Stop Victimization of Anti-Fascist Trade Union Leader

Matteo Parlati stood up to the fascists. Now, he needs us to stand up for him.

Matteo Parlati is a shop steward who works for Ferrari Auto in Italy.   He's an activist in FIOM-CGIL, the Italian metal workers union.     Last October, when local neo-fascists decided to celebrate Mussolini's infamous March on Rome, Matteo and his colleagues staged a counter-demonstration which was attacked by police.   He was then charged with resisting the police and bearing 'moral responsibility' for the clash.   (Photos and videos confirm that Matteo was the victim, not the criminal.)     Matteo's fellow shop stewards have unanimously called for an international protest campaign demanding that the charges against him be dropped.     What Matteo did was resist fascism -- this is a basic responsibility of all trade unionists and is not a crime.   Please take a moment and send off your message of protest today - and spread the word!   Thank you.   Eric Lee

Broadening the Pensions Campaign

The following resolution was passed unanimously at January full council:

This council recognises that the attacks on public sector pensions are part of a broader cuts agenda affecting public services as a whole. Public sector workers are being asked to work for longer and pay more in order to receive less from their pensions. We believe that these changes will also affect the quality of service provided to the public and that this is therefore much broader than simply an issue for the public sector.

Read more: Broadening the Pensions Campaign

Community and Youth Workers to strike on November 1st

On November 1st the Unite Community and Youth Workers section will hold another day of strike action. They will be rallying outside Oxfordshire County Council in protest at plans to shut down several youth centres and replace some with 'hubs' staffed by volunteers.

Thanks to recent action by the union the county council conceeded that the position of 'youth worker' still requires relevant qualifications so it will be difficult for them to employ unqualified, unpaid volunteers.

Nevertheless, as Mike Beal reports, about 80 jobs are still "at risk" from the government's 'Big Society' initiative. The rally will start at 8:30 in the morning, at the beginning of a full meeting of the county council, and ending when the council closes session.

Nov 30! All Out for Pensions!

In response to the government's attacks on pensions, a number of public sector unions have announced their intention to ballot for co-ordinated strike action on November 30th.  This will be the largest joint union action in decades, with the intention of persuading the government to rethink its attack on pensions.

In order to make the campaign as successful as possible, the unions involved are working for the greatest possible co-ordination.  In order to further this co-operation and co-ordination, Oxford & District TUC is holding an open meeting on Tuesday 4th October (7.30pm, Oxford Town Hall) with representatives of the unions involved in the action.  The purpose of the meeting is to outline the issues involved in the campaign and discuss how best it can be supported by members of the local community.

Please join us to help prevent these attacks and to campaign for decent pensions for all!