Open letter supporting the right to strike and the 1st Feb strikes and the march and rally in Cambridge.
Over half a million workers are due to be on strike on the 1st of February, including teachers in the National Education Union on the first of seven days of action. Schools, the NHS and other public services are haemorrhaging staff as a result of falling pay. The staff shortages are adding to an increased workload and this vicious circle is continuing to drive our key public services into a deeper crisis.
The increasing frequency of strike action is an unsurprising response to over 12 years of austerity, crumbling infrastructure and rising inequality. Millions of Britons cannot afford basic goods and millions more have seen their standard of living and access to services dismantled.
Strikes are disruptive, that is the point, but it is not strikes that are causing the day-to-day difficulties: in accessing a doctor; finding a qualified teacher to teach a class; travelling on a reliable bus route; or an affordable train. These things are a result of the way our economy is run and of spiralling inequality.
The UK already has among the most draconian laws on the right to strike in Europe and now the government is proposing further restrictions that in some sectors will make it illegal to strike due to minimum service requirements. Workers’ rights to withdraw our labour are a fundamental human right and are a vital condition of any democratic society.
We support the strikes on the 1st of February and the protest march starting at 11am on Parkers Piece in Cambridge. We call on the Government to address: the funding crisis in education, the crisis in health and other public services, pay and the cost of living, and to uphold the democratic right to strike.
Yours
Cllr Anna Smith, Leader Cambridge City Council
Cllr Alex Collis, Deputy Leader Cambridge City Council
Cllr Elisa Meschini, Leader of the Labour Group, Cambridgeshire County Council
Cllr Richard Howitt, Deputy Leader of the Labour Group, Cambridgeshire County Council
Paul Moffat, CWU Eastern Region Secretary
Sylvia Carter, LESE TUC executive member – Unite
James Youd, Chair Cambridge & District Trades Council – Unite
Dave O’Brian, Secretary Cambridge & District Trades Council – Unite
Liz Brennan, Branch Secretary Unison Cambridge City Council
Rob Turner – Branch Secretary Unison Cambridgeshire County
Pete Monaghan, Secretary UCU Cambridge Regional College
Paul Turnbull, Unison Community Service Group Executive Member
Stacey Davies, Steward Unison Cambridge City Council
Cllr Dave Baigent – Unite
Jennifer Runham – Unite
Andy Kennedy – Unite
David Plank – Unite
Wench Orstavik Unite
Claire Andrews, Unison Cambridgeshire County
Michael Abberton, Cambridge University UCU
Professor Sarah Brown, Anglia Ruskin University UCU
Philippe Harari, NEU Cambridgeshire
Anand Pillai, TSSA
Ian Beeby, Treasurer Cambridge & District Trades Council
Matt Wells, Secretary PCS Branch 001151
Spyros Roumaneas, Unite
Kathy Hamilton, Unite
Lorraine Andison, Secretary Unison Anglia Ruskin University
Averil Parkinson, Unite
Cathy Dunbar, Unite
Hooda Abdullah, Chair of Cambs Keep Our NHS Public
Hilary Price, Cambridge People’s Assembly
Nicki Myers, Chair DPAC, Cambs and Essex
Cllr Gerri Bird
Cllr Jenny Wood
Cllr Alice Gilderdale
Cllr Cameron Holloway
Cllr Jocelynne A. Scutt
Cllr Dinah Pounds
Cllr Katie Thornburrow
County Cllr Alex Bulat
County Cllr Nick Gay
County Cllr Hilary Cox Condron
Daniel Ratcliff (former Cllr)
Cllr Rob Dryden
Cllr Mairead Healy
Cllr Mike Todd-Jones
Cllr Sam Carling
Cllr Mike Davey
Cllr Baiju Thittala – Unite