theActivist
Issue 117
members in Usdaw
Gibraltar Morrisons Workers
Strike Against Poverty Pay
Morrisons workers in
Gibraltar, members of Unite
the Union, have been on
strike since 31 January in a
dispute to win a cost of living
pay rise.
A former Morrisons worker
and Usdaw member
Morrisons workers are
amongst the lowest paid
supermarket workers in the
UK, with a basic rate outside
London of just £10.20 an
hour.
Yet Morrisons workers in
Gibraltar not only receive
less than that, but don’t even
get the UK minimum wage.
Instead they earn a miserly
£8.27, which the company
intends on imposing a 2.4%
Solidarity protest held outside Bradford Morrisons HQ with
striking Morrisons workers in Gibraltar, in opposition to UK
Morrisons workers being used as strikebreakers
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ENGLAND & WALES
pay offer on, with a new refuse to participate in
£8.47 rate. Morrisons strikebreaking in
Gibraltar.
Rather than pay their
workers in Gibraltar a decent But given the recent
wage, the company has announcement of both Asda
instead threatened in Northern Ireland and
derecognition and have Tesco across the UK
been bringing in UK workers increasing to £11, Usdaw
as strike breakers. must campaign to bring the
next UK Morrisons pay award
Solidarity action has been forward for at least a pay rise
organised in the UK by the that catches up with
Gibraltar Morrisons workers inflation.
union, Unite, who organised
a protest outside Morissons If Unite can organise a
HQ in Bradford on 24th demonstration outside
February, drawing support Morrisons HQ for its
from local trade unionists as members amongst the 260
well. workers in Gibraltar, why
can’t Usdaw do so on a
Usdaw, which represents the bigger scale for their tens of
majority of Morrisons thousands of members who
workers in the UK, should have been denied a cost of
instruct its members to living pay rise as the start of
a serious campaign to win?
Usdaw reps, branches and
activists should give support
to Morrisons workers in their
ongoing struggle.
Messages of support can be
sent to
Membership.Gibraltar@unit
etheunion.org
Whilst donations to the
Gibraltar Morrisons workers
strike fund can be made to
Sort Code: 608301
Account no: 20302092
Reference: Morrisons
March 2023
IRELAND
Join the union and help us
organise for
• Pay rises at least in line with
inflation for all in retail,
distribution and manufacturing.
•Raise the minimum wage to
£15 an hour for all
•Increase staffing levels in store
to carry out any necessary
cleaning & hygiene duties, bring
back in house outsourced
cleaners. Full time contracts to all
those who want them
•Elected local health & safety
committees/reps, including
overseeing when and if to lift any
measures brought in to deal with
Covid
•No waiting times or lower rates
for sick pay
•Scrap the 2 year qualifying
period - Full employment rights
from day one
• Scrap performance targets
•Time and a half for all overtime
worked over contracted hours
•Reinstate lost paid breaks and
premium payments, double pay
on Sundays and time and a half
on Saturdays. No extension of
Sunday trading
•Trade union control over
changing staff duties, hiring and
firing, and opening time changes
•35 hour working week without
loss of pay
•Open the books to trade union
inspection if companies say they
can’t afford these measures
• Bailout workers, not the bosses
and the speculators. Campaign
for nationalisation to save jobs.
•Democratically elected
committees of workers and
consumers to control prices and
any rationing policies at all levels.
•For socialist planning to put the
needs of workers first, not
shareholders profits.
Join Usdaw - usdaw.org.uk/join
Jointhe fightback
JOINTHE
●
SOCIALISTS
England & Wales
socialistparty.org.uk
● Scotland
socialistpartyscotland.org.uk
● Ireland militant-left.org
theActivist the bulletin of CWI members in Usdaw
Usdaw Political Levy Vote
As the Activist ‘goes to print’, of the Labour Party that are
Usdaw members will be being put at the forefront of
voting on whether to renew the union’s campaign to win a
the union’s political fund for Yes vote to retain the union’s
another 10 years. political fund in the current
ballot.
Trade unions having to vote
on whether on not to maintain For Usdaw’s leadership, the
funds to spend on political idea that a Labour
campaigning was brought in government will carry out
under the Thatcher some reforms beneficial to
government in the 80s as part the retail, distributive and
of the raft of anti-union allied workers that make up
legislation in that period. It Usdaw’s membership is
has not been repealed, since, crucial, given their lack of
even by the Blair/Brown-led confidence that members will
Labour government that held struggle to improve our own
office for 13 years. pay, terms and conditions.
Despite a sizable proportion Even amongst companies
of Usdaw’s political fund that Usdaw organises within,
being spent on the Labour there have been strikes in the
Party, this aspect of what the recent past by Tesco workers
union’s political fund is spent in Ireland (organised by
on is entirely absent from the Mandate), and Morrisons
material being used to workers in Gibraltar which is
encourage members to vote. currently ongoing (organised
by Unite). But Usdaw
Rather than mention Labour, members in Morrisons had a
the key bullet points on the disappointing below inflation
leaflet are campaigning for pay offer, which they voted
improvements to workers against, imposed on them
rights and the living wage, following it being referred to
protection against violence ACAS with no serious
and abuse for frontline campaign, even short of
workers and preventing the industrial action, let alone
extension of Sunday trading. striking.
According to the last financial Therefore, the idea is
report from the 2022 ADM, repeated in the journals of
out of just over £1.5m in the union, such as Arena and
contributions to the political Network, as well as at ADM,
fund, Usdaw spent just over that a Labour government will
£1m on national and regional deliver changes for Usdaw
affiliation fees to the Labour members.
Party and a further £275,000
on donations to the Labour Unfortunately for us
Party. Meanwhile, just
members of Usdaw, Labour’s
£71,000 was spent on new leadership under ‘Sir’
affiliations fees to other Keir Starmer, has moved
organisations that come away from policies voted on
under the political funds. by our ADM. These include
renationalising energy
It is this minority of funds, companies and royal mail,
which are being spent on which Starmer’s shadow
political objectives, outside chancellor Rachel Reeves has
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announced Labour would no industrial campaigns we are
longer support whiolst currently generally lacking.
speaking at a conference of
‘Make UK’ in early March. But this money should be
much better spent than at
Whilst Usdaw now has a present. Rather than backing
position,like much of the Labour candidates just
trade union movement of because they are Labour, we
calling for a £15 an hour should be demanding that
minimum wage, Labour, Usdaw should support
although their conference candidates that will put
voted to adopt that demand, forward the policies we
have maintained a position in democratically agree at our
spite of this of still only ADM.
calling for a £10 an hour
minimum wage! A key step that would allow us
to do this would be to
Given these retreats, is it any propose to delete the
wonder that Usdaw’s references to the Labour
leadership doesn’t want to Party in Section 34 of the
advertise large proportions of rulebook at the next Special
the political fund are being ADM to revise the rules. This
spent on supporting a party would then allow Usdaw
that isn’t putting forward key National Executive Council to
policies that we support? support any candidates
within the workers movement
Moreover, only a small who supported the union’s
proportion of Usdaw policies.
members are also members
of the Labour Party despite Of course, this would then
huge efforts to encourage pose the question of electing
people to join. An EC a fighting National Executive
document for the 2000 ADM Council that would
gave a figure of “over 2,000” implement such policies
of Usdaw members who are rather than being a rubber
also members of the Labour stamp for policies already
Party commenting “it’s much largely decided on and only
less than most other unions”. asked for their retrospective
approval.
Whilst that was during the
disappointments of the Blair In the meantime, Usdaw
government and may have members can support
increased during the 13 years candidates aligned with ADM
of Tory rule, that was a tiny policies as individuals
fraction of less than 1% of the through supporting or
then membership of standing as candidates
310,000. through the Trade Unionist
and Socialist Coalition
So what can Usdaw (TUSC) including in May’s
members do to achieve an local elections.
effective political voice?
Former Usdaw President, Amy
The Activist calls on Usdaw Murphy, sits on TUSC’s
members to vote YES in the steering committee and can
political fund ballot. We need be contacted at
a political voice as well as the amydouglas474@yahoo.co.uk