CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE CUTS - RALLY & LOBBY OF PARLIAMENT - 19 OCTOBER

On Greater London UNISON website here.  "As part of the TUC’s campaign against the cuts a rally and lobby of Parliament are planned for 19 October - the day before the Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR). Cuts are already hitting public services hard after the emergency Budget in June and on 20 October, the Chancellor will set out the details of the coalition’s spending plans for the next three years, in the CSR which will contain savage cuts that will not only hit vital services but threaten the fragile economic recovery. It’s important that we take a strong message to Westminster and the media on the 19th with a successful rally and lobby of Parliament.

The event will start with a rally in Westminster Central Hall (map attached) at 12.30 pm (doors 12.15 pm). The main auditorium at Central Hall holds more than 2,000 and the TUC wants to make sure that it is packed – if it’s not, then what message does this send out to the coalition Government?? Speakers have yet to be confirmed but once this information is available we will let branches know.

The lobby After the rally, the focus moves to the House of Commons. The aim is that unions and service users lobby a carefully targeted list of Government MPs which is attached. For those who are unable to attend the lobby they can meet their MP at a constituency surgery as close as possible to the CSR - MPs need to understand the impact the cuts will have on their constituencies and the case for an alternative approach to the deficit reduction. To simplify this process the attached briefing document sets out everything you need to know about the lobby – the points you need to put across to your MP, why we are lobbying, what is “lobbying”?, making arrangements in advance to meet MPs, what should be raised when you meet your MP. A model letter to be sent to MPs is also included.

What you need to do NOW! Engage with ALL your members, encourage them to make appointments to meet with their MPs at the lobby. We need as many people as possible to attend not just branch officers and activists – this will affect everyone and everyone needs to be given the opportunity to show their objection to the cuts and the CSR. Also engage with community groups and service users and encourage them to attend - it doesn’t matter that some of them may not be trade union members anyone can attend the lobby and it is important that there is a cross section of the community involved.

Please ensure that this information is passed on to ALL YOUR MEMBERS and encourage them to making arrangements to meet their MPs, especially those on the targeted list.

If you have any queries, please contact your Regional Organiser".

Lobby of Parliament over Pay

Yesterday after work I went to the House of Commons to take part in the “Speak up for Public Services” lobby of MPs organised by the TUC.

I was due to meet up with London UNISON Regional Convener, Gloria Hanson, and UNISON NEC member, Irene Stacey, to lobby Labour MP for West Ham Lyn Brown on “fair pay” for all public sector workers.

All of us work or live in Newham and are Labour Party activists. There had been a packed TUC rally at lunchtime which I had missed and the main lobby was 2-4pm. On route in the Great Hall I met up with John Whitworth, who was also on his way to lobby Lyn. John is a member of the University and College union UCU and had actually been on strike that day at his college over pay! While waiting in the central lobby for Lyn I saw the trade union web and Internet adviser (also an editor of Labourstart and blogger) Eric Lee. Eric spoke to John and took details of the UCU dispute which he would try to get covered in Labourstart. Eric and John also had an interesting and constructive chat about other wider issues regarding UCU.

Gloria and Irene came in with Labour Minister Jim Fitzpatrick MP who they had met beforehand to lobby (Jim represents Canning Town in Newham and Poplar in Tower Hamlets). Years ago I can remember lobbying Jim over social housing issues with a unison convener who was also an active member of the SWP. Jim invited us to Strangers Bar and offered to buy us both a beer (no sandwiches). To my surprise my companion gratefully accepted the offer and seemed to enjoy his pint!

Lyn took the 4 of us to the Palace of Westminster terrace bar. There were a number of UNISON and other trade union members sitting with their MP’s. Including Mike Hayes, from the NEC who gave us a briefing on Equal Pay the other week. The serious business of the day was “lobbying” our MP over what we believe to be the decision to save the government money by paying public sector staff increases below the rate of inflation. The majority of our members are relatively low paid and have been hit hardest by the large increases in many food, fuel and energy prices. The fact that we believe this will also be (is) politically damaging to the Labour Party and the Government was not lost either.

We also discussed the rise of the BNP in East London and potential redundancies in Newham council resulting from a proposed centralisation of services. I had a discussion about cuts in Housing “Supporting People” services and Lyn gave me some helpful advice about how to progress this.

I don’t expect the world to change overnight and as the result of this TUC parliamentary lobby, Gordon Brown is not going to wake up tomorrow and realise that he has made a terrible mistake and will come up with a big wedge of money for us. Nor will such indirect pressures replace the need, when necessary, to confront and stand up to government and employers. We could I suppose just join the protesters outside in Parliament Square and shout at the MPs through megaphones all day. I don’t think that this actually achieves much. While it is not always sweetness and light in the relationship of the trade unions and the Labour Party such as this difference over public services pay. Nor should it. But, just compare this difference with the abyss between the trade unions and the Conservative Party.

The public pay issue is also not just “producer interests” moaning about our share of the cake, it is also pointing out what should be the bleeding obvious to the government that this will not help you win the next election. Never mind the 10p tax fiasco. Reducing in real terms the amount of money that 5 million predominantly low paid voters will receive in their pay packets over the next few years is not only plain wrong for a Labour government to do but barking mad, bad politics as well.

Picture (by ace Parliamentary aide David H) is of Lyn, John W, Me, Gloria and Irene (congratulations on her being re-elected as a London UNISON SGE member). Lyn is looking away from the camera since she is the only one to see that while we were all posing, the House of Commons pigeons were feasting on our crisps and peanuts.

Lobby Your Pension Scheme to Stop Greedy Drug Dealer!

Fair Pensions has sent me an email about a campaign to stop drugs giant Novartis preventing India from producing life saving drugs at an affordable rate. It appears that Novartis (who you probably "own" bits of via your pension scheme, life assurance or saving plan) is taking the Indian government to court to try and stop them making cheap copies of prescription drugs. I thought this sort of thing was sorted a few years back when the big drug companies backed off taking South Africa to court, when they were trying to make cheap anti-viral medicine to combat HIV and AIDS. Public pressure did win that time. So click on link and send them details of your pension plan and they will tell you how to lobby them. Better still, see if you could get involved with your pension scheme and become a member trustee/representative (Local government scheme)!