On 3 April 2021, Reading Trades Union Council delegate, James Denny (RMT), and Will Bennett (also RMT) attended the rally and march in support of striking bus drivers at Go North West in Manchester and, with the help of friends from the North, carried the RMT and RTUC banners around Manchester for around an hour.
The march, easily numbering over 100 in the estimation of delegates, closed or restricted busy roads with only an apparent handful of frustrated motorists compared to widespread support from residents, families and workers on the route.
What is it about? It’s about something insidious and menacing called 'Fire and Rehire'. Unite explains the action at [https://www.unitetheunion.org/campaigns/stop-the-go-north-west-fire-and-rehire/] whilst the GMB has similar action nationally against British Gas [https://www.gmb.org.uk/news/gmb-british-gas-engineers-face-mass-april-1-sackings-strike-continues].
Bus drivers at GNW started all-out strike action on 28 February to stop an attack on their pay and conditions. The company wants employees to sign new contracts to work longer hours on the same pay, meaning a real terms pay cut of around £2,500.
Families know this, and they know they won’t be able to afford the cuts. Families know they’ve been ensuring essential workers get to work during the COVID19 crisis, at their own risk. Families know 'fire and rehire' is wrong, and for this reason it was heartwarming to see many children waving to the march from the doorsteps.
James was also interviewed by the Workers' Revolutionary Party newspaper, saying "We are facing the greatest attack on terms and conditions and welfare that we have seen for a very long time. We need a general strike for a whole range of reasons" [https://wrp.org.uk/features/national-strike-to-defeat-fire-and-rehire-call-from-manchester-rally/].
Unchecked, this action will inspire many other employers. What’s happening in Manchester and at British Gas, and in other workplaces elsewhere, will be with us all soon if we don't act.
Join the struggle to maintain your basic rights now, make sure you’re in a union and that your union affiliates to their local trades union council. Everyone can and should join a trade union - employed or not - and now more than ever it matters.
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