[Striking refuse workers in Southampton on Monday, on the first day of action against vicious cuts to pay, terms and conditions threatened upon all council staff. Photograph - Southampton Socialist Party]
Solidarity to the 4,300 striking council workers in Southampton Unite and Unison public sector branches who began industrial action today with refuse workers walking out, on strike to oppose being summarily dismissed and re-employed on worse pay, terms and conditions brutally imposed upon them as the council attempts to implement savage cuts. Click here for a Unite news report on the dispute...
Dear brothers and sisters of Southampton Unite and Unison public sector branches,
All affiliated trade union members united under the banner of Brighton, Hove and District Trades Union Council offer our firm and dutiful solidarity and strength to you in your battle against employers Southampton City Council, as you embark upon the course of industrial action today.
This unnecessary attack upon your wages, rights and conditions reflects the regressive and unjust politics of this rotten Con-Dem government, which mistakenly attempts to destroy and rip apart the very fabric of communities and values our trade union predecessors fought so hard to achieve.
Stand firm in your fight. The eyes of the trade union movement are upon you to wish you every success of victory. Workers in other cities are facing the same threats to devalue our employment contracts, our pay, pensions, welfare and public services. Collectively in action, brought together in struggle, we are the biggest obstacle to these cuts across the country and beyond, as the very people who provide them and rely on them.
As you stand in the footsteps of all brave and enlightened workers who in the past have sacrificed so much in the struggle for progress, we stand shoulder to shoulder with you on your picket lines, meetings and rallies today, to collectively defend these achievements.
The just alternatives to these cuts are widely known and possible - if we unite to break these chains dragging us towards the misery of poverty that capitalism seeks to enslave us in they become achievable.
May we all stand together as a mighty oak against the coming gale, and let us demonstrate the truth that unity brings so that we may flourish and grow together in peace.
In solidarity,
Brighton, Hove and District Trades Union Council
