Public

Workers across the public sector were set to strike on March 23rd to defend pension rights but the strike was called off when a deal was done with the government. The same attacks on pension schemes are due to be implemented in April 2006, and John Prescott is already under pressure to renege on the deal. Only effective strike action will defeat these attacks and workers have to be ready to take it.

Local government bosses still intend to raise the minimum retirement age from 50 to 55, as well as the age at which the full pension is payable from 60 to 65. If they get away with that then another set of cost-cutting measures such as average salary, as opposed to final salary, pensions and higher employee contributions will be brought in.

The 22nd of April marked the end of the first month of an indefinite strike in Barcelona by workers at the Sant Sadorni d`Anoia logistics centre for the major Spanish Supermarket chain Mercadona.

The dispute began with the sacking of 3 members of the anarcho-syndicalist union CNT and the culmination of a campaign of threats by the company against workers unionising. Even before a strike was declared the company brought in scab workers, attempting to preempt the actions of their own employees. Immediately, the workforce went on strike, initially for 10 days, and has since developed into an indefinite strike.

The demands of the strikers are:

Health and safety campaigners have welcomed the jailing of a rail boss, found guilty of killing four maintenance workers who died when a runaway wagon ploughed into them. Mark Connell, 44, had deliberately dismantled the brakes on two of his wagons in order to save money.

He received a nine year sentence for each of the four counts of manslaughter, to run concurrently. However the jailing of Connell, though welcome, is perhaps not quite the victory it first seems. As the construction giant Carillion plc, who subcontracted Connell to carry out the work, and as such should take some of the blame, was never prosecuted.