Link to this page: http://www.socialistparty.org.uk/issue/621/9415
From The Socialist newspaper, 21 April 2010
Fast news
What they don't say
TENS OF thousands of low paid council workers, NHS workers, teachers, etc, face the sack as part of a 500,000+ jobs cull during the next five years as the next government slashes public spending to curb the £167 billion budget deficit. This black hole in public finances was massively increased by the Labour government's multi-billion bailout of the failed banking system.
The health service could bear the brunt of the cuts, despite party leaders Gordon Brown and David Cameron pledging to protect frontline services.
The jobs warning comes from a report by the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development. John Philpott, its chief economic adviser, said a 10% reduction in the 5.8 million core public sector workforce is probable, "dwarfing anything implicit in the election manifestos".
Oversubscribed
AND WITH youth unemployment hovering around one million, British Gas has received more than 65,000 applications for 600 gas fitter apprenticeships. Such is the high overall level of unemployment, some of the applicants were aged over 50.
Under the scheme an apprentice is paid £5,000 a year (under £100 a week) to repair boilers and radiators.
One-in-five young people are currently unemployed of whom more than 100,000 are recent graduates with another 300,000 graduates expected to enter the jobs market.
Safe investment
THE GLOBAL investment bank Goldman Sachs has been charged in the US with fraud after investors lost $1 billion (£650 million) in the sub-prime mortgage led financial crash. The civil lawsuit follows the bank's recent announcement that it would be paying out $5.3 billion from a pay and bonus pool to its managers.
Also charged is Fabrice Tourre, the British-based Goldman banker who earned £1.5 million a year. He is accused of creating sub-prime mortgage investment deals devised to fail. US investigators claim Goldman Sachs lied to investors - which included the bailed out Royal Bank of Scotland group - to make the mortgages sound like a safer deal.
Meanwhile, billionaire hedge fund manager, Paulson and Co - which paid $15 million to Goldman for selling this 'financial product' - made $1 billion betting on the stock market that the investments would fail.
Tamil refugees
Tamil refugees aboard a tiny boat held in Merak port, Indonesia, since 11 October 2009, have been forcefully transferred to a detention centre in Tanjung Pinang, a small Indonesian island.
They were fleeing a brutal war in Sri Lanka and have suffered immensely in the last seven months. The Indonesian authorities have still not allowed their refugee applications to be processed and have reneged on the agreement made with refugees prior to the transfer.
Tamil Solidarity - campaigning for their rights - has called for protests. Please read more details on www.socialistworld.net and register your protest against the inhuman treatment of these refugees.
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In The Socialist 21 April 2010:
Stop these savage cuts: support the socialist alternative
Youth fight for jobs
Young people facing a fight for their future
National Union of Students conference: Campaign needed against fees and cuts
Socialist Party editorial
Left candidates excluded from media
LibDem Surge
Big business as usual for Liberal Democrats
TV debate - Party leaders compete for the same policies
Transport
Volcanic eruption brings travel chaos: Planned and integrated transport system vital
Planes, trains and automobiles
Socialist Party news and analysis
Cameron turns back clock on women's rights
Banks use microloans to fleece poor
Socialist Party election campaign
Doncaster - Jarvis's vicious sackings and workers' fightback
Portsmouth North: "An ordinary guy to represent ordinary workers"
Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition
Coventry: Standing up for public services
Colne Valley / Huddersfield: Kirklees' only fighting councillor
Spelthorne: "The trade union candidate guy"
A chance to put your questions to your local Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition candidates.
Anti-racism
Why the BNP offers no way forward for working class people
International socialist news and analysis
Progressive Workers Federation of Pakistan founded
Sri Lanka parliamentary elections: Rajapaksa's clan consolidates its rule
Socialist Party features
National Care Service - fact or fiction?
1936 - A play about the Olympics
Socialist Party workplace news
Civil service dispute continues
Fighting cuts at Coventry council
Strike ballot at Manchester Metropolitan University
Dover trade unions against privatisation
National Shop Stewards Network 2010 conference:
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