Today has been designated by the United Nations as World Public Service Day ‘to celebrate the value and virtue of public service to the community; highlight the contribution of public service in the development process; recognize the work of public servants, and encourage young people to pursue careers in the public sector.’
It comes at a time when public service workers worldwide are facing unprecedented attacks on pay, pensions, working conditions and a growing threat of privatisation. Public Services International is calling on union members around the world to ‘speak out in support of a global financial transactions tax (FTT), also known as the Robin Hood tax.’
http://www.world-psi.org/en/our-challenge-world-public-services-day-and-beyond-commemorate-23-june-2012-action-1
The bespectacled BBC political editor Nick Robinson (nicknamed ‘blue robbo’, reflecting his stint as chairman of the young conservatives) could barely contain his excitement as he gushed that the consequences of Cameron standing up to Europe "could scarcely be greater for Europe and for Britain's relationship with Europe".
The European Commission yesterday agreed to consider a proposal to introduce a tax on financial transactions to raise money to pay back government debt and improve the functioning of markets. A so called ‘Robin Hood’ tax on financial transactions will hit pensions funds and Undertakings for Collective Investments in Transferable Securities (UCITS) funds hard, the Investment Management Association (IMA) has warned.
http://www.ifaonline.co.uk/ifaonline/news/2112815/eu-robin-hood-tax-hit-pension-funds-ima
The Robin Hood Treasury Saving Challenge: "We all understand the deficit we are facing and remember how we got here. The financial crisis started in the banking sector and we spent £1.4 trillion bailing it out. With the economy in a mess, the government’s
Spending Challenge is asking us to make difficult choices over what it should cut. But there is a better way. A series of taxes on the banks in the UK could raise tens of billions each year to help recoup some of this lost money and help the poorest at home and abroad who have been hit hardest by the economic crisis."
Feed in your ideas at
http://www.rht-treasury.org.uk/
Members of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU/NUPGE), led by NUPGE President James Clancy, wearing unmistakable green shirts calling for a Robin Hood tax on financial institutions, made their presence felt at a major march and rally by trade unions and other progressive groups on Saturday at the G20 summit in Toronto.
