Support Robin Sivapalan

Got this via email yesterday. Some of you will be aware of Tony Blair's school visit the other day, on which he happened to make the non-announcement about his departure as premier. There were some people protesting there that day as well, and the guy that organised it is facing disciplinary action for encouraging people to express their views to the Prime Minister. Below is the text of a petition in his defence. If you'd like to sign it, let me know and I'll pass your details on to the campaign.

Support Robin Sivapalan - defend workers' right to protest

On 7 September, Tony Blair and Education Secretary Alan Johnson visited Quintin Kynaston school in north London to announce the first wave of 28 "trust schools" run by business, charitable and religious organisations - of which QK will be one of two in London. They were met by a demonstration, supported by Unison and NUT locally and School Students Against the War, and composed mainly of students from the school, expressing opposition to government policy on trust schools, privatisation and the wars in Iraq and Lebanon. The initiator of this demonstration, QK classroom assistant Robin Sivapalan, has now been suspended from his job for "insubordination" and "breaching confidentiality" by informing people of Blairs visit.The attempt to victimise Robin is an attack on freedom of speech and the right to protest. We are not prepared to see public service trade unionists silenced when they dare to express opposition to government policy.

We the undersigned call on the management of Quintin Kynaston to immediately reinstate Robin Sivapalan and drop all disciplinary charges against him.