The Peoples Assembly

The Peoples Assembly will take place in London on Saturday June 22nd. The Assembly will be a large gathering of trade union and political activists against austerity. Bristol and South West Unite the Resistance have organised a coach from Bristol (supported by North Somerset NUT) for those wishing to go.

Tickets for the coach are £10 waged and £7 concessions and can be obtained by emailing Anne Lemon (NUT) at

annelemon198@btinternet.com

 

 

The People’s Assembly Against Austerity was launched with a letter to the Guardian 

This is a call to all those millions of people in Britain who face an impoverished and uncertain year as their wages, jobs, conditions and welfare provision come under renewed attack by the government. With some 80% of austerity measures still to come, and with the government lengthening the time they expect cuts to last, we are calling a People’s Assembly Against Austerity to bring together campaigns against cuts and privatisation with trade unionists in a movement for social justice. We aim to develop a strategy for resistance to mobilise millions of people against the Con Dem government.

The assembly will provide a national forum for anti-austerity views which, while increasingly popular, are barely represented in parliament. A People’s Assembly can play a key role in ensuring that this uncaring government faces a movement of opposition broad enough and powerful enough to generate successful co-ordinated action, including strike action. The assembly will be ready to support co-ordinated industrial action and national demonstrations against austerity, if possible synchronising with mobilisations across Europe. The People’s Assembly Against Austerity will meet at Central Hall, Westminster, on 22 June.

Tony Benn President, Coalition of Resistance

Workers Memorial Day and Bangladesh

The following report comes from Bristol NUT:

International Workers Memorial Day – Sunday 28th April
Representatives of the trade union movement in Bristol and the South West gathered at Bristol Cathedral to commemorate workers who have died or been injured as a result of their work throughout the world.

It was particularly poignant in view of the recent deaths of over 350 garment workers in Bangladesh in a factory making cheap clothes for British shops.
Health and safety is portrayed as a joke by right-wing commentators such as Jeremy Clarkson who quote ludicrous and usually apocryphal examples of “‘elf an’ safety gone mad”. What they don’t mention are the tens of thousands of people who have been saved from death or injury by trade union action on health and safety. Nor do they mention the thousands of people who still suffer from work-related injury or illness in this country and the tens of thousands in sweatshops abroad.
Employers are trying to undermine health and safety. Recently a blacklist used by construction companies against anyone who has raised health and safety issues on a building site was exposed. This blacklist was used to stop trade unionists working on the Olympic Stadium construction. Teachers are not exempt: 200 teachers have died in the past 30 years from asbestos-related illness and the NUT deals with hundreds of cases a year of stress-related illness.

The ceremony at Bristol cathedral, organised by the South West TUC and at which the NUT was represented, was moving. We must not let the Government, employers and right-wing commentators undermine our achievement in making the workplace safer.photo by Nigel Varley (Bristol NUT)

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Another meeting to commemorate the deaths of workers is being held on Monday 29th April at 730pm in Tony Benn House, Victoria Street, Bristol. The meeting is organised jointly by Bristol Hazards Research Group and Bristol Radical History. The main speakers will be Di Parkin, a historian of the Kent miners, and ‘A. Sparkey’ an electrician who has worked in construction for 40 years, where blacklisting of health and safety activists remains rife. One construction worker dies on average each week on Britains construction sites, and the employers and Government have colluded to reduce health and safety regulations in recent years. We shouldn’t forget the deaths of four workers who fell from the Avonmouth bridge while carrying out work in 1999. Battles over health and safety were hotly disputed, including a 24 hour strike in 1973 during construction.

Finally local campaigning group Labour Behind the Label are encouraging people to sign the petition here, aimed at forcing Primark and Matalan, who received supplies from the collapsed Bangladesh factory, to fully compensate the workers and their families involved in the (very avoidable) disaster. Primark and Matalan both have stores in Bristol…………..

 

 

May Day March and Demonstration in Bristol

Look out for billboards on the Bath Road (near Paintworks) & on Stapleton Road, Bristol! Saturday May 4th demonstration called by Bristol Trades Council, against austerity and the bedroom tax.

 

Poster available here.

Fire Brigade Cuts and Fightback in Taunton

Comment from FBU Taunton rep Wayne Withey -“The figures for one year 2011/12 are not published in the local community profile or the corporate plan, 54 casualties and 3 fatalities from special service calls a massive increase from the previous two years figures 2009/11, 53 casualties and 1 fatality.
Its not just fires we go out to attend!”

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SieSGBSSFSk&feature=share

Local UtR Statement to Sign.

Dear Colleague

Unite the Resistance, a network of trade unionists from many unions, is pleased to announce ways forward for fighting back against the austerity and cuts, for you to be able to join with other like minded people. You are not alone and together we can find ways to build unity. This unity is for our livelihoods, our parent’s future, our children’s future, the future of the NHS and many other professions and industries where the cuts and austerity measures are not the answer to provide growth and development.

We are witnessing aggressive attacks on our working conditions, through re-structuring of laws such as employment law, health and safety law and institutions such as the NHS, education and other public services. The attacks are not in one area – they affect pay, working conditions, pension, job security and the list goes on.

There are other ways.

UTR has put together a pamphlet, ‘Trade Unions and the Fight Against Austerity’, packed with a collection of ideas for an action plan (brief outline attached). You are invited to put your name to the UTR statement and take the accompanying motion to your union branch to give support – including financial (copies attached). You can email address below to receive regular updates by email to receive news, find out about opportunities to show solidarity and support campaigns:

bristolunitetheresistance@gmail.com

There will be a South West Regional Conference on 8th June 2013 to help us to learn from others and to find out what has been happening throughout the region and nationally so we can learn from other successes and struggles – all are welcome.

In solidarity

Kathy Taylor, Unite Bristol Health Branch Secretary

WE the undersigned agree to:

Support resistance to all the attacks on working people: against cuts in services and privatisation, against job losses, pay curbs and attacks on welfare.

Encourage the development of networks of trade unionists and activists in our local area that link rank and file workers and union officials who are prepared to lead a fight within and across trade unions and between workplaces. These should link up with community, anti-cuts and student organisations. They can also campaign for national industrial action and coordinated strikes and push to maximise the impact of national initiatives.

Campaign for the TUC to turn words into action and implement the call for a general strike and popularise the general strike call across the public and private sector.

Build maximum support and solidarity with any workers taking action such as the on-going dispute in Yorkshire by health workers (who we hope will visit the area to talk to trade unionists about their fight).  Provide a forum in which activists can discuss and debate the way forward and organise action such as solidarity with health workers in the South West resisting attacks on pay. We should approach union branches, local trades councils and other relevant groups to be part of organising regional Unite the Resistance events.

Support, learn from and build solidarity for struggles in other parts of the world including initiatives such as international delegations, twinning and inviting international speakers.

Support resistance to racism, fascism, sexism, homophobia and transphobia, disablism, attacks on migrants, scapegoating of people on benefits, or anything else that divides workers.

Support campaigns to defend our right to organise against the anti trade union laws and other attacks on our right to strike or protest.

Present a positive alternative to austerity based on the Unite the Resistance action plan as outlined in the Trade Unions and the Fight Against Austerity booklet launched November 2012.

We pledge to argue to get national strike action back on the agenda and for the coordination of action wherever possible between those unions who are willing to fight. 

We will be part of publicising and building the planned Unite the Resistance regional conference for the South West (provisionally scheduled for Saturday 8th June 2013).

To add your name to the statement please email bristolunitetheresistance@gmail.com
National Unite the Resistance website  http://uniteresist.org/

Signed by,       

Kathy Taylor , UNITE Bristol Area Health Sector branch secretary, Chrissie Gardner, UNITE Bristol Area Health Sector branch assistant secretary, UNITE National Industrial Sector Committee for health (support staff), Workplace rep, Gwyneth Powell-Davies, UNITE Bristol Area Health Sector branch Vice-chair , Stephen Buckingham, UNITE Bristol Area Health Sector branch treasurer, Workplace rep.,Brian Harder, UNITE Bristol Area Health Sector branch -Workplace rep, Salena Williams, International Officer, Central Bristol Health UNISON (personal capacity), Pam Ward,Steward, North Bristol NHS Trust (personal capacity), Huw Williams, Branch Secretary, South Gloucestershire UNISON (personal capacity), Matt Proom, Communications Officer, South Gloucestershire UNISON (personal capacity), Denis Wise, International Officer, Bristol UNISON (personal capacity), Rich Gurney, Shop Steward, Banes UNISON (personal capacity), Celia Hollingworth, UCU (Bristol University) Exec member and local rep (personal capacity), Jon Reddiford , Division Secretary, North Somerset NUT, Anne Lemon, NUT National Exec., Pete Smith, NUT Swindon Divisional Secretary, Jon Timbrell, NUT Rep., Swindon Academy, Jez Longden, NUT Rep., Cotham, Gurchetan Shoker, NUT Rep., Ashton Park, Jaz Thomas, Avon FBU vice-chair, Emy Castelao, USDAW rep., Taunton (personal capacity). 

new additions to the statement: Tony Staunton (Chair, Plymouth TUC (personal capacity); Bernie Parkes (Branch Chair, Dorset County Unison, personal capacity); Michal Nahman, (UCU, University of the West of England); Lyn Parfitt (Union Learning Rep, Bristol City Unison, personal capacity); Debbie Clough (Union Learning rep. Bristol City Council Unison, personal capacity); Lyndsey Wall, Bristol City Council, Unite).

May Day, May Day!

MAY DAY DEMONSTRATION. Called by Bristol Trades Council, Saturday May 4th. Assemble College Green at 11am. A planning meeting to help build the demonstration against austerity, welfare cuts and the bedroom tax, will be held Tuesday 9th April, 6pm at Tony Benn House, Victoria Street. Leafletting Gloucester Road, 12 noon, Saturday 13th April.

PCS Long Weekend

The PCS begins its long weekend of industrial action tomorrow (Friday April 5th) against attacks on pay, conditions and pensions . The strikes start at 1pm on Friday 5 April when tens of thousands of members in the civil service and related bodies walk out of their workplaces across the UK. This includes all members covered by the national strike ballot (e.g DWP offices and Job Centres) except: HM Revenue and Customs and the Valuation Office; Home Office, UK Border Agency and border force.

On Monday April 8th HMRC (HM Revenue and Customs) will walk out for half a day returning to work at 1pm. This dispute is against the introduction of new computer technology which will intensify workloads.

Please support the picket lines with solidarity delegations (biscuits, cakes always welcome!).

Stop Closure of A&E at Cheltenham Hospital!

Demonstration called this Saturday (April 6th) in Cheltenham against plans to close Accident and Emergency facility. Meet 11.30am Sandford Park (Lido Car Park). Call 079 89 105 449 to travel up with others from Bristol.