Pensions: Our strength can stop this robbery

TUC day of action – reports

Our strength can stop this robbery

THE TUC undoubtedly saw their day of action on pensions on 18 February as
a way of ‘letting off steam’ on the pensions issue.
But members of the public-sector unions in many areas used the day to
prepare for more action, especially the strikes that many unions are balloting
for.
We print below some of the reports we received.

LEICESTER CITY council’s Chief Executive, Rodney Green, could get a
£500,000 pay-off from the city’s council tax payers according to the Leicester
Mercury.

Steve Score

What a kick in the teeth for council workers who have been told they have
to work longer, and pay more for their pensions! There is one rule for "them"
and another for us!

The ruling Labour group want to get rid of Green in a reorganisation. Yet
two years ago he was given £43,000 to stay! The then ruling Liberal/Tory
coalition raised his salary by £24,000 a year to £135,000. and gave him a
backdated payment totalling £43,000.

At the same time the Liberals and Tories embarked on a massive programme of
cuts to council services. Since the "thieves fell out" and Labour took control
of the cabinet, the new administration refused to reinstate the cuts that had
been made. All three parties are to blame for cuts – and all three are
prepared to hand out wads of cash to the bosses.

GMB members at the council photocopied the Leicester Mercury front page and
stuck it around the front of the Town Hall on the day of action. One UNISON
member said: "It’s disgusting. I was trying to work out how many years I would
have to work before earning that much, and now they want to cut our pensions!"


Going for a song in Sheffield

THIS SONG, composed by PCS member Robbie Faulds got a laugh when it was
sung on the Sheffield demo.

"When I get older, losing my hair,

Many years from now,

Will you make me work until I’m sixty-five,

In the hope I won’t stay alive?

Health is fading fast, ready to drop,

Will you care I’m at death’s door!

‘cos didn’t you mention, I won’t get a pension,

Because I’m only sixty-four!"


Manchester

HUNDREDS IF not thousands of workers across Greater Manchester took part in
the TUC-called day of action against pension cuts. In central Manchester, up
to 500 workers rallied in St Peter’s Square.

Hugh Caffrey

All the speakers slagged off the Labour Party. The best local Labour MP
Gerald Kaufman could manage was "we’re better than the Tories". ‘Not by much’
would be most workers’ response!

Building for the rally at the town hall annexe in the morning, many workers
signed our petition, took our leaflets, and bought the paper. A lively
demonstration of hospital workers took place outside Manchester Royal
Infirmary in the afternoon, and at other workplaces around the city.

In Bolton around 250 workers from most public-sector unions rallied.
Speaker after speaker denounced New Labour. The trades council moved a motion
slamming the government, calling for strike action, and for the unions to
break with New Labour if the cuts are implemented. To the cheers of the crowd,
it was unanimously approved!

The rally then marched to the local Labour MP’s office – a twitch of the
curtains was all the Labour office could muster.

If the TUC and most union leaders had one-tenth the fighting spirit of
their members, the cuts would be dead in the water already. The mood is there
for decisive strike action.


Ipswich

IPSWICH HAD a very successful day of action. Firefighters, teachers, local
government workers and civil servants came together and leafleted the town and
collected signatures on petitions, getting a brilliant response from the
public.

At the rally Roger MacKay, Ipswich and District TUC, pointed out that a
young teacher of 25 who lived until 84 would be £64,000 worse off as a result
of this attack on pensions.

Steve Brinkley, secretary of Suffolk FBU, hoped that it would not be the
last time public-sector workers got together.

Reasonable people would not expect firefighters to work until they were 65
but we’re not dealing with reasonable people. These changes, if brought in 20
years ago, would have brought a government down. The trade union leaders
needed to get off the fence.

Suzanne Williams, secretary of Ipswich Unison, said the average pension for
local government workers was £3,800. Two terms in Parliament gave MPs a
pension of £13,000, many borough council workers don’t even earn £13,000 a
year.

Peter Lockhart from the PCS said that civil servants tended to work until
they were 62 anyway. A quarter earn less than £15,000 with the average pension
being £4,000. The government will save on average £234 million a year from
these attacks in the civil service alone.

The government want to get rid of one-fifth of civil servants and make the
rest work until 65. His members are being balloted for discontinuous action
from 23 March.


Lambeth

SOME STAFF in Lambeth council are so angry over government attacks on
public sector pensions that they told their managers they were going on strike
on Friday.

Andy Tullis, Lambeth UNISON

In fact Friday (18 February) was a ‘day of action’ to highlight the
pensions issue and prepare for the 23 March strike. But these workers’
militant attitude shows the mood for the strike in the workplaces.

Up to 100 Lambeth UNISON, Natfhe, and NUT members linked up with Lambeth
Pensioners Action Group (LPAG) to hold a highly effective lunchtime rally on
the town hall steps.

Many local trade union leaders spoke of their disgust at New Labour’s
attacks on our pensions but put forward no programme or call to break with New
Labour.

That’s probably why our election material for UNISON general secretary
candidate, Roger Bannister, went down so well. We explained that Roger was
calling for disaffiliation from the Labour Party and the formation of a new
workers’ party.

One pensioner told me: "If this is what Blair is doing to their members’
pensions before the election, what’s he going to do to them if he wins it?"
Time for a new workers’ party!