Janine's blog

I wrote this article for Labour Briefing:

On International Working Women’s Day, set up over 100 years ago by socialist women in the workers’ movement to fight for our rights, RMT launched our model policy for transport employers about domestic violence.

Two years ago, the union's Women's Conference passed a policy rightly deploring cuts to women’s refuges. But as a trade union, we also have a responsibility to identify the workplace implications of domestic violence, and to press this issue through our collective bargaining with employers.

This is the speech I gave at RMT Women's Conference in launching the union's model Domestic Violence policy:

Today is International Women’s Day. Actually, it’s International Working Women’s Day, set up over 100 years ago by socialist women in the workers’ movement to fight for our rights.

RMT has chosen today to launch our model policy for transport employers about domestic violence.

I have today sent the following email to the Egyptian Embassy, eg.emb_london@mfa.gov.eg

I have today read in the media (for example, here: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/14/us-egypt-idUSTRE70O3UW20110214...) that Egypt’s military authorities are planning to issue an order banning workers’ meetings and strikes. If this is true, I wish to register the strongest possible objection.

While the exciting events in Egypt make headline news, the mainstream media do not tell us much about workers' and trade union involvement. So I have compiled this selection of links:

• Up-to-the-minute workers' movement news and reports about Egypt on LabourStart website
• Center for Trade Union and Workers' Services (the site appears in Arabic; to see the English version, click the drop-down menu, top left)
  

RMT members joined other trade unionists and students in marching through London today to protest against rises in tuition fees, cuts in education funding, and the scrapping of the Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA).

The last photo shows me speaking at the opening rally, giving solidarity greetings from RMT - after a speaker from the National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts had sent a speaker to our Regional Council meeting two days previously.

I've signed up to this statement and campaign against 'kettling' and other repressive police treatment of protesters.

We should all have the right to protest without being held captive or violently assaulted. Please read the statement and consider adding your name too.

I have sent the following message of support to French rail strikers. You can read about their action here.

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I am writing on behalf of the London Transport Region of the National Union of Rail Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) here in the UK. I write to tell you of our strong support for the action you are taking in defence of pensions.

I have written this article for my local anti-cuts campaign newsletter in Hackney ...

We may not have London Underground here in Hackney (except at our very edges!), but the loss of 800 Tube staff posts would still affect us - in a very bad way. So, many Hackney residents and workers fully support Tube unions RMT and TSSA in their campaigning and industrial action against these cuts.