Public Sector Strike 30th June.

Remember when Carers, Teachers, Police Officers, Soldiers, Nurses, Fire-fighters, and other government employees crashed the stock market, took billions in bailout money, wiped out banks, took millions in bonuses, stopped their contributions to the pension system and paid no taxes? No? Me neither!


Davy Cameron's New Model (after cuts) Army

On Thursday 30th June 2011, hundreds of thousands of union members will be striking against an attack on their hard fought and won pension rights. People are being forced to withdraw their labour because they are outraged at having to pay for an economic crisis caused by selfish bankers and unaccountable financial institutions. Our public services, jobs and pensions are under attack by the ConDem Government of Millionaires for Millionaires.



Show solidarity with striking public sector workers. You can do this by joining a picket line in your locality and/or by attending one of the rallies listed below:

Aberystwyth: noon, rally at Morlan Centre, Queens Road, SY23 2HH.

Bedford: 10am, rally at Civic Theatre, Horne Lane, MK40 1RA. Speakers include Jim Stringer from PCS.

Birmingham: noon, gather for rally and march which will start and finish at Victoria Square, B1 1BD. Speakers include: Hugh Lanning, PCS deputy general secretary; Vici Whittal, PCS Birmingham prison; Jason Ferraby, PCS Cannock Department for Work and Pensions; and Kevin Courtney, National Union of Teachers (NUT) deputy general secretary.



Brighton: 10:30am assemble at The Level, 37 Ditchling Road, BN1 4SB. March to Hove Town Hall, Norton Road, BN3 4AH for rally at noon. Speakers include Dominic McFadden, PCS national executive (NEC).

Bristol: 11am, assemble at College Green, BS1 5TA. March to Castle Green, Wine Street, BS1 2BH, for speakers including John McInally, PCS vice president. There will be an afternoon of stalls and entertainment in Castle Park, Castle Street, BS1 3XD.

Cambridge: noon, rally at Parker's Piece, Parkside, CB1 1JE.



Canterbury: 10am to 2pm, rally at Abbotts Barton Hotel, New Dover Road, Canterbury, CT1 3DU. Speakers include John Walder, Kent NUT divisional secretary.

Cardiff: noon, assemble Sofia Gardens, Cathedral Road, CF11 9XR. March to Cathays Park, CF10 3ND, for a rally. Speakers include: Andy Richards, president of Wales Trades Union Congres; and Dave Bean, deputy president PCS.

Carlisle: 12.30pm rally by Old Town Hall, CA3 8JH, with music and food. Speakers include: Mary Ferguson, PCS NEC.

Chatham: noon to 2pm rally at Command House, Dock Road, ME4 4TX. Speakers include Zita Holbourne, PCS NEC.

Chelmsford: 11am, rally at High Street, CM1 1BE.



Chester: 12.30pm, rally at Town Hall Square, Northgate Street, CH1 2HJ. Organised by West Cheshire Trade Union Council.

Colchester: 12.30pm, rally outside Colchester town hall, High Street, CO1 1PJ. Organised by Colchester and Clacton trades union councils.

Dover: noon, rally at St Mary's church hall, Church Street, CT16 1BY. Speakers include Annette Rogers, NUT association secretary; Alan Dennis, PCS NEC.

Exeter: 11am rally at the Corn Exchange, George Street, EX1 1BU. Speakers include: Brendan Barber, general secretary of the Trades Union Congress (TUC); and Hector Wesley (PCS NEC). March to Belmont Park for a Festival for the Alternative at 12.30pm with music from Billy Bragg, a bouncy castle and children's entertainment, stalls and food and drink available.

Glasgow: noon rally in George Square, Glasgow, G2 1DU. Speakers include: Janice Godrich, PCS president; Grahame Smith, general secretary of the Scottish TUC; Mary Senior, University and College Union (UCU) Scottish secretary; Mike Kirby, Unison Scottish secretary; and Pat Rafferty, Unite regional secretary.



Gloucester: 10.30am, rally at the bandstand in Gloucester Park, Park Road, GL1 1LH.

Halifax: 10am to noon, indoor rally at Arden Road Social Club, HX1 3AG. Speakers include: Linda Riordan, Labour MP; Ian Murch, NUT national treasurer.

Hastings: 10am to noon, rally at White Rock, White Rock, TN34 1JU. Speakers include Andy Reid, PCS NEC; Dave Brinson, NUT NEC. Followed by a picnic in Alexandra Park, St Helen's Road, TN34 2EL.
Huddersfield: noon, rally Market Cross, Market Plave, HD1 2AN. Speakers include Eddie Childs, PCS NEC.

Hull: 10am, rally at Royal Hotel, 170 Ferensway, HU1 3UF.

Ipswich: assemble at 10.45am in Giles Circus, Princes Street, IP1 1DT. March to a rally at town hall council chamber, Cornhill, Ipswich IP1 1DH. Speakers include Lorna Merry, PCS.

Leeds: 11.30am, assemble at Leeds Metropolitan University, Woodhouse Lane, LS1 3HE. March to noon rally in City Square, LS1 2AN. Speakers include Jane Aitchison, president of PCS in the Department of Work and Pensions.

Liverpool: assemble from 11.30am, William Brown Street, L1 1JJ. March to The Black-E arts centre, Great George Street, L1 5EW, for a rally at 12.30pm. Speakers include: Marie Daley, UCU NEC; Julie Lyon-Taylor, NUT NEC; and Alice Robinson, Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL), national senior vice president.



Llandrindod Wells: 11am, rally at The Pavillion, Spa Road, LLD1 5EY. March to rally and picnic at Landrindod Wells Lake Park, LD1 5LG.

London - central: 11am, assemble at Lincoln Inn Fields, WC2A 3TL. Music provided by Love Music Hate Racism. March to Westminster Central Hall, Storeys Gate, London. SW1H 9NH, for a rally at 1pm. Speakers include union general secretaries - Christine Blower (NUT), Mary Bousted (ATL), Sally Hunt (UCU), and Mark Serwotka (PCS); Dot Gibson of the National Pensioners Convention; and Labour MP John McDonnell. Find out more and download the London rally flyer at the events page.

London Wembley: 10am, rally in The Torch pub, Bridge Road, HA9 9AB, by Wembley Park station.

Luton: noon assemble at Market Hill, LU1 2YN, walk to Town Hall, George Street, LU1 2BQ, for speakers at 12.30pm - including Ian Albert, PCS NEC. In the afternoon there's a picnic in Wardown Park, Old Bedford Road, LU2 7HA.

Maidenhead: 11am to 1pm, rally at The Thames Hotel, Ray Mead Road, SL6 8NR.

Maidstone: noon to 2pm, assemble outside the Walnut Tree, 234 Tonbridge Road, ME16 8SR, for a rally focussing on education.
Maidstone: 4 to 5pm, assemble outside County Hall, County Road, ME14 1XD, for a rally focussing on public sector cuts.



Manchester: assemble from 11am, All Saints, Oxford Road, M1 7DU. March to Castlefield Arena, Liverpool Road, M3 4JN for a rally at noon. Speakers include: Helen Andrews, NUT NEC; Mark Baker, ATL NEC; and Dominique Lauterburg, UCU NEC.

Merthyr Tydfil: 12.30pm, rally at civic centre, Castle Street, CF47 8AN. Speakers include: Peter Harris, PCS Wales secretary; Dominic MacCaskill, Unison; Debbie Scott, NUT; and Jeff Edwards, leader Merthyr council. NEW

Middlesbrough: 4.30pm, rally by the bottle sculpture, Russell Street, TS1 2AE.

Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Meet at noon at Life Centre, Times Square, NE1 4EP. March to the monument, Grey Street, NE1 7AL, for a rally at 1pm. Speakers from striking unions including Cheryl Gedling, PCS NEC; plus Kevin Rowan, secretary Northern TUC.



Newport (south Wales) : noon, rally at John Frost Square, NP20 1PA. Speakers include: Dave Bean, PCS deputy president; Roy McCabe, UCU; and Angela Davies, NUT.

Norwich: noon, rally outside the Forum, Millennium Plain, Bethel Street, Norwich NR2 1TF.

Nottingham: 11.30am, assemble at Castle Meadow, NG2 1AB, for march to Trinity Square, NG1 4AF. Followed by rally in Albert Hall, North Circus Street, NG1 5AA. Speakers include Paul Williams, PCS NEC.

Oxford: noon, assemble at Town Hall, St Aldate's, OX1 1BX. March to a 2pm rally in Bonn Square, OX1 1EU. With music and a barbecue. Called by the Oxford & District Trades Council.



Peterborough: 10am rally at Laxton Square, PE1 1UQ. Organised by Peterborough TUC.
Peterborough: noon, rally in conjunction with Unison at City Hospital, Bretton Gate, Bretton, PE3 9GZ. Organised by Peterborough TUC.

Plymouth: 11am to 12.30pm , rally organised by ATL, NUT and UCU at Plymouth Albion rugby club, Madden Road, PL1 4NE.
Plymouth: noon, assemble at Guildhall Square, PL1 2AD, for Stop the Cuts' march round town and back to Guildhall, organised by Plymouth TUC.

Portsmouth: noon, rally at Guildhall Square, PO1 2AB. Speakers include: Mike Derbyshire, PCS NEC.

Preston: noon, rally at The Flag Market, PR1 2JA. Speakers include: Kathy Eager, ATL NEC; Simon Jones, NUT NEC; and John Murphy, UCU NEC.



Reading: 11am, rally at Reading International Solidarity Centre, 35 London Street, RG1 4PS. Noon, leafleting at Oracle shopping centre, RG1 2AG.

Rotherham: 11am, rally All Saints Square, S60 1PW.

Sheffield: noon, assemble Peace Gardens, Pinstone Street, S1 2HH. March to rally at Barkers Pool,S1 2JA. Speakers include Marion Lloyd, PCS NEC.

Sittingbourne: 11am, rally at Phoenix House, Central Avenue, ME10 4BX.

Southampton: 11am, rally in Guildhall Square, West Marlands Road, Southampton SO14 7FP. Unite and Unison members who are in dispute with Southampton city council will join the crowd at 12.30pm.



Southend: 12:30pm, Victoria Circus, SS1 1TJ. Organised by Southend Against the Cuts.

Swansea: 12.30pm to 2.30pm, rally at Castle Square, SA1 3PP.

Taunton: 11am, rally at Taunton rugby club, Hyde Lane, TA2 8BU.

Telford: noon, assemble at Southgate, TF2 8JT. March to rally at Cordingley Hall, Wellington Road, Donnington, TF2 8JS. Speakers include Chris Morrison, PCS NEC. Refreshments provided.

Truro: 10am to 1pm, rally at Lemon Quay, TR1 2LW.

Worthing: 11am, rally in Steyne Gardens, Warwick Road, BN11 3DZ. March to Homefield Park, Homefield Road, BN11 2HZ. Speakers include: Adam Kalif, PCS NEC. Supported by Worthing Solidarity Network.

Wrexham: 11.30am, rally at Queens Square, LL14 3EQ.

The above list is not exhaustive. It is very likely that a rally will also be held in your locality, if none of the above is convenient for you. Please check the link below for the latest on events organised near you:

http://www.pcs.org.uk/en/campaigns/campaign-events/events.cfm



NECESSARY LEAVE TO LOOK AFTER DEPENDENTS

Some advice in relation to the strikes next Thursday 30 June 2011 on the legal position regarding necessary leave to look after children or other dependents as many employers are trying to “blindside” employees by not telling them about the legal position in relation to time off.

Under S.57A Employment Rights Act 1996 (“ERA 1996”), employees have the right to take unpaid time off work, in certain circumstances, to care for or make arrangements in respect of a ‘dependant’. In order for the right to apply, the employee must:

(a) tell the employer the reason for his or her absence as soon as reasonably practicable; and

(b) if able, to contact the employer before returning to work, giving the employer an estimate of how long the absence will last.




The issue here is whether employees have had sufficient time to make alternate care arrangements. The legal test is whether it was ‘necessary’ and ‘unexpected’, and not as is often wrongly assumed, ‘sudden’ or in an emergency situation.

Therefore it is imperative that any employee who believes that they will have a difficulty in finding alternative care provision for their dependents during next week’s strike, must inform their employer as soon as possible. This will then give them protection from any potential disciplinary action. It should be noted that the right is only for unpaid leave. Companies may offer the choice of taking a day’s holiday instead, but this would be discretionary.

Please do all you can to support public sector workers. A victory for them is a win for a better future for all!

To keep you going until Thursday here is the Jam singing ‎"Kidney machines replaced by rockets and guns"... still so true 31 years later!

Big Society, Small Military?

Being republican with both a big and a small R the Celtic Sage is hardly an admirer of British militarism or imperialism. How could I be given their history in Ireland and my belief that the people are sovereign – I believe in being a citizen, not a subject? There is still too much unfinished business out there from the days of Empire which indicates that “Perfidious” and “Albion” are still two words which go together. Witness the shameful dispossession of the inhabitants of Diego Garcia, the abandonment of their allies against the Japanese the brave Karen people of Burma, their ignoring of the oppression of the Tamils in Sri Lanka since independence and the shabby racist treatment of ex Ghurkha soldiers and their families. Then there were the squalid post-colonial misadventures in Kenya, Aden, Cyprus and Suez to name a few which suggest “Our Boys” as they are known in gender prejudice Tabloid Land have frequently been ill used by politicians. Then there was the Mother of all Illegal Wars, where Britain was not just unconscious of the present in Iraq but apparently also unaware of its shameful past in that country.

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/04/britain-in-iraq.html


Nevertheless if you are not a pacifist you accept that Britain needs Armed Forces which must be properly resourced. You must also accept that there is a special compact to look after members of the Services who are prepared to die or be maimed to defend you and I - The Military Covenant. However I doesn’t recall either the Great Empire Defenders aka The Tories of the Lib Dems who form the Coalition of Opportunism which is grinding the UK back to the Stone Age tell the electors “Elect us and we’ll destroy the Army, Navy and RAF!” Nope, I never heard that before the election, did you?



No siree this was not the election platform but yet the UK’s Armed Forces are being ritually disembowelled on parade grounds around the world as we write. The Flagship of the Royal Navy Carrier Ark Royal and the entire Harrier Jet Force are being scrapped, £4 Bn of Nimrod Spy Planes (ordered by Conservative, Michael Portillo when they were in last time) will never fly and are being cut up. In the most significant changes to Britain’s defences since the post-Suez review of 1957, ministers and officials plan to scrap large parts of the Armed Forces. The Services will lose up to 16,000 personnel, hundreds of tanks, scores of fighter jets and half a dozen ships.


HMS Ark Royal has been sunk! The Flagship of the Navy she was the fifth Royal Navy ship to bear the illustrious name of Queen Elizabeth the First’s flagship which led the defeat of the Spanish Armada.


But the RAF will bear the brunt of the planned cuts. The Air Force will lose 7,000 airmen – almost one sixth of its total staff – and 295 aircraft. The cuts will leave the Force with fewer than 200 fighter planes for the first time since 1914. In addition, the Navy will lose two submarines, three amphibious ships and more than 100 senior officers, along with 2,000 sailors and marines.


Your job is OK Son!

The Army faces a 40 per cent cut to its fleet of 9,700 armoured vehicles and the loss of a 5,000-strong brigade of troops. The defence review scaled back Britain’s Armed Forces over the next decade, leaving the UK with just one operational aircraft carrier, a smaller number of surface ships and a reduction of 42,000 MoD personnel. The dismantling of three existing Nimrod reconnaissance aircraft, which were close to completion at a cost of £4.1 billion, is one of the most embarrassing outcomes of the review.


£4.1 Billion of new Nimrod surveillance aircraft which have never flown being cut up and scrapped

One amazing feature of the Demolition Coalition so far is the compliant press coverage from the Murdoch and Tory Press. When you consider the acerbic and highly personalised disinformation campaign against Labour and its entire works before the May Election the docility of the right wing press in the face of swingeing Defence cuts is both incredible and hypocritical. Remember the highly personalised campaign against former PM Gordon Brown for not supporting “Our Boys.” Now we are told he supported them too much!



Labour’s “Cool Britannia” has been replaced by the LibCon’s “Cruel Britannia.” So the casual cruelty to the Armed Forces continues with career prospects being destroyed, RAF pilots who cost £4 M each to train being sacked with only short flying hours remaining before they get their wings, 100 long serving soldiers being sacked by email, Sea, Air, Rescue being privatised one week and the process abandoned the next and experienced pilots telling David Cameron to his face that he has destroyed their careers.



We have been here before under the Conservatives. Remember saved the cost of one Navy ship they withdrew from the Falkland Islands and it cost us an entire war! The Falklands War cost 255 men, six ships (ten others suffered varying degrees of battle damage), 34 aircraft and £2.778 billion. Another Conservative triumph of economic management! This current disembowelling of the armed forces is even more perverse because it is based on two big lies. One is that we need to replace Trident, the Cold War MAD (mutually assured destruction) system which will cost £34 Bn. And never be used. The other is the lie about the HUGE budget deficit. But the government’s budget projections do not take into account the selloff of the stakes in the banks rescued in the 2008 Credit Crunch at a cost of £37 Bn. For UK PLC’s stake in these banks. The perfidious nature of George Osborne’s projections means these are not included. So the country, including the armed forces is being wrecked to keep an Election Bribe to one side for 2015.


Big Society community based Defence Partnership

It is not just the Armed Forces which are not safe in the hands of the Tory / LibDem Coalition, the whole country is at risk. David Cameron is certainly standing behind "Our Boys and Girls" - in the queue at the Job Centre!

To see what serving members of the Armed Forces think of their treatment by the Government see;

www.roguegunner.com

BHS – British Home Savings?

Philip Slasher Green

As the LibCon Coalition implodes before a horrified electorate, including the last remaining 11 Lib Dem supporters, who never voted for the policies they are threatening to implement PR Dave can’t resist the eye catching gesture of recruiting the most unlikely figure of Sir Philip Green to advise on cutting expenditure. Sir Philip, owner of clothing retailer Arcadia Group, will scrutinise expenditure from the past three years to try to identify where savings can be made. The conclusions from the external review will feed into the Comprehensive Spending Review due to be completed in October.

Announcing the appointment, Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude said: “We are extremely fortunate to have Sir Philip, with his immense commercial experience and of course his fantastic track record at managing large organisations, on board. “Sir Philip has made clear to the Government the importance of his business remit which has always been that efficient operating is different from cost cutting and removing jobs.”


Philip's 206 ft Benetti "Lionheart" registered in the Cayman Islands. He also has a 105 ft "speedboat" Lionchaser

The billionaire retail tycoon, who will be supported by a team of civil servants and report to Maude and Chief Treasury Secretary Danny Alexander, said: “I will give this efficiency review my very best effort knowing how hugely important it is to the recovery of the country.“I want to help focus, motivate and energise to achieve these efficiency savings. It is these actions that will re-start growth in the UK.”

Alexander said: “The Spending Review is about promoting growth, rebalancing the economy and completely re-evaluating the Government's role in providing public services. Sir Philip Green's efficiency review will play an important role as we totally re-think how the Government spends taxpayers' money.“Tough decisions need to be taken in order to ensure that Britain lives within its means. By being prepared to do things differently, we can ensure that this process will enable us to get more for less, and support our front line services.”



Now judging by this sybarite’s lifestyle “cutting” and “expenditure” have never been key words associated with him. Sir Philip, 58, owns more than 2,000 shops across Britain. His empire, which also includes BHS, is estimated to make up 12% of the nation's clothing retail market. When he turned 50, he received a solid gold Monopoly set from his wife Tina, featuring the stores he had acquired, including Top Shop, BHS and Miss Selfridge. To mark the occasion, Green chartered a private jet to fly 200 guests, including journalists and business associates, to Cyprus for a three-day toga party at a cost of £50m, and a few years later he spent further millions on his son's bar mitzvah, hiring Destiny's Child to provide the entertainment at the achingly stylish Grand Hotel du Cap Ferrat. He is Britain's fourth richest man, with a total of 2,300 shops in the UK and assets worth around £3.61bn. Together, the companies boast 40,000 employees, 2,500 outlets and $5.1 billion in sales. He lives part-time in the Dorchester Hotel in London while his wife, Tina, and two children reside in a Monte Carlo penthouse. Philip is a commuter, flying the tedious 1 hour 30 minute, 580 nm commute from Monaco in his 12 seater Gulfstream 550 Jet, range 6,800 nm. This of course gives him a great insight into the plight of the common people, an insight shared by the 22 millionaires (out of 26) in the LibCon cabinet.


Sir Philips Gulfstream 550 jet registered in the British Virgin Islands

Sir Philip is also – I must express this with care – a man who is careful to arrange his own finances so as not to needlessly benefit the common weal. In 2005, for example, the man whom Robert Peston (The BBC Business Reporter) dubs both a lovable rogue and the king of jackpot capitalism paid himself a tax-free dividend of £1.2bn from the Arcadia retailing business. Technically the dividend went to his Monaco-resident wife, in order to avoid UK Treasury attention, a tax saving to Sir Philip that has been estimated at £300m. That one dividend payment, as Mr Peston has written, was equivalent to what 54,000 people on average earnings would earn in a year, would build around 10 secondary schools capable of educating some 13,000 young people.

The BBC’s Money Programme calculated that Green and his family had ’saved themselves’ £300m from their £1.2bn salary by living for a part of the year in Monaco, whose residents don’t pay income tax.Standing up for such paupers used to be the point of a Labour government. Even if it could not force the likes of Green to pay their fair share, it retained the power to shun them and make it clear that those who don’t contribute towards their country can’t expect their country to be grateful.


Phil's normal hood of Monaco - Once described by Somerset Maugham as "A sunny place for shady people."

Amazingly, under Tony Blair even modest defiance of the plutocrats was beyond Labour now and Green, received a knighthood for ’services to the retail industry’. If I were in the Inland Revenue, I would fret about the moment when the little people who stupidly still pay taxes realise that the state is treating them like fools. It insists that they must hand over their earnings on pain of punishment by the courts, while inviting Philip Green to Buckingham Palace to be honoured by the Queen.

If Billionaires like Philip Green want to help society they should pay taxes and stop screwing workers. There are too many Great British Patriots who are too patriotic to pay taxes while living in their little islands in the sun, or in Belize. They are called Conservative Party donors. The whole Non-Dom tax status is nonsense. There is no such thing as an American Tax exile – If you are an American citizen you pay American Federal taxes on your world income no matter where you live. Don’t take my word on Philip Green’s unsuitability to take part in this gimmicky review, this is what Britain’s most trusted economic commentator and trusted politician once said;

"I have no time for billionaire tax dodgers who step off the plane from their tax havens into the country where they make their money and have the effrontery to tell us how to vote and how to run our tax policies. If some of them came onshore and paid their taxes it would make a useful dent in the budget deficit."

Fine words from Vince Cable. Now stand by them.


The man who banked £1.2 Billion tax free in Monte Carlo