The Strikers are fighting for us all says Pat Harrington

In the UK, workers are striking for a number of reasons. They’re fighting for better pay and working conditions, They are seeking higher wages in order to keep up with the rising cost of living. The average UK worker has seen their real wages fall by 10% since 2008, while the cost of living has risen by more than 20%. This means that workers are struggling to make ends meet and many are increasingly reliant on food banks and other forms of charity. The strikers are also calling for an end to zero-hours contracts, which leave workers unable to predict their income from one month to the next. These contracts can make it very difficult to budget and save for unexpected expenses. The strike action is unprecedented in recent years and is a sign of the growing frustration of workers who feel that they are being made to pay the cost of inept political leadership and economic management.

The prices of essentials like food and housing have been rising faster than wages for years, and people are struggling to make ends meet. The strikers believe that the only way to address the cost of living crisis is to fight for higher wages and better working conditions. By doing so, they hope to make life better for all those affected by the crisis.

Battle lines are being drawn

Unions are prepared to fight against real-term wage cuts for their members. There are some big battles on the way and everyone will have to decide which side they are on. For us it’s simple – we are on the side of the workers and against those who’ve caused the cost of living crisis and now expect ordinary people to pay for their mistakes. Here is a breakdown of some of the battles to come.

Rail workers

Around 50,000 rail workers in the RMT, Aslef, and TSSA unions are fighting over below-inflation pay offers, job cuts, and working conditions. RMT members are planning three 24-hour strikes on Wednesday 27 July, Wednesday 18 August, and Saturday 20 August. The union is also in dispute with Network Rail over plans to cut 1,500 jobs and close ticket offices. Aslef members are planning a 24-hour strike on Saturday 30 July. The union is in dispute with eight train operating companies over pay, rostering arrangements, and the introduction of driver-only operated trains. TSSA members are balloting for industrial action. The union is in dispute with Network Rail over pay and working conditions. All three unions are also in dispute with London Underground over the closure of ticket offices and the introduction of all-night Tube services. Industrial action is likely to cause widespread disruption to rail services across the country.

Posties and communication workers

Nearly all Royal Mail workers who voted supported going on strike in a huge 97.6 percent landslide, making it clear they are ready to battle their bosses. The Communication Workers’ Union (CWU) members backed strikes by an overwhelming margin on a turnout of 77 percent in their fight against the imposition of a 2 percent pay increase by management. No strike days have been announced yet by the CWU. This follows other recent high-profile industrial disputes such as British Airways. Given the government’s attacks on workers’ rights, union membership has been growing recently as people look to emulate the success of French workers in fighting back against austerity. With such a massive show of support from CWU members, management at Royal Mail will be under pressure to start negotiating seriously or face the possibility of widespread disruption to mail services across the country.

Public service workers

PCS union members are demanding a 10 percent pay increase and a minimum wage of at least £15 an hour. The ballot is set to begin on 26 September and run for six weeks until 7 November. If the workers vote in favour of strike action, it could mean serious disruption for government departments across the UK. The union has already taken industrial action this year, with walkouts happening in May and June. Talks between the PCS and the government have so far failed to reach an agreement, with the union accusing the government of offering “derisory” pay rises. The workers are also angry about job losses and cuts to workplace benefits, such as pensions. With no end to the dispute in sight, it looks like we could see more industrial action from the PCS in the near future.

Teachers

Teachers across schools in England will be consulted on strikes in the autumn. The Tory government wants to impose a 5 percent increase on teachers after recommendations from the School Teachers’ Review Body. When? NEU joint general secretary Kevin Courtney said the union would consult members on strikes in the autumn with “the largest ballot of teachers for a generation”. Meanwhile, the NASUWT said its executive would meet on September 14 to consider ballots for action. What’s the problem? Teachers say they have faced a real-terms pay cut since 2010 and that their pay has fallen behind other graduate professions. They also argue that increased workload and mounting pressure are making the profession unsustainable. The government says it has increased funding for schools and that teachers’ pay is a matter for individual headteachers. However, headteachers say they are being forced to make cuts because of reductions in funding. Low morale among teachers is having an impact on pupils, with around two-thirds of teachers saying they are considering leaving the profession, according to a recent survey.

NHS workers

The Tories are at it again! This time, they’re trying to push through a real-terms pay cut for NHS workers in England. With over one million NHS staff affected, including nurses, paramedics, and midwives, this is sure to be a controversial move.

Under the Tories’ plans, NHS workers would receive a pay increase of £1,400 a year. However, when inflation is taken into account, this actually amounts to a real-term pay cut of £200 a year for porters, £1,100 for nurses, and £1,500 for paramedics. The main health unions are understandably up in arms about this proposal.

It’s yet another example of the Tories’ complete disregard for the vital role that NHS staff play in our society. We all rely on the NHS when we’re sick or injured, and these dedicated workers deserve to be fairly compensated for their hard work. Imposing a pay cut on them is nothing short of disgraceful.

Fire and Rescue

The FBU union’s executive council has unanimously rejected a 2 percent pay offer from fire and rescue employers. The council says the offer is “insulting” and that plans are being prepared to develop a campaign for decent pay, including the possibility of strike action. With firefighters already among the lowest-paid workers in the public sector, the union is adamant that its members deserve a fair deal. It remains to be seen whether the employers will budge on their offer, but one thing is clear – the FBU is ready to fight for a better deal for its members.

Solidarity union backs our brothers and sisters 100 percent. We must back the strikes however we can. We must encourage other workers outside traditional union structures to organise and take action and co-ordinate our efforts. The strikers are fighting for us all by making it clear that ordinary people will not suffer impoverishment and cuts to their wages to pay for the mistakes of those who misgovern us. Political leaders haven’t fought for the people. The unions must.

By Patrick Harrington, General Secretary of Solidarity union

DISCRIMINATION BECAUSE OF PROTECTED BELIEFS

In a decision that has been widely reported in the press, a tribunal upheld Maya Forstater’s claims of direct discrimination because of her gender-critical beliefs.

After the EAT held last year that the gender critical beliefs held by the claimant (in particular a belief that biological sex is real and immutable and not to be conflated with gender identity) were protected beliefs under the Equality Act, the case returned to the tribunal in order for it to determine whether the claimant had been discriminated against because of those beliefs.

An employment tribunal unanimously ruled tax researcher Maya Forstater was directly discriminated against because of her ‘gender critical’ beliefs.

Maya Forstater has been at the centre of a high-profile legal battle to have so-called ‘gender critical’ views protected under equalities law. She claimed she was discriminated against because of her ‘gender-critical’ views when her contract was not renewed by the Center for Global Development (CGD), where she had worked as a contractor.

In June 2021, the Employment Appeals Tribunal (EAT) found Forstater’s views did fall under the protected characteristic of “religion or belief” in the Equality Act 2010.

On 6 July 2022, the London Central Employment Tribunal determined that Forstater was discriminated against by the CDG, and that her job contract and visiting fellowship were not renewed because she held ‘gender critical’ beliefs.

The tribunal also ruled that Forstater’s complaint of victimisation was well-founded in respect of the removal of her profile from websites for CGD and its European branch.

However, Maya Forstater’s other complaints of harassment and indirect discrimination related to “sex and belief” were dismissed alongside another complaint of victimisation because the organisation withdrew an offer to engage with her as a consultant.

Forstater brought the case against CGD, where she formerly worked on a consultancy basis, claiming the think-tank discriminated against her by failing to renew her contract after colleagues complained about her anti-trans tweets.

Employment judge Glennie wrote in the ruling that Forstater’s ‘anti-trans’ tweets were “part of the reason” why she was not offered employment in the “shape of a senior fellowship”.

The ruling read: “Absent an explanation from the Respondents, the facts are such that the Tribunal could properly conclude that the tweets were a substantial part of the reason why Ms. Forstater was not offered employment; and the Respondent’s evidence, far from proving the contrary, supports the finding that they were.”

The tribunal also said it would be an “error to treat a mere statement of Ms. Forstater’s protected belief as inherently unreasonable or inappropriate”. It referred to the EAT’s judgment in the claim that beliefs “may well be profoundly offensive and even distressing to many others, but they are beliefs that are and must be tolerated in a pluralist society”.

It heard the tribunal had a “policy of retaining former Visiting Fellows on the Alumni Page”. CGD told the tribunal there was a “pre-existing policy of removing profiles of Visiting Fellows when they ceased to act as such”, which the tribunal said was “clearly incorrect”.

The tribunal said there was a “coincidence in the time” between Forstater launching a crowdfunding campaign and taking part in a Sunday Times article “both on 5 May 2019” and the removal of her profile on CGD’s websites on 9 May.

Glennie wrote CGD’s director of HR and administration, at the time of the events, “conceded as much” in his oral evidence that Forstater’s “profile was removed from the Alumni page because of the Sunday Times article”.

Glennie said the think tank advanced “what was subsequently accepted as an incorrect explanation” of Forstater’s profile being removed.

“Taken together, and in the absence of an adequate explanation, a Tribunal could properly infer that the incorrect account had been given in an attempt to avoid admitting that the profile had been removed because of the protected act,” Glennie wrote in the ruling.

The tribunal added that the offer to have Maya Forstater continue working as a consultant was “not withdrawn” as it was “Forstater who brought the relationship to an end”. As such, it found the “detriment therefore did not occur”, and Forstater’s complaint of victimisation was dismissed.

Patrick Harrington, General Secretary of Solidarity, commented: “As a first instance decision, the tribunal’s conclusions are not binding and it is clear from the tribunal’s detailed analysis that the question of whether a manifestation of belief is objectionable or inappropriate is going to be very fact sensitive.”

Maya Forstater released a statement that she is “pleased” with the ruling and believed her case matters for “everyone who believes in the importance of truth and free speech”.

(Forstater v CGD Europe and others)

What amounts to a protected belief?

The EAT has further clarified the test to be applied to determine whether a belief is protected under the Equality Act 2010. It confirmed that beliefs that may offend others can be protected beliefs, as long as they do not have the effect of destroying the rights of others.

In this case, a Christian health assessor who refused to use the preferred pronouns of transgender service users brought a claim for discrimination based on his religious or philosophical beliefs. The tribunal had found that whilst his Christianity was protected under the Equality Act, the specific gender-critical beliefs he relied on (including a lack of belief in transgenderism) were not protected as they were incompatible with human dignity and in conflict with the fundamental rights of others.

On appeal, the EAT overturned this aspect of the tribunal’s conclusions, finding that the tribunal had applied too high a threshold for the protection of a belief. The EAT said it is necessary for the threshold to be set at a low level to allow the protection of beliefs held to be acceptable by the majority but also the protection of minority beliefs, even where those beliefs might offend. The EAT held that certain of the claimant’s beliefs were protected beliefs under the Equality Act. However, it upheld the tribunal’s decision to dismiss his claims of direct discrimination, harassment, or indirect discrimination based on the facts of the case (including the fact that the employer investigated ways to accommodate his beliefs, such as moving him to a non-customer facing role).

(Mackereth v Department for Work and Pensions)

RMT & ASLEF UNIONS ANNOUNCE NEW RAIL STRIKE DATES

The Aslef train drivers’ union announced that 6,000 of its members at eight companies will strike on Saturday 30 July. And shortly afterward the RMT union announced a further two strikes on 18 and 20 August by 40,000 workers at Network Rail and 14 train operating companies.

It came a day after the RMT said they would walk out on 27 July—when they’ll also be joined by TSSA union members on the Avanti West Coast line.

Bosses at Network Rail offered a 4 percent increase backdated to January and 2 percent next year, a real terms pay cut when inflation soars to near 12 percent. Workers would also be made to achieve “modernisation milestones”.

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said, “The offer from Network Rail represents a real terms pay cut for our members. The paltry sum is conditional on RMT members agreeing to drastic changes in their working lives.

“We have made progress on compulsory redundancies. But Network Rail is still seeking to make our members poorer when we have won in some cases double what they are offering, with other rail operators.

“The train operating companies remain stubborn and are refusing to make any new offer which deals with job security and pay.”

Everyone who is concerned about and affected by the cost of living crisis will cheer the RMT, ASLEF, and TSSA announcing strike actions.

For the unions to win and ensure that workers don’t pay for the mess that the government has made of the economy it will take a program of sustained, coordinated, and escalating strikes. The government has underestimated the resolve of ordinary workers to protect their incomes and working conditions.

The three days of rail strikes last month gained widespread support—and struck fear into the government and bosses.

Patrick Harrington, our General Secretary, and a former RMT Company Council Rep commented:

“All of us should work to build the biggest possible expression of solidarity on 27 July. During the last round, solidarity protests and rallies were a powerful show of support and would be again. Make sure that you donate to the RMT strike fund, sign the petition against agency workers, and attend your local picket lines where able.”