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LabourStart provides in more than 20 languages, daily labour news that is collected from mainstream, trade union and alternative news sources by over 700 volunteer correspondents. The organisation also runs a special health and safety newswire jointly with Hazards magazine. In addition, the LabourStart ActNOW campaign conducts on behalf of trade unionists global campaigns that have frequently forced companies and governments to negotiate with unions and/or release jailed trade unionists. 

Despite the International Labour Organization (ILO) estimating that the agricultural sector worldwide employs around 1/3rd of the available labour force, many of whom are women and children, it is often difficult to keep up with developments as the sector is often ignored by the mainstream media. 

LabourStart's correspondents help overcome this and there are currently 1,000 agricultural sector articles online. These include recent articles highlighting that Human Rights Watch are concerned that Israeli settlement farms in the occupied West Bank are exploiting Palestinian child labour to cultivate, harvest and pack agricultural produce, mainly for export to Europe and the USA. 

Much better news was reported in February 2015 that in the Sindh Province of Pakistan the first ever Agriculture and Fishing Workers Union has been registered in the country with 400 members, including 180 women. The union’s development owed much to an ILO project, Promoting Gender Equality for Decent Employment, which provided training on leadership, gender equality and paralegal skills for those who led the successful effort to establish the union. 

Gulfam Memon of the Sindh Labour Department, said the new union, "would help agriculture and fishery sector workers negotiate better working conditions and enhance occupational safety and health coverage." 

Good news also from Morocco where over 1,000 agriculture workers, mostly women, on five large farms in the fertile Meknes region are celebrating the signing of their first-ever collective bargaining agreement between the Democratic Labor Confederation and the agro-industry employer, Les Domaines Brahim Zniber.

Meanwhile, whilst ActNOW was not as we went to press conducting any campaigns related to agricultural workers there was nevertheless an urgent need for Unite members to add their voices to demands for respect for trade union rights in Hungary, Iran, Swaziland and Kenya. 

LabourStart also has a weekly radio programme at radiolabour.net as well as a twitter feed and an archive of photos showing how trade unionists and labour groups are fighting for their democratic, economic and political rights. These are things we all need more of in a world where the corporate media is doing its best to protect the power of a tiny elite and which LabourStart is doing its best to oppose. 

For more details about joining the LabourStart mailing list and/or become a correspondent then go to:- LabourStart.org or email info@labourstart.org 

@labourstart

Mark Metcalf, volunteer correspondent for LabourStart.org  

Solidarity success for Bradford bus workers

Original at: -http://unitelive.org/triumph-in-solidarity/


Mark Metcalf, Tuesday, June 16th, 2015 Following a two-day strike in April, Unite bus drivers in Bradford prepared for further strike action against their employer First Group last week over jobs losses and attacks to terms and conditions.

 But the action was suspended on Friday (June 12) after talks lead to a breakthrough agreement accepted by members.

In a resounding success for Unite’s bus members, First Group management has agreed to conduct meaningful negotiations with the union in the event of proposed major changes to core routes.

 To accommodate meal breaks on mixed rota shifts, management has further agreed to in-creased hours and will also be reviewing cashing in time by drivers at the end of each shift. In a related development, two of three Unite reps who were suspended on purportedly false charges have been reinstated.

 UniteLive spoke to Unite officials involved in the dispute, who attributed the successful agreement to members demanding their rights in solidarity.

First walk out in 16 years

377 drivers walked out for 48 hours on April 27, after the 576 bus service was transferred to the nearby Halifax depot with the alleged loss of eight jobs.

Union-management relations had historically been very good. But when management acted without reference to the union, members were determined to reassert their negotiating rights.

“We felt we had no other option except to take strike action. It was our first walk out in six-teen years,” said local Unite branch secretary Mohammad Taj (pictured), who has also previously served as TUC president.

 Hundreds mounted lively picket lines round the clock which ensured just three drivers crossed.

 Other members of the community acted in solidarity, including a lorry driver who dropped off parts he was delivering outside the bus depot gates. Postal workers refused to deliver the mail and even two police officers, seeking to collect CCTV evidence of a potential crime, refused to cross.

 Council leader David Green, a Unite member himself, attended in support, as did local MPs Imran Hussain and Naz Shah.

“We were delighted with the response of the members and they showed great solidarity and the picket lines were certainly entertaining,” said branch vice president Mohammed Qamer Shafi (pictured), who was also one of the three reps who had been suspended.

The strike action disrupted the bus schedule with only a handful of buses running.

 “We are sad our action meant some of our loyal customers were inconvenienced but we felt that our display of unity means that services in Bradford are more likely to be properly maintained in the long run,” Taj explained.

Members’ resolve

On bus drivers’ return to work after the April walk-out, the company approached Unite to discuss members’ concerns. But when negotiations again broke down earlier this month, the union threatened eight days of consecutive strike action – a move backed in a ballot by a 90 per cent majority on an 80 per cent turnout.

 “The vote showed the strength of feeling amongst our members,” said Shafi.

 The company again invited the union to negotiate with them and discussions took place earlier last week, concluding in an agreement satisfactory to both sides.

 “The company has agreed to properly negotiate with us if they intend changing any core routes,” noted Taj.

 “They have also made a series of concessions to improve the terms and conditions of drivers including the new starters,” he added.

 In response to Unite’s concerns that the company was not investing in the service and the workforce, First Bus has also agreed that it will employ 12 more drivers to ensure it has a full complement of staff and has moreover agreed to invest up to £2 million in purchasing 12 new buses.

“Two suspended reps are now back at work and we are fighting to get Taj Salam, our branch president and chair of the Unite national passenger sector, back to work. Members feel strongly about this,” said Taj.

  

Shafi hailed the solidarity members showed as the dispute unfolded.

"We are pleased with the final outcome, which was only made possible by the resolve of Unite members, who are also grateful for the support they received from the union region-ally and nationally,” he said.

Learning from our history - Tom Jones and Julia Varley

Article from Labour Briefing, June 2015 

Major documents that were not found by IPCC on Orgreave

9. 
   
   Taken from:- 
   
   IPCC review of matters relating to the policing of events at Orgreave coking plant in 1984 
   
   
   
   
   It appears that at the time, plans for policing public order events were recorded in “Operational Orders”. In the course of this review the Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign (OTJC) provided a copy of the “List of Documents, Privileged, and Schedule I Part II” served on Birnbergs solicitors by SYP during the civil proceedings. Item 3.1 is described as “South Yorkshire Police Operational Order for Orgreave NUM dispute at Orgreave dated 23.05.84”. That document had been withheld in the civil proceedings on the ground that it was privileged. The IPCC were asked to look for this document in the belief it may be highly relevant to how policing was planned on 18 June 1984. This document has been obtained during the review. Although it is plainly the document referred to in the list of documents, and deals with arrangements for policing the convoys of lorries coming to and from the Orgreave plant, it is in general terms and is not specific to 18 June. It would seem obvious that there must have been more detailed planning for the event, given the number of officers whose presence was arranged through the National Reporting Centre (NRC) 2. However if more detailed planning was recorded in a document, it has not been found during the review and does not appear to have been included in any list of documents for the civil proceedings that followed the events at Orgreave (which it should have been if it did exist). 
   
   
   Some detailed aspects of the planning and arrangements were set out after the event in the statement of Officer 1 of West Yorkshire Police (WYP) dated 26 June 1985. He described himself in his statement as Director of Studies for Regional Command Training for Community Disorder. He was seconded to Orgreave on 29 May 1984. Initially he took operational command but says that he passed on his skills to senior SYP officers and from mid-June he remained only in an advisory role. He refers to having had a tape recorder with him the majority of the time, into which he dictated notes of the events and which he retained for use in his capacity as instructor. The review has not located these recordings and it is unclear if they were available at trial which commenced at Sheffield Crown Court on 17 May 1985 (the trial). 

OTJC press statement on IPCC decision not to investigate

THE FIGHT FOR TRUTH AND JUSTICE GOES ON 

PRESS CONFERENCE TODAY AND ADVANCED OTJC STATEMENT ON IPCC’S DECISIONS NOT TO INVESTIGATE EVENTS AT ORGREAVE IN JUNE 1984 

Following today's (Friday 12 June) announcement by the IPCC the Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign (OTJC) and the NUM will be hosting an open press conference at noon in the NUM main hall at 2 Huddersfield Road, Barnsley S70 2LS.

Press and public all welcome. Light refreshments available. Members of the audience will include miners present at Orgreave on 18 June 1984. They will be available to answer press questions afterwards. 

The following will each make a short speech at the press conference and after which there will be an opportunity to ask questions. PRIORITY will be given to questions from members of the press, who should identify themselves to Mark Metcalf  (07952 801783) by signing the press entrance form that will be available at the entry to the main hall. 

Chris Skidmore - Yorkshire Area NUM president , who was present at Orgreave in June 1984 

Granville Williams - OTJC 

Arthur Critchelow - Orgreave veteran 

The conference will be chaired by OTJC chair Joe Rollin. 

There will be regular updates on twitter at @orgreavejustice 

There will also be photographs of the event on the OTJC Facebook page at

https://www.facebook.com/OrgreaveTruthAndJusticeCampaign

In advance of the press conference the OTJC has issued the following statement:-

Whilst disappointed, OTJC members are not surprised that the IPCC will not be conducting a full investigation into policing at  Orgreave on 18 June 1984. It was back in November 2012 that South Yorkshire Police referred itself to the IPCC, which ever since has  acted slowly and conducted little independent work in assembling and collating information. 

The fact that the IPCC, described - rightly in our view - by many prominent individuals as 'not fit for purpose', is stepping aside on Orgreave affairs will not therefore be deterring the OTJC from continuing its campaign. OTJC notes that the IPCC itself recognises in its report the limitations of what the organisation can do and that only a Hillsborough style public inquiry can eventually get to the truth. 

The OTJC continues to gather increasing support from organisations and individuals for a full public inquiry into why it was that on 18 June 1984, 95 miners were arrested at Orgreave after thousands of police officers - many in riot gear, with others on horseback - brutally assaulted miners participating in a strike aimed at defending jobs and mining communities. 

An inquiry will help reveal exactly why, when the subsequent court cases took place, all of the charges, including riot were abandoned. It must inevitably lead to two things. Some officers being charged with a series of offences - assault, perjury, perverting the course of justice and misconduct in a public office. Secondly, a paper trail that would indicate that the actions of the police at Orgreave were influenced by political pressure from within the highest ranks of the Government of the day. THE FIGHT FOR TRUTH AND JUSTICE GOES ON. 

Press enquires to Mark Metcalf 

07952 801783

@markmetcalf07

Former model leaves Botton Village

From Big Issue in the North magazine. Please buy a copy when you see a seller. 

A former international model who quit to live and work in a unique North Yorkshire village that is home to residents with learning disabilities is leaving after its owners insisted they will press ahead with radical changes to its operations. 

Adults with learning disabilities and unpaid co- workers – who in return receive free accommodation, food and expenses – have worked and lived together at Botton Village since it was established in 1955 as part of the worldwide Camphill Movement. 

Over the years villagers with learning disabilities and co-workers have migrated to North Yorkshire from across the world. Around 250 people live at Botton – around half have learning disabilities. 

Twenty-one-year-old Sara Lucassen moved to Botton in summer 2013 from the Netherlands. Her mother, a voice therapist, had stayed in a Camphill community in Norway many years ago. When Lucassen returned from an exhausting modelling trip to New York, she decided to change direction. 

“When I thought about it I realised I wanted to do something else, especially as I had originally only thought of modelling as something to do before going to university,” said Lucassen. 

The 600-acre Botton site has four working farms, a sophisticated seed factory, bakery, café, school, woodwork shop, church, village shop and concert hall. It is financed by product sales, legacies and by being a registered social care provider. 

Evicted 

Last year, Camphill Village Trust (CVT) said it was scrapping co-worker status and introducing paid staff on rates below the living wage for most. Co-workers are set to be forcibly evicted. Bosses claimed they were following legal instructions from the Inland Revenue and their auditors. Yet other Camphill Movement sites currently operate successfully with co-workers. 

CVT also says the Care Quality Commission, local authorities and the Charity Commission have been forced to intervene because of concerns about poor management and governance at Botton. 

The Action for Botton community campaign has fought the changes but last month a High Court
legal challenge against the introduction of salaried staff was unsuccessful. Funds totalling around half a million pounds are now being raised for a further legal challenge. In the meantime, the proposed changes are being gradually implemented despite over 80 per cent of the residents having signed a petition defending the arrangements, which have lasted over half a century. 

Once Lucassen arrived in the North Yorkshire Moors village she admits she “fell in love with it”. She lived in one of 29 large shared houses with a fellow co-worker, a married couple and four people with learning disabilities. “The setting is beautiful and great things happen at Botton,” she said. 

She was put in charge of running the coffee bar and enjoyed working alongside people with learning disabilities. She also worked on the farm.“I felt I was doing something very worthwhile
and the people I worked with became great friends of mine,” she said. “This work has taught me a great deal and I have got to know so many good people.” 

Stability 

The changes that are being imposed have saddened her. “I can’t understand them as this place seems to have worked so well for many years. People with learning disabilities are going to suffer as they are going to lose the stability of sharing their houses with passionate and experienced volunteers who view what they are doing as much more than a job. 

“Some volunteers have already quit, some have been dismissed and I know many villagers are unhappy and some of those who are now being cared for by paid workers seem to be struggling to understand the changes.” 

Lucassen began modelling when she was 14 and posed for the likes of Italian luxury fashion houses Prada and Dolce & Gabbana but admits the pressure of the job led her to stop eating properly. 

“I found it very hard to be simply judged on what is on the outside and in a world where you have no control I thus began controlling the only thing I could control, which was food,” she said. 

Now she plans to leave Botton. “How come people want to destroy this place of hope,” she said. “I struggled, and still struggle, to understand CVT. I found it hard to lose my job, and especially the way it got taken from me, by just employing somebody for my role. 

“One part of me wants to stay and fight, keep this place going, but I miss my family and it has been enough. I have to concentrate now on myself, and with more life experience I hope to be able to fight unfair situations like here. I hope to be able to fight injustice and improve this world a little bit.” 

A CVT spokesperson said: “In 2012 the local authority identified a substantial number of failings with the community and concluded it appeared to be run in the best interests of the co-workers.” 

Orgreave 31st anniversary rally on 18 June 2015 -updated

ORGREAVE TRUTH AND JUSTICE CAMPAIGN

31st anniversary rally at OLD BRIDGE, TOP END, just off Handsworth Road, S13 9NA on Thursday 18 June 2015 at 5.30pm 

Press release - 16 June 2015 

The Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign (OTJC) is holding a rally at Orgreave on 18 June, the 31st anniversary of the Battle of Orgreave that took place during the year long miners’ strike in 1984-85.

Recollections of 18 June 1984 will be combined with an update on the struggle by the OTJC for a public inquiry. 

Speakers to include:- 

• Tosh MacDonald - ASLEF President
• Barbara Jackson - OTJC Secretary
• Chris Skidmore - Yorkshire Area NUM President
• Kevin Horne & Arthur Critchelow - miners arrested at Orgreave in 1984 
• Craig and Mick Oldham, who will be reading from ‘In Loving Memory of Work.’
• Juztine Jenkinson - daughter of photographer Martin Jenkinson

95 miners were arrested at Orgreave after thousands of police officers – many in riot gear, with others on horseback - brutally assaulted miners participating in a strike aimed at defending jobs and mining communities. However when the subsequent court cases took place all of the charges – which included, in many cases, riot – were abandoned when it became clear that the police’s oral and written evidence was unreliable. Each prosecution had been supported by two police officers making near-identical statements. Later, South Yorkshire Police (SYP) paid out £425,000 in compensation to 39 pickets in out of court settlements. Nevertheless, no police officers were disciplined for misconduct or charged for the injuries they caused to those they attacked.

It was in November 2012 that SYP - already under pressure following the release of the report by the Hillsborough Independent Panel that has led to fresh inquests into the death of 96 Liverpool fans - referred itself to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) to decide whether there should be a full investigation into what happened at Orgreave on 18 June and in the earlier picketing at the plant in May/June 1984.

The IPCC took 2.5 years to conduct a scoping (initial investigation) but last week announced that due to the historical nature of the allegations it would not be conducting a full investigation. The IPCC had failed to locate a series of important documents including the policing operational orders drawn up for 18 June. The police watchdog's report did though identify a cover up by SYP of malpractice it knew had taken place and largely conceded that only a public inquiry can eventually get to the truth.

OTJC was not surprised at the IPCC’s decision and is buoyed by the news that the Home Secretary Theresa May has subsequently stated she would consider any request to set up a public inquiry into Orgreave. OTJC is currently taking some legal advice about how best to proceed and meanwhile there are plans for a Parliamentary meeting with MPs. The struggle for a public inquiry will therefore be reaffirmed at the 31st anniversary rally this Thursday. 

The rally at the Old Bridge, Top End, just off Handsworth Road, S13 9NA will commence at 5.30pm on Thursday 18 June.

For more details please contact:- Barbara Jackson on 0114 250 9510 or 07504 413829 or Mark Metcalf on 07952 801783 http://otjc.org.uk