Posted in Public services

Why GMB members will be striking in Academies on 10th July, but not UNISON

GMBNext Thursday’s strike on 10th July looks set to be well supported, based upon the feedback I am getting as a GMB branch secretary. People are at the end of their tether, facing rising living costs, and pay packets that have shrunk in real terms. Local authority pay has gone up only 1% since 2010 and in October even the national minimum wage will overtake local authority pay scales. These hard working, caring people are bearing the brunt of an economic crisis that they did not cause.

Calling a national strike across the public sector is an enormous achievement, and it is extremely difficult for trade unions to communicate with members across thousands of different work places, not all of whom are covered by shop stewards or functioning branch structures.

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The Transatlantic trade deal: a project of the 1%

The EU/US trade deal (TTIP) is a vast power grab on behalf of the world’s biggest corporations, and there’s still time to stop it.

In this new international order – or disorder – the economic, military, political and even moral leadership of the West is increasingly challenged”

Michel Barnier, EU Commissioner, 12 June, on the backdrop to TTIP

“American leadership, exercised through trade, can bolster the foundation of our power – the strength of the US economy, establish the rules of the road that reflect both our interests and our values”

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The political class won’t “reconnect” until markets are drastically reformed

the-sopranos HERE TO SERVE‘Reconnecting’ is the buzz word for the political class. They all agree it’s necessary, but very few have any serious ideas about how it might be achieved, and through force of inertia they easily slip back into the old ways. What they don’t realise is that it’s more about their constituents feeling able to reconnect as it is for them.

At present, and it’s been true for a long time, ordinary people have been feeling they no longer have control over key aspects of their lives. If they believe they didn’t receive the healthcare they needed, they are unsure how to make their complaint effective. If they need a house, they don’t know how to get one. If they think there’s a significant problem at the local school, they’re uncertain how to get it dealt with if the head teacher is unsympathetic. If they’re angry that the big banks have shortchanged the country out of billions and should pay the price for it, who do they go to to make sure this happens when the governing party gets half its annual income from those same banks? Continue reading →

Support the French rail strikers

SNCF en greveThe French rail strike – now in its sixth day — is a pain. Nobody likes seeing their train cancelled. High school exams are being disrupted too. But why are the railway workers on strike?

They are protesting against the railway reforms of the Government of President Francois Hollande and PM Manuel Valls. The Government claims its reform will ‘unify the railway family’ that is today divided into two separate companies: SNCF which is the train operating company and SNCF which maintains the tracks. It is Europe that years ago demanded this separation. Continue reading →

The Coalition’s Last Stand

Black RodDennis Skinner summed up the country’s mood when he declared the recent Queen’s speech to be the “Coalition’s last stand.” The Government set out their agenda for the next 12 months leading up to the general election. It was a missed opportunity, lacking the ideas, policy and ambition that is required to meet the challenges we face, neither did it address the clear concerns and disconnect that was present during the local and European election.

We must face facts, our politics is broken when people no longer believe voting can make a difference to their lives. We needed a Queen’s Speech that set a new direction and offered hope but instead there was no policy to tackle the cost of living crisis, make work pay, or rebalancing the economy to allow every to share the benefits of growth. Unfortunately, we got more of the same from a rudderless Government who are planning when it is best to break up the Coalition in order to maximise their electoral chances.

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