Anti-cuts, public services

Health, education, housing, benefits, local councils, ...

Fight the Tory cuts!

Our public services are under attack. The Tory-Lib Dem coalition government wants to radically slash public spending. That means cutting hundreds of thousands of jobs - sacking nurses, teachers, street cleaners, train drivers, civil servants - anyone who works for a public service is in the firing line. All sorts of services, from nurseries to care for the elderly, are under threat of closure. Millions of working-class people will be hurt by these cuts. Young people will be amongst the worst hit. Our schools may become 'academies', meaning more corporate/business involvement in the classroom...

Anti-cuts round-up

Cuts-happy bosses at Labour-controlled Kirklees council are fixing for a head-on confrontation with one of the best-organised union branches in the public sector as they attempt to cut up to £400 million from their budget, resulting in 2,000 job losses. It has already identified several places to swing the axe, including taking on vulnerable temporary and agency staff and introducing new formulae for calculating sickness absence, which will make it easier for bosses to dismiss absentees. The local Unison branch, led by left-winger Paul Holmes, has launched a ballot for industrial action and...

Ian Tomlinson must not be forgotten

There’s a “call to arms” coming from some of the more militant union leaders around the coalition government’s intention to reduce the public sector. Battle lines are being drawn in the run up to the upcoming TUC conference. There is a lot of talk about building a campaign as big as the one that eventually saw the downfall of Thatcher and her Tory government. Some of the calls from many on the left leave a lot to be desired. They are certainly vociferous, but who they are aimed at is questionable, and the language used is simply divisive. In an article in the Guardian on 4 August Tony Benn as...

Charities not safe from cuts

In a revelation that cuts starkly against the coalition government’s fetishisation of the voluntary and charitable sectors, the National Council of Voluntary Organisations has published a survey showing that third sector bodies face cuts of up to 99%. Countless organisations and services across the sector, as well as cultural bodies such as community theatres, are severely threatened by the ConDem axe. The cuts affect every area of the country; the Young Devon group, which provides support services to young people in the area, faces a 90% cut. The South Leeds Community Radio project will see...

Support the right to protest! Birmingham, 3 October

The Birmingham police are seeking to ban the demonstration at the Tory Party Conference on 3 October called by the Right To Work Campaign. This is a significant attack on the right to protest. The protest organisers call on labour movement people to sign a "reinstate our right to protest at the Tory Party conference" statement online here . Recent signatories include: Ed Balls MP Katy Clark MP John McDonnell MP Jeremy Corbyn MP Mark Serwotka PCS general secretary Jeremy Dear NUJ general secretary Billy Hayes CWU general secretary Tony Kearns CWU senior deputy general secretary Len McCluskey...

Unison and PCS declare anti-cuts alliance

The civil service union PCS and Unison, which is strongest in local government and health, have announced an alliance. The union leaders declare: Two of the UK’s biggest public sector unions, UNISON and PCS, representing 1.7 million workers, have pledged to forge a powerful alliance to fight back against the coalition government's cuts to jobs and services. The unions are joining forces to campaign, co-ordinate and, where possible, take action in unity and support of each other. The government’s assault on the public sector threatens the livelihoods of 750,000 public sector workers. Job losses...

Call demo against Tories' huge cuts! TUC should fight, not plead!

On 20 October the Lib/Tory government will announce cuts which they have already estimated as between 25% and 40% across a range of social spending. These are cuts such as we did not see even in Thatcher's day, cuts which will take the means of decent life away from millions. Even if they don't create a "double-dip" slump for the whole economy, they will certainly bring a "double-dip" to working-class communities. Across the country, people will resist the trashing of their local services, schools, hospitals, and benefits. Across the country, activist anti-cuts committees are already being set...

Scotland: no to social partnership, fight the review!

At the end of July the “Independent Budget Review” (IBR) – set up by the SNP minority government as part of its deal with the Scottish Tories to secure their support for this year’s government budget – published its findings. The Review was carried out by Crawford Beveridge (former Chief Executive of Scottish Enterprise and also a former Vice-Executive-President of Sun Microsystems), Robert Wilson (a partner in Deloitte Consulting in Edinburgh) and Sir Neil McIntosh (former Chief Executive of Strathclyde Regional Council). Speaking at the launch of the Review, Scottish government Finance...

Anti-cuts round-up: new committees and small victories

Trade union activists have begun building community and workplace opposition to Academies in the borough as part of the Tower Hamlets Anti-Cuts Coalition. Unlike neighbouring borough Hackney, Tower Hamlets has never been receptive to Academies (partially because of the strength of union organisation in the borough’s schools). Now, under the Tory scheme which allows any school to apply for Academy status, some Tower Hamlets heads are seeing pound signs. Old Ford and Mulberry primary schools have both expressed an interest in applying for Academy status. The financial incentives are, however...

Lambeth anti-cuts campaign wins first victory

About twenty people attended the second Lambeth Save our Services planning meeting on 5 August - not bad considering it's the dead of summer. The meeting started with good news. After the brilliant campaign led up by the UNISON members in One O'Clock clubs all of the jobs in Adventure Playgrounds and One O'Clock Clubs have been saved. (The council was sacking them and creating new jobs because, even though it saved no money, it could break up the union and prepare the way for future cuts.) As one of the women said at the meeting: "We've got 100% union density - we know they'll be back for us"...

This website uses cookies, you can find out more and set your preferences here.
By continuing to use this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions.