UK Bus workers suspended in Leeds following strike

All over the UK, the Unite union is presiding over a situation whereby bus workers are paid myriad different rates for doing the same job.

Leeds bus workers strike over pay

Earlier this month, 250 workers employed by First Bus Leeds voted unanimously to reject management’s paltry pay offer and begin a campaign of strike action.

An interview with Helen Edmundson, author of Mary Shelley

The WSWS recently spoke to playwright Helen Edmundson, whose play on the life of Mary Shelley is currently running in London.

Mary Shelley—A new play about her remarkable life and times

The new play by Helen Edmundson is based on the relationship between Mary Shelley (Frankenstein) and her father, radical journalist and philosopher William Godwin, between 1813 and 1816.

West Yorkshire, UK parents and teachers march against school privatisation

More than 200 parents, teachers and residents of Otley, West Yorkshire, marched Saturday to oppose the transformation of their local senior school into a privately run academy.

Miner killed, another injured after roof collapse at UK colliery

One miner was killed and another injured after a roof collapsed on Tuesday at the private Kellingley colliery in North Yorkshire, England.

European Trotskyists mark seventieth anniversary of World War II

“It was industrialised slaughter on an unimaginable scale”

On October 11 in London, the European sections of the International Committee of the Fourth International held a joint meeting on the lessons of the Second World War. We publish here the remarks made by veteran Trotskyist and SEP (UK) Central Committee member Barbara Slaughter.

Britain: Leeds refuse workers vote to continue strike

At a mass meeting on October 21, striking Leeds refuse workers voted by a massive 92 percent majority to reject the “final offer” from Leeds City Council and continue their seven-week strike.

Britain: Leeds refuse workers strike against pay cuts

Six hundred workers employed in refuse collection, street cleansing and waste management in Leeds are on strike against the plans of Leeds City Council to cut their wages by up to £6,000 a year on the spurious pretext of an “equality” re-grading scheme.

South Africa: COSATU calls off public service strike

The longest public service strike in South African history has been called off by the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) after 28 days. The dispute began on June 1, when workers from 17 unions took all-out strike action in support of a demand for a wage increase of 12 percent across the board. The final settlement was for a 7.5 percent raise and increases in housing and health benefits.

General strike hits South Africa

More than half a million workers marched through the towns and cities of South Africa on June 13. They were amongst the hundreds of thousands of workers taking one-day solidarity strike action in support of the all-out strike of public service workers that had entered its 13th day. They included municipal workers, taxi and bus drivers, electricity and cleaning workers, administrative staff and officials from border posts and airports.

South Africa: Factional war intensifies between Mbeki and Zuma supporters in ANC

On May 8, Jacob Zuma, former deputy president of South Africa, was acquitted of the charge of rape in the Johannesburg High Court. The accusation against him was made last December, causing him to step down from the office of vice president of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) until a verdict was reached.