Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition
Bulletin No.31
Monday 20 February 2012

TUSC News

Public rally to launch London TUSC GLA campaign: Speakers: Bob Crow, TUSC candidates, plus others to be announced. If you live in London come along and get involved…
Wednesday 21 March, 7.15pm at 235 Shaftesbury Avenue London WC2H 8EP. For venue see: http://bit.ly/AvAGGK.

You can see the new TUSC GLA election postcard here: http://bit.ly/yCWmD5
If you live in London we want you to get involved in the campaign. E-mail tuscbulletin with your borough. We are aiming to set up borough campaign committees so that everyone can get involved locally. Want to campaign for TUSC in your trade union? Then let us know what union you are in at the tusc bulletin e-mail address.

Please make a donation to support the campaign: http://www.tusc.org.uk/donate.php

President of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) selected to lead new trade unionist and socialist electoral challenge for Greater London Assembly Elections in May 2012.
The Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) has selected Alex Gordon President of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) to lead its list for the London Assembly elections due to take place on 3 May 2012. Nick Wrack has been selected No2 on the list. You can find the list so far and the press release here: http://bit.ly/wl3KBm

Put out a press release announcing your candidates
You can take the structure of the press release and use it for your own campaign. Alex Gordon’s quote as President of the RMT can be used to show national support for your local campaign.

If you are a candidate get yourself on Twitter
Coventry candidate Dave Nellist is on Twitter @davenellist and has over 1200 followers. Martin Powell-Davies, who is on the GLA TUSC list has almost 300 followers @MPDNUT . Remember to tell us if you are on Twitter and TUSC Independent will follow you and retweet @TUSCindependent.

Rugby TUSC calls public meeting to launch 2012 Council election Campaign ‘Why we need anti cuts candidates’
Monday March 19 7.30 Utd Railway Club, Spring St. Main speaker: Nick Wrack (TUSC National Steering Committee and ISN) http://bit.ly/gd9tJr Rugby TUSC has also bee busy on the media front getting media coverage over its criticism of the Welfare Reform Bill. http://bit.ly/gd9tJr

Remember: when you announce the launch of your election campaign tell us a tuscbulletin and we will advertise it here.

From the Unions

RMT confirms action on Heathrow Express over sacking of driver and continuing victimisation of RMT activist
Following a massive “Yes” vote for action, rail union RMT has announced a wave of industrial action in support of sacked driver Zahid Majid who, despite a series of meetings, Heathrow Express have refused to reinstate http://bit.ly/yKihie

FBU furious at cuts to fire alarm responses from councillors who voted themselves a 25 per cent increase in their allowances
Devon and Somerset fire crews facing a third year of a pay freeze say they are ‘gobsmacked’ that fire authority councillors voted themselves a 25 per cent increase in allowances. The move came at the same fire authority meeting which cut the fire service response to domestic fire alarms….to save money http://bit.ly/yRmTDq

Jobs saved at Birmingham Connexions
Birmingham UNISON is celebrating after seeing off the threat of redundancy to more than 100 Connexions staff in the city http://bit.ly/w6P8wY

Government in court over pension changes
Today, Monday February 20th, seven unions are mounting a legal challenge, on behalf of millions of public sector workers, over what inflation index is used to increase their pensions. The seven unions involved are the CWU, FBU, PCS, NASUWT, POA, Unison and Unite. http://bit.ly/wvTETO

GMB members employed by Carillion at Great Western Hospital in Swindon are taking strike action this week
They have planned two protest demonstrations to protest that staff from Zurich Insurance and the Nationwide Building Society are being used as strike breakers http://bit.ly/Af7VMx

Usdaw secures compensation for former McCowan’s workers
The shop workers Union has secured more than £200,000 compensation for 103 former employees of iconic Scottish sweet manufacturer McCowan’s made redundant when the company folded in October last year. http://bit.ly/AySwJt

TK Maxx joins retailers quitting unpaid work scheme for jobseekers
Clothing store chain joins Sainbury’s and Waterstone’s in pulling out as Poundland reviews its policy after human rights case http://bit.ly/zg5kmE

Information burst

Housing Emergency – Time for an Alternative: http://bit.ly/y8QMkA

One view of what is going on in Greece: http://bit.ly/xlSNeg

Dispatches from the Dark Side’ by Gareth Peirce: http://bit.ly/wuvyAW

Deprivation and death by inequality
This report looks at patterns of death by socioeconomic deprivation. It examines the interaction between deprivation, sex and age group, and place and underlying cause of death. Here: http://bit.ly/A2COQu

Government ‘may sanction nerve-agent use on rioters’, scientists fear: http://ind.pn/yLxrji

The Impact of Austerity Measures on Households with Children
Relative child poverty is set to increase between 2010–11 and 2015–16 by around 400,000, and absolute child poverty (as defined in the Child Poverty Act (2010)) will increase between 2010–11 and 2015–16 by around 500,000. See:http://bit.ly/zwXhqk

EVENTS

Norfolk Coalition Against the Cuts invites you and your organisation to attend a meeting to discuss election work.
We are keen to ensure that the defence of living standards and public services is top of the agenda in elections and that voters are offered a real choice so that they can vote for candidates prepared to make a stand against the cuts. We will be discussing the strategy outlined in the attached paper. http://bit.ly/z2l3CW 19.00 on Tuesday 28th Feb, Main Hall, Vauxhall Centre, Johnson Place NR2 2SA

Carillion Workers Protest over Strike Breaking
Tuesday 21stFebruary from 11.45am Outside Carillion Facilities Management
8th Floor
1 Eversholt Street
 London
NW1 2DN http://bit.ly/Af7VMx

Lobby of Partliament to defend Sixth Form Colleges and 16-19 funding
Thursday 23rd February outside Parliament with a Rally in Committee Room 5 from 2pm. It will be addressed by NUT Deputy Gen Sec, Kevin Courtney and by Toni Pearce, Vice President of the NUS http://bit.ly/xaNiPx

Lobby Cambridgeshire County Council budget setting meeting
Monday 21 Feb 5pm Cambridgeshire county council, Shire Hall, CB3 0AP Cambridge CB3 0A http://on.fb.me/xLsfEi (Facebook) http://bit.ly/xOM9Vk

UNISON demonstration against North Somerset Council Cuts
Tuesday 21 Feb 2012 5:30pm Town Hall, Weston super Mare BS23 1UJ http://bit.ly/xDHHFm

Mass protest rally over Kirklees Council cuts.
Wednesday 22 Feb 12:30pm Market Place HD1 2YZ http://bit.ly/zX4oc5

Stop the attack on UNISON in Swindon
Thursday 23rd February 6pm Lobby of the Full Council Meeting Civic Offices, Euclid Street, Swindon SN1 2JH. Included in the budget is a proposal to cease the central funding of two part-time UNISON posts. The Council is proposing to make the two post-holders redundant. http://bit.ly/wBo5s0

York Stop the Cuts Council Budget Protest
Thursday 23 Feb 6–8pm, St Helens Sq, York http://bit.ly/at77j0

Protest @ Pickles – Leeds
Saturday 25 Feb 10.30am Assemble Woodhouse Moor to March to City Square The Tory Local Government Conference is being held in Queen’s Hotel, Leeds. Eric Pickles is speaking on the Saturday 25th February, planning the next round of savage cuts http://bit.ly/zLDPQo

Lambeth Council Cuts Demonstration
Wednesday 29 Feb 6:00pm Lambeth Town Hall, Brixton SW2 http://bit.ly/f6BTqY

European Trade Union Day of Action
Wednesday February 29 In the face of a worsening economic and social situation and the ever-tougher austerity measures being imposed by Europe’s leaders as the only solution, the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) has called for a European day of action on the eve of the European Council.http://bit.ly/wrvxl5

Boycott Workfare National Day of Action
Saturday 3 March Currently there are actions in Brighton, Bristol, Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, Central London, Sheffieldand Tunbridge Wells – see website or facebook for details http://bit.ly/xs7KLx

TUSC information
You can find out more about TUSC at: http://www.tusc.org.uk/index.php
To donate to TUSC go here: http://www.tusc.org.uk/donate.php

To: Unsubscribe / Change Profile

TUSC aims to bring trade unionists, socialists and anti-cuts campaigners together to stand candidates at elections who are committed to representing working-class interests. Resistance to the cuts is vital, but we also need a political alternative to the policies of cuts and privatisation. TUSC believes that a new working-class party is needed that campaigns for a democratic socialist society run in the interests of the millions not the millionaires.

PLEASE take out a standing order to support TUSC
Standing Order Mandate: Please print out, complete & return to: TUSC, 17 Colebert House, Colebert Avenue, London E1 4JP

To the manager:

Please pay to:

The sum of £ (amount in figures) (amount in words)

Date of first payment and monthly thereafter on the day of the month until further notice in writing

Signature __________________________ Your Name____________________

Your address__________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________

The British people didn’t vote for this government and making that point would put pressure on them and remind the people that their policies are illegitimate.

If anti-cuts activists, trade unions joined up with the NUS they could organise a day of action in a select few Liberal Democrat seats with thousands flooding the area gathering signatures against the MP for breaking a raft of promises . The thousands that took industrial action over pension changes show it can be done.

I hope you will consider this idea because I for one cannot believe they are getting away with policies for which they have no democratic legitimacy.

Jane

I am currently in the process of building links for www.removals-harrow.co.uk. As you probably know the link exchange between two websites helps both your site and mine to rank highly in search engines such as Google, Yahoo and MSN.

If you are interested in the link exchange please choose any category you like: http://www.removals-harrow.co.uk/useful-links.php and let me know. I will add your link within a jiffy.

If you are not interested in reciprocal links I can also offer 3 way links.

My linking details:
Title: Removals Eastcote
Description: As a professional house and office removal company in Eastcote, we can provide storage, removal boxes or packaging materials directly on or before the day of your house move in Eastcote. URL: http://www.removals-harrow.co.uk/removal-companies/eastcote.php

Alternate option: Copy & Paste the following code into your web page:
Removals Eastcote
As a professional house and office removal company in Eastcote, we can provide storage, removal boxes or packaging materials directly on or before the day of your house move in Eastcote.

I look forward to hearing from you soon.

ps. If you are not the person dealing with link exchange please pass on this email to your link manager or webmaster.

kind regards

Mark
Webmaster

Disclaimer: This is a one-time email request and we will write back to you only upon receipt of your reply. We strictly adhere to EU Directive on Privacy and Electronic Communications published as Statutory Instrument 2003 No. 2426. If you no longer wish to receive link exchange requests from us please reply to this email with UNSUBSCRIBE subject. links@reciprocal-links.info

Join the facebook event!

https://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=223703481020168

After marching 330 miles the Jarrow March for Jobs arrives in London. Following in the footsteps of the 1936 Jarrow marchers who walked to London against unemployment.

Come and join the end demostration and rally in Trafalgar Square.
Speakers Include:
Matt Wrack FBU General Secretary
Bob Crow RMT General Secretary
Paul Murphy MEP Socialist Party Ireland
Lizi Gray Great-grandaughter of 1936 marcher
Stephen Hepburn MP for Jarrow
US Occupy Wall Street Activist
Jarrow marchers
Day-Mer Youth
Socialist Party
Young Deacon performing his rap about the riots called ‘Failed by the System’
Ed Marsh NUS
London Slutwalk Activist
Maddy Carty performing her track ‘CONDEMn AGE’
Dennis Skinner MP for Bolsover
+ More!
Transport to 5 November demonstration:

More coaches are being booked all the time. So if there are no details listed for your area please give us a ring on 020 8558 7947

Newcastle Ring Elaine on 07841 144890

Hull ring Alex on 07910 946253

Leeds and West Yorkshire ring Iain on 07809 839793

Sheffield ring Alistair on 07706 710041

Birmingham ring 01213316815

Birmingham coach departs at 8:30am from Carrs Lane in the city centre. Price: £3 unwaged / £6 waged Email: union.democracy For each place you want to book, please provide: name, mobile number, email address

Coventry ring Lenny on 07530 429441

East Midlands ring Becci on 07751 044309

Portsmouth/Southampton/Winchester ring Dominic on 07533 384011

Portsmouth:
8.30 am The Hard

Southampton:
9 am The Cenotaph

Winchester:
9.30 am King Alfred’s statue

Reading ring John on 07853 981945

Bristol ring Tom on 07986 951527

8.30 am
Anchor Road (opposite @Bristol)

Wales ring Ross on 07766 460336

Some info to put PFI schemes and the NHS funding cuts in context.

http://www.ukuncut.org.uk/blog/press-release-nhs-direct-action-and-uk-uncut-protest-at-hsbc-agm-over-nhs-profiteering

There is going to be a mass protest organised by UKUncut against the health and social care bill on October 9th – basically to close Westminster Bridge. Please let anyone else know who might be a little angry and want to do something.

Matthew

Camden Labour party pledged to support these centres in opposition, they now need to keep this pledge in power.

Reverse the cuts, return the funds. sign the petition below

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/camdenonline/

November and December 2010 saw three large demonstrations in London against huge increases in fees that University students will have to pay in future. Invasions of the Conservative Party HQ at Millbank on November 10th, and further actions on November 24th and December 9th, led to the arrests of over 200 people. Most were arrested on the three
demonstrations: others have been picked up since. Police tactics on the protests, including kettling or containing demonstrators for hours without food or water, themselves led to many of these arrests.

Most are accused of public order offences, some with criminal damage, others with ‘theft of police equipment’. While some people have been charged and have dates to go to court, the vast majority have yet to be charged with any offence, despite in some cases being questioned by police. Most of those arrested however have been given Police Bail, to return to police stations on a future date; in the meanwhile often being given restrictions on their movements in the form of bail conditions, usually banning them from the London Borough of Westminster (or from particular parts of it), or from attending political protests In London, or both. At least two have already been sent to prison that we know of.

At a meeting on February 6th, attended by 15 defendants from the student protests on November 10th, November 24th and December 9th 2010, the Student Protest Solidarity Campaign was set up to support those arrested at the student protests.

The Campaign aims to:

1. Unconditionally support and defend all those arrested on November 10th, November 24th and December 9th, as well as any later smaller student demos. Defendants includes anyone arrested, whether they have been charged yet or not, or even if their case has been dealt with by caution etc. 2. Be controlled by and accountable to the defendants.
3. Be totally independent of any other organisation. We are not a front for any political party or grouping.
4. Seek support from the student movement, anti-cuts groups and other sympathetic organisations.
5. Co-ordinate the legal defence of those arrested, and practical support for anyone sent to prison.
6. Publicise individual cases and points of view of the defendants. 7. Raise money to contribute towards the defendants’ campaign.
8. Mount a political campaign to drop all the charges from the student demonstrations, oppose kettling and other police tactics, and work towards legal challenges of draconian police bail conditions.

The Solidarity Campaign was set up by some of those arrested on these protests, and has at its heart the interests of the defendants. We aren’t under any illusions: this is a huge task and needs your support. If you agree with our aims we ask you to -

• Get involved. There’s a huge amount of work to be done: visiting courts to support defendants, publicity, and much more.

• Help us to raise money; towards the costs of printing information, hiring meeting rooms, legal costs and travel costs for defendants (many from far off etc).

• Publicise the campaign’s existence and future meetings and actions.

• If you were arrested on any of the student demos: get in touch. We realise that for many of those arrested, this is a worrying time, with legal proceedings hanging over their heads. Information can be difficult to come by, and especially those on serious charges, but for all defendants, the fear of what might happen can be overwhelming. The best way to deal with this is to meet others in the same position as yourself and stick together. The police want you to feel isolated and alone – but meeting and talking with other people facing the same pressures, and working together, can make everyone stronger. The police are not all-powerful, they can be challenged, and even getting charged does not mean you will be convicted. Defence campaigns in the past have helped people to win in court, and helped to win support for people facing charges.

• If you witnessed an arrest on any of these protests; contact us, we can help to try and connect you with the person you saw being detained and their solicitor. Your evidence may help get someone acquitted.

Contact us:

email studentdemodefendants[at]riseup.net

http://studentprotestsolidaritycampaign.wordpress.com/

The consultation is now open and will last unitil the 8th April.

Click here to visit consultation and let the council know what you think.

Dear Councillors

I am writing to alert you to the fact that today the funding which Labour restored to the Camden UK Online network (£170,000) in 2010/11 as a manifesto pledge is running out today and there is no plan to replace it. This funding maintains Internet Connections, Hardware/ Software maintenance, IT support and helps fund the tutor team serving 16 UK Online centres located throughout Camden borough.

At the moment the centres have Service Level Agreements in place which guarantee the continuation of this support until end of July 2011 but if the funding mentioned above ends now after July centres will either lose their connections and IT support or have to somehow find funding to pay for this. In the current climate it will be very difficult to find such funding and many of the UK Online centres will be forced “off line” rendering them redundant. I would also like you to consider that once the connections are lost it will be much more costly  to get  them back.

We are asking the council to use the “Camden People’s Fund” to maintain the funding at current levels for this year, after all £170,000 is a small price when it comes to sustaining such a valuable resource. This is especially the case in the face of huge cuts to front line services and the expectation that more services will be accessed on-line.

I know many of you will be familiar with the good work of these centres throughout Camden. Many of you were involved in the campaign to defend this funding when threatened by the previous administration and made a good decision when you voted to return this funding last year.

 I’ve included a link here to our campaign blog which was created at that time for your information. 

http://camdenonline.wordpress.com/

Please continue this support by helping now to secure this vital stream of funding to our network.

John Boyle