Time is running short - call national strike action!

The article below is from the latest Classroom Teacher bulletin. A copy can be downloaded from: http://classroomteacher.org.uk/ctfeb2013.pdf

UNLESS WE TAKE NATIONAL STRIKE ACTION SOON, Gove will have won his ‘war’ on teachers without teaching unions even having put up a serious fight. Teachers face losing thousands of pounds from our pay, and from our career-average pensions, as cash-strapped schools refuse teachers pay-rises. Demoralisation will get even worse as managers pick-and-choose who gets what, and impose even harsher demands and targets on us.  

Keep up the pressure on the Executive
Time is running dangerously short to force Gove back. That’s why the NUT National Executive’s decision NOT to call a first day of national strike action on 13 March will have been a disappointment to many teachers. But the narrow margin of the vote – with 20 votes in favour and just 22 against – shows that the pressure from classroom teachers IS having an effect. It’s now vital that, in every region of the country, NUT members apply even more pressure on their Executive members to vote for the urgent campaign of strike action that we need. That same pressure also needs to be applied inside the NASUWT too.
 
“The time to sit back has to end”
The official NUT press release following the National Executive meeting rightly stated that “Michael Gove must understand that unless this onslaught against teachers’ pay, pensions and working conditions stops then strike action is inevitable. Teachers do not take strike action lightly but when the profession is being torn apart by a Government whose reforms have little to do with standards, or evidence, then the time to sit back has to end”. That’s true but, for now, teachers are still being told to sit back!”. The February NUT Executive MUST call action!  
 
National action needs to to start THIS term
A programme of national action really needs to start before Easter. Action at the end of the summer term alone will surely be too late to force Gove into retreating from his damaging threats, or, at the very least, into making some concessions to teaching unions. By then, the legislation will have already been agreed by Parliament. Governing Bodies will already be meeting to discuss how to implement the plans for September. By then, some schools will be deciding which teachers will receive a 1% annual increase, and who will receive nothing at all. Some will start to make pay decisions based on THIS year’s appraisal targets – blocking pay progression for teachers from September 2013. If we’re not careful, teachers will have concluded that the battle’s over before it’s really started ! 

Follow action in March with further strikes 
Teachers are practical people. It will be tough to lose pay on strike days but, if we can force Gove back, we’ll save so much more! But, a one-day ‘protest’ strike won’t be enough; we need an ongoing programme of action. At school meetings, Reps’ Briefings, and NUT Conference, teachers will want to debate what, when and ‘how often?’ At the 300-strong London NUT Briefing, there was a lot of applause given to reps who proposed escalating from an initial one-day action to a further 48-hour strike next term. Whatever is agreed, teachers need to start preparing now by putting away some cash to pay for the strikes to come and building hardship funds to help those who can’t do so.  

Teachers will support action - if unions give a lead
The London NUT Briefing voted unanimously for national strike action. Last year’s legal ballot - and subsequent internal surveys - have also backed national action. Of course, the mood isn’t even across all schools and all regions; that’s inevitable. But we have no shortage of arguments to give to both teachers and parents to explain why Gove, in general, and PRP, in particular, has to be opposed. It’s high time unions started getting those arguments out to their members and building for action!  
 
How long can we wait for the NASUWT?
By that narrow majority, the NUT Executive voted to delay calling action and to wait to see if further discussions with the NASUWT could produce a joint plan of action. But how much longer can the NUT wait? And are the NASUWT prepared to sanction more than just a one-day protest? If the NASUWT won’t act quickly enough, then the NUT will have to act without them to start with - just as happened in June 2011 over pensions. If the NUT calls action on March 20, then it’s very likely that, as in 2011, it can co-ordinate with PCS members taking national action too.

NUT Executive meets again on February 28
Time is now dangerously short, but pressure from below has been having an effect. Further pressure can make sure that the next NUT National Executive meeting on February 28 finally calls national action. The future of education, and of union organisation, is at stake. Gove is out to wreck education and rip apart our national pay and conditions. But the stakes are too high to get downhearted by the continued delays. NUT members, reps and Local Associations must demand that a serious programme of action is called before it is too late.

Lobby the NUT Executive on February 27

At a General Meeting held last night, described by Betty Joseph, the NUT Executive member present, as "very angry indeed", Hackney NUT became the fourth London NUT Association, so far, to back the call for a Lobby of the NUT Executive on Wednesday, February 27th - the evening before the full National Executive meets again to discuss the action we will be taking to stop Gove's Performance Pay plans. 

To download a copy of the leaflet, go to the Lewisham NUT website, https://local.teachers.org.uk/lewisham/news/PerformancePay.cfm

London NUT members call for action

It needed to be an important event to pull a trade unionist away from Lewisham this weekend - but I left over 20,000 others to march to defend our hospital!

Young and old march to save the NHS in Lewisham

However, as an NUT Executive member facing a critical moment in our campaign to stop Gove's plans to rip apart our national pay scales, I had to be in Stoke Rochford for the NUT's London weekend, which gathered together around 70 local officers and reps to debate how to build the Union and its campaigns.

The original agenda of the weekend, now an annual event, was focused on how to strengthen our organisation of the 50,000-plus NUT members in the Union's strongest region. Important plans were developed to train and consolidate school reps, to make links to support Local Associations across the capital, to pursue Union recognition in Academies, to publicise the damage being caused by Tory education policies - including the free school plans of Mayor Johnson - and more. However, all of these discussions was understandably overshadowed by the debate around the PRP campaign - and the regrettable failure of the Executive to vote for strike action on March 13.

All six London NUT Executive members had voted for that March 13 action but strong criticism was voiced by many reps at the decision, by a small majority of the National Executive, to continue to delay setting a first date for national strike action. Other reps were less sure as to how their members would respond to the news from the Executive - but were left with a lot of food for thought to discuss back in their Local Associations.

Some reps were critical of the lack of information that was being circulated to members to explain Gove's attacks. Many took copies of the materials that had been produced and circulated by Lewisham NUT ( posted on the Lewisham NUT website: http://local.teachers.org.uk/lewisham/news/PerformancePay.cfm ).  

These Lewisham materials included a model leaflet for parents. Plans were proposed for joint days of action where we circulate materials to the public of London - both at the school-gates and in our local shopping areas.

A few reps were hopeful that the NASUWT would agree to joint action and our campaign could then be put back on track. However, I warned that a joint one-day strike late in the summer term could too easily be seen by teachers as 'too little, too late'. If we were to show teachers that we were seriously seeking to force Gove back, it was vital to take action THIS term. 

I called on London Associations to back the call for the National Executive meeting on February 28th to call a national strike on Budget Day, March 20th, hopefully co-ordinating with the PCS union who may also take national action on the day.

This was backed by several other Local Association officers. For example, Kash Mallick from Redbridge, making clear that he had no affiliation to any party or 'bloc' within the Union, angrily questioned why the National Executive couldn't see that all these plans for Union organisation would be ripped to shreds if teachers were divided and beaten down by performance-pay.

London teachers are obviously not alone in expressing this anger. A report posted on the LANAC website ( http://www.nutlan.org.uk/?q=node/841 ) confirms that NUT reps at the Regional briefing in Leeds on Saturday voted unanimously to ask the National Executive to overturn their decision and call a national strike on March 20.

In discussions with me, some questioned whether I could seriously expect the Executive to vote for action on March 20 when they had just voted down action on March 13 ? However, I explained that pressure from classroom teachers was already having an effect, and we had to keep up that pressure between now and the next Executive. We had no choice but to demand that the Union enacts the campaign that was needed to defend pay, conditions and education - before it was too late.

To help keep up that pressure, Lewisham NUT are calling for support for a Lobby of the NUT Executive, meeting outside NUT HQ in Hamilton House, WC1H 9BD, on Wednesday February 27th at 5pm. 

'Outstanding' teachers speak:

Tim Woodcock, Greenwich NUT Secretary, read out some comments from his colleagues that reveal the low morale of teachers - before Gove's plans make things even worse:

"If your card is marked they will find fault with your lessons. This is not fair but I have seen it happen. We would not treat children with such a lack of respect".

"I love teaching and the pupils are great. I am prepared to work hard but I no longer have a life outside school. I cannot see how I can do this much longer. I have been a teacher for four years".

"I used to walk into every class in my department most days to talk to teachers and the pupils, check how they were doing. I have stopped because it is seriously affecting my relationship with teachers who are constantly worried they are being mentored or judged. Yet all of their lessons are good or outstanding"

"I do not know what outstanding means anymore; it does not mean to innovate, because to innovate you need to take risks. I can no longer take risks because I need to follow the OFSTED criteria".

... and finally,

"I wanted to be a teacher all my life. I am leaving at the end of term. I have no job!"

.. and before any critics wonder if these are teachers that are just 'not up to the job', Tim pointed out, these quotes all come from teachers deemed to be 'outstanding' ...   

Act before disappointment washes away determination

I was in a Lewisham school all day today to support NUT members going through a restructuring. One of them, Alanna, before discussing her own individual position, wanted me to know that she had sent a letter to the NUT Executive on Wednesday to call on us to support strike action.

The letter's copied below. It's not in the language of an 'activist' - Alanna isn't one. She's just a typically dedicated teacher expecting her Union to give a lead to defend education.

On hearing the news from yesterday's NUT Executive, Alanna is a deeply disappointed teacher. 

Time is running very short to mount a serious fight against Gove and his PRP plans - if we leave it much longer, that disappointment will wash away teachers' determination to defend education. No more delays - we have to take action!

" I was taught to teach by many wonderful and brilliant people. All were different and from many walks of life, from old to young; teacher to learner. I chose to become a teacher myself because I wanted to inspire and encourage young people to utilise or even exceed their potential.

The jaded and overwhelmed youth of South East London often, on their own, cannot see past the ends of their noses. The moment is magical when eyes open to appreciate and understand the world that surrounds them. The essential approach to achieving this moment is that this inspiration and motivation is delivered from a relaxed and secure educator who is able to themselves be inspired.

I strongly believe, because of pressures and regimes placed upon our educators of today, these wonderful and brilliant people are often too preoccupied with stress, feelings of insecurity and thoughts of an unstable future to be able to focus upon their priorities as educators.

Therefore, I offer my whole-hearted support for the continuing action against the damaging, uneducated and poorly thought-out whims that this Government spews.

We must continue the fight for our educators. After all, this is the fight for our learners too ".

NUT Executive narrowly votes against strike action in March

This report will meet with considerable disappointment – and not a little anger – from NUT members waiting to hear the outcome of the discussions at today’s National Executive. Regrettably, and after a long debate, the Executive voted narrowly against a proposal to call a first day of national strike action, to oppose Gove’s plans to impose performance-related pay, on Wednesday March 13.

Keep up the pressure  on the Executive !

The 300 London teachers that packed into the vibrant meeting in the same Mander Hall at NUT Headquarters just a few days ago would have been taken aback by some of the pessimism permeating some of the speeches opposing the call for action this term. However, the narrow margin of the vote – with 20 votes in favour and just 22 against – shows that the pressure from classroom teachers IS having an effect. Rather than getting downhearted, it’s now time to apply even more pressure on National Executive members to vote for the campaign of strike action that we need.

The official NUT press release following the meeting rightly states that “Michael Gove must understand that unless this onslaught against teachers’ pay, pensions and working conditions stops then strike action is inevitable. Teachers do not take strike action lightly but when the profession is being torn apart by a Government whose reforms have little to do with standards, or evidence, then the time to sit back has to end”. Unfortunately, teachers may well say after today, “but we’re still being told to sit back!”.

Go for March 13 - or delay once again?

The timing of action was at the centre of today’s debate. Those of us supporting a national strike on March 13, which would have allowed the NUT to take action as part of the European TUC’s day of international action against austerity, tried to explain why we had to start action THIS term. After all, December’s NUT Executive had voted unanimously to build for strike action in this spring term!

Action at the end of the summer term alone will be too late to force Gove into retreating from his damaging threats, or, at the very least, into making some concessions to teaching unions. By then, the final legislation will have already been agreed by Parliament. Governing Bodies will already be meeting to discuss how to implement the plans for September. 

By then, some schools, as NEOST, the employers’ organisation have mooted, will be deciding which teachers will receive a 1% annual increase, and which will receive nothing at all. NEOST also makes clear that they think Gove may insist that governors start to make pay decisions based on THIS year’s appraisal targets – blocking pay progression for teachers from September 2013. If we’re not careful, teachers will have concluded that the battle’s over before it’s really started!

How long can we wait for the NASUWT?

Another point of difference was around how much longer we could wait for the NASUWT to confirm that they would be prepared to take national strike action alongside us. Max Hyde, proposing the unsuccessful objection, with Heather McKenzie from Hertfordshire seconding, argued that we couldn’t delay further when we still had no firm commitment from the NASUWT. After all, as Max’s proposal stated, our membership surveys suggest that NUT members were – give or take a few percentage points - as ready to act alone as with the NASUWT. However, by that narrow majority, the Executive voted to wait to see what further discussions could bring and, as the NUT press release states, “We expect to make further announcements on our next course of action next month.”

Regrettably, that means that, for now, another opportunity has been lost to build the kind of pressure that could still force Gove to retreat. Mandy Hudson, the Executive member elected from the Disabled Member Constituency, pointed out that "it's true that getting the NUT and NASUWT out together would mean 9 out of every 10 teachers on strike, but, right now, we've got 0 / 10 teachers taking action!". As Ian Leaver from Leicester asked, “what are the reps’ briefings over the next few weeks going to be for? They should be used to mobilise for action, not just canvass opinion”. 

Time for the Executive to give a lead

The final main issue in the debate was that judgement about member ‘opinion’. All of the six London Executive members, reflecting the mood of that London rally, voted for the March action. Others, including some elected from the ‘Left’ in the CDFU group, struck a far more pessimistic tone, arguing that there was little mood for action. Jerry Glazier, from the ‘Broadly Speaking’ group argued that we must prepare for a long battle with strikes up to the general election. But, as I countered, this sounded like some kind of ‘political strike’ to support the Labour Party (and what difference will Twigg really make?). Teachers aren’t making those kind of political calculations, they want to know what’s going to happen to their pay and conditions by this September!

The evidence from the internal surveys and from most members’ meetings simply doesn’t justify this pessimism. Of course, the mood isn’t even across all schools and all regions; that’s inevitable. But, as I argued, a serious leadership should be confident that, in six weeks, we could build a strong national strike in March. We had no shortage of arguments to give to both teachers and parents to explain why Gove, in general, and PRP, in particular, had to be opposed. Instead of further delay, we had to go out and make those arguments and build action in March! 

As after December’s Executive, the conclusion NUT members need to draw from today’s debate is that, if the Executive haven’t got the confidence to give a lead to NUT members, then NUT members will have to give confidence to the NUT Executive to give that lead and call national action!

Time is dangerously short - pile pressure on the NUT Executive before we meet again on Feb 28

Time is now dangerously short, but pressure from below has been having an effect. Further pressure can make sure that the next NUT National Executive meeting on February 28th finally calls national action. That action could still start this term, perhaps even on the same day that the PCS are considering taking national action if their ballot is successful, around March 20th. Today’s close vote will also send a signal to the NASUWT that they cannot continue to prevaricate either and that, unless they want to haemorrhage support, they must also come out in support of national strike action.

The future of education, and of trade union organisation, is at stake. Gove is out to wreck education and rip apart our national pay and conditions. Today’s vote is a setback. Time is running short. But the stakes are too high to get downhearted. NUT members, reps and Local Associations - supported by LANAC, the Local Associations National Action Campaign, must pile on the pressure on their Executive members, particularly on those who voted against action in March today, and demand that a serious programme of action is called before it is too late. 

UPDATE: A London NUT member has created an online petition calling on the Executive to vote for action. You can sign via: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/tell-the-nut-executive-to-call-the-strikes-we/

Packed London NUT Briefing calls for strike action against PRP

Nearly 300 NUT Representatives from schools right across the London area packed into the NUT's national headquarters at Hamilton House this morning (Jan 19) for the London Regional Briefing about our campaign to oppose Gove's Performance Related Pay plans.

The huge turnout on a wintry Saturday spoke volumes about the determination of teachers to fight Gove's attacks. The frequent applause for reps calling for national strike action also made clear what the meeting wanted the National Executive to vote for when we meet again this Thursday (Jan 24).

Big Brother Gove was watching

Standing room only in NUT HQ

Teachers packing into the Mander Hall were met by the 'Big Brother' face of Michael Gove staring down at them. As NUT General Secretary Christine Blower introduced the discussion, reps were still arriving, with yesterday's snow causing some transport disruptions. More chairs had to be found and, when they were filled, it became 'standing room only' !

Christine went through the detail of Gove's attacks, pointing out that incremental pay progression had been a feature of teachers' pay structures since the 1920s. Now Gove wants to make all progression dependent on 'performance'. Linking the two main battles we are engaged in, she also pointed out that slower progression up the pay scale through PRP would also mean a lower career average pension on retirement.

Most of the two-hour meeting was then thrown over to the floor and, in a broad and open discussion, rep after rep had the chance to explain their views. 

No return to 'Victorian values' ! 

Many speakers pointed out the damage that PRP would cause to education, and how we had to get that message out to parents. For example, one rep warned that performance-pay would drive even more qualified teachers out of the profession - allowing Gove to get away with his plans to allow schools to employ lower-paid non-teacher qualified staff instead.

Kevin Courtney and others on the STOPP protest against PRP in 2000

To huge applause, Cleo, a Greenwich teacher, echoing the disastrous 'payment-by-results' schemes of the Victorian era, summed up the realities of Gove's plans - "I'll need my 7 year-olds to understand every lesson - because if they don't understand, I won't be able to afford to eat"

Louise Cuffaro from Newham was one of a number of reps who explained how the 'brutality' of management in some schools was fuelling teachers' anger. Another speaker proposed that the Union gather together compelling accounts to explain to parents and the press what PRP would mean for schools.

Not just protest action - what about escalating to a 48-hour strike?

Louise, like many other reps, concluded their remarks by calling on the National Executive to vote for national strike action - and not just for a one-day 'protest' but for an ongoing programme of action.

There was a clear understanding that one-day's action would not be enough. Some reps proposed calling rolling regional strike action but others argued against, pointing out that it was national strike action that really grabbed the headlines. In choosing between those options, most applause was given to reps who proposed escalating from an initial one-day action to a further 48-hour strike.

While most speakers explained that they were confident of members' support for action, a couple of reps spoke to explain that they were finding it harder to engage members in their school . The facts and arguments from the briefing will certainly need to be taken out to members in every school, in every Association and Region. One rep spoke to say he'd be doing exactly that, having been "inspired" by the mood of the meeting - and he won't have been alone.

The NUT Executive must vote for action on Thursday!

Hands-up in support of national strike action !

National Executive members were invited to speak at the end of the meeting. I took the opportunity to respond to two issues that had been raised. 

Firstly, I agreed that reps had been right to say that we needed to go out and explain our case to the public. I pointed to the 'message to parents' on the latest Classroom Teacher ( http://classroomteacher.org.uk/ctjan2013.pdf ) as one example of what we could be distributing. However,  I, and other NEC colleagues, called on reps to approach the public with confidence, remembering the support our pensions action in 2011 had received from most parents. After all, opinion polls show the public trust teachers a lot more than they trust politicians!

Secondly, I responded to the understandable disappointment from some reps that the NASUWT had made clear that they were not prepared to take strike action at this stage. Regrettably, I explained that we had to recognise that their leadership seem unlikely to shift that position at present. However, if we give a lead, as we did over pensions in June 2011, they may be forced to reconsider. As we were already finding in Lewisham, some NASUWT members may well vote with their feet and join the NUT. Outer London NUT Executive member, Dave Harvey, made a similar point and also spelt out that the Executive were considering calling action on March 13, to coincide with a Europe-wide Day of Action against Austerity.

Finally, and above all, I thanked reps for turning out and making their voices clear. Today's turnout will send an important message to National Union Officers and the National Executive:  teachers ARE ready to act !

As the meeting drew to a close, Marilyn Bater from the Chair asked those in support of national strike action to raise their hands. The vote seemed to be unanimous! Surely everyone on the NUT National Executive will now take note and vote for national strike action when we meet on Thursday?!

YES to national strike action to stop Gove !

Make sure to contact your National Executive members before Thursday's meeting and tell them you're expecting them to vote for national strike action to start in March!

Gove pushes ahead - we have to strike back!

Having laughably 'consulted' on his performance-pay (PRP) plans over the Christmas holidays, Education Secretary Michael Gove today confirmed that he intends to introduce performance related pay for all teachers from September.

PRP helps Ministers cut budgets but does 'close to zero' to help education

The NUT's official press release correctly sums up why this attack has to be defeated:

“Teachers will be dismayed that Michael Gove is pressing ahead with his plans to dismantle the national teacher pay structure. It will certainly worsen teacher morale which, as shown in a recent YouGov survey commissioned by the NUT, is already low. ( http://www.teachers.org.uk/node/17250 )

“Some 25,000 schools deciding their own pay structures is a real distraction from the teaching and learning that should be the focus of schools’ work. Individual pay decisions will result in unfairness and less mobility in the teacher job market. 
 
“PRP is fundamentally inappropriate for teaching, where educational outcomes are based on teamwork and the cumulative contribution of a number of teachers. The national pay structure provides a coherent framework for career progression and is essential to attract graduates into the profession. To get rid of it will certainly have an impact on recruitment and retention. 
 
“At a time of significant funding pressure on schools individual pay decisions will result in many teachers having their pay and career progression unjustifiably blocked. Contrary to DfE claims, there is no evidence that linking pay to performance increases results. The Education Endowment Foundation – part-funded by the DfE itself – argues that the difference is “closer to zero” and it would be a folly to waste money pursuing PRP in order to drive up standards (http://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/toolkit/performance-pay) ".

For a plan of escalating action, not a one-day protest strike

But, as the leaflet also circulated by the Local Associations National Action Campaign (LANAC) today ( download via http://www.nutlan.org.uk/?q=node/801 ) explains, 

"All teacher Unions agree that the latest proposals on our pay are very bad news for teachers. The question is - how do we stop them?"

"Our choice is whether to embark on a plan of action by NUT members, while working to involve the NASUWT and other unions at every stage, or to admit defeat.There are no other choices and we shouldn't pretend that there are".

"Taking as long as it needs to assemble the perfect coalition of unions and ensure that every member is ready is a luxury we do not have. Preparing new guidelines for school-by-school action is a policy for managing our defeat not a strategy for defending national pay".

"The message that needs to be heard at pay rallies, briefings and meetings across England and Wales is that the NUT must launch industrial action in defence of national pay as soon as possible - and that it must be a plan of escalating action, not a one-day protest strike".

Lobby for the Executive to call the first day of national action on March 13

After the setback of the December NUT Executive, when any decision on calling action was put off until the next National Executive in January, pressure has been building for national strike action to at least start on a date later this term.

There is now a serious discussion being had about the NUT calling a first national day of strike action on Wednesday March 13, a day that coincides with a European TUC Day of Action. The NUT Executive will be meeting on Thursday 24 January to make that decision - one way or the other.

After today's announcement by Gove, surely the NUT Executive needs to agree that any further delay would signal to Ministers, and to teachers, that the NUT was simply retreating in the face of these attacks. Instead, we need to vote together to start national action in March, go out to teachers to explain the seriousness of Gove’s attacks, and turn the undoubted anger in schools into determined national strike action.

Solidarity with the workers at Kusasalethu - an answer to Harmony Gold

To Graham Briggs, CEO, Harmony Gold

January 11 2013

A response to your claims about Kusasalethu 

Thank you for providing a detailed reply to my letter of protest about the actions of your company at Harmony’s Kusasalethu mine. However, having consulted further with mineworkers today, I have to contest many of the claims that you have made. 

Firstly, as you are well aware, the legality of the manner in which you have closed the mine is yet to be tested in a court of law. I understand that an application for an urgent interdict is currently being prepared by the workers’ representatives. South African labour law is very clear on the procedure to be followed in terms of a lock-out, and it is apparent from the reports I have received, as well as from general media coverage, that you have not complied with these. The manner in which an eviction has to be carried out is also carefully regulated in law. Ownership of the premises does not automatically give Harmony Gold the right to close off access to the workplace and workers’ accommodation. 

My sources on the ground in Carletonville have reliably informed me that about 3000 workers have been affected by the lock-out. The figure of 400 that you give appears to me a considerable under-estimate. 

You will know that workers have been camped out in the bush surrounding the pit and the hostels, in office buildings, and in the nearby Wedela settlement. While some workers have indeed, in desperation, taken up your offer of transport to their ‘primary homes’, the majority are not in a position to do so. For many, in fact, the mine accommodation is the ‘primary home’; they have nowhere else to go. 

These workers face a life-threatening situation as a result of the closure of the hostels, the hostel kitchens and the clinic. These measures, as you must surely realise, make a mockery of your claims of concern for employees’ safety and security. I understand that several workers have collapsed in the past few days and have had to be rushed to hospital in Randfontein, as a result of being weakened by hunger, dehydration and lack of access to medication. 

Your actions have other severe consequences for these workers, from whose labour you have of course made considerable profits. Many are enrolled in study programmes in nearby Carletonville; many depend on chronic medication from the mine clinic. 

Many also fear that making the long trip back ‘home’ would appear to accept and cement the mine’s closure. Workers are instead determined to fight what I maintain is a lock-out. 

If, as you claim, Harmony served notice of closure, then I would ask to be provided with proof. Unless you are able to do so, I can only rely on the reports that I have received from workers’ representatives in Kusasalethu. 

My understanding is that the agreement of December 21, when the latest sit-in protest was resolved, was to close a day early for the festive break; talks between yourselves and the workers’ representatives were to resume on January 4, 2013. My understanding is that no mention was made of any diversion from the normal opening date of January 3. 

Some workers’ representatives report that they did indeed receive text messages notifying them of the closure of the mine shaft on December 31 but no mention was made of closure of hostels or of the kitchen service for which the workers had already paid. With many workers still outside the country on December 31; and therefore obviously not in a position to receive this communication as their SA phone numbers were not operational, and others already on their way back to Carletonville, this communication, which in any case would not have constituted proper notice, was clearly not effective. In these circumstances, to offer workers a single option of travelling ‘home’ at their own expense, appears callous to say the least. 

Finally, I and other national representatives of trade unions in Britain, are of course well aware of the background to the current conflict at Kusasalethu. We would contend, however, that the climate of intimidation and violence is a consequence of the grinding poverty caused by the profiteering actions of your multi-billion mining industry. Rather than meet the justified demands of workers, you have further fuelled conflict by refusing to recognise the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) and by frequently resorting to the services of Coin private security and the South African Police Services (SAPS) in an attempt to suppress, rather than resolve, the simmering conflicts at the mine. 

In short, I remain convinced that the harsh steps that Harmony Gold have taken against Kusasalethu workers are a provocative action being deliberately taken on behalf of the mining industry as a whole in an attempt to go on a retributive offensive against South Africa’s mineworkers. It is a mistaken action which is bound to backfire on your company.

Martin Powell-Davies, Member of the NUT National Executive for Inner London, U.K

 Dear Mr Briggs

For the immediate cessation of the unlawful lockout and eviction of Kusasalethu workers

I am writing as a National Executive member of the National Union of Teachers in London, the largest teaching union in Europe, to call on Harmony Gold to immediately cease its unlawful lock-out and eviction of Kusasalethu workers.

I am adding my voice to the international condemnation of your actions and call on you to re-open the mine and mine hostels and provide food and health care for the workers.

If the Company persists in attempting to impose cruel retribution on workers whose only crime is to stand up for decent wages, freedom of association and gathering, it will be another serious blow to the international standing of the South African  mining industry in general, and you and your company in particular.

The world is watching your actions, actions that are condemning workers to slowly starve and thirst to death. If you do not immediately cease this lock-out and eviction, then I pledge that I will do whatever I can to make sure that these disgraceful actions are brought widely to the attention of members of my Union

Martin Powell-Davies, January 10 2013