Tuesday, 7 October 2008
Tories are worse than New Labour
It is of course always worth remembering that the real Tories are worse than New Labour. Today George Osborne has promised a two year freeze in Council Tax.This will mean pay cuts and also services cut
Friday, 1 August 2008
SCOTLAND UNISON VOTE TO STRIKE
Scotland's local service providers vote `Yes' to strike in pay rowA ballot of 100,000 local government workers across Scotland hasdelivered a 70% majority for strike action, the main union UNISONannounced today. A meeting of its local government branches being held today (Friday) will decide the union's next steps in the dispute overpay..
The ballot was called after Scotland's local council employers offereda 2.5% rise each year for three years. All three local council unions(UNISON, GMB and Unite (T&G)) rejected the offer their members .
Now the members of all three unions have voted to pursue their claim with strike action. This is the result from the majority union.
The form ofthe industrial action will be decided in discussions between the three unions later, but is likely to comprise a day of all-out strikefollowed by selective action from key sections of staff.
Dougie Black – UNISON's lead negotiator for local council staff said
"This result is a clear rejection of an inadequate offer. Ourmembers are clear that they cannot afford another series of below inflation pay increases. Inflation is at 4.6% and key items on household bills like bread and milk are increasing even faster.
Our members need a fair offer from their employers. We have a window ofopportunity to see if we can avoid disruptive strikes. I hope the employers take it."
The ballot was called after Scotland's local council employers offereda 2.5% rise each year for three years. All three local council unions(UNISON, GMB and Unite (T&G)) rejected the offer their members .
Now the members of all three unions have voted to pursue their claim with strike action. This is the result from the majority union.
The form ofthe industrial action will be decided in discussions between the three unions later, but is likely to comprise a day of all-out strikefollowed by selective action from key sections of staff.
Dougie Black – UNISON's lead negotiator for local council staff said
"This result is a clear rejection of an inadequate offer. Ourmembers are clear that they cannot afford another series of below inflation pay increases. Inflation is at 4.6% and key items on household bills like bread and milk are increasing even faster.
Our members need a fair offer from their employers. We have a window ofopportunity to see if we can avoid disruptive strikes. I hope the employers take it."
Wednesday, 30 July 2008
John 4 leader 2008 ?
I believe we should test the waters to see weather John still has support because things have moved on and if John's support has increased and I hope it has we could have a chance to get him on the ballot this time I am a supporter of the Centre left Grassroots Alliance and Labour Briefing also a supporter of the Labour Left network in UNISON also UNISON United Left and I would not expect any of them to support John until they have met and voted on the issue
Marsha-Jane and Owens are doing the right thing Because if right push Brown out there will be a fast turnaround to get the election over as quick as possible
Philip LewisUNISON Co-convenor Culture & Environment DirectorateMob No 07850042195EMAIL Home phil@philewis.comWork Email philip.lewis@camden.gov.uk website www.philewis.com
Marsha-Jane and Owens are doing the right thing Because if right push Brown out there will be a fast turnaround to get the election over as quick as possible
Philip LewisUNISON Co-convenor Culture & Environment DirectorateMob No 07850042195EMAIL Home phil@philewis.comWork Email philip.lewis@camden.gov.uk website www.philewis.com
Friday, 9 May 2008
May Manifesto Petition 2008 launched by John McDonnell MP
In the light of Labour's election defeat last week, we need a radical change in political direction for the Labour Government.
We believe that Labour could win back the support of our people by adopting a new 2008 May Manifesto, which should include:
Nailing the 10p tax mistake by the introduction of a fair tax system removing the low paid from taxation and ensuring the wealthiest and corporations pay their fair share
An increase in the basic state pension, immediately restoring the link with earnings, lifting people off means tested benefits
Providing free care for the elderly
An immediate start on a large scale council house building programme and assistance for those facing repossession
Immediate end to programme of local Post Office closures and liberalisation of postal services
An end to the privatisation of our public servicesA new pay deal for public sector workers to protect their living standards
Tackle low payAbolishing tuition fees and restoring maintenance grants for all students
Scrapping ID cards
Introduction of a trade union freedom bill and measures to protect temporary and agency workers
Rejecting the proposals to renew Trident
We believe that Labour could win back the support of our people by adopting a new 2008 May Manifesto, which should include:
Nailing the 10p tax mistake by the introduction of a fair tax system removing the low paid from taxation and ensuring the wealthiest and corporations pay their fair share
An increase in the basic state pension, immediately restoring the link with earnings, lifting people off means tested benefits
Providing free care for the elderly
An immediate start on a large scale council house building programme and assistance for those facing repossession
Immediate end to programme of local Post Office closures and liberalisation of postal services
An end to the privatisation of our public servicesA new pay deal for public sector workers to protect their living standards
Tackle low payAbolishing tuition fees and restoring maintenance grants for all students
Scrapping ID cards
Introduction of a trade union freedom bill and measures to protect temporary and agency workers
Rejecting the proposals to renew Trident
Labour must learn from London
Forget left or right turns. The party needs to put itself at the forefront of a progressive alliance that can inspire the electorate
Ken Livingstone
The Guardian,
Friday May 9 2008
Article history
About this articleClose
This article appeared in the Guardian on Friday May 09 2008 on p37 of the Comment & debate section. It was last updated at 00:42 on May 09 2008.
As I can testify, May 1 was a bad day for Labour. But in London the party did better than nationally, and I believe there are some general conclusions to be drawn as we prepare for a general election.
Nationally Labour's vote fell by 2% compared to 2004, but in London the percentage of first preference votes I received in the mayoral election went up very fractionally. The increase in the absolute number of votes was striking - up by 220,000, or 30%. There was no Labour "stay at home" factor in London. Four years ago I polled 10.8% ahead of Labour nationally - a week ago this increased to 13%. I received slightly more second preference votes than Boris Johnson. On the London assembly Labour made one net gain.
We lost in London. But in the context of very bad national results, Labour's results in London were the best for any major area of the country. What lessons can be drawn nationally, and what to do next in London?
Following May 1 some people are posing the choice as between moving "to the left" or "to the right". This is not the right question. Labour must place itself at the centre of a progressive alliance that can solve the problems facing the country.
What are the key elements of this? There are three tasks for a government and a mayor - to ensure the country and London are an economic success; to ensure everyone shares in that success; and to ensure that success is sustainable in the long run through improving the environment.
Labour's campaign in London gained major support from business. The Financial Times concluded that the majority of big business in London supported my re-election. There is no way to check that, but I know from meetings that very large sections of big business supported my campaign.
This is because they understand the need for large strategic investment, which only the state can provide. In London much is physical infrastructure. Tube modernisation, Crossrail and the Olympic games each cost £1bn a year. But the same principle applies elsewhere.
Another part is "soft" investment - ranging from skills through to promotion in key new markets such as China and India. Labour should say to business, as we did in London, that the private sector and the market will not automatically provide the scale of investment required - the Thatcher experiment in London brought the city's infrastructure to its knees.
The need to ensure that everyone shares in success is an immediately comprehensible issue for the electorate, and one where the difference with the Tories is stark. There is not the slightest evidence that "trickle down" - the automatic operation of the market - is a sufficient mechanism to ensure everyone shares in success or to deliver decent services. In London the shattering contrast, within a mile's distance, of the wealth of the City of London and the poverty of Tower Hamlets shows this brutally. But even relatively prosperous middle-class areas of the capital require decent public services to provide transport, policing and environmental protection.
In London, without national powers of taxation, we intervened to ensure that all shared in the city's success: by, for instance, insisting that the Olympics, with all its infrastructural development, be located in the poorest boroughs of east London; by massively improving bus services - the transport most used by poorer Londoners - and introducing free travel for under-18s on the buses; by campaigning for the London living wage; and by deciding that 50% of all new housing in the capital must be affordable housing. These policies were right and were the underlying cause of that huge increase in turnout for Labour on May 1 in London. In the poorest part of east London there was actually a swing to Labour.
On the environment, London positioned itself on the cutting edge of the fight against climate change. London chaired the C40 group of the largest international cities on climate change, and its climate change action plan is recognised as one of the most advanced of any city in the world. Numerous major environmental writers in Britain preferred my re-election on May 1. The importance of the environment and climate change is only going to increase; whatever the short-term mood due to economic shifts, Labour must command the high ground on climate change.
London, under a Labour mayoralty and a Labour government, became recognised as the most successful capital city in the world. We introduced new social programmes, helped sustain a cultural life that was the most dynamic in the world, cut racist attacks by more than half in eight years, and led the way on climate change. The new London administration represents decline - economic, social, cultural, and environmental. In 2012 Labour must return at the head of a progressive administration and restore London as the number one capital city in the world.
One important development at this election was a formal agreement with the Green party calling for second preference mayoral votes for each other. This benefited the Greens - who added 40,000 votes and maintained their share of the vote and existing number of London assembly seats - but also aided the high turnout and Labour. Had I been re-elected I would have given Green nominees a central role in my administration.
In contrast, Lib Dem failure in London was massive. They chose to stay outside the progressive alliance of Labour and the Greens. As a result they failed even to reach double-figure support in the mayoral election, and their London assembly seats fell from five to three. Hopefully this suicidal orientation will be reversed in the next four years.
Amid the worst electoral defeat for 40 years, even Labour's best electoral performance in the country could not stop London entering into a period of Tory decline. But as that decline proceeds, a new progressive alliance will be forged, which will go on to regain its position and restore London as the greatest capital city in the world. I'll have plenty of time to do some very welcome gardening - and to participate in that resurgence.
· Ken Livingstone was the first mayor of London, serving from 2000 until last week's election info@kenlivingstone.com
Ken Livingstone
The Guardian,
Friday May 9 2008
Article history
About this articleClose
This article appeared in the Guardian on Friday May 09 2008 on p37 of the Comment & debate section. It was last updated at 00:42 on May 09 2008.
As I can testify, May 1 was a bad day for Labour. But in London the party did better than nationally, and I believe there are some general conclusions to be drawn as we prepare for a general election.
Nationally Labour's vote fell by 2% compared to 2004, but in London the percentage of first preference votes I received in the mayoral election went up very fractionally. The increase in the absolute number of votes was striking - up by 220,000, or 30%. There was no Labour "stay at home" factor in London. Four years ago I polled 10.8% ahead of Labour nationally - a week ago this increased to 13%. I received slightly more second preference votes than Boris Johnson. On the London assembly Labour made one net gain.
We lost in London. But in the context of very bad national results, Labour's results in London were the best for any major area of the country. What lessons can be drawn nationally, and what to do next in London?
Following May 1 some people are posing the choice as between moving "to the left" or "to the right". This is not the right question. Labour must place itself at the centre of a progressive alliance that can solve the problems facing the country.
What are the key elements of this? There are three tasks for a government and a mayor - to ensure the country and London are an economic success; to ensure everyone shares in that success; and to ensure that success is sustainable in the long run through improving the environment.
Labour's campaign in London gained major support from business. The Financial Times concluded that the majority of big business in London supported my re-election. There is no way to check that, but I know from meetings that very large sections of big business supported my campaign.
This is because they understand the need for large strategic investment, which only the state can provide. In London much is physical infrastructure. Tube modernisation, Crossrail and the Olympic games each cost £1bn a year. But the same principle applies elsewhere.
Another part is "soft" investment - ranging from skills through to promotion in key new markets such as China and India. Labour should say to business, as we did in London, that the private sector and the market will not automatically provide the scale of investment required - the Thatcher experiment in London brought the city's infrastructure to its knees.
The need to ensure that everyone shares in success is an immediately comprehensible issue for the electorate, and one where the difference with the Tories is stark. There is not the slightest evidence that "trickle down" - the automatic operation of the market - is a sufficient mechanism to ensure everyone shares in success or to deliver decent services. In London the shattering contrast, within a mile's distance, of the wealth of the City of London and the poverty of Tower Hamlets shows this brutally. But even relatively prosperous middle-class areas of the capital require decent public services to provide transport, policing and environmental protection.
In London, without national powers of taxation, we intervened to ensure that all shared in the city's success: by, for instance, insisting that the Olympics, with all its infrastructural development, be located in the poorest boroughs of east London; by massively improving bus services - the transport most used by poorer Londoners - and introducing free travel for under-18s on the buses; by campaigning for the London living wage; and by deciding that 50% of all new housing in the capital must be affordable housing. These policies were right and were the underlying cause of that huge increase in turnout for Labour on May 1 in London. In the poorest part of east London there was actually a swing to Labour.
On the environment, London positioned itself on the cutting edge of the fight against climate change. London chaired the C40 group of the largest international cities on climate change, and its climate change action plan is recognised as one of the most advanced of any city in the world. Numerous major environmental writers in Britain preferred my re-election on May 1. The importance of the environment and climate change is only going to increase; whatever the short-term mood due to economic shifts, Labour must command the high ground on climate change.
London, under a Labour mayoralty and a Labour government, became recognised as the most successful capital city in the world. We introduced new social programmes, helped sustain a cultural life that was the most dynamic in the world, cut racist attacks by more than half in eight years, and led the way on climate change. The new London administration represents decline - economic, social, cultural, and environmental. In 2012 Labour must return at the head of a progressive administration and restore London as the number one capital city in the world.
One important development at this election was a formal agreement with the Green party calling for second preference mayoral votes for each other. This benefited the Greens - who added 40,000 votes and maintained their share of the vote and existing number of London assembly seats - but also aided the high turnout and Labour. Had I been re-elected I would have given Green nominees a central role in my administration.
In contrast, Lib Dem failure in London was massive. They chose to stay outside the progressive alliance of Labour and the Greens. As a result they failed even to reach double-figure support in the mayoral election, and their London assembly seats fell from five to three. Hopefully this suicidal orientation will be reversed in the next four years.
Amid the worst electoral defeat for 40 years, even Labour's best electoral performance in the country could not stop London entering into a period of Tory decline. But as that decline proceeds, a new progressive alliance will be forged, which will go on to regain its position and restore London as the greatest capital city in the world. I'll have plenty of time to do some very welcome gardening - and to participate in that resurgence.
· Ken Livingstone was the first mayor of London, serving from 2000 until last week's election info@kenlivingstone.com
Sunday, 27 April 2008
With the occupation army, even no charity, orphans to the street
Iqbal Tamimi27/4/2008
Occupation forces broke 26th of April 2008 into the sewing work shop owned by the Islamic Charitable Society in Hebron, warning the workers to evacuate it in one day, to implement the decision of transferring its ownership to the occupation and close it down.A number of the workers reported that the occupation forces broke into the workshop situated in the ground floor of the charitable orphan’s house in Alsalam Street, and informed the workers of the occupation’s decision that will be implemented on the 28th of April, closing the workshop for 3 years and confiscate all its contents.The Israeli army warned the workers should they disobey this military decision and found present on the premises after the date mentioned, they will be imprisoned for 5 years.The sewing workshop was established 1985, where 15 orphan girls work to support their families. They make clothes for more than 4000 orphans of both genders; the surplus is sold in the local market.The Israeli forces closed down last week the Orphanage bakery too, and confiscated its contents.The orphans are pleading to all human rights organizations and activists to help them reverse this unfair decision.
Occupation forces broke 26th of April 2008 into the sewing work shop owned by the Islamic Charitable Society in Hebron, warning the workers to evacuate it in one day, to implement the decision of transferring its ownership to the occupation and close it down.A number of the workers reported that the occupation forces broke into the workshop situated in the ground floor of the charitable orphan’s house in Alsalam Street, and informed the workers of the occupation’s decision that will be implemented on the 28th of April, closing the workshop for 3 years and confiscate all its contents.The Israeli army warned the workers should they disobey this military decision and found present on the premises after the date mentioned, they will be imprisoned for 5 years.The sewing workshop was established 1985, where 15 orphan girls work to support their families. They make clothes for more than 4000 orphans of both genders; the surplus is sold in the local market.The Israeli forces closed down last week the Orphanage bakery too, and confiscated its contents.The orphans are pleading to all human rights organizations and activists to help them reverse this unfair decision.
Wednesday, 26 March 2008
Instructions for Giving Your Cat a Pill
1. Pick cat up and cradle it in the crook of your left arm as if holding a baby. Position right forefinger and thumb on either side of cat's mouth and gently apply pressure to cheeks while holding pill in right hand. As cat opens mouth pop pill into mouth. Allow cat to close mouth and swallow.
2. Retrieve pill from floor and cat from behind sofa. Cradle cat in left arm and repeat process.
3. Retrieve cat from bedroom, and throw soggy pill away.
4. Take new pill from foil wrap, cradle cat in left arm holding rear paws tightly with left hand. Force jaws open and push pill to back of mouth with right forefinger. Hold mouth shut for a count of ten.
5. Retrieve pill from goldfish bowl and cat from top of wardrobe. Call friend.
6. Kneel on floor with cat wedged firmly between knees, hold front and rear paws. Ignore low growls emitted by cat. Get friend to hold head firmly with one hand while forcing wooden ruler into mouth. Drop pill down remove ruler and rub cat's throat vigorously.
7. Retrieve cat from curtain rail, get another pill from foil wrap. Make note to buy new ruler and repair curtains. Carefully sweep shattered Doulton figures from hearth and set to one side for gluing later.
8. Wrap cat in large towel and get friend to lie on cat with head just visible from below armpit. Put pill in end of drinking straw, force mouth open with pencil and blow down drinking straw.
9. Check label to make sure pill not harmful to humans, drink glass of water to take taste away. Apply band-aid to friend's forearm and remove blood from carpet with cold water and soap.
10. Retrieve cat from neighbor's shed. Get another pill. Place cat in cupboard and close door onto neck to leave head showing. Force mouth open with dessert spoon. Flick pill down throat with elastic band.
11. Fetch screwdriver from garage and put cupboard door back on hinges. Apply cold compress to cheek and check records for date of last tetanus shot. Throw Tee shirt away and fetch new one from bedroom.
12. Ring fire brigade to retrieve cat from tree across the road. Apologize to neighbor who crashed into fence while swerving to avoid cat. Take last pill from foil-wrap.
13. Tie cats front paws to rear paws with garden twine and bind tightly to leg of dining table, find heavy duty pruning gloves from shed, hold cat's mouth open with small spanner. Push pill into mouth followed by large piece of fillet of steak. Hold head vertically and pour pint of water down throat to wash pill down.
14. Get friend to drive you to the emergency room, sit quietly while doctor stitches fingers and forearm and removes pill remnants from right eye. Call furniture shop on way home to order new table.
15. Arrange for SPCA to collect cat. Ring local pet shop to see if they have any hamsters.
2. Retrieve pill from floor and cat from behind sofa. Cradle cat in left arm and repeat process.
3. Retrieve cat from bedroom, and throw soggy pill away.
4. Take new pill from foil wrap, cradle cat in left arm holding rear paws tightly with left hand. Force jaws open and push pill to back of mouth with right forefinger. Hold mouth shut for a count of ten.
5. Retrieve pill from goldfish bowl and cat from top of wardrobe. Call friend.
6. Kneel on floor with cat wedged firmly between knees, hold front and rear paws. Ignore low growls emitted by cat. Get friend to hold head firmly with one hand while forcing wooden ruler into mouth. Drop pill down remove ruler and rub cat's throat vigorously.
7. Retrieve cat from curtain rail, get another pill from foil wrap. Make note to buy new ruler and repair curtains. Carefully sweep shattered Doulton figures from hearth and set to one side for gluing later.
8. Wrap cat in large towel and get friend to lie on cat with head just visible from below armpit. Put pill in end of drinking straw, force mouth open with pencil and blow down drinking straw.
9. Check label to make sure pill not harmful to humans, drink glass of water to take taste away. Apply band-aid to friend's forearm and remove blood from carpet with cold water and soap.
10. Retrieve cat from neighbor's shed. Get another pill. Place cat in cupboard and close door onto neck to leave head showing. Force mouth open with dessert spoon. Flick pill down throat with elastic band.
11. Fetch screwdriver from garage and put cupboard door back on hinges. Apply cold compress to cheek and check records for date of last tetanus shot. Throw Tee shirt away and fetch new one from bedroom.
12. Ring fire brigade to retrieve cat from tree across the road. Apologize to neighbor who crashed into fence while swerving to avoid cat. Take last pill from foil-wrap.
13. Tie cats front paws to rear paws with garden twine and bind tightly to leg of dining table, find heavy duty pruning gloves from shed, hold cat's mouth open with small spanner. Push pill into mouth followed by large piece of fillet of steak. Hold head vertically and pour pint of water down throat to wash pill down.
14. Get friend to drive you to the emergency room, sit quietly while doctor stitches fingers and forearm and removes pill remnants from right eye. Call furniture shop on way home to order new table.
15. Arrange for SPCA to collect cat. Ring local pet shop to see if they have any hamsters.
Saturday, 15 March 2008
JOKE
A psychiatrist met a friend and exclaimed, "I heard you died."
"But you see I'm alive ," smiled the friend.
"Impossible," said the psychiatrist. "The man who told me is much more
reliable than you."
"But you see I'm alive ," smiled the friend.
"Impossible," said the psychiatrist. "The man who told me is much more
reliable than you."
Monday, 25 February 2008
Agency workers - time for action
By MarshaJane Thompson
As an agency worker myself I agree with UNISON that it is welcome that so many Labour MPs have backed the rights of agency workers
Dave Prentis and other Union leaders met Gordon Brown about this this morning and Dave says that; “Gordon Brown reassured us that he wants to make progress on this vital issue. We need to consider very carefully the best mechanism to achieve this.”Progress? Wasn’t this in the Warwick Agreement in 2004? That committed the Government to support an EU Directive that they’ve been blocking ever since.A recent case involving Greenwich Council in the Court of Appeal demonstrated that, as the law stands, agency workers are denied the rights which the law gives to employees.Lord Justice Mummery spoke about how “a significant move in the direction of the casualisation of labour and the growth of a two tier workforce, one tier enjoying significant statutory protection, the other tier in a legal no man's land being neither employed nor self employed, vulnerable, but enjoying little or no protection, may create social injustice and a festering sense of grievance which would not be satisfactory in the interests of an efficient workforce, a competitive economy, a healthy society or anything else.”Can Labour Ministers put themselves to the left of Appeal Court judges? We don't need "careful consideration" we need employment rights.
As an agency worker myself I agree with UNISON that it is welcome that so many Labour MPs have backed the rights of agency workers
Dave Prentis and other Union leaders met Gordon Brown about this this morning and Dave says that; “Gordon Brown reassured us that he wants to make progress on this vital issue. We need to consider very carefully the best mechanism to achieve this.”Progress? Wasn’t this in the Warwick Agreement in 2004? That committed the Government to support an EU Directive that they’ve been blocking ever since.A recent case involving Greenwich Council in the Court of Appeal demonstrated that, as the law stands, agency workers are denied the rights which the law gives to employees.Lord Justice Mummery spoke about how “a significant move in the direction of the casualisation of labour and the growth of a two tier workforce, one tier enjoying significant statutory protection, the other tier in a legal no man's land being neither employed nor self employed, vulnerable, but enjoying little or no protection, may create social injustice and a festering sense of grievance which would not be satisfactory in the interests of an efficient workforce, a competitive economy, a healthy society or anything else.”Can Labour Ministers put themselves to the left of Appeal Court judges? We don't need "careful consideration" we need employment rights.
Thursday, 21 February 2008
Sarkozy struggles to contain worker unrest
Angelique Chrisafis in Paris
The Guardian, Thursday February 21 2008
The French government is working to contain a wave of factory strikes by
private-sector workers not normally known for taking to the barricades,
including ice-cream makers, supermarket staff, hairdressers and L'Oréal
employees.
Factory staff have taken increasingly hardline measures, with some holding
their managers hostage for days over plant closures and job cuts.
This week the tyre giant Michelin continued talks over the closure of a plant
in Toul, eastern France, after a government-appointed mediator secured the
release of two managers whom workers had locked in a room for three days. It
follows an incident last month when workers outraged at planned job cuts at the
Miko ice-cream factory in Saint-Dizier locked up their British manager, Prakash
Patel.
This week, staff at a Ford plant near Bordeaux blockaded their factory and
L'Oréal cosmetics staff took to the streets under the banner "because we're
worth it", asking for pay rises after their company's good financial results.
Unions from plants making products including skis, glass and steel also raised
the spectre of job cuts and closures. One logistics firm in the Landes caused
controversy yesterday by offering staff €1,000 (£756) if they promised not
to strike. Around half accepted, but unions denounced the sweeteners as
anti-democratic.
The French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, who plunged to a new low in the polls
yesterday, will today travel to Pas de Calais to address workers from France's
north-eastern rust belt over the decline of the industrial heartlands.
He is trying to limit the damage of images of burning braziers and barricades
in the run-up to next month's local elections. The employment minister, Xavier
Bertrand, promised that he understood workers' fears, saying "a France without
industry" was not the way to build a future for French children.
Since 2001, more jobs have been lost than created in French industry, with more
than 500,000 posts scrapped. But although other parts of the private sector
have seen a rise in job growth, workers remain disgruntled.
Targeted industrial action has spiralled as workers including hairdressers,
taxi drivers and printers have downed tools over working practices, low
salaries and a lack of the "spending power", which Sarkozy promised to boost.
The percentage of a low-paid worker's income taken up by necessities such as
food and bills increased from 50% to 75% between 2001 and 2006.
Researchers noted that private-sector workers in areas that did not
traditionally see strike action were now joining in. Photographers have even
threatened to stop taking passport photos and to blockade automatic photo
machines in protest at government plans to issue free photographs for biometric
passports.
The Guardian, Thursday February 21 2008
The French government is working to contain a wave of factory strikes by
private-sector workers not normally known for taking to the barricades,
including ice-cream makers, supermarket staff, hairdressers and L'Oréal
employees.
Factory staff have taken increasingly hardline measures, with some holding
their managers hostage for days over plant closures and job cuts.
This week the tyre giant Michelin continued talks over the closure of a plant
in Toul, eastern France, after a government-appointed mediator secured the
release of two managers whom workers had locked in a room for three days. It
follows an incident last month when workers outraged at planned job cuts at the
Miko ice-cream factory in Saint-Dizier locked up their British manager, Prakash
Patel.
This week, staff at a Ford plant near Bordeaux blockaded their factory and
L'Oréal cosmetics staff took to the streets under the banner "because we're
worth it", asking for pay rises after their company's good financial results.
Unions from plants making products including skis, glass and steel also raised
the spectre of job cuts and closures. One logistics firm in the Landes caused
controversy yesterday by offering staff €1,000 (£756) if they promised not
to strike. Around half accepted, but unions denounced the sweeteners as
anti-democratic.
The French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, who plunged to a new low in the polls
yesterday, will today travel to Pas de Calais to address workers from France's
north-eastern rust belt over the decline of the industrial heartlands.
He is trying to limit the damage of images of burning braziers and barricades
in the run-up to next month's local elections. The employment minister, Xavier
Bertrand, promised that he understood workers' fears, saying "a France without
industry" was not the way to build a future for French children.
Since 2001, more jobs have been lost than created in French industry, with more
than 500,000 posts scrapped. But although other parts of the private sector
have seen a rise in job growth, workers remain disgruntled.
Targeted industrial action has spiralled as workers including hairdressers,
taxi drivers and printers have downed tools over working practices, low
salaries and a lack of the "spending power", which Sarkozy promised to boost.
The percentage of a low-paid worker's income taken up by necessities such as
food and bills increased from 50% to 75% between 2001 and 2006.
Researchers noted that private-sector workers in areas that did not
traditionally see strike action were now joining in. Photographers have even
threatened to stop taking passport photos and to blockade automatic photo
machines in protest at government plans to issue free photographs for biometric
passports.
Wednesday, 20 February 2008
Nationalisation of Northern Rock
LEFT ECONOMICS ADVISORY PANEL
CO-SPONSORED BY
New Left Unions, Socialist Campaign Group & Labour Representation Committee
PRESS NOTICE:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Rock in, but where's the Granite? - Labour MP exposes gaping hole in Rock nationalisation . . .
. . . process allows key assets to escape nationalisation leaving taxpayer to pick up loss-making side
In last night's debate on the nationalisation of Northern Rock, Labour MP John McDonnell (Chair of the Left Economics Advisory Panel [LEAP]) highlighted the fact that Granite - an offshore trust - holds the best assets of the failed bank, and the Government will only be nationalising the most risky side
John McDonnell MP, Chair of LEAP, said:
"I have written to the Chancellor asking for an immediate statement on why the Treasury is allowing the most profitable elements of the operation to escape the nationalisation net. As they stand, the proposals will increase the burden on the taxpayer and put at risk the jobs of Northern Rock workers.
"People will be asking, 'how can the Government have got us into this state of affairs?' The sad truth is that by failing to regulate the financial sector adequately, they have been hoist by their own petard. It is scandalous that the participants in this tax dodge should be allowed to walk away with millions, when workers may lose their jobs and the taxpayer risk billions."
-Ends-
CO-SPONSORED BY
New Left Unions, Socialist Campaign Group & Labour Representation Committee
PRESS NOTICE:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Rock in, but where's the Granite? - Labour MP exposes gaping hole in Rock nationalisation . . .
. . . process allows key assets to escape nationalisation leaving taxpayer to pick up loss-making side
In last night's debate on the nationalisation of Northern Rock, Labour MP John McDonnell (Chair of the Left Economics Advisory Panel [LEAP]) highlighted the fact that Granite - an offshore trust - holds the best assets of the failed bank, and the Government will only be nationalising the most risky side
John McDonnell MP, Chair of LEAP, said:
"I have written to the Chancellor asking for an immediate statement on why the Treasury is allowing the most profitable elements of the operation to escape the nationalisation net. As they stand, the proposals will increase the burden on the taxpayer and put at risk the jobs of Northern Rock workers.
"People will be asking, 'how can the Government have got us into this state of affairs?' The sad truth is that by failing to regulate the financial sector adequately, they have been hoist by their own petard. It is scandalous that the participants in this tax dodge should be allowed to walk away with millions, when workers may lose their jobs and the taxpayer risk billions."
-Ends-
Sunday, 17 February 2008
Labour's MEP primaries From: Andrew Fisher
I don't know if I'm the only one, but I recently received my ballot to order the London region MEP candidates on the party list.While it looks like one of those appetising contests between the excrement of horses or dogs, does anyone have any strong advice (and reasons)? I felt the will to live ebbing away when I tried to read their statements.
Police and Tasers: Hooked on Shock by Naomi Klein
The past couple of weeks have been rocky on the stock market, but onecompany that hasn't been suffering too much is Taser International. At theend of January, its stock jumped by an impressive 8 per cent, and it'seven higher today.Matthew McKay, a stock analyst at Jeffries & Co. in San Francisco, cites asimple cause: news that the Toronto Police Services Board plans to buy3,000 new Taser electroshock weapons, at a cost of $8.6 million for gearand training. If the deal goes ahead, tasers would become standard issueweaponry for all of Toronto's frontline officers, right next to theirhandcuffs and batons.On Wednesday night, I participated in a public forum about the prospect ofa fully taser-armed police force, organized by the Toronto PoliceAccountability Coalition. One speaker, who had a history of psychiatricillness, told the room: "We're worried because we're the people who aregoing to get shocked."It's a concern grounded in experience. According to Toronto Police ChiefBill Blair's own analysis, in 2006, city cops deployed the devices in 156incidents. In all but nine, the subject appeared "to have a mentaldisorder" or was in some sort of "crisis."Several speakers at the forum pointed out that $8.6 million would bebetter spent keeping people out of crisis - by opening more beds andproviding better mental health and addiction services. Instead, fourhomeless shelters were closed last year, at a loss of 258 beds.But the most troubling remark of the evening was this: "Why is thishappening now?" The timing is indeed baffling. It was only three monthsago that video of the death of Robert Dziekanski at the VancouverInternational Airport caused an international furor. The tragedy exposedthe most prevalent misconception about tasers: that they are usedprimarily as an alternative to guns. As former Toronto mayor John Sewelltold me, "the taser is not the thing that replaces the gun, it's whatreplaces all the other things that police might do other than use a gun,like talk to you."That certainly appears to have been the case with Mr. Dziekanski. When theRCMP approached him, they made no attempt to calm the unarmed Polish man,or to discover the source of his extreme agitation. Within 25 seconds, hewas getting zapped.Mr. Dziekanski's death also put a spotlight on the other post-taserdeaths, the ones not caught on film. According to Amnesty International,310 people in North America have died after being shocked with a tasersince 2001.Were these deaths caused by the device or by something else? Taser'saggressive lawyers make it tough to know. The company has been hit withroughly a hundred wrongful death and injury lawsuits and claims it hasn'tlost one yet. But in August, Bloomberg News reported on "severalmysterious dismissals" - instances where the plaintiffs asked for thecases to be thrown out. Though Taser denies paying off all its accusers,it admits to paying in some, "where the settlement economics . weresignificantly less than the cost of litigation."Taser has consistently claimed that something else is causing the deaths.The company points to a report saying that that death by electrocutionhappens within seconds. Yet in many cases, subjects have died minutes,even days, after being shocked.A recent study may explain the discrepancy. Trauma researchers atChicago's Cook County Hospital conducted an experiment on 11 pigs, zappingeach for 40 seconds; then zapping them again 10 or 15 seconds later. (Thismimics how tasers are actually used, since Amnesty reports that those whohave died after being Tasered were frequently "subjected to multiple orprolonged shocks.") The study found that all the pigs exhibited heartproblems after the shocks and two of them died of cardiac arrest, onethree minutes later.Taser CEO Rick Smith has brushed off the study, saying human research ismore relevant. However, according to Bob Walker, one of the leadresearchers, it shows "that the effect of the taser shot can last beyondthe time when it's being delivered."So back to that question: Why now? In addition to the troubling newscientific evidence and the disconcerting lawsuits, there are severalpublic investigations in Canada that are still ongoing. In addition tothose sparked by the Dziekanski death, New Brunswick, Newfoundland andNova Scotia are all conducting taser reviews.Surely it would be wise for Toronto's police chief to wait for thosefindings before ordering a seven-fold taser increase. But something morepowerful than reason appears to be at play here, and I believe it has todo with the seductive promise of no-touch policing.No other method of controlling unruly suspects offers police the same kindof all-encompassing, instant effect. Talking, calming, negotiating are allmessier and take time. Other physical techniques put officers' own bodiesat risk.Then there is the taser. The company boasts that its technology, whichallows electrified darts to be fired from more than 10 meters away,"temporarily overrides the command and control systems of the body." Atthe push of a button, even the strongest, angriest subject drops to thefloor. In a way, firing a taser is the maximum power one person can exertover another. As an Ottawa Police officer reportedly said after taseringprotesters at the ministry of immigration back in 2003: "Less mess, morefun."Few would argue with an officer's right to use an electroshock weapon whenlives are in danger and the only alternative is a gun. Many Toronto policeofficers, particularly those on the Emergency Task Force, clearly use themwith restraint.Yet there is also plenty of evidence that some officers get hooked onshock. In Edmonton, in 2001, reports of taserings averaged less than oncea week. Three years later, they were coming in daily. In another part ofthe country, a mother in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia called police when she andher 17-year-old daughter were having an argument. Three officers showed upand tasered the teen in her own bed. In a recent court ruling, the judgecalled these actions "very disturbing and disconcerting."It may well be possible to prevent shock-happy policing with tightercontrols. Yet, despite repeated calls for stricter regulations for police,Taser International is racing to get its devices in the hands ofcivilians, marketing the product as not just safe but fun. In the UnitedStates the company has been aggressively pushing its line of C2 "personalprotectors" - available in pink, leopard print, and in holsters withbuilt-in MP3 players. (The weapon is nicknamed the "iTaser.")Tupperware-style taser parties are springing up in the suburbs of Arizona.Taser International is a company whose executives present themselves asserious experts in public safety. Yet it has launched this foray intofashion at the very moment when the safety of its devices is beingquestioned on multiple fronts. Valentine's Day is coming and Taser'swebsite is busily hawking the C2 in flaming red. "Love her? Protect her,"goes the slogan.This is what corporations do: whatever they can get away with to sell moreproduct. From Taser International, we should expect nothing less.From our police we have a right to expect much more.
Stress-Relieving Prayer
Lord,
Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, The courage to change the things I cannot accept, And the wisdom to hide the bodies of those people I had to kill today because they pissed me off. And, help me to be careful of the toes I step on today as they May be connected to the ass that I might have to kiss tomorrow. Amen.
Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, The courage to change the things I cannot accept, And the wisdom to hide the bodies of those people I had to kill today because they pissed me off. And, help me to be careful of the toes I step on today as they May be connected to the ass that I might have to kiss tomorrow. Amen.
Boycott Lilets by MarshaJane Thompson
Women are being urged to boycott Lil-lets sanitary products as part of a campaign to save workers' pensions.Around 150 people lost their jobs when the company - now owned by private equity - shut its last UK factory, "exporting" the work to Taiwan and Poland.Now the Unite union has made a "period drama" highlighting the plight of 46 members they claim will lose a third of their pension. The union is posting the film on YouTube and its own website in an effort to shame Lil-lets' new bosses into a more generous settlement.Unite leader Derek Simpson claimed that it would cost the company £1.7million to let the workers "retire with dignity" on a full pension.He said: "The power of the internet lets unions reach out to millions of people and influence their choices."
Saturday, 16 February 2008
London UNISON Labour Link Election
It that time of year again when London region holds its Labour Link elections. Once again we have a choice to elect socialists who will stand for a Labour Link that will take UNISON policy’s into the Labour Party and fincially support MP’s and other representatives though constituency devlopment plans etc who support UNISON policies. For a change to the current leadership of the regional Labour Link who just want the link to be a supporters club for the Brown Government.
The following candidates are being supported by London UNISON Labour left Network for Labour Link elections in:
The London region.Regional Committee Seats (Female)
Jacqui Brown
Katrina Hoogendam
Felicity Irwin
Helen Martin
Pam Woods
Regional Committee (Male)
Andrew Berry
Phil Lewis
Daniel Nichols
Francis Prideaux
Heenal Rajani
National Labour Link Forum (Female)
Lucy Anderson
Jacqui Brown
Katrina Hoogendam
Helen Martin
Pam Woods
National Labour Link Forum (Male)
Sean Fox
Daniel Nichols
Francis Prideaux
Labour Party Conference
Katrina Hoogendam
Standing Orders Committee
Andrew Berry
The ballot papers have been sent to the Labour Link Officer or Branch Secretary, the deadline to return them in is 29th Feb. If you can’t locate them contact the regional office.Also don’t forget to get Branch Delegates elected to the Labour Link Forum taking place on the 26th Feb 4-6pm, House of Commons. Deadline for Branches to register there delegates is 22nd February.
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