"UK Council Pension Funding improves by £37 Billion in one year!" TPA

For some reason or other the Tax Evader's Alliance (which is also known as the Tax Payers Alliance/ TPA) did not use this post's title for their "report" published yesterday about Council Pensions (the LGPS - local government pension scheme) Funding. Instead they continued with their selective scaremongering about so called "New Research" and a "£54 billion "black hole".

The truth of the matter is that funding of Council pensions has improved by a colossal £37 Billion in just over a year. You would have thought that this would be a cause of celebration if you were genuinely concerned with tax payers exposure to pension liability?

Of course the the way that all funded pension funds assets and liabilities (private and public) is calculated is barmy. But that is another story. The fact that they don't appear to know or care shows them up to be the extreme right wing "nasty party" Tory front that they pretend not to be.

So desperate are they to discredit the pensions of cleaners, lollypop ladies and town hall clerks that they compared (the totally unfunded) Police Officer pension contribution rates with the LGPS. What rubbish? The schemes are chalk and cheese. Council pensioners would love to retire with a full pension after 30 years service and many would pay more if they could do so. Maybe they should have titled their report "TPA want all Council workers to retire at 50"!

The real nonsense about the Tax Evaders think tank 4 thickos is that they say nothing at all about the real scandal in British taxation. The individual and corporate tax cheats who cost the UK £70 billion a year (every year - repeat £70 Billion).

Maybe because some TPA directors don't pay any UK tax and some of their funders are serial tax evaders while others simply want to privatise the LGPS so they can rip it off?

Amazon.CON

On the day before the media reported that on-line retailer Amazon was being investigated because it paid no UK Corporation tax on sales of £7 billion I had my own little "run in" with them.

In August last year I bought a Sonic electronic toothbrush from "Amazon" for £65. A few weeks ago it suddenly gave up the ghost and stopped working. Tried to recharge it etc but nothing. Since there is still at least 4 months (arguably 16 months) of the guarantee to go I went on the Amazon web site to find out how to get an exchange or refund.

I then found out that I had actually bought the toothbrush from one of its "third party agents" called "Great Prices". I had to email this agent via Amazon which I did. Amazon then advised me that their email address of Great Prices was not working so my email was not delivered however Great Prices would still see my communication (somehow?). I waited a few days but heard nothing so tried again. Same response, so I contacted Amazon on-line and this reply above came back.

Amazon has completely washed it hands of the matter. They refuse to honour the guarantee of the product that had been sold to me on their site and they are even refusing to give me the contact details of their agent! How on earth am I suppose to try and claim my money back? They have since sent another email refusing to investigate my complaint against them saying this has nothing to do us Gov! I won't accept that excuse.  Amazon has made money out of this sale. If they host such agents and allow them to use their name and payment system they should protect their customers when things go wrong and not  run away and leave them in the lurch.

I will also have to try the manufactor and trading standards.

So do not buy anything from Amazon 3rd Party agents since if they disappear (or whatever) after 90 days then you have no come back. Actually we shouldn't be using Amazon at all.

On one level I suppose I should have known better. Amazon is an virulently anti-trade union employer and organisations that treats its workers badly also treat their customers with contempt as well. Reminds me of my ongoing fun and games with Richard Branson and Virgin media. 

It now appears that Amazon has been cheating British tax payers.  No surprise really.  

I will let you know how I get on with my quest for a refund.

UNISON Pay, Bargaining and Equalities Seminar 2012

On Thursday I attended this national UNISON seminar at our headquarters in Euston. Jane Carolan, NEC, Chair of Service Group Liaison welcomed us saying that the traditional response by the union to serious disputes with our employers had been industrial conflict, that option will always remain but we also need to consider other options. We had a presentation on the "Economic Overview" by Nicola Smith , Head of Economic and Social Affairs at the TUC.

After a Q&A there were workshops on "Outsourcing and procurement"; "Attacks on terms and conditions"; "Negotiating with the private and voluntary sector" and "Bargaining". Then there was a presentation on UNISON Pay Strategy by our General Secretary Dave Prentis and Assistant General Secretary Karen Jennings. This was followed by a reception in the Atrium with speaker Anna Bird (Fawcett Society - see picture). On Friday morning Alistair Hatchett, Head of Pay and HR services from the IDS gave an entertaining account of how the Tories and the Tax Evaders Alliance deliberately distort and mislead on public sector pay. After the last workshop, Mike Kirby, Regional Secretary Scotland spoke on "making the best of the Coalition Government, a perspective from devolved nations".

I am pleased that UNISON is taking the education and development of its activists seriously. Not just the nuts and bolts of bargaining and negotiating but the wider economic, social and economic framework.

SERTUC Regional Council motion: Response to Government Economic Policies

This is a picture of me addressing the recent SERTUC (South East Regional TUC) Council meeting.

(Yes, I must remember to stick my head up from my speech notes when speaking).

Motion 1 was about the "Response to Government Economic Policies". It was quite a good motion which I spoke in favour of but I felt that it needed to be emphasised what November 30 should really be about.

"President, Council....Winning the Ballot with a big majority and a big turnout then making strike action on November 30th a success, is indeed the 1st important counter attack against this Government's policies.

But as a member of the Local Government Pension Scheme for 20 years and currently facing a bleak pension future. If we win the ballot then the strike action on November 30 is first and foremost an industrial issue. It is an industrial dispute around the fundamental threat to a basic term and condition for all workers. The right to a safe and secure future in retirement.

And we must continue to remind the public that this is a last resort industrial dispute brought about by the abject failure by this Government to negotiate.

The focus on November 30 should be the picket line. Winning the dispute with effective pickets on every single town hall and public building. Leafleting the public, talking to them about our cause, supporting hospital workers at their lunch time protests, then maximising turnout at rallies and lobbies.

Also as someone who now works for a private organisation that does not offer its new employees a safe and secure defined benefit pension. As part of this fight back we must never forget the 2/3 of employers in the private sector that do not pay a penny towards the pensions of their staff nor the horrific figure that 50% of all private sector workers have no pension provision whatsoever.

However, despite the impression given by the Daily Hates and the Tax Evaders Alliance, don’t forget that as well as the 6 million in public service pension schemes that there are still 2.4 million private sector workers who are still accruing service in private defined benefit schemes. They know if the public service defined benefit schemes collapse - so will theirs.

Council, the message to all workers, public and private sector, must be quite clear, that on 30 November we will be striking to defend safe and secure pensions for all".