LGPS under attack in bid to slash budget deficit‏

The first public statement that our pension benefits are to be cut to pay for the bankers bail outs was made yesterday at the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum conference in Bournemouth. Bob Holloway a civil servant, on his own final salary scheme, and a regulator of the LGPS used the conference as an opportunity to announce the potential end of final salary benefits.

King’s Fund NHS report is tilting at windmills‏

UNISON has criticised the 2009 Windmill report of the King’s Fund. Windmill is a think tank process in which private sector interests are well embedded and unsurprisingly it recommends “commissioners and providers need to grasp opportunities to work with the independent and third sectors, where these can make a contribution to innovation and improvement.” http://www.kingsfund.org.uk/research/publications/windmill_2009.html

Money, money, money‏

Many councils are citing financial problems for cutting jobs and services, and it is important that UNISON activists are able to get reliable and useful information to check what the real financial situation is. In the East Midlands, the regional office has made a series of Freedom of Information (FOI) requests on agency workers and consultants' costs, chief executives' pay, and they have also made FOI requests to councils about their levels of reserves.

Tyne & Wear Metro - Nexus sells off the family jewels‏

The Northern TUC and trade unions are extremely disappointed with today’s decision to award the contract to run the Tyne and Wear Metro to German company Deutsche Bahn.

Save the planet: not Trident‏

In its latest eBulletin Compass urges you to take action and sign up to its new statement on Rethink Trident, take action to stop climate chaos this Saturday and get your ticket to the No Turning Back Christmas Party. For all the latest news, action and debate from Compass visit: http://www.compassonline.org.uk/

Sefton UNISON - Determined to Save Jobs‏

Having left behind over 30% losers in JE and 300 job losses in her previous job, the new Chief Executive arrived in Sefton this year spotting an apparently previously unidentified £25m hole in the budget. Whilst this was hardly a vote of confidence in either the previous CEO or the Finance Directorate, announcements were to quickly follow of job cuts.

Stop climate change – social justice now!‏

Looking ahead to the UN Copenhagen Climate Summit which starts next week, the European Left (EL) highlight that the ecological crisis already has a dramatic impact today which can and most probably will assume a catastrophic dimension in the near future.

The Union Advantage‏

Great work by the TUC in producing a new report The Union Advantage: The positive impact of trade unions on the economy and British society. http://www.tuc.org.uk/extras/unionadvantage.pdf This is part of a range of materials aiming to help affiliated unions attract new recruits and demonstrate the value of unions.

TUC says UK has reached a defining moment in the battle against racism‏

TUC Deputy General Secretary Frances O' Grady told a TUC conference on Monday that ten years after the publication of the Macpherson Report into the death of Stephen Lawrence, the UK has reached a defining moment in the battle against racism. The TUC published a new guide for union negotiators Tackling Racism in the Workplace to coincide with the conference. To read more on the conference go to: http://www.tuc.org.uk/equality/tuc-17301-f0.cfm

Smarter Government?‏

Tuesday’s Downing Street press briefing flagged up Cabinet discussions on proposals for ‘smarter government’ due to be published next week. http://www.number10.gov.uk/Page21552
This followed an FT report of a leaked documents outlining Government plans for further decimation of the civil service. http://blogs.ft.com/westminster/2009/11/save-up-to-xbn-a-year-government-on-the-hoof/