Tackling child poverty - What kind of society do we want?

If you can judge a society by how it treats its most vulnerable citizens, you have to wonder what it says about ours that nearly four million of our children – one in three - are living in poverty.

I Speak of Palestine by Robert Green

I speak of your insistence
on believing what you’re told
to be so blind:
you must have learned
what not to know
to be so cold that you can say
“These people do belong
inside this tomb.”

'No to public service cuts which harm women' - Angela Lynes, UNISON President

The UNISON 2011 Women’s Conference, meeting in Harrogate Yorkshire, yesterday heard a fighting speech from UNISON President Angela Lynes.

If you are a public sector pensioner, read this and weep then get angry

While the Government U turn on the privatisation of forestry caused much hilarity yesterday, matters probably of a much deeper concern to UNISON members were being debated.

Bankers Continue to Feast

While pay for workers who actually contribute to society, public service and manufacturing is cut back, pay at Europe’s four largest investment banks rose by a total of nearly £2.4bn ($3.8bn) in 2010, as more employees were taken on and fixed salaries largely wiped out any savings from lower bonuses. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/da9928a8-3abc-11e0-9c1a-00144feabdc0.html?ftcamp=rss&ftcamp=crm/email/2011218/nbe/GlobalBusiness/product#axzz1EIGDkmwY

US Public Sector Trade Unions Take a Stand - Show Solidarity with our sister Union AFSCME

Wisconsin is the birthplace of AFSCME. They have a long and proud history in the state. In a matter of days, all they have built there over the past 75 years could be profoundly jeopardised. But more importantly, the very existence of public employee unionism is now on the line across the country.

Egyptian unions continue the fight for lasting political change

In today’s Guardian Seumas Milne gives a superb analysis of the political situation in Egypt in the wake of Mubarak’s removal as President:

Austerity budgets – made in Brussels

Italian economics minister Giulio Tremonti emerged from a meeting of EU finance ministers, which included Tory Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne, last December to announce that "budget policies in European countries cannot be national policies any more".

NHS safe? Tories now cutting births!

Staff at St Georges Hospital, South London have acted with growing shock and anger at the announcement that 500 posts ( almost 10% of the workforce) at the hospital are to be axed as part of the Governments £20 billion NHS cuts programme.

UNISON Active analysis: Inflation Up Again? That‘ll Be Public Sector Pay Cuts All Round

The inflation figures released by the Bank of England on Tuesday are a grim warning for all public sector workers. UNISONActive still believes that the only figure that counts is that for the retail price index, and the RPI has now hit 5.1 %. This figure is the measure of how much the prices of the goods that we all rely on are increasing- the increase in the price of housing, the price of food, the price of energy, the price of transport, whether in the increased costs for petrol or diesel or the increase in the price of public transport.

Pensions: Make Your Voice Heard Today

You probably haven't heard of the Social Security Benefit Uprating Order being laid before Parliament tomorrow 17- 02 -11 . Remember one thing - this order is part of the change that will cut your pension by changing the uprating mechanism from the RPI to CPI. Every public sector pensioner will be robbed in perpetuity by this measure. Contact your MP today and make your voice heard. Use the "they work for you" web site at http://www.theyworkforyou.com/

One Good Cut Campaign

One Good Cut! Cut the Benefits to Bankers Not Public Services - a new campaign launched today calling for the one cut that will benefit us all, the £130bn a year taxpayers give to the bankers. By making a few simple changes to our banking system, which has growing support from economists and academia, we can end the ability of the banking sector to wreak havoc on our public services and gain us tens of £billions extra every year. http://www.onegoodcut.org/

The people behind the Big Society headlines

The Big Society means in simple terms that the state should pull back from delivering public services and communities should do more for themselves. A stark reminder of what this means is as follows:

Birmingham - Con Dem Flagship Council declares war on its workforce

The people of Birmingham have the double misfortune of a Con Dem led City Council implementing the anti-democratic cuts agenda of a Con Dem Government. And workers at the UK’s largest local authority are bearing the brunt of ruthless redundancy programme and unilateral changes in terms and conditions of the whole workforce.

Egypt's Military Junta moves against Unions

Reuters is reporting that Egypt's ruling Higher Military Council is intending to ban 'meetings by labour unions or professional syndicates, effectively forbidding strikes': http://af.reuters.com/article/egyptNews/idAFNWEB867320110213

Middlesbrough rallies against Con Dem cuts

Hundreds of public sector workers, campaigners, local politicans, and trade unionists came together yesterday in Middlesbrough as part of the Northern Public Services Alliance programme of activities to highligh the impact of the Coalition Government's disastrous economic policies.
http://www.itv.com/tynetees/unions-rally-over-cuts50295

Natural Law by Phillip Foss

because the stone house
moves ∙ we worship ground