As the dust is still settling after the fantastic national strike of public sector workers supported by thousands of private sector workers too on November the 30th. Many trade unionists and socialists are weighing up the impact this strike has had and where do we go from here.
30 November was the day when around two million public sector workers, members of 30 trade unions, took part in the biggest strike for over three decades. The majority had never taken strike action before, many had never expected to. But they see no other way of both defending pension rights and signalling to the government that they will not accept its plans to destroy public services.
There were massive demonstrations in cities, towns and even villages, with estimates of over 1,000 taking place. In most cases they were the biggest rallies to have taken place for many decades, if not ever. In Bristol over 20,000 marched, in Manchester more than 30,000. In smaller towns there were large demonstrations - 2,000 in Bournemouth, 4,000 in Truro, 1,200 in Birkenhead, 1,000 in Hastings, 1,200 in Warrington, the list goes on.
Whatever brave face the Con-Dems show in public, behind the scenes they were shaken by the massive display of 'people's power'.
In one day, 30 November (N30), trade unionists gave a powerful demonstration that - contrary to the government's propaganda - public sector workers are crucial to keeping the country running. N30 showed that if these workers withdraw their labour, they are capable of bringing the country to a halt.
The private sector as well as the public sector was affected in many ways - including the closing of the Metro and the Tyne Tunnel in the North East, the money lost by the airlines and, above all, by the millions of private sector workers who had to take the day off in order to care for their children.
That is not to say that N30 was 100% solid in every workplace. At national and local level some of the unions participating have not organised a serious struggle for decades. Union officials have in many cases become used to administering defeat rather than fighting to win. Inevitably, as a result, there were many workplaces with no real union organisation.
However, across the country there were reports of workers walking out and organising picket lines in such workplaces. This is a beginning of rebuilding the trade union movement in Britain. Unison membership applications have increased by 126% since the ballot result. The same will undoubtedly be true of the other unions that joined the strike.
Unfortunately, the right-wing trade union leaders are terrified of calling further national action. Unison's leadership have mooted 'smart action' - that is sectional action - as the next step. This would be a serious mistake. Sectional or regional action as a supplement to further national coordination action could be useful, but as a substitute it will demobilise and potentially divide the movement.
The struggle of local authority workers in Southampton is held up as an example of 'smart' action. In reality, while Southampton shows the determination of local authority workers to fight, it is a demonstration of the limitations of 'smart' action, not of its success.
On N30 millions of workers felt their collective power. At the same time the majority understood that the government would not retreat without further action. The right-wing trade union leaders only took part in N30 as a result of pressure from their members, who were frustrated that they had not been called out for the strike on 30 June. Now that so many trade unionists have had their confidence increased by taking strike action, it will be very difficult for the right-wing union leaders to avoid calling further coordinated action.
It is clear that N30 had a big impact but drawing concrete conclusions of how far and wide this impact was felt is difficult to tell.
I have heard many misguided thoughts and reports on the strike from some thinking that this strike would have been enough to bring down this government and stop the attacks in one go to other nieve feelings that one day will be enough. It wont unfortunatly and more pressure needs to be pushed for for further strikes. The NSSN makes clear there should be escalated action of at least 24 hours across the country.
The truth is this government wants us to endure a lifetime of low pay followed by an impoverished old age. They have sought to divide public sector workers from private sector workers. However, the real division in society is between the haves and the have-nots.
Our slogan is "fair pensions for all". When rich Tory ministers talk about "fairness" between private and public sector pensions what they mean is a race to the bottom - they want to impose on us the worst pension provision they can get away with.
That is why we must stand together to defeat this attack. But they couldn't get away with this if the Labour Party were not committed to protecting corporate interests above those of the vast majority in this country.
If the main political parties in this country are incapable of representing the interests of the vast majority, then it is time we do so ourselves.
We will use all campaigning methods to defeat these attacks. We will oppose them in the courts, in our workplaces, in our communities too. I urge everyone not only to support your trade union but also the anti-cuts alliance in your own town or city. If there isn't one - then set one up.
We give our solidarity and full support to the pensioners' alliances, the students and the school students and the Occupy movement.
After 30 November's brilliant show of strength and solidarity we must prepare for further action if the government does not concede. Which looks unlikely now with further threats being made that will force this on us all.
With a potential sell out coming from the tops of the trade union movement of which i have blogged about the dangers of this from more right wing trade union leaders is a real possibility this coming week. We must ramp up the pressure on these leaders to continue the fight till the end.
Tommorrow monday the 19th of december there willl be a conference of the Public Sector Liaison Group (PSLG), the body that brings together TUC affiliated public sector unions, will be convened on Monday 19th December at 3PM.
At this meeting TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber will attempt to sell Francis Maude's latest pensions offer as the basis for a settlement of the dispute to trade union leaders.
In a bid to head off this damaging out come the NSSN and other left trade union activists are calling for a lobby of the PSLG before it meets. Trade unionists will have the opportunity to voice their opposition to Maude's proposals and demand further action in the New Year.
If you are unable to make this lobby of the TUC which we can understand this time of year and such short notice we would urge you to sign this petition online demanding further action on pensions from the trade union leaders.
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/pensions_strike_january/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=button
The NSSN will be demanding:
Reject Maude's latest pensions proposals which will mean all public sector workers having to work longer, pay more, and get less.
No to secret deals by union leaders over the heads of the membership. We demand democratic control of the negotiations.
We demand that the date is set for the next co-ordinated public sector strike early in the New Year. UNISON Scotland has already proposed 25 January as the date of the next strike.
The lobby will begin at 2:00 PM at Congress House, 23-28 Great Russell Street. WC1B 3LS
The NSSN urges all of it's supporters and readers to come down to the lobby and build the pressure for further action in defence of pensions.
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Showing posts with label pension reforms. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pension reforms. Show all posts
Sunday, 18 December 2011
Monday, 28 November 2011
How a victory over public sector pensions can give all workers a boost in confidence
This wednesday 30th of November its been well documented that up to 4 million public sector workers will be out on strike first time this many on one day since the 1926 great general strike. But this could be a game changer.
If and its a big if the government of millionaires are foced back and have to retreat which is not impossibly given their record of u-turns already. Mass action of working people can give huge confidence to other workers in say the private sector and to young and old workers.
An opinion poll commissioned by BBC News suggests 61% of people believe public sector workers are justified in going on strike over pension changes.
The research also indicates differences between men and women in their outlook on the strikes and the economy.
The polling firm Comres interviewed 1,005 adults by telephone across England, Scotland and Wales one week ago.
The poll indicates greater sympathy for the industrial action among women - at 67% - compared with men, at 55%.
Younger people, it also suggests, are considerably more supportive of the strikes than pensioners; almost four in five 18 to 24-year-olds back the action, a little under half of over-65s do.
No doubt much of this support has come through student demonstrations and demonstrations like the Jarrow march drawing attention to youth in struggle and how the young are being hit hard by this crisis in capitalism.
But a only a complete withdraw of the pension reforms and a change back to RPi from CPI which this government cynically changed when they came in will only do for ordinary workers who are due to loose out big time.
As i've said before ordinary working people did not cause this crisis so they should not have to pay for it. Not a single cut is nessesary as i've pointed out if the 120 billion estimated pounds of evaded tax from rich corporations and business's was properly collected.
Failing that the banks should all be nationalised under democratic workers control. These key demands must be started to be taken up by workers in struggle i feel.
But the sense of confidence a win in this dispute will given workers and unions alike will be huge. Just imagine if we push teh government back on this. We will be able to say look our unions pushed back the gov on this and strike action works now lets go further and push for more and more.
Lets be under no illusion this government forged together in the cellar of teh city of London a government of austerity and misery for working people who have no mandate are extremely weak and can be defeated.
For this to happen we must stand united public and private sector workers. No flinching from any trade union leaders. No to any secret deals everything must be done all out in the open.
The fact is public sector pensions are affordable and actually go down as a percentage to GDP over the years according to the Lord Hutton report.
Lets not buy the arguements that private sector pensions are poor so public sector should be too. That is a recipe for a race to the bottom. It is a arguement that private sector pensions should be decent aswell.
If the government says it cannot afford this then we must say we cannot afford your system and call time on capitalism and the 1%. Its time to look for alternatives. That alternative is socialism.
A system based on peoples needs before profits. A system that looks after the 99% not just the 1%.
If and its a big if the government of millionaires are foced back and have to retreat which is not impossibly given their record of u-turns already. Mass action of working people can give huge confidence to other workers in say the private sector and to young and old workers.
An opinion poll commissioned by BBC News suggests 61% of people believe public sector workers are justified in going on strike over pension changes.
The research also indicates differences between men and women in their outlook on the strikes and the economy.
The polling firm Comres interviewed 1,005 adults by telephone across England, Scotland and Wales one week ago.
The poll indicates greater sympathy for the industrial action among women - at 67% - compared with men, at 55%.
Younger people, it also suggests, are considerably more supportive of the strikes than pensioners; almost four in five 18 to 24-year-olds back the action, a little under half of over-65s do.
No doubt much of this support has come through student demonstrations and demonstrations like the Jarrow march drawing attention to youth in struggle and how the young are being hit hard by this crisis in capitalism.
But a only a complete withdraw of the pension reforms and a change back to RPi from CPI which this government cynically changed when they came in will only do for ordinary workers who are due to loose out big time.
As i've said before ordinary working people did not cause this crisis so they should not have to pay for it. Not a single cut is nessesary as i've pointed out if the 120 billion estimated pounds of evaded tax from rich corporations and business's was properly collected.
Failing that the banks should all be nationalised under democratic workers control. These key demands must be started to be taken up by workers in struggle i feel.
But the sense of confidence a win in this dispute will given workers and unions alike will be huge. Just imagine if we push teh government back on this. We will be able to say look our unions pushed back the gov on this and strike action works now lets go further and push for more and more.
Lets be under no illusion this government forged together in the cellar of teh city of London a government of austerity and misery for working people who have no mandate are extremely weak and can be defeated.
For this to happen we must stand united public and private sector workers. No flinching from any trade union leaders. No to any secret deals everything must be done all out in the open.
The fact is public sector pensions are affordable and actually go down as a percentage to GDP over the years according to the Lord Hutton report.
Lets not buy the arguements that private sector pensions are poor so public sector should be too. That is a recipe for a race to the bottom. It is a arguement that private sector pensions should be decent aswell.
If the government says it cannot afford this then we must say we cannot afford your system and call time on capitalism and the 1%. Its time to look for alternatives. That alternative is socialism.
A system based on peoples needs before profits. A system that looks after the 99% not just the 1%.
Thursday, 15 September 2011
November 30th is the date, lets build on June 30th
Today as the end of the TUC congress draws to a close we see the news that a potential 14 unions are set to take industrial action this winter in one of the biggest walk outs since the 20's some have said. This is very welcome news after the NSSN called on the TUC to push for a 24 hour public sector general strike. I think the NSSN and its supporters of militant trade unionists can feel especially proud that this seems to have found a impact and bigger unions with more members potentially millions will be balloting members on industrial action over public sector pensions reforms.
Four unions - Unison, Unite, the GMB and the Fire Brigades' Union - are already balloting over co-ordinated industrial action.
Mr Barber said 10 other unions were also looking to hold a vote on strikes.
He promised 30 November would bring "the biggest trade union mobilisation for a generation".
'Fight of our lives'
Unions and the government have been in talks over pension contribution rises since the beginning of the year, with ministers saying the change - scheduled for next April - is needed to make schemes sustainable in the face of an ageing population.
On Wednesday, the TUC voted unanimously in favour of action against the move as its annual conference
Mr Barber told the BBC it could be the first of several such days, saying: "If there's no progress, then potentially we will see very widespread industrial action across the public services."
He added: "We are absolutely committed to justice for the millions of workers we represent."
Events will "range from strike action, where ballot mandates have been secured from members and unions judge that appropriate, through to lunchtime meetings, rallies and joint events with community groups and service users", Mr Barber said.
Union leaders will hold another meeting at the end of September to co-ordinate their actions.
Proposing a motion backing mass strikes to the TUC conference, Unison leader Dave Prentis revealed he was giving 9,000 employers formal notice that his union's 1.1 million members would be balloted.
He added: "It's the fight of our lives. I know it's an over-used cliché, but make no mistake, this is it."
The GMB's Brian Strutton said: "We're not talking about a day out and a bit of a protest. We're talking about something that's long and hard and dirty as well, because this is going to require days of action running through the winter, through into next year, following the government's legislative programme rig
As a socialist and a trade unionist this is very welcome news from some of the more moderate trade union leaders like Dave Prentice and co. But we welcome this move and hope this leads to further action with many yes votes being won in ballots across teh country.
The biggest signal workers can send to this government is that many support the action and this is not just about public vs private as private sector workers are under attack too. Union leaders must be willing to branch out to private sector workers to co-ordinate any disputes they have around this date too i would say. To build bridges between public and private sector workers will create a mass wall of solidarity in working Britain.
June 30th where we saw 750 thousand public sector workers ouout of work on strike was great and much welcome but this next period of action looks to be much much bigger. We could see all firefighters not working that day, No schools in the state sector open, passport offices closed ports and imigration posts closed. Mass walk outs will have a huge impact and this government has not got a clue what it is up against. the trade union movement.
When the trade unions which are sleeping gaints wake up and move they have such power the government can be brought to its knees.
And that comrades is waht is needed to push this government back on its austerity programme. Although these strikes will be about public sector pensions and reforms to them it is in no doubt these strikes will be based around a broader message opposing all cuts to workers and the working class. We will not pay for this crisis that is not of any of our making. The capitalists want to make the working class pay for the mistakes of their wreckless risk taking system which has failed them. The system which cannot provide us all with secure jobs, decent pay and affordable decent homes is not a system we wish to see continue.
I will be supporting all striking workers on 30th November and i hope you all will too. As Dave prentice said and we're glad he has joined this fight that this is the fight of our lives. We must win we cannot afford to loose this one.
United we stand divided we fall. Stand up for working people stand side by side we can defeat this weak government and push back these cuts that are being thrown down on us from a great height.
Four unions - Unison, Unite, the GMB and the Fire Brigades' Union - are already balloting over co-ordinated industrial action.
Mr Barber said 10 other unions were also looking to hold a vote on strikes.
He promised 30 November would bring "the biggest trade union mobilisation for a generation".
'Fight of our lives'
Unions and the government have been in talks over pension contribution rises since the beginning of the year, with ministers saying the change - scheduled for next April - is needed to make schemes sustainable in the face of an ageing population.
On Wednesday, the TUC voted unanimously in favour of action against the move as its annual conference
Mr Barber told the BBC it could be the first of several such days, saying: "If there's no progress, then potentially we will see very widespread industrial action across the public services."
He added: "We are absolutely committed to justice for the millions of workers we represent."
Events will "range from strike action, where ballot mandates have been secured from members and unions judge that appropriate, through to lunchtime meetings, rallies and joint events with community groups and service users", Mr Barber said.
Union leaders will hold another meeting at the end of September to co-ordinate their actions.
Proposing a motion backing mass strikes to the TUC conference, Unison leader Dave Prentis revealed he was giving 9,000 employers formal notice that his union's 1.1 million members would be balloted.
He added: "It's the fight of our lives. I know it's an over-used cliché, but make no mistake, this is it."
The GMB's Brian Strutton said: "We're not talking about a day out and a bit of a protest. We're talking about something that's long and hard and dirty as well, because this is going to require days of action running through the winter, through into next year, following the government's legislative programme rig
As a socialist and a trade unionist this is very welcome news from some of the more moderate trade union leaders like Dave Prentice and co. But we welcome this move and hope this leads to further action with many yes votes being won in ballots across teh country.
The biggest signal workers can send to this government is that many support the action and this is not just about public vs private as private sector workers are under attack too. Union leaders must be willing to branch out to private sector workers to co-ordinate any disputes they have around this date too i would say. To build bridges between public and private sector workers will create a mass wall of solidarity in working Britain.
June 30th where we saw 750 thousand public sector workers ouout of work on strike was great and much welcome but this next period of action looks to be much much bigger. We could see all firefighters not working that day, No schools in the state sector open, passport offices closed ports and imigration posts closed. Mass walk outs will have a huge impact and this government has not got a clue what it is up against. the trade union movement.
When the trade unions which are sleeping gaints wake up and move they have such power the government can be brought to its knees.
And that comrades is waht is needed to push this government back on its austerity programme. Although these strikes will be about public sector pensions and reforms to them it is in no doubt these strikes will be based around a broader message opposing all cuts to workers and the working class. We will not pay for this crisis that is not of any of our making. The capitalists want to make the working class pay for the mistakes of their wreckless risk taking system which has failed them. The system which cannot provide us all with secure jobs, decent pay and affordable decent homes is not a system we wish to see continue.
I will be supporting all striking workers on 30th November and i hope you all will too. As Dave prentice said and we're glad he has joined this fight that this is the fight of our lives. We must win we cannot afford to loose this one.
United we stand divided we fall. Stand up for working people stand side by side we can defeat this weak government and push back these cuts that are being thrown down on us from a great height.
Saturday, 2 July 2011
Where next for the anti cuts movement after June 30th
Many will be thinking what now after a great display of co-ordinated strike action by some not all of the public sector unions over pensions dispute.
So where does the anti cuts movement go next ?
Well for a start i personally feel as good and successful as June 30th was i really do not think it will be enough to defeat this government intent on pushing our living standards back decades. Bigger and wider action will be needed to bring this government to its knees.
I do not think it is quite time for sustained strikes just yet but a 24 hour public sector general strike is not out of the question for the autumn certainly.
The trade unions who were out on strike on thursday now need to go back to their workplaces and start organised for bigger wider action come the autumn.
As far as the movement goes i feel groups such as the NSSN will play a key role in bringing together all of the more militant unions to put pressure on the bigger unions who have yet to ballot for mass strike action such as Unison and Unite and GMB.
The september 11th lobby of the TUC conference by teh NSSN will be key. Putting sufficient pressure on the TUC to throw its weight behind bigger more organised and ultimatly larger widescale strike action come the autumn.
I feel trade unins do need to start linking up with existing anti cuts bodies now and linking together the movement with charities and communitis creating a broad movement against the cuts. Withthe power of the trade union movement now awoken this should be the start of something big now.
One of the key lessons we need to learn from thursdays action is we must keep united, keep up the pressure on other unions but also not think this is just the end. If we win on pensions the government will just come for something else or something else. We need to stand together and firm behind our common goal. To defeat this government which is being driven by a idealology to shrink the public sector as they feel it is rich picking for their friends in the private sector.
The tories who many people think they are in a mess and have no idea what they are doing must be under no illusion they know full well what they are doing.
George Osbourne is at the beck and call of teh city and the banking sector in this country and also on a international stage. His ideas and vision are driven purely from a market position.
We as socialists and anti cuts activists must reject the market as a idea to bring prosperaty to all and instead put ideas forward for bringing the commanding heights of the economy under the control of the common ownership of the workers.
So i think we still have a really long way to go in this fight and we are just in yaer 1 of a 5 year programme of cuts. That's assuming the tories dont get back in in 2015. Even if they do not the Labour party as they have shown are quite ready to take up the mantle and cut into the welfare state and bring about further privatisation . They are not unfamiliar to this as they tried to do many of this whilst they were in government. With the attempts to sell of Royal Mail and introducing PFI - private funding into the NHS therefore opening it up to privatisation further down the road.
So lets be clear Labour are no alternative here. BOth the tories and labour are intent in making the working class pay for a crisis they did not cause and this only strengthens our ideas in the socialist party for the need for a new workers party. To stand up for working peoples interests, to stand with them in times of strike action and not cross picket lines, to give ordinary working people a voice on the political stage.
This is what we need to see but how long it takes could be soon or a way off things can change very quickly in times of economic crisis as Marx quite rightly pointed out. The mass's can shift their thinking from one direction to another fairly quickly and we as revolutionary socialists must be at the front of this thinking keeping ahead of the movement and where it is heading at all times.
So where does the anti cuts movement go next ?
Well for a start i personally feel as good and successful as June 30th was i really do not think it will be enough to defeat this government intent on pushing our living standards back decades. Bigger and wider action will be needed to bring this government to its knees.
I do not think it is quite time for sustained strikes just yet but a 24 hour public sector general strike is not out of the question for the autumn certainly.
The trade unions who were out on strike on thursday now need to go back to their workplaces and start organised for bigger wider action come the autumn.
As far as the movement goes i feel groups such as the NSSN will play a key role in bringing together all of the more militant unions to put pressure on the bigger unions who have yet to ballot for mass strike action such as Unison and Unite and GMB.
The september 11th lobby of the TUC conference by teh NSSN will be key. Putting sufficient pressure on the TUC to throw its weight behind bigger more organised and ultimatly larger widescale strike action come the autumn.
I feel trade unins do need to start linking up with existing anti cuts bodies now and linking together the movement with charities and communitis creating a broad movement against the cuts. Withthe power of the trade union movement now awoken this should be the start of something big now.
One of the key lessons we need to learn from thursdays action is we must keep united, keep up the pressure on other unions but also not think this is just the end. If we win on pensions the government will just come for something else or something else. We need to stand together and firm behind our common goal. To defeat this government which is being driven by a idealology to shrink the public sector as they feel it is rich picking for their friends in the private sector.
The tories who many people think they are in a mess and have no idea what they are doing must be under no illusion they know full well what they are doing.
George Osbourne is at the beck and call of teh city and the banking sector in this country and also on a international stage. His ideas and vision are driven purely from a market position.
We as socialists and anti cuts activists must reject the market as a idea to bring prosperaty to all and instead put ideas forward for bringing the commanding heights of the economy under the control of the common ownership of the workers.
So i think we still have a really long way to go in this fight and we are just in yaer 1 of a 5 year programme of cuts. That's assuming the tories dont get back in in 2015. Even if they do not the Labour party as they have shown are quite ready to take up the mantle and cut into the welfare state and bring about further privatisation . They are not unfamiliar to this as they tried to do many of this whilst they were in government. With the attempts to sell of Royal Mail and introducing PFI - private funding into the NHS therefore opening it up to privatisation further down the road.
So lets be clear Labour are no alternative here. BOth the tories and labour are intent in making the working class pay for a crisis they did not cause and this only strengthens our ideas in the socialist party for the need for a new workers party. To stand up for working peoples interests, to stand with them in times of strike action and not cross picket lines, to give ordinary working people a voice on the political stage.
This is what we need to see but how long it takes could be soon or a way off things can change very quickly in times of economic crisis as Marx quite rightly pointed out. The mass's can shift their thinking from one direction to another fairly quickly and we as revolutionary socialists must be at the front of this thinking keeping ahead of the movement and where it is heading at all times.
Tuesday, 28 June 2011
Are we really living longer ?
One of the governments arguements for the upcoming pension reforms and their reasoning behind making us work longer, for less is apparently due to us all now living longer.
So at our branch meeting one of our comrades raised the point has anyone actually proved this. It is very subjective as i will outline below and you cant just throw around such a statement.
Whilst it may be true some of us may be living longer, It is hard to prove this.
The three big reasons that people in the UK are living increasingly longer lives are:
1.Food supply and nutrition
2.Health
3.Hygiene
These three things have all seen marked improvements in standards since the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. However, another important factor is our knowledge of their importance to our health and life expectancy, and of the steps we can take to ensure that we lead a healthy lifestyle. Our access to relevant information has also improved dramatically as a result of scientific research and methods of information dissemination (e.g. the Internet).
For example:
The packaging of food products at increasing numbers of shops and supermarkets displays the nutritional content of food and uses colour coding so that we know whether it is good for us. The importance of eating a balanced diet is widely known.
Government and charity websites provide information about the lifestyle choices we can make in order to reduce our risk of developing diseases. The effect that smoking cigarettes can have on our health is widely advertised, and warnings included on packaging. In the UK, a smoking ban in public places has been introduced and the age at which young people can buy cigarettes has been raised to 18 years.
Adverts on buses and tubes inform us of the importance of washing our hands and covering our mouths when we cough or sneeze in order to reduce the spread of illnesses and diseases. Health and safety legislation provides strict regulations for hygiene in restaurants, hospitals and factories.
But following a healthy lifestyle is still a choice that we make, and not everyone chooses or is able to do so.
Key concepts:
Place
Human Processes
Cultural Understanding and Diversity
This is key to my point really that as we live in a class based system under capitalism not everyone has the luxury of eating the healthy food all the time or can afford the best in housing and living conditions.
As i previously blogged about before about the documentary poor kids on the BBC a few weeks ago it can dramatically affect how long you are likely to live depending on where you live in the country and the make up of the area you live in.
So for example there will be a stark contrast between someone living in Knightsbridge in London from someone living in Glasgow in a working class area.
It is important to stress these points when the government is trying hard to push through these pension reforms which will leave many working longer, getting less and a worse off pension as a result.
So i'm opening this up now can the government or anyone else find quantitive evidence that proves we are all living longer than ever before so we need to work longer.
Another point is if we are having to work longer to claim our pension it is our pension they are not wanting us to have because realistically although there may be exceptions like the 73 year old man who still works as a builder or the old example of someone who smokes 30 fags a day and drinks lots and lives till they are 99. You will always find exceptions to any rule but generalising and saying we all live longer now where some do not and some families never live that old due to various reasons is it not safe to say this arguement the government are trotting out is a bit misleading.
So therefore i will be supporting thursdays June 30th strikes as i believe a public sector workers pension is just as important to us and the long term future of this country. It has been proven these pensions are very affordable and backed up by the daily telegraph not known for lending support to the public sector.
But if we can afford more money to be spent on illegal wars and occupations and new nuclear deterents we can surely afford for our hard working public sector workers including teachers and civil servents who keep this country going in many ways.
So at our branch meeting one of our comrades raised the point has anyone actually proved this. It is very subjective as i will outline below and you cant just throw around such a statement.
Whilst it may be true some of us may be living longer, It is hard to prove this.
The three big reasons that people in the UK are living increasingly longer lives are:
1.Food supply and nutrition
2.Health
3.Hygiene
These three things have all seen marked improvements in standards since the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. However, another important factor is our knowledge of their importance to our health and life expectancy, and of the steps we can take to ensure that we lead a healthy lifestyle. Our access to relevant information has also improved dramatically as a result of scientific research and methods of information dissemination (e.g. the Internet).
For example:
The packaging of food products at increasing numbers of shops and supermarkets displays the nutritional content of food and uses colour coding so that we know whether it is good for us. The importance of eating a balanced diet is widely known.
Government and charity websites provide information about the lifestyle choices we can make in order to reduce our risk of developing diseases. The effect that smoking cigarettes can have on our health is widely advertised, and warnings included on packaging. In the UK, a smoking ban in public places has been introduced and the age at which young people can buy cigarettes has been raised to 18 years.
Adverts on buses and tubes inform us of the importance of washing our hands and covering our mouths when we cough or sneeze in order to reduce the spread of illnesses and diseases. Health and safety legislation provides strict regulations for hygiene in restaurants, hospitals and factories.
But following a healthy lifestyle is still a choice that we make, and not everyone chooses or is able to do so.
Key concepts:
Place
Human Processes
Cultural Understanding and Diversity
This is key to my point really that as we live in a class based system under capitalism not everyone has the luxury of eating the healthy food all the time or can afford the best in housing and living conditions.
As i previously blogged about before about the documentary poor kids on the BBC a few weeks ago it can dramatically affect how long you are likely to live depending on where you live in the country and the make up of the area you live in.
So for example there will be a stark contrast between someone living in Knightsbridge in London from someone living in Glasgow in a working class area.
It is important to stress these points when the government is trying hard to push through these pension reforms which will leave many working longer, getting less and a worse off pension as a result.
So i'm opening this up now can the government or anyone else find quantitive evidence that proves we are all living longer than ever before so we need to work longer.
Another point is if we are having to work longer to claim our pension it is our pension they are not wanting us to have because realistically although there may be exceptions like the 73 year old man who still works as a builder or the old example of someone who smokes 30 fags a day and drinks lots and lives till they are 99. You will always find exceptions to any rule but generalising and saying we all live longer now where some do not and some families never live that old due to various reasons is it not safe to say this arguement the government are trotting out is a bit misleading.
So therefore i will be supporting thursdays June 30th strikes as i believe a public sector workers pension is just as important to us and the long term future of this country. It has been proven these pensions are very affordable and backed up by the daily telegraph not known for lending support to the public sector.
But if we can afford more money to be spent on illegal wars and occupations and new nuclear deterents we can surely afford for our hard working public sector workers including teachers and civil servents who keep this country going in many ways.
Monday, 20 June 2011
Unison conference, members must call on leadership to call date for strike ballot
Council workers are facing unprecedented attacks - in the form of massive job cuts and a tearing up of terms and conditions in many areas.
In just two weeks time it is expected that the government will announce their intention to impose a 3% increase in public sector pension contributions. This is a pay cut in real terms and comes on top of a two-year pay freeze. Unless defeated through mass strike action, many workers will be faced with the choice of pay up or be forced out of the pension scheme.
The government is also proposing a career average instead of final salary scheme. They plan to cut the local government pension from 1/60th of our annual salary to as low as only 1/100th and they want to make us work till we are 68.
These changes, if effected, could cost some workers up to £1,000 more a year for a pension worth nearly half of what they would get now.
Even some of the employers are panicking. They are predicting that 20-40% could leave the schemes, sending the funds into downward spirals.
If the government gets away with it, this would be the biggest attack on public sector workers' pay and conditions in a generation. That is why it requires the unions to use the full strength of the five million public sector trade unionists.
Dave Prentis, general secretary of Unison has now declared that Unison will ballot over the summer or early autumn for strike action over pension attacks if the meeting with government on 28 June does not lead to a deal. Prentis also said: "It will not be one day of action - it will be long-term industrial action throughout all our public services to prevent destruction of our pension schemes."
This is to be welcomed by Unison members and other public sector trade unionists. This shows that trade union leaders can be forced to ballot for action, when faced with an onslaught of attacks from this government and growing anger from public sector workers.
But members attending this weeks national Unison conference which is still very labour centric sadly need to put as much militant pressure on Dave Prentice and his leadership to call the date for the strike ballot.
We heard at the NSSn conference many Unison activists saying the union would ratehr they fight isloated local issues ratehr than join mass action with other unions.
But pressure is growing and members are asking themselves why are we not joining other trade unions on strike on 30th june and later in teh Autumn.
Dave Prentice must be made aware that now is not the time for pussyfooting around. His members are under attack and are under attack right now. They need the full backing of the union and its resources to defeat these pension reforms and the further attacks on our class.
The start of the fightback will come from the three quarters of a million workers in education and the civil service who are preparing to strike on 30 June.
Unfortunately Unison will not be taking action with other unions on 30 June but the union leaders are calling on all members to support the lobbies and demonstrations and for members not to cover the work of the strikers.
Only recently Socialist Party members on the Unison national executive tried to commit the union to action on pensions no later than 31 October 2011 but this was not agreed. At a local level there are Unison branches whose members are demanding to ballot for strike action against cuts. They are being prevented from doing so by the union leadership. These ballots should now immediately be sanctioned.
We must now give full backing to the 30 June strike and use it to build for an all public-sector strike that would rock this government to its foundations.
Unison must be ready to start the pensions ballot immediately if the government refuses to back down on pension attacks
For an all public-sector strike in defence of pensions
Defend the final salary scheme
No increases in contribution rates
No to lower pension benefits
Now is the time for action and co-ordinated strike action to push the government back on this issue and further the advance on the anti cuts movement.
In just two weeks time it is expected that the government will announce their intention to impose a 3% increase in public sector pension contributions. This is a pay cut in real terms and comes on top of a two-year pay freeze. Unless defeated through mass strike action, many workers will be faced with the choice of pay up or be forced out of the pension scheme.
The government is also proposing a career average instead of final salary scheme. They plan to cut the local government pension from 1/60th of our annual salary to as low as only 1/100th and they want to make us work till we are 68.
These changes, if effected, could cost some workers up to £1,000 more a year for a pension worth nearly half of what they would get now.
Even some of the employers are panicking. They are predicting that 20-40% could leave the schemes, sending the funds into downward spirals.
If the government gets away with it, this would be the biggest attack on public sector workers' pay and conditions in a generation. That is why it requires the unions to use the full strength of the five million public sector trade unionists.
Dave Prentis, general secretary of Unison has now declared that Unison will ballot over the summer or early autumn for strike action over pension attacks if the meeting with government on 28 June does not lead to a deal. Prentis also said: "It will not be one day of action - it will be long-term industrial action throughout all our public services to prevent destruction of our pension schemes."
This is to be welcomed by Unison members and other public sector trade unionists. This shows that trade union leaders can be forced to ballot for action, when faced with an onslaught of attacks from this government and growing anger from public sector workers.
But members attending this weeks national Unison conference which is still very labour centric sadly need to put as much militant pressure on Dave Prentice and his leadership to call the date for the strike ballot.
We heard at the NSSn conference many Unison activists saying the union would ratehr they fight isloated local issues ratehr than join mass action with other unions.
But pressure is growing and members are asking themselves why are we not joining other trade unions on strike on 30th june and later in teh Autumn.
Dave Prentice must be made aware that now is not the time for pussyfooting around. His members are under attack and are under attack right now. They need the full backing of the union and its resources to defeat these pension reforms and the further attacks on our class.
The start of the fightback will come from the three quarters of a million workers in education and the civil service who are preparing to strike on 30 June.
Unfortunately Unison will not be taking action with other unions on 30 June but the union leaders are calling on all members to support the lobbies and demonstrations and for members not to cover the work of the strikers.
Only recently Socialist Party members on the Unison national executive tried to commit the union to action on pensions no later than 31 October 2011 but this was not agreed. At a local level there are Unison branches whose members are demanding to ballot for strike action against cuts. They are being prevented from doing so by the union leadership. These ballots should now immediately be sanctioned.
We must now give full backing to the 30 June strike and use it to build for an all public-sector strike that would rock this government to its foundations.
Unison must be ready to start the pensions ballot immediately if the government refuses to back down on pension attacks
For an all public-sector strike in defence of pensions
Defend the final salary scheme
No increases in contribution rates
No to lower pension benefits
Now is the time for action and co-ordinated strike action to push the government back on this issue and further the advance on the anti cuts movement.
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