A UNISONActive reader has slammed Channel 4's 'blatant and biased' attack on Local Government employees last night. The programme seemed to clearly suggest that because of the cuts and being funded by "the Public Purse", Local Government employees were not worthy of or entitled to redundancy payouts that have been agreed, fought for and negotiated over decades.
The clear demonisation and denigration of local government staff came out of the programme so strongly it almost sounded like the usual Daily Mail diatribe against anything from local government.
Apparently we should only be entitled to the barest legal minimum of redundancy pay and that should only be handed out begrudgingly. There was no real right of reply or alternative viewpoint allowed.
The cost of redundancy was not put into real perspective and assessed on the basis of the massive numbers likely to face redundancy by the cuts, resulting in 'massive payouts' not being the fault of the staff themselves, but imposed from above.
This continued drip drip of anti public sector staff mis-information is clearly aimed at driving a wedge between public and private to enable the "race to the bottom" in both employment and pension rights.
After which UK plc will be once more able to compete with China and the third world for business based on slave labour mentality, poverty wages and no protection for workers.
As ever those with the least will be expected to pay the most!
See also http://unisonactive.blogspot.com/2010/11/channel-4-news-scrapes-foi-barrel.html
