Saturday, 31 July 2010
CND's big idea for the Spending Challenge - stop wasting £100bn+ on Trident
Tobacco Worker by Nancy Morejón
A tobacco worker wrote
a poem to death. Amid the smoke
and the dry and twisted leaves of the plains
she said she saw the world in Cuba.
a poem to death. Amid the smoke
and the dry and twisted leaves of the plains
she said she saw the world in Cuba.
Friday, 30 July 2010
Making the case for progressive reform of public services
Professor Gregor Gall, writing in the Morning Star, identifies a right wing hegemony of ideas when it comes to making the case for improved public services. http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/index.php/news/content/view/full/93408
Suggestions from Canada - a response
The review of the Gindin and Hurley article was an excellent analysis. The characterisation of Canadian unionism fits very much with my impressions from a working visit to Ontario, meeting with Canadian visitors to UNISON and reading news from CUPE and NUPGE.
Mass grave of around 2000 corpses found in Colombia
The grave is believed to contain the bodies of victims extrajudicial executions committed by the army over the past 5 years: http://tuninternationalblog.blogspot.com/2010/07/huge-mass-grave-uncovered-in-colombia.html
Thursday, 29 July 2010
Redwood on Total Place - It's all Greek to me!
Sitting in a picturesque Greek taverna I attempted to order some food from a bloke standing behind the bar wearing chefs checks and hat. He politely declined pointing me to a waiter in the near empty family run taverna who promptly took my order turned approximately two inches and repeated my order to the chef. Demarcation? Of course. Chefs are far more important than waiters even if literally brothers, each sticks to their own job.
Public Sector - Searching for a Focus?' Suggestions from Canada
Only recently Canadian public sector cuts were being presented to the British people as an example of how far and how swift the Coalition Government might have to be in shutting down services, hospital and schools. Interesting then to read about strategies being discussed in the Canadian movement about fighting these cuts.
Worked to death - Karoshi in the UK?
Work till you drop dead that's what the Big Society really means. TheCon Dem's plan to make us continue to work way past our retirement and into our 70's. http://tiny.cc/3rm9i
Audit Commission says make LGPS members pay more
The Audit Commission has released its response to the Public Sector Pension Commission and predictably says members of the scheme must pay more. UNISON believes merging the investment funds is the best way to deal with costs. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-10797739
Wednesday, 28 July 2010
Kirby exposes anti-public service myths
UNISON Scotland Convener gets waded into the misinformation used to attack public services and public sector unions in today's Herald newspaper. http://www.heraldscotland.com/comment/herald-letters/letters-wednesday-28-july-2010-1.1044236
Cash Rich Compass ready for more Profit -Workers Demand Sick Pay
When Enough Is Enough - NJC Trade Unions Register Formal Dispute with the Employer
Two tier workforce agreement under threat
One of the few concrete achievements of the so called Warwick Agreement is under threat from the Con Dem Government. The FT reports today that the government is “minded to scrap an informal code guaranteeing public sector benefits for thousands of outsourced private sector jobs”. The agreement – which ensures that new recruits on outsourced contracts have terms no less favourable than transferred staff with TUPE protection - will be reviewed by the tripartite Public Services Forum. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/5a249f7c-99b8-11df-a852-00144feab49a.html
Urgent Alert - 2,000 Dunums of fields burnt down: the result of settler impunity
Al-Haq reports that In the early hours of 26 July, more than 70 Israeli settlers visited Joseph’s tomb in Nablus. As a result, "confrontations erupted with the local inhabitants. On their way out of the city, the settlers set ablaze a plot of olive trees near the village of Huwwara. At about 8:00 am, the mob of settlers entered the village of Burin and used Molotov cocktails to set fire to orchards and olive groves. Clashes between settlers and Palestinians ensued, resulting in the injury of, amongst others, a Palestinian child who was later hospitalised. One settler was reported to have been firing a gun."
Tuesday, 27 July 2010
SEIU, Workers United and UNITE HERE Settle Inter Union Dispute
In the US yesterday, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Workers United and UNITE HERE announced a settlement agreement on behalf of the unions' members and elected leadership that will bring to a close the protracted dispute between the unions. Some divisive and self interested elements had sought to import the dispute into the British and European trade union movement. http://www.seiu.org/2010/07/seiu-workers-united-and-unite-here-settle-dispute.php
Cameron demonising the public sector as the 'enemy within' - Ed Miliband
THE FT reports on UNISON supported Labour Leadership candidate Ed Miliband coming out in defence of public service workers: “Cameron wants to create an enemy within, he wants to say the issue in politics is the public sector, and the public sector is something of a leach or a parasite on the rest of society, I profoundly disagree,” he said. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e402d036-98c0-11df-a0b7-00144feab49a.html?ftcamp=rss
BP - the luxury of failure and the loss to our pension funds
The inevitable has happened. The BP CEO Tony Hayward is leaving his post with a fat payoff and his pension, rewards for failure are luxuary. BP has confirmed that he is leaving with a £1m payoff and a pension, expected to be about half a million pounds a year, as the oil giant reported one of the largest corporate losses in British history due to the cost of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/jul/27/tony-hayward-leaves-bp-1m-payoff
Monday, 26 July 2010
Cuts won't just hit public services
A private company that carries out maintenance and repairs for many social housing projects has seen its shares slump as it expects revenues to be £80m lower and profits £13m lower this year due to public service cutbacks. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-10759526
Northern Ireland public sector cuts will lead to 10 years of social devastation
Northern Ireland, where 31% of the workforce is employed in the public sector compared to a UK average of 25%, faces 10 years of social devastation because of public spending cuts according to a study commissioned by the Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action (NICVA). http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-10756407
Sunday, 25 July 2010
More evidence of austerity bonanza for private sector vultures
The press is reporting rising profits for companies in the vanguard of public sector outsourcing. The Evening Standard reported last week that 'Capita cashes in on outsourcing' http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard-business/article-23858766-capita-says-outsourcing-demand-is-staying-strong.do
Inexorable decline in membership of UK political parties and affiliated organisations
Research by the Commons Library shows an inexorable decline in membership of UK political parties and affiliated organisations: http://bit.ly/cut085 A comprehensive research note collates all available figures on party membership, and documents trends in membership since 1928:
Offended Turf by Margaret Randall
I press my face against dark steel tubes
14 feet high
filled with poured concrete
solid as fear
undulating over these rises and hollows
of desecrated land
like the Great Wall of China
without its invitation to walk.
14 feet high
filled with poured concrete
solid as fear
undulating over these rises and hollows
of desecrated land
like the Great Wall of China
without its invitation to walk.