Marxist. Trade Unionist. Socialist-feminist. Author. Poet. Speaker. Tutor. RMT ex-Exec. Workers' Liberty. Autie. Bi. PUFC fan.

Defending public services

Battles against privatisation and cuts

Forty. New. Hospitals.

Submitted by Janine on 30 May 2023 at 20:59

Who knew
that new need not actually mean new?
It might mean refurbished or extended,
repurposed or pretended?
Who knew?

Who'd have thought it,
that forty need not actually mean forty?
That's rather naughty
It ought to, surely?
I'd have thought

Soteria in the Pub

Submitted by Janine on 29 March 2023 at 15:00
Event Date
to

Join us for Soteria in the Pub, our open mic event to raise awareness for compassionate alternatives in mental health, at The Betsey Trotwood in Farringdon (London EC1R 3BL).

Who's The Refuser?

Submitted by Janine on 09 January 2023 at 11:24

Rebecca is a school refuser

The lessons confuse her

Miss knows her sister

is a substance misuser

It doesn't excuse her

She's labelled a shirker,

assigned to an overworked social work

a conflict defuser

But Becky's still a school refuser

 

Mason is a lesson bailer,

afraid of failure

He's looking paler, feeling frailer

Villanelle: A Step or Two

Submitted by Janine on 17 September 2022 at 15:31

Autumn falls and storm clouds brew
The post each day brings season's chill
The queue moves on a step or two

The last demand is overdue
It stands unopened on the sill
As autumn falls and storm clouds brew

They stand in file to give their due
A strung-out wait to pay their bill
The queue moves on a step or two

Poetry & Opposition

Submitted by Janine on 27 March 2022 at 18:23

Pompous & Opulent
Prosperous & Ostentatious
Profiteering & On-the-take

Parsimonious & Obstinate
Penny-pinching & 'Orrible
Private & Obscene

Perfidious & Odious
Poisonous & Objectionable
Punishing & Oppressive

Petition & Organise
Protest & Outrage
Picket & Occupy

Public & Ownership.

TUC Disabled Workers Condemn P&O Sackings

Submitted by Janine on 24 March 2022 at 15:13

The TUC's Disabled Members' Committee has made this statement: Accessible public transport is essential for disabled people to participate in society on an equal and independent basis. To be genuinely accessible, public transport must be adequately staffed by workers with decent standards of training, pay, conditions and security of employment.

Poplar: the Borough that Fought Back and Won

Submitted by Janine on 15 March 2022 at 13:15

… and why it matters today

By Janine Booth, published in RMT News.

The two biggest employers in the east London borough of Poplar one hundred years were the railways and the docks. Our forerunner unions had plenty of members there. Their jobs involved long hours and low pay, but they were unionised, so they were fighting for, and winning, improvements.