Workplace Organising - info, and little tips for starting up

that section looks excellent, nice pictures as well, who did them?

one question - have any of you lot got a copy of the UPS management guide mentioned? it would be good to scan it on to the net if possible

http://www.libcom.org/organise/workplace/

Phwoar!

..... now I've got that out of my system.....

It's fucking hot at the moment, as you may have noticed, which can lead to all kinds of health & safety inspired fun & games.

H&S is one of the few ways you can legally walk off a job without getting in the shit. And who wouldn't want a bit of time off when it's nice & sunny/too fucking hot to do anything other than lounge about.

My bit of practical advice would be, use your imagination & try & make your workplace grievances look like health & safety issues. I've already mentioned my glorious & heroic "ice-lollies for the workers" victory on these boards, so I won't mention it again.

apparently that thing about being allowed out of work if your office/factory excedes 30 c is bollocks, you can onlly legally leave if it drops to a certain temperature, there is no temperature which is too high to work in, is this true cus it must be about 30.1c in here at the mo

While it's true that the maximum temperature isn't legislated in the same way as the minimum temperature in British law, there is still EU legislation on (for instance) the maximum temperature at which it's safe to work with IT equipment (which is what a lot of us must be doing if we're posting from work ).

Also, if it's too hot, it's too hot. It's an unsafe working environment. It helps if you have pregnant colleagues at this point. Not that I'm suggesting you nip off to the stationary cupboard with one of your co-workers just to get some time off work in a couple of months.

Edited to add: -

http://www.hse.gov.uk/contact/faqs/temperature.htm

Nice one John!!!

I've not had a chance to go thru it all yet, have you mentioned the DTI's freebies? As you can get plenty of info/pamphlets from them if you approach them as a boss. They even send you a list of invoiced items on backorder, if somethings out of stock:) Basically they tell you what your employees can get away with under the law in, where as funnily enough, in the employee leaflets they don't!

Worker = A4 folded leaflet. (might be 2 pages if you're lucky, depends on the subject)

Boss = A5 pamphlet.

Edit. www. dti.gov.uk/er/regs.htm notice the broken link

I've got a work colleague who's pregnant, an it's feckin hot in this office, no aircon, we've got fans though. I could find the reference to temperatures on the hse website, but not for pregnancy or what should be provided, any help anyone?

Edit. i've found it, www. hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg373.pdf

I don't think there's any specific mention of pregnancy in the temperature guidelines, but it's handy if there's a pregnant woman on hand, since even the most hardfaced employer would be less likely to say "Tough shit" to her if she's too hot. Not in front of everybody, anyway.

Then if you really want to take the piss, you can invoke the spirit of The Life of Brian, and say that, if she's allowed to take a break, so should you be, 'cause it's not your fault you haven't got a womb.

On the subject of pregnancy & workplace rights, if a woman finds herself unable to carry out her normal duties due to pregnancy, the employer is legally obliged to find her alternative duties, with no loss of pay or worsening of conditions.

Here's one for you, on the subject of pregnant workers being sacked. A member of brighton gmb IWW, helped a local worker win her case of illegal dismission to the tune of £7500, we got a £500 donation out of it.

Nice one.

Great information. I hate the picture though.

http://www.libcom.org/organise/workplace/articles/organising-at-work-the-basics.php

has the amazing word industrikes in it, which I love, but I'm sure it was supposed to be industries.

I know I've posted this before, but I reckon this

http://www.iww.org/PDF/IWW_organizing_manual.PDF

is one of the best "how-to-do-it" guides going.

It has a very 'human' feel to it. We're not all superheroes (apart from bomber ), and when it comes down it, you're doing no-one any good by getting fired. Good practical stuff.

I agree, also the info the IWW send you when you join is really accessible, with simple ideas on how to set up your own branch - doesn't bombard you with jargon, or give you some complicated bureaucratic blueprint, it gives you local flexibility and I think this is important with the changing nature of work now.

This sort of approach will connect and make sense to atypical/casual workers, and younger workers not familiar with or having any experience of militant unionism in the past. It's friendly approach to starting small, you only need 6 to start a branch, makes sense to me as a homeworker. The IWW have a web forum as well, which I've yet to hook into.

true but sometimes its the only caourse of action and if your temping getting fired/leaving without notice can feel quite liberating......until you realise your skint

Fair point. I think it's a case of, "there speaks the man with a mortgage."

yeah i agree with this, i temp all the time and some of my best highs have arose that way, an unexpected afternoon in the pub, fuckin glorious

Hi

Absolutely. I gave up work a little while ago, and I'm just looking for temp jobs now, and I am much happier. I expect I'll have to sign on in a while though, there doesn't seem to be too many jobs for people who don't really need 'em.

Peace and Love etc

Chris

Not yet... if ever, it wasn't me who did the case, i'll ask though. I think it was all straight forward, if my memories serves me right the boss in question didn't turn up to the hearing, an i'm not joking when i say most small business bosses are ego fucka's, the courts don't look on it to lightly, they don't turn up, you win. Although I might have got it mixed up with another, anyroad more wins than losses, in fact i don't think the fw in question ever lost a case.

Officially headed union notepaper does the trick, now an again!

Although we haven't always got donations out of folk's, folks just seem to see the advice drop in's as a service, free service, yeh, we're a fuckin charity. Anyroad i wrote a leaflet about who we are, an it's supposed to get handed out to all the folks who come in looking for advice. Another story.

That'll be the spandex, i thought that mask covered my identity, well at least my modesty, maybe?

'shudders at the thought'

what's your secret then chief - bank job, inheritance, lotto win ????????

Hi oisleep

I can’t claim to be an expert, but I had a little luck on the stock market, plus I’m mean with money. With no liabilities and two years’ living expenses in the bank, my heart went out of working for The Man. I’m operating freelance now, and it feels better than what had become a pretty boring job for me.

This raises some interesting questions of socio-economic class. The self-employed, when they’re not slaves to their overdrafts, have a different relationship to market for labour than the conventional Marxian proletariat. I’m sort of into Proudhon, Castoriadis, Brinton etc.

http://anarchism.perthimc.asn.au/secG2.html

Lots of love

Chris

riiight, so you've made your capital from the stock market. and now you live cheaply and you've done well enough out of your money interests to live for two years out of what you have in the bank with no liabilities nice. i've never had more than enough money in the bank to live for more than one fucking month, sometimes one week, shit. i should have played the stock market.

but hey, now not working for "The Man" and being freelance and less bored has interested you in questions of socio-economic class. lovely.

yeah, well we're all slaves to our overdrafts and the loansharks and our liaiblities if we haven't got the capital to play the fucking game in the first place. and who exactly do you define as the conventional Marxian proles?

well i'm glad you've got time to read

well life can be hard when two years of profit from the stockmarket is only just keeping you solvent. i'd explore new political philosphies if i were you. i feel your pain.

i'm reserving judgement on whether you are just another libcom windup, i think you are personally but if you're not, you're almost funny.

lots of love, solidarity and hugs

Lucy xx

Hi lucy82

I'm not a wind up, honest. You'll have to take my word for it that I'm from a working class background too, sorry if I pissed you off.

Cheers

Chris