increases, again supporting a claim of £4,000 since spring.. Most of the action they have taken has been short of strike action but they participated in a joint day of action with other unions on February 4 and walked out again on September 22.
There is a strong case for higher pay in London:
• House prices in London have doubled over the last 5 years. The average cost of property brought by first time-buyers in London is £175,220. This means a single person would normally have to be earning over €58,000 pa to get a mortgage.
• The cost of water rates and council tax for a 3-bedroomed terrace in London is 38 per cent higher in Greater London than the UK average
• Childcare costs 30 per cent more in London
Many workers just can't afford to live in the capital on their current wages
But militant action is not only important for union activists in London. If these strikes are successful, it will give confidence to other activists across the country.
The Communication Workers Union lost the ballot for industrial action on national pay rates only narrowly on September 17 after a manipulative campaign by management.
But the union has not given up the fight and called a meeting of branch representative on September 27 to step up the campaign to counter the misinformation put out by Royal Mail management. A victory in London would certainly help to restart a campaign for national industrial action.
Other workers are fighting for their rights - whether to improve their rates of pay or as at Appledore shipyards in North Devon to prevent not only the loss of their jobs but the theft of their pensions by their money-grabbing employers.
As British Airways support staff at Heathrow showed with their dramatic walkout a few months ago, unions only get respect from employers if they show themselves ready to fight. The longer you put up with losy pay and conditions, the harder the eventual struggle will be: fight now for decent pay!