tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55704910314887082912024-03-12T21:57:01.725-07:00Bath Anti-Cuts AllianceBath Anti-Cuts Alliancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10210432415236319121noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5570491031488708291.post-35149694718794656412013-04-09T16:21:00.000-07:002013-04-09T16:21:15.359-07:00Workfare Week of Action retrospective: 18th-24th March<div style="text-align: justify;">
Taken from <a href="https://network23.org/barf/">BARF</a>'s website:</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Last week’s Week of Action against
Workfare saw 11 demos around the country, and got off to a positively
super start, as Superdrug announced their withdrawal from the scheme
(get it? “Super”? As in “Super”drug? No? Ahh, forget it). Okay, it was
on the Friday, not the beginning of the week, you pedant, but they
pulled out all the same.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://network23.org/barf/files/2013/03/poundland-black-n-red.png"><br /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
But as a reminder, what is Workfare? From the leaflet: <i>“Unemployed
people being forced to work for free for up to six months with no
guarantee of a job afterwards, many of them for major high street
companies, such as British Heart Foundation, Debenhams, Poundland,
Superdrug, Tesco, WHS Smiths, and more.”</i> So, yeah, modern slavery,
but without the obligation to keep the slaves healthy, because this time
there’s more than enough of us.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
At the beginning of the week, <a href="https://www.boycottworkfare.org/?p=2351" style="cursor: crosshair;"><b>the Employment Related Services Association (ERSA) put out a ‘myth buster’ in defence of Workfare</b></a>
– conveniently made up of mythology itself. The ERSA is the trade body
for welfare-to-work companies like A4e and JHP Employability. Though
they claim that <b>the scheme is only used in limited ways</b>, 163,000
people were on “Government training and employment support programs” in
February 2013 – over 10% of JSA claimants – most of which were Work
Experience Placements. They think that <b>Work Programme providers
wouldn’t force people to do something that won’t help them get work,
because they won’t get paid if they don’t help find someone a job</b>; which is a logical perspective if you have no basis in reality. They also allege that <b>mandation is used only in a minority of circumstances and must benefit to the local community</b>,
ignoring how claimants are pressured into placements, or not properly
informed about their mandatory nature, and how the so-called “benefit to
the local community” often includes cleaning private homes. And one of
their most naïve claims: <b>placements organised via the Work Programme
and Mandatory Work Activity programme are unpaid precisely so they do
not displace paid workers</b>. But it is patently obvious that access to
a ready supply of unpaid workers does replace paid jobs and undermine
wages, and the companies know it too: ASDA reduces overtime hours for
staff; Argos replaced its Christmas temps with Workfare staff; JHP
Employability cuntishly even advertised workfare as “free temporary
staff for up to four weeks” on their site. It’s uncertain to what extent
this impact is, as the govermint refuses to actually carry out any
trials. The ERSA also claim <b>the public don’t object to workfare</b>,
in the face of growing opposition, and to prove it they hark back to a
March 2011 poll done for thinktank Policy Exchange – long before
workfare hit the headlines.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Another factoid to consider in all this:
incidence and severity of assaults on JCP staff are apparently on the
up, with frustration and confusion about sanctions are cited as the
cause.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
On Tuesday, attention was turned to the
Salvation Army, whose UK HQ was paid a surprise visit. Nevertheless, the
media-savvy Sally’s showed how they’re happy to act as Iain Duncan
Smith’s Workfare foot soldiers, as their heavy-handed response to a
peaceful protest left one person temporarily arrested after being
falsely accused of assault, until police realised they’d been lied to.
Never content to just stop there, when questioned about how they “can
morally take sick and disabled people and force them to work?”, the
charity replied that they believe in “emancipation through employment” –
just like at Auschwitz. Should you wish to let them know exactly you
think about their use of forced labour, ring them on 02073 674500 (or
e-mail them at: info@salvationarmy.org.uk) – and please spare a thought
for their witless PR officer who is probably even now just entering the
dole queue. ‘Arbeit macht frei’, indeed.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
But the real shit in ya slippers was
Duncan Sith’s Workfare bill getting itself enacted in Parliament. Aside
from a few votes against, Miliband’s goons put the ‘Slave’ back into
Labour as their abstention slipped the law through with ease. Not only
did politicians enable a retroactive law to be enacted, they also
deprived 225,000 people of justice, effectively robbing £130 million in
welfare payments people were lawfully due. Neo-nazi IDS (who has grown
fat off benefits via his unemployed albeit rich, wife, four child
benefit-enriched children and his own periods of dole claims) had this
particular wet dream extraordinarily rushed through, with the Second
Reading, Committee Stage and Third Reading all being scheduled for the
same day. Which is nice. This spate of legal time travel now means that
the govermint has ‘always complied’ with the court ruling, even though
for two years it did not. Slavery is Peace, Ignorance is Strength, and
Orwellian fiction becomes fact.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
But then again, if Babyface Smith didn’t
get his way, “If the Department cannot make these retrospective changes,
then further reductions in benefits might be required in order to find
the money to repay the sanctions.” Otherwise known as: “Fuck you,
plebs!”</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Wednesday seemed a bit of a quiet one, but saw <a href="https://kilburnunemployed.blogspot.co.uk/" style="cursor: crosshair;"><b>Kilburn Unemployed Workers Group</b></a> leafleting outside the local Job Centre, in solidarity with the day’s strike by the PCS union.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
One highlight of the week, for what it’s worth, is on the Thursday when <a href="https://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2013/mar/21/jobcentre-set-targets-benefit-sanctions" style="cursor: crosshair;"><b>the govermint was forced to admit that jobcentres have been setting targets to sanction claimants</b></a>,
despite assurances by employment minister Mark Hoban in Parliament that
this sort of thing doesn’t happen. According to a leaked e-mail, staff
in Walthamstow were threatened with disciplinary action for being 95th
out of 109 on the league tables, only punishing six of their 300
claimants a week, when they should be setting up 25 innocents for
sanctions (the keywords staff were on the lookout for were: <i>“Do not
accept the same job search every week, do not accept ‘I dropped off CV
to shops like Asda or Sainsbury’s', listen for telltale phrases ‘I pick
up the kids’, ‘I look after my neighbours children/my grandchildren’ or
just ‘I am busy’”</i>). Bearing in mind that such a league table could
only have been compiled based on data supplied by senior management;
makes you wonder what the top prize is? The DWP is of course trying to
blame this faux pas on a couple of middle management bad eggs, rather
than admit a general culture of top-down institutional hatred for
ordinary people; surprise surprise, but why be so naïve as to expect
that honesty is the name of the game? So all we’ll get out of it is a
bullshit inquiry distraction before they start screwing us harder, but
at least they were caught lying.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
On the Friday, seven activists from BARF
held a modest afternoon demo to greet the new Poundland on Westgate
Street. Despite the focus of the High Court judgement (where Cait Reilly
– the Geology Graduate forced to give up voluntary work in a museum to
work for nothing at Poundland – whose successful challenge led to the
ruling declaring Workfare regulations unlawful), Poundland are still at
it. <a href="https://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2013/03/507791.html" style="cursor: crosshair;"><b>Poundland have 30-hour ‘Work Experience’ placements across 71 of their stores</b></a>,
though allegedly not in Bath. 80% of placements do not even get offered
any kind of job there; considering how Poundland’s profits rose by 27%
to £40 million in the last financial year, they can probably afford to
hand out a bit of wage. Though they claim that their scheme is
completely voluntary, it does involve Job Centre Plus, so the threat of
benefit cuts are still on the cards for those who refuse. The degree to
which the scheme is genuinely voluntary is disputed though, as there are
countless reports of lies and intimidation to force Jobseekers’
participation, and after one week the scheme becomes mandatory. Not only
are placementees getting an effective £2 or so an hour (do we not have a
minimum wage in this country anymore?), the scheme is also a direct
attack on Poundland’s other workers – replacing paid jobs, holiday pay
& ending temporary posts for students and others who rely on this
type of work. <a href="https://www.boycottworkfare.org/" style="cursor: crosshair;"><b>Boycott Workfare</b></a>
have received various complaints from Poundland staff who have had
their hours cut, because of the Workfare job destruction scheme.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The demo was met by overwhelming support
from the passersby (at least those who have heard of Workfare, which is
surprisingly few), with such classics as the posh elderly former Tory
(“Well, the government are just a bunch of cunts aren’t they? Pardon my
language”), the Tory-hating UKIP-enthusiast, and Red Army Faction tattoo
guy coyly suggesting a much-needed bombing campaign – perhaps we’ve
been aiming a bit low with our action? Well, maybe we will, once we work
our way through the bag of donuts we got donated. Protests like these
do add up; until Poundland gives in, help us in fighting this attack on
all workers’ terms and conditions – Don’t Shop At Poundland.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Feedback form: <a href="https://www.poundland.co.uk/enquiry/customer-enquiry/" style="cursor: crosshair;"><b>http://www.poundland.co.uk/enquiry/customer-enquiry/</b></a><br />
Press centre: <b>poundland@bottlepr.co.uk</b><br />
Chief Executive (Warburg Pincus – their US-based private equity fund owners): <b>egustafson@warburgpincus.com</b><br />
Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Poundland" style="cursor: crosshair;"><b>https://www.facebook.com/Poundland</b></a><br />
Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/poundland" style="cursor: crosshair;"><b>https://twitter.com/poundland</b></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Then on the Saturday, BARFers joined 50 or so <a href="https://bristolaf.wordpress.com/2013/03/25/from-a-knife-attack-to-free-donuts-a-range-of-reactions-to-the-workfare-demo/#more-905" style="cursor: crosshair;"><b>Bristol Afed</b></a>, <a href="https://www.solfed.org.uk/?q=local/bristol" style="cursor: crosshair;"><b>Solfed</b></a>ers, <a href="https://www.bristoliww.org.uk/" style="cursor: crosshair;"><b>Wobs</b></a>
and Socialist Partygoers and fiends for a rolling picket throughout
Bristol centre, meeting at Castle Park at 2, and chaosing its way
through Cabot Circus for Dorothy Perkins, then Poundland (where a worker
bizarrely knifed the banner and stole a demonstrator’s camera), then
Debenhams, then McDonalds and then into the Galleries for Greggs, where
protesters were handed another donation of donuts, from an amused
competitor (notice a pattern?). The day finished up inside the Marriot
Hotel, just before everyone froze to death. Saturday also saw action in
Kirkgate, Scotland;</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
So, who has pulled out of the sinking
ship we call ‘Workfare’? Well, we have Holland and Barrett, the Red
Cross, Capability Scotland, Sue Ryder, Scope, Superdug, PDSA and Cancer
Research, just off the top of my head. The Children’s Society has also
pledged not to use Workfare. Already before the latest withdrawals, the
govermint complained how “The high profile withdrawal of placements from
a number of larger charities meant a sharp reduction in placements.”
British Heart Foundation, for its part, are also now “moving away”,
whatever that means; <a href="https://edinburghagainstcuts.org.uk/?p=665" style="cursor: crosshair;"><b>recently
they declared they had withdrawn from the Mandatory Work Activity
scheme, but are still openly declaring on their website that they are
participating in the Work Programme</b></a> – despite the fact that, in
December, the scheme was extended to give providers the power to force
many sick and disabled claimants on Employment and Support Allowance to
work for nothing, or face sanctions. Nah, bollocks, BHF’re still fair
game! Contact them via phone (retail HQ tel: 01372 477300; head office
tel: 02075 540000; customer service centre – 03003 303322) or e-mail
(customerservice@bhf.org.uk).</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Also fair game is the YMCA, who recently
made a statement defending their use of forced unpaid workers, ignoring
the fact they are responsible for pushing people into destitution and
possible homelessness, through sanctions which can last up to three
years. Uselessly, their president Bishop John Sentamu has spoken out
against workfare in the past. They can be rung on 02071 869500 or their
shops’ hotline: 08456 010728, and e-mailed on shop@ymca.org.uk and
enquiries@ymca.org.uk, tweeted at @ymcaint and then Facebooked at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ymcas" style="cursor: crosshair;"><b>www.facebook.com/ymcas</b></a>.
But remember whilst it’s well worth trying to speak to a manager if
possible, bear in mind most people taking calls/e-mails will be low paid
retail or admin and could even be on Workfare themselves.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
For the number-crunchers out there, one
in five people sent on Mandatory Work Activity in charity shops face
benefit stoppages of three or six months. Alongside BHF and YMCA,
charities like the RSPCA (head office tel: 03001 230100), the Papworth
Trust (e-mail: info@papworth.org.uk; utilising disabled labour) and TCV
(The Conservation ‘Volunteers’, formerly BCTV; head office tel: 01302
388883, e-mail: information@tcv.org.uk, <a href="https://www.btcv.org.uk/volunteer/index.html" style="cursor: crosshair;"><b>www.btcv.org.uk/volunteer/index.html</b></a>)
are still involved – with the latter previously boasted of using 20,000
unpaid workers on various govermint schemes since the ’80s, and their
current lucrative DWP contracts have forced at least 589 people into
unpaid work.</div>
<div align="“center " style="cursor: crosshair;">
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: white;"><b>Miscellaneous Rogues Galler</b></span>From <a href="https://www.boycottworkfare.org/" style="cursor: crosshair;"><b>Boycott Workfare</b></a>:</h2>
</div>
<ul>
<li><i>Asda has been at the heart of workfare in the UK, helping the
government relaunch its “Work Experience” scheme last year. We have had
reports that one of their stores in Manchester uses disabled people on
workfare on the night shift.</i></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><i>A4e is one of the biggest
beneficiaries of govermint welfare policy – in 2011 the company turnover
was £180 million, 100% of which came from public coffers. Out of this
the bosses shared out £11 million between them. A4e utterly fail to meet
even the paltry minimum targets set by the DWP for finding people jobs
on the Work Programme. Not content with just this scam, aided and
abetted by their friends in government, there are numerous accusations
of fraud against them, where records are apparently falsified, so that
they can claim even more public money for not doing their job. They are
further subsidised by the public by their use of mandatory unpaid labour
within the company as well.</i><br />
<b>customer services</b>: customerservices@a4e.co.uk; freephone tel: 0800 345666<br />
<b>head of communications</b>: kmccrory@a4e.co.uk<br />
<b>media relations manager</b>: jkerr@a4e.co.uk<br />
<b>head office fax number</b>: 0114 275 4632; send free faxes via: <a href="https://www.freepopfax.com/" style="cursor: crosshair;"><b> www.freepopfax.com</b></a>; many classic books are available as free PDFs online – perhaps A4e would like to read them?<br />
<b>website complaints form</b>: <a href="https://mya4e.com/contact-us/complaints-form/" style="cursor: crosshair;"><b>mya4e.com/contact-us/complaints-form</b></a><br />
Also, why not send a secure e-mail via: <a href="https://www.hushmail.com/" style="cursor: crosshair;"><b> www.hushmail.com</b></a></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><i>Argos appears to be using six week
placements from the Job Centre on a massive scale. Multiple reports of
Argos using workfare placements so that paid staff hours are being
reduced, and fewer Christmas temps employed have emerged.</i>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>business e-mail</b>: info@argos.co.uk<br />
<b>corporate irresponsibility (HRG)</b>: gordon.bentley@homeretailgroup.com, corporate.responsibility@homeretailgroup.com<br />
<b>media relations (HRG)</b>: media.relations@homeretailgroup.com<br />
<b>managing director</b>: john.walden@argos.co.uk<br />
<b>head office tel</b>: 01908 690333<br />
<b>customer Services tel</b>: 01785 710253</div>
</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><i>Debenhams has 165 stores across the
UK and Ireland, and a turnover of £2.2 billion. They too have been
taking advantage of wageless, rightless workers supplied by the DWP at
the taxpayers’ expense. They’re very keen to insist that the scheme
they’re involved in is voluntary, but DWP rules say if you don’t get
take part you’re referred to a scheme which carries 3 year sanctions. So
it’s only voluntary if you say ‘yes’.</i><br />
<b>press office</b>: press.office@debenhams.com<br />
<b>customer services</b>: customerrelations@debenhams.com<br />
<b>company secretary (Paul Eardley)</b>: company.secretariat@debenhams.com</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><i>Tesco has committed to 3000 workfare
placements, and so far 80% of the 1,500 people who have gone through
their stores have not been given a job. Tesco’s profits last year were
£1.7 billion. 1,500 eight- week, thirty hour placements would mean the
company has so far profited from 360,000 hours of free labour on the
schemes.</i><br />
<b>head office e-mail</b>: online@tesco.co.uk; tel: 08457 225533; Tesco Direct: 08456 004411<br />
<b>customer service e-mail</b>: customer.service@tesco.co.uk<br />
<b>Phil Clarke, current CEO</b>: philip.clarke@uk.tesco.com</li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Postscript</b>: Now, at BARF we do
like to point out what absolute vermin the Tories are (both the blue and
yellow tie versions), but it would be remiss of us to let Neo-Labour
off. It was Labour who brought in the so-called ‘New Deal’, and who
re-energised the current vogue of hatred directed towards the
unemployed, the disabled, etc. In fact, without Labour and their
simpering Cheshire cat of a Blair, then the Tories would never have
dared to muster the cojones to try all this shit. Nope, Labour are as
bad as the rest of ‘em; so, when I say ‘Tory’, you say ‘Scum!’ Tory!
Scum! Libdem! Scum! Labour! Scum! UKIP! Scum! BNP! Scum! Greens – well,
I’m personally tentatively prepared to cut them slack, at this present
time…</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<a href="https://www.leftfootforward.org/2013/03/five-things-the-government-wont-tell-you-about-workfare/" style="cursor: crosshair;"><b>Workfare Doesn’t Help Find Work</b></a><br />
<a href="https://www.channel4.com/news/now-asda-is-accused-of-employing-youths-for-no-wage" style="cursor: crosshair;"><b>Workfare Threatens Paid Work</b></a>Bath Anti-Cuts Alliancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10210432415236319121noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5570491031488708291.post-71841808937273380902013-04-09T16:17:00.000-07:002013-04-09T16:17:14.741-07:00Petitions don't solve everything, you know...…but sometimes, they can be damn funny!
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Taken from <a href="https://network23.org/barf/">BARF</a>'s website:</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This one has got 75,000 signatures in less than 12 hours, and is at over 465,000 now.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<strong><a href="https://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/iain-duncan-smith-iain-duncan-smith-to-live-on-53-a-week" style="cursor: crosshair;">https://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/iain-duncan-smith-iain-duncan-smith-to-live-on-53-a-week</a></strong></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It calls for Iain Duncan Smith, the
current Work and Pensions Secretary, to prove his claim of being able to
live on £7.57 a day, or £53 a week.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
On a recent Today Programme David
Bennett, a market trader said that, after his housing benefit had been
cut, he lives on £53 per week. The next interviewee was Work and
Pensions Secretary and all-round cunt Iain Duncan Smith, who was
defending the changes. The interviewer then asked him if he could live
on this amount. He replied: “If I had to, I would.”</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
So the petition calls on Iain Duncan
Smith to live on this budget for at least one year. This would help
realise the Conservative party`s current mantra that “We are all in this
together”.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This would mean a 97% reduction in his current income, which is £1,581.02 a week or £225 a day after tax.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Also, their newest <strong><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/9965039/Minimum-wage-could-be-frozen-or-cut-if-it-starts-to-cost-jobs-or-damage-economy-Government-suggests.html" style="cursor: crosshair;">plan is to destroy the minimum wage</a></strong>.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Mind you, if he was obliged to go onto benefits-level income, he may well feel obliged to burn <strong><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-22025035" style="cursor: crosshair;">six kids to death as part of a crazy scheme</a></strong>, because that’s apparently what all dole scroungers are up to, according to Osborne.</div>
Bath Anti-Cuts Alliancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10210432415236319121noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5570491031488708291.post-8183363409277962482013-04-09T16:14:00.003-07:002013-04-09T16:14:37.829-07:00Take Action Against Homebase: Lets Stop Workfare in its Tracks<h3 style="text-align: justify;">
Taken from <a href="https://network23.org/barf/">BARF</a>'s website:</h3>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<strong>UPDATE: Homebase are feeling the heat, and have put out the following statement today (Tuesday 9th) :<em> ‘</em>While we review our local arrangements, we have decided to make no further commitment to the Job Centre work experience’.<em> </em>Whilst this shows we are all making an impact, is it really good enough? <a href="https://www.facebook.com/questions/425578624200461/" style="cursor: crosshair;">Have your say on this facebook poll</a></strong>.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<em><img alt="BHGETJJCQAEZmqf.jpg large" class="aligncenter" height="526" src="http://bristolaf.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/bhgetjjcqaezmqf-large.jpg?w=389&h=526" width="389" /></em><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Recently, sources including <strong><a href="http://tompride.wordpress.com/2013/04/05/oops-homebase-let-cat-out-of-the-bag-about-using-workfare-to-reduce-wage-bills/" style="cursor: crosshair;" target="_blank">Tom Pride’s</a></strong>
blog, revealed that Homebase had been recruiting unpaid workers via a
‘work experience program’. Even worse they were actually boasting about
getting extra hours of work by exploiting job seekers and reducing their
‘payroll costs’. A poster was spotted in a management office asking ‘<em>would 750 hours with no payroll costs benefit your store?</em>‘. Few companies are this brutally honest about their motivations!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Our first response was to ‘politely
contact’ homebase online, and we were far from the only ones. Angry
comments on twitter & facebook were popping up faster than they
could delete them. They managed to remove ours, only for a many of our
facebook friends to repost it. All these responses seemed to worry the
management at Homebase and they quickly put out a couple of rushed
statements including:</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em>“[..] The company has not signed up
to the workfare programme, but, on occasions, works with local
organisations to help unemployed people into the workplace. A number of
unemployed people have recently joined our Haringey store through
JobCentre Plus in a short, voluntary programme, to gain work experience.
They are entirely under no obligation to participate, nor will non
participation affect any benefits. Colleagues at this store also have
not been impacted by this programme in any reduction of hours.’</em> and <em>‘Some of our best colleagues have joined us having previously been unemployed [...]“</em></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Even on a first read through these
statements seem to be full of double speak and blatant lies. They start
by saying they haven’t signed up to workfare but then describe a
workfare scheme they have evidently signed up to! They move on to say it
is voluntary even though it has been repeatedly revealed that the job
centre forces people onto so-called ‘voluntary’ schemes, by threatening
them with sanctions, telling them the only alternative is an even worse
mandatory scheme, illegally giving inaccurate information and not
explaining to them their right to refuse.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Next they say that the workfare scheme has not impacted staff or reduced over time hours, <strong><a href="http://www.boycottworkfare.org/?p=2404" style="cursor: crosshair;" target="_blank">boycott workfare quickly exposed this as an outright lie</a></strong>
with a staff member reporting massive reductions in overtime. They also
revealed that Homebase isn’t offering any of their unpaid workers jobs,
hardly surprising given the fact that only 4% of people on the work
program end up with steady job. As for their claim that some people who
got a job with them were unemployed before hand? Well surely this is
true anywhere, its quite common to be unemployed before you get a job!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
We’re calling on individuals and groups around the country to join us in taking action against Homebase. (<strong><a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/638806569470027/" style="cursor: crosshair;" target="_blank">facebook event</a></strong>)</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
We propose that people keep up the contact and criticism via their <strong><a href="https://twitter.com/Homebase_uk" target="_blank">Twitter</a></strong>, <strong><a href="https://www.facebook.com/homebase" style="cursor: crosshair;" target="_blank">Facebook</a></strong>, <strong><a href="http://www.youtube.com/homebaseuk">Youtube</a></strong>, customer <strong><a href="mailto:info@homebase.co.uk" target="_blank">e-mail</a></strong>, media enquiries <strong><a href="mailto:media.relations@homebase.co.uk" target="_blank">e-mail</a></strong>, <strong><a href="https://twitter.com/BristolAFed/status/320942935824793601" style="cursor: crosshair;" target="_blank">post box</a></strong>, and <strong><a href="https://twitter.com/BristolAFed/status/320548525454807041" style="cursor: crosshair;" target="_blank">telephone</a></strong>.
Then, if Homebase has not 100% officially backed out of all methods of
exploiting unpaid workers at the expense of their paid staff, we call on
people to hold protests at their <strong><a href="http://www.homebase.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/StoreLocatorFlow?langId=110&storeId=10151" style="cursor: crosshair;" target="_blank">local homebase store </a></strong>a
week from now, on Saturday the 13th and Sunday the 14th of April. If
there isn’t a Homebase close by, why not hold a protest at an Argos
instead, seeing as it also uses workfare in the same way and is owned by
<strong><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_Retail_Group" style="cursor: crosshair;" target="_blank">the same parent company</a></strong>!
If you are thinking of joining in with the national days of action
against Homebase, we highly recommend you speak to the staff working in
the shop before hand. If you work their yourself, or know someone that
does, this is ideal. Even if you don’t it is worth going down before
your protest and politely talking to staff in a relaxed way. Make it
clear that your protest is not aimed at them, but at the management and
owners of homebase. Explain how if this isn’t stopped it could
negatively affect their jobs. Encourage them to get together and talk
to other members of staff at Homebase, and consider joining a workplace
group or union to fight to protect and improve their pay and conditions
(we would recommend the <strong><a href="https://www.iww.org.uk/" style="cursor: crosshair;" target="_blank">IWW</a></strong> or <strong><a href="http://www.solfed.org.uk/" style="cursor: crosshair;" target="_blank">Solidarity Federation</a></strong>, but the choice will depend on the local situation).</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
We will be calling for a picket and protest at <strong><a href="http://www.homebase.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/StoreLocatorFlow?langId=&storeId=10151&slsid=148" style="cursor: crosshair;" target="_blank">our local Homebase</a></strong>, in the mean time we have set up a <strong><a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/638806569470027/" style="cursor: crosshair;" target="_blank">Facebook Event</a></strong> to help people network, share ideas, and advertise their local events. We also suggest using the <strong><a href="http://www.boycottworkfare.org/" style="cursor: crosshair;" target="_blank">Boycott Workfare</a></strong> and <strong><a href="http://www.ukuncut.org.uk/actions" target="_blank">UK Uncut</a></strong> websites to help network with other people in your area.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Additionally, this is the demand they have made of Homebase, what would be enough for you to call off your action may vary:</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em>Release a binding statement that
clearly states 1) you will never participate in any workfare schemes
nationally or locally* 2) Homebase will stop all current involvement
with all schemes (including the ‘work experience program’) that equate
to people working for you for no money** 3) you apologise for the
callous nature of the poster that was up in a management office (a
picture of which is bellow) and will investigate the manager(s)
responsible 4) You compensate anyone who has been on such a scheme with
you, and if a paid position is available offer them a job should they
decide they want one. Due to the circumstances of the job offer it
should be completely acceptable for someone to refuse, Homebase should
work with the job centre to ensure this in itself does not lead to
sanctions. </em></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em>This absolutely must not impact on hours, overtime or pay for
current staff members.</em></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em>*with the definition of workfare
being any scheme where unemployed people work for you without pay,
including (but not limited to) so-called ‘work experience’ schemes
operated by the job centre and private companies.</em></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em>*<em>*</em> Homebase will also ensure
that no one suffers any sanctions due to the scheme ending, something
they should actively pursue and check up on with the relevant job
centres.</em></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
PS – Swindon Anarchists will be carrying out a demo on Friday night</div>
Bath Anti-Cuts Alliancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10210432415236319121noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5570491031488708291.post-50949725897557525202012-11-05T08:07:00.001-08:002012-11-05T08:07:18.408-08:00
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: times new roman, new york, times, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">There w<span style="font-size: small;">ill be a '<span style="font-size: small;">Defend NHS Workers' demo in Bristol on Saturday the 1st December, leaving College Green at 11am. More details are to fo<span style="font-size: small;">llow but, in the meantime, it would be great to get as many people out as possib<span style="font-size: small;">le.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><div class="western" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: times new roman, new york, times, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">There will also be a national day of actio<span style="font-size: small;">n on Workfare before then, on the Saturday the 17th of this month. Bristol Anarchist Federation among others will be out taking actio<span style="font-size: small;">n that day, but there should hopefully be action in Bath<span style="font-size: small;"> that day, too.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
Bath Anti-Cuts Alliancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10210432415236319121noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5570491031488708291.post-25413275267962974782012-09-25T08:06:00.002-07:002012-09-25T08:06:11.186-07:00Pro-NHS Demos<strong>Lifted from <a href="http://www.unisonsouthwest.org.uk/content/news/unison-members-fight-for-the-future-of-the-nhs-acr.ashx" title="Unison South West">Unison South West</a>:</strong><br />
“<strong>UNISON Members Fight for the Future of the NHS Across the South West</strong><br />
<br />
UNISON members are lobbying the board meetings of each of the twenty
Trusts in the South West Pay Cartel, throughout September and October,
and asking them to pull out of the cartel with immediate effect.<br />
UNISON members are angry at proposals which may lead to 15% pay cuts,
on the back of years of pay freezes and rising workloads. They are
demanding that Trusts involved, put their frequently stated commitment
to patients and their staff into action by leaving the cartel
immediately.<br />
<br />
Most of the Pay Cartel Trusts, termed a Pay and Conditions Consortium
by the Trusts involved, have board meetings and AGMs scheduled
throughout September and October.<br />
<br />
Joanne Kaye, UNISON South West Regional Secretary, said:<br />
<br />
‘Our members are lobbying these Trust Boards now because the future
of the NHS in the South West is in their hands. We need to ensure that
Trust Boards members are aware of the risks they are taking with the
health service.<br />
<br />
‘The members who make up each Trust Board are charged with upholding
the integrity of the NHS and ensuring the best possible patient care.
Cutting pay, destroying morale, and forcing nurses, midwives, doctors
and other healthcare workers to leave the area or find other jobs will
harm patient care and undermine the Trust’s performance in every way.
Ultimately every one of us, whether we work in the NHS, have children or
relatives who need the NHS, or whether we are patients ourselves, will
lose.<br />
<br />
‘NHS workers make the NHS the national treasure it is. We know that
many Trusts have only joined this Cartel because they are worried about
the opinion of their counterparts in other Trusts. They will make the
ultimate decision at individual Trust level and they shouldn’t let
themselves be bullied by a few hardliners. UNISON is asking each and
every Board Member to forget about what other Trust Boards will think.
We are asking them to recognise the true value of their staff and the
services they provide. We are asking them to remember that their duty
is to their local people, communities and businesses by voting to pull
out of the Cartel immediately.’<br />
<br />
Joanne Kaye continued:<br />
<br />
‘National negotiations are at a critical stage. The Cartel are
undermining these negotiations and moving too quickly, trying to force
the next round of Trust Boards meetings into make rushed ill-informed
decisions that will bring regional pay to the region.<br />
<br />
‘Our members are prepared to fight the Cartel to safeguard their
future and the future of the NHS. There are a massive 20 lobbies of
AGMs and Trust Board meetings taking place next week, and this lobbying
action is part of a wider UNISON campaign against the cartel which
includes a national petition, individual petitions, meeting MPs
individually and parliamentary meetings. UNISON’s campaign is gaining
support all the time and recent reports* have provided clear evidence
that introducing regional pay is wasteful and time consuming – which is
why most national, multi-site companies in the private sector do not use
it, preferring national pay structures with additions for London and
the South East.’<br />
<br />
<strong>ENDS</strong><br />
<br />
<strong>Notes to Editor</strong><br />
<br />
<strong>South West Pay Cartel Background Information</strong><br />
<br />
Twenty South West Trusts have set up a South West regional pay
consortium, also known as the ‘Pay Cartel’, to fix pay, terms and
conditions and to create a regional pay system. Each Trust has paid in
£10,000 of public money to pay for consultants to look into plans to set
up a regional pay structure. This plan would take affected South West
healthcare staff out of the nationally negotiated Agenda for Change
Terms and Conditions. Leaked documents show the Cartel are considering
increasing working hours and cutting holiday entitlement; reducing pay;
cutting sick pay; introduce performance related pay progression and
reducing unsocial hours payments. UNISON claims the consequences for
the region will be disastrous and that skilled health workers will be
driven out of the region, taking money out of the local economy and
deepening the healthcare postcode lottery.<br />
<br />
- More information is available on the UNISON South West’s Pay Cartel <a href="http://www.unisonsouthwest.org.uk/campaigns/swnhspaycartel.ashx" title="link to the UNISON South West pay cartel campaign pages">campaign webpages</a><br />
<br />
- *Crowding Out – An independent report by Incomes Data Services. For a copy of the report contact Jenn Gollings.<br />
<br />
<strong>List of Lobbies taking place over the remainder of September</strong><br />
<br />
<strong>BRISTOL</strong><br />
Wednesday 26 September<br />
Royal United Hospital Bath NHS Trust<br />
Lobbying of Board meeting from 9am<br />
Location: RICE Centre, RUH<br />
<br />
<strong>BATH</strong><br />
Lobbying of Annual Members’ meeting from 6pm<br />
Location: Assembly Room, Bath<br />
Contact: Catriona Scott on 07506 292973<br />
<br />
<strong>BRISTOL</strong><br />
Thursday 27 September<br />
University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust<br />
Lobbying of Board meeting starting at 9am<br />
Location: outside the Trust Headquarters, UBHT, Bristol<br />
Contact: Jayne Jackson on 07508 080346<br />
<br />
<strong>BRISTOL</strong><br />
Thursday 27 September<br />
North Bristol NHS Trust<br />
Lobbying board meeting from 10am<br />
Location: Outside the Trust headquarters by the Tennis Courts, Frenchay Hospital, North Bristol Trust<br />
Contact: Jayne Jackson on 07508 080346″Bath Anti-Cuts Alliancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10210432415236319121noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5570491031488708291.post-70839683619512488322012-09-06T03:10:00.004-07:002012-09-06T03:10:58.208-07:00Events for September and October<br />
CARE NOT FOR SALE - Bristol and District Anti-Cuts Alliance demo against planned closures to care homes in Bristol, at Bristol Council House, Tuesday the 18th September, at 5pm<br />
<br />
BATH TRADES COUNCIL –
the next meeting will on Thursday the 20<sup>th</sup> of September,
at 7.45pm, at the Fire Station<br />
<br />
FESTIVAL FOR A FUTURE THAT WORKS – taking place on Saturday the 22<sup>nd</sup> September,
a festival from 1 til 6pm in Kingswood Park (http://www.bristolanticutsalliance.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Festival_for_a_Future_That_Works-1.pdf)<br />
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
WORKFARE DEMO – Saturday the 29<sup>th</sup>
September, meeting outside Bath Abbey at 12.30</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
NEXT BACA MEETING –
our next meeting for this group will be on Tuesday the 2<sup>nd</sup>
October, 8pm, upstairs at the Ram<br />
<br />
DESTROYING THE R.U.H. - an awareness-raising event in Bath highlighting the planned attack on medical staff's pay and conditions at the Royal United Hospital. Saturday 6th October, 10.30am - 12.30,<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
outside the entrance to Green Park Station</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
TORY PARTY CONFERENCE – Sunday 7<sup>th</sup> October, at the ICC in
Birmingham</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
TUC MARCH IN LONDON –
on Saturday the 20<sup>th</sup> of October. Coaches will be leaving Laura Place, Newbridge Park and Ride,
Trowbridge and Keynsham. Contact your own union for info OR trades
council OR us!
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
Bath Anti-Cuts Alliancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10210432415236319121noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5570491031488708291.post-454928533233050202012-08-29T05:30:00.001-07:002012-08-29T05:30:43.398-07:00Save Our Care Homes in Bristol<br />
<div id="yui_3_2_0_1_1346242504241174" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Dear BADACA Supporter</span></span><span style="color: blue;"><span lang="zxx"><u><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span></span></u></span></span><span style="color: blue;"><span lang="zxx"><u><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></u></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">We are contacting you to appeal for your help in a very important campaign. Details are below. If you have any queries please email <a href="mailto:admin@bristolanticutsalliance.org.uk" rel="nofollow" style="color: #234786; outline: 0px;" target="_blank" ymailto="mailto:admin@bristolanticutsalliance.org.uk">admin@bristolanticutsalliance.org.uk</a> </span></span><span style="color: blue;"><span lang="zxx"><u><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span></span></u></span></span><span style="color: blue;"><span lang="zxx"><u><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></u></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">As you probably know, Bristol City Council is making drastic changes to its care services for the elderly and vulnerable involving closures and privatisation. The case against this is set out in our leaflet <a href="http://www.bristolanticutsalliance.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/leaflet2.pdf" rel="nofollow" style="color: #234786; outline: 0px;" target="_blank">here</a></span></span><span style="color: blue;"><span lang="zxx"><u><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span></span></u></span></span><span style="color: blue;"><span lang="zxx"><u><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></u></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">We are mounting our biggest campaign so far to stop this in conjunction with GMB, Unison and Unite trade unions. There already has been a very powerful lobby of the Council Cabinet meeting which took the decision (by 8 councillors out of 70) and we now wish to mount a much bigger lobby of the full Council meeting on 18</span></span><sup><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></span></sup><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> September in order to stop the care cuts programme.</span></span><span style="color: blue;"><span lang="zxx"><u><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span></span></u></span></span><span style="color: blue;"><span lang="zxx"><u><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></u></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">To do this we now need your active help.</span></span><span style="color: blue;"><span lang="zxx"><u><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span></span></u></span></span><span style="color: blue;"><span lang="zxx"><u><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></u></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">In the coming weeks we intend to:</span></span></div>
<ul style="background-color: white; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 40px;">
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">lobby “consultation” meetings that Council officers are having with staff and service users (consultation after the decision has been taken)</span></span></div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">obtain as many signatures as possible on a petition</span></span></div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">distribute leaflets putting the case against the Council’s cuts in care.</span></span><span style="color: blue;"><span lang="zxx"><u><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span></span></u></span></span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">This campaign is the most important BADACA has launched so far. The cuts in the care service represent the worst and cruellest aspect of the Coalition Government’s austerity programme, so enthusiastically implemented by Bristol’s LibDem council.</span></span><span style="color: blue;"><span lang="zxx"><u><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span></span></u></span></span><span style="color: blue;"><span lang="zxx"><u><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></u></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">We can win this campaign. The LibDems in Bristol are weak; the Coalition is beginning to fall apart; resistance is growing. They were shaken by the strength of feeling of the lobby in July, a massive lobby in September could break their nerve.</span></span><span style="color: blue;"><span lang="zxx"><u><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span></span></u></span></span><span style="color: blue;"><span lang="zxx"><u><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></u></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">BADACA has over 1000 contacts and supporters; we have held significant demonstrations. It is now time for everyone in this city who opposes the cuts in public services to:</span></span></div>
<ul style="background-color: white; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 40px;">
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">support the lobby</span></span></div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">help us through the petition and leaflet to mobilise the opposition in the next three weeks.</span></span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>We will be leafleting and petitioning on Saturdays 1</b><sup><b>st</b></sup><b>, 8</b><sup><b>th</b></sup><b> & 15</b><sup><b>th</b></sup><b> September at the following places:</b></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<table border="1" cellpadding="7" cellspacing="0" style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; width: 657px;"><colgroup><col width="427"></col><col width="200"></col></colgroup><tbody style="width: 655px;">
<tr valign="top"><td style="border-spacing: 2px;" width="427"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Tescos, Church St., St George</b></span></span></td><td style="border-spacing: 2px;" width="200"><div align="center">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>10.30am – 12.30pm</b></span></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td style="border-spacing: 2px;" width="427"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Outside Asda, East St., Bedminster</b></span></span></td><td style="border-spacing: 2px;" width="200"><div align="center">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>10.30am – 11.30am</b></span></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td style="border-spacing: 2px;" width="427"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Broadwalk, Knowle</b></span></span></td><td style="border-spacing: 2px;" width="200"><div align="center">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>10.00am – 12.00pm</b></span></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td style="border-spacing: 2px;" width="427"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Gloucester Rd (by Amnesty bookshop)</b></span></span></td><td style="border-spacing: 2px;" width="200"><div align="center">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>11.00am – 1.00pm</b></span></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td style="border-spacing: 2px;" width="427"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Southmead Library</b></span></span></td><td style="border-spacing: 2px;" width="200"><div align="center">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>11.00am – 12.00pm</b></span></span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Please come along to help at these dates/times/places. </b></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b></b></span></span><span style="color: blue;"><span lang="zxx"><u><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span></span></u></span></span><span style="color: blue;"><span lang="zxx"><u><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></u></span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;">On </span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Saturday 15th September</b></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"> we hope to have a very large presence in </span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Broadmead</b></span><span style="font-size: x-small;">. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">There will also be activity on weekdays for those who are available. </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>If you are able to offer additional help please email <a href="mailto:admin@bristolanticutsalliance.org.uk" rel="nofollow" style="color: #234786; outline: 0px;" target="_blank" ymailto="mailto:admin@bristolanticutsalliance.org.uk">admin@bristolanticutsalliance.org.uk</a>. </b></span></span><span style="color: blue;"><span lang="zxx"><u><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span></span></u></span></span><span style="color: blue;"><span lang="zxx"><u><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></u></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The campaign will cost money and BADACA is running out of it. The unions are financing leaflets but we will need more. Please send what you can to: </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Mike Luff, BADACA Treasurer, 101, Rose Green Road, Bristol, BS 5 7UT. </i></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Cheques tshould be made out to Bristol & District Anti-Cuts Alliance.</span></span><span style="color: blue;"><span lang="zxx"><u><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span></span></u></span></span><span style="color: blue;"><span lang="zxx"><u><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></u></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>BADACA Admin</b></span></span></div>
Bath Anti-Cuts Alliancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10210432415236319121noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5570491031488708291.post-83724118587934767652012-08-12T08:53:00.000-07:002012-08-29T05:31:05.817-07:00Local Anti-Cuts Round-Up<div style="color: black;">
<strong>Below are several things members of anti-cuts campaign may like to get involved in:</strong></div>
<div style="color: black;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: black; text-align: center;">
<strong>CARE HOMES BRISTOL</strong></div>
<div style="color: black; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: black; text-align: justify;">
On Thursday 26th July up to 200 people attended a demonstration at the Council House in Bristol, called by <strong><a href="http://www.bristolanticutsalliance.org.uk/" title="BADACA">BADACA</a></strong>, over the council’s proposals to close care homes. Details are as follows:</div>
<div style="color: black; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: black; text-align: justify;">
Bristol City Council intend to close
eight of its remaining care homes and seven council-run day centres. The
services will be privatised; service standards will decline; there will
be less public accountability; jobs will go. The private providers will
pay lower wages and spend less on training. By getting these services
on the cheap, the council will save money at the expense of the elderly
and vulnerable. The council calls this “modernisation”: everyone else
calls it cuts. And, of course, in the last year, the remaining
council-run home care service has been privatised and grants to
voluntary groups running services like lunch clubs and day centres have
been slashed.</div>
<div style="color: black; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: black; text-align: justify;">
The demo was attended by carers, residents, workers at the homes and supporters of <strong><a href="http://www.bristolanticutsalliance.org.uk/" title="BADACA">BADACA</a></strong> an<b>d</b> Bath Anti-Cuts Alliance. Members of the council were addressed by members of the demo.</div>
<div style="color: black; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: black; text-align: justify;">
The first two care homes are planned to close before the end of this year. <strong><a href="http://www.bristolanticutsalliance.org.uk/" title="BADACA">BADACA </a></strong>is
working with those effected, both residents and staff, to prevent this
happening. The next full council meeting on Tuesday September 18th will
be a key event. <strong><a href="http://www.bristolanticutsalliance.org.uk/" title="BADACA">BADACA </a></strong>and
others will be holding the largest possible lobby of this meeting to
tell the council that Bristol doesn’t accept these closures. Please
spread the word about this.</div>
<div style="color: black; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: black; text-align: center;">
<strong>Lobby of Bristol City Council Meeting – Tuesday 18th September</strong><br />
Venue: Council House, College Green, Bristol BS1 5TR<br />
Time: 5.00pm<br />
Map: <strong><a href="http://www.bing.com/maps/default.aspx?v=2&pc=FACEBK&mid=8100&rtp=adr.%7Epos.51.452628604387_-2.6018855802384_Council+House%2C+College+Green_College+Green%2C+Bristol%2C+United+Kingdom&cp=51.452628604387%7E-2.6018855802384&lvl=16&sty=r&rtop=0%7E0%7E0%7E&mode=D&FORM=FBKPL2&mkt=en-US" title="here">Here</a></strong></div>
<div style="color: black; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: black; text-align: justify;">
Come to the council meeting and tell
councillors what the people of Bristol think of their plans to cut
services for the elderly and vulnerable. For more information email
admin[at]bristolanticutsalliance.org.uk.</div>
<div style="color: black; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: black; text-align: center;">
<strong>ATOS</strong></div>
<div style="color: black; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: black; text-align: justify;">
The Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC)
Campaign have called for five days of action against Atos starting on
Monday 28th August.</div>
<div style="color: black; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: black; text-align: justify;">
It plans to target Atos during the
Paralympics. Atos is the main sponsor of the games. A local protest
against Atos offices are planned for Tuesday 29th August. More details
to follow.</div>
<div style="color: black; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: black; text-align: justify;">
More info from <strong><a href="https://network23.org/barf/dpac.uk.net/2012/07/our-atos-games" title="DPAC">DPAC</a></strong>.</div>
<div style="color: black; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: black; text-align: center;">
<strong>LOCAL NHS</strong></div>
<div style="color: black; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: black; text-align: justify;">
Staff at the RUH in Bath have warned that
they will consider strike action over proposals to cut their pay and
working conditions. The next Bath Anti-Cuts Alliance
organising meeting on the 4th September, at 8pm in the upstairs of the
Ram pub in Widcombe, will be discussing how we can support these
workers. More details to follow.</div>
Bath Anti-Cuts Alliancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10210432415236319121noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5570491031488708291.post-89462944828912761862012-07-08T09:18:00.002-07:002012-07-08T09:18:21.873-07:00Stop Workfare: New companies named and profits upFROM <a href="http://www.boycottworkfare.org/?p=1284">BOYCOTT WORKFARE</a>:<br />
Bowing to public pressure, yesterday Holland and Barratt pulled out
of the government’s workfare scheme, and now seem only able to afford to
offer apprenticeships that pay £2.60 per hour. What they forgot to
mention was that whilst using 1,000 unpaid jobseekers over the last year
throughout its 250 stores, Holland and Barrett unexpectedly made a <a href="http://www.retail-week.com/sectors/health-and-beauty/holland-and-barrett-profit-up-as-sister-company-julian-graves-remains-in-administration/5038253.article?blocktitle=UK-Health-Foods-Market&contentID=7892">pretax profit surge of 19.4% to £60m</a>.<br />
Poundland, who are still in the scheme, have recently announced <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-18688961">that profits are up 27% this year</a>.
The question is, with a potential workfare workforce of 2.6 million
unemployed rising, and tens of thousansds of people already sent to work
without pay, how many millions of pounds are all the other
organisations profiting from workfare making?<br />
<br />
In the meantime, why not pay a visit to some of the companies revealed today as <a href="http://www.boycottworkfare.org/?p=1154">part of the Week of Action</a>?<br />
<br />
<a href="http://jobhits.co.uk/view-job/BARCLAYS-SBWA/mcnee.html">Barclays Bank</a><br />
The AA<br />
Amigo<br />
Compass group – Leeds General Infirmary<br />
Costa Coffee<br />
Food Court at Leeds General Infirmary<br />
Queensland Multi-Media centre/Bridge to Success<br />
The Range<br />
Ty Hafan charity shop<br />
ISS facilities<br />
PKD Sporting Solutions Ltd<br />
The Big Bargain company<br />
Eleanor lions hospice shop<br />
RSPCA<br />
<a href="http://www.dgjobs.co.uk/W-E-SCREENING-TRAVIS-PERKINS-STR-31110.html">Travis Perkins </a><br />
<a href="http://www.dgjobs.co.uk/WORK-EXPERIENCE-3-WEEKS-MIV-14161.html">Butlins</a><br />
<a href="http://www.dgjobs.co.uk/PRINCESS-YACHTS-INFORMATION-SESSION-DEV-43451.html">Princess Yachts</a> (!)<br />
<a href="http://www.dgjobs.co.uk/HARVESTER-W-E-KITCHEN-BAR-WAITING-LIU-33578.html">Harvester</a><br />
Grosvenor Casinos<br />
<br />
If you’re hitting your high street to take action this week, here’s a reminder of some of the <a href="http://www.boycottworkfare.org/?page_id=16">other places</a> you might like to pay a visit:<br />
<br />
Age Concern, Age UK, Argos, Asda, Barnardos, B&Q, British Heart
Foundation, Cancer Research, Holiday Inn, Greggs the Bakers, Hilton
Hotels, Marriot Hotels, McDonald’s, PDSA, Pizza Hut, Poundland,
Poundstretcher, Primark, The Range, RSPCA, Salvation Army, Shoe Zone,
Sue Ryder, Superdrug, Tesco, WHSmith, Wilkinsons, The Works.<br />
<br />
The <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/feb/03/waterstones-ends-unpaid-work-placements">Arcadia Group</a> is also involved. It includes Burton, Dorothy Perkins, Evans, Topman, Topshop, Wallis.<br />
Sadly there’ll be others, so please let us know what you find out during the week. Our top tips for workfare sleuthing are <a href="http://www.boycottworkfare.org/?p=1017">here</a>.<br />
<br />
There’s <a href="http://www.boycottworkfare.org/?p=1154">loads of stuff planned throughout the week of action</a> and more still to be announced, so let us know what you’re planning and send us your photos and stories afterwards.<br />
<br />
Good luck everyone – we’re making a real difference!Bath Anti-Cuts Alliancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10210432415236319121noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5570491031488708291.post-81398667282363870582012-07-08T09:15:00.003-07:002012-07-08T09:15:56.445-07:00Anti-Workfare Action Against Smiths<strong>Yesterday, 12 activists from Bath Anti-Cuts Alliance, alongside supporters from <a href="http://bristolaf.wordpress.com/" title="Bristol Anarchist Federation">Bristol Anarchist Federation</a>, <a href="http://new.bathpeoplesassembly.org/" title="Bath People's Assembly">Bath People’s Assembly</a>
and elsewhere, picketed W.H. Smiths on Union Street in Bath, due to the
company’s inclusion in the Con-Dem government’s controversial Workfare
scheme. </strong><div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Workfare means unemployed people being
sent to do up to six months’ full-time work for one of many ‘Workfare
Provider’ high street companies signed up to the scheme, such as Argos,
Asda, McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, Superdrug, and Tesco, to name a few. Even
though we already have an agreed minimum wage in this country, somehow
these workers – unpaid and involuntarily – aren’t worth such a wage;
instead, they are in apparently apprenticeships, even though the retail
outlets they may be lucky enough to end up in after they’ve done their
time require no more aptitude than that of your average school-student.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
But no, Workfare isn’t about providing
skills or opportunities – the vast majority of Workfare placements do
not lead to paid positions. It’s about providing labour to big companies
on the cheap, and undermining existing workers’ hard-won wages; why pay
someone a proper wage when you press-gang someone else for free? It’s
also about the taxpayer subsidising multi-million pound businesses; more
than they already do, that is. But mainly it’s about easy money for
those who’ve already got lots: after all, Holland & Barrett (<a href="http://www.boycottworkfare.org/?p=1265" title="who have only just publicly dropped the scheme">who have only just publicly dropped the scheme</a>) netted an unexpected pre-tax profit 19.4% due to Workfare, and Poundland’s profits shot up 27%.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
And so, Bathonians were outside their
local Smiths yesterday afternoon, handing out literature and holding a
banner spelling out ‘Workfare is Slavery’, turning away would-be
customers at the door and receiving passersby’s support, who already
know that Workfare is plain dirty. On the same day, people took action
elsewhere in the U.K., such as Brighton, Hastings, Liverpool, London,
Oxford, Poole and York.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Revolution it was not, but, hyperbole
aside, the Workfare program is yet another Tory wet dream doomed to
failure – it’s been slow-going, but Holland & Barrett have just
taken their place as another high-profile company keen to distance
themselves from it, as did Maplin, Burger King, Sainsburys, Waterstones,
Boots and others before them. Soon it will be Smiths, and then another,
and then another.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This is the nature of people power: it’s
often hard-going, it’s often dull and undramatic, it requires commitment
and patience, but we can and will win.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
See <a href="https://network23.org/barf/files/2012/07/workfare3.pdf">here</a> for Bath Anti-Cuts Alliance’s leaflet against Workfare</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
See <a href="http://www.boycottworkfare.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/BWclaimantsjuly2012.pdf" title="here">here</a> for Boycott Workfare’s leaflet offering basic advice for claimants on the Workfare scheme</div>Bath Anti-Cuts Alliancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10210432415236319121noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5570491031488708291.post-25164493474248639012012-07-06T05:31:00.002-07:002012-07-06T05:33:14.733-07:00Stop Workfare Update - New Target: WHSmiths!<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="text-align: left;">
<b>Adapted from <span data-mce-style="color: #800000;" style="color: maroon;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.boycottworkfare.org/" href="http://www.boycottworkfare.org/">Boycott Workfare</a></span>:</b></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="text-align: left;">
<i><b>Week of Action already a Success! Major Blow for Government as Holland & Barrett pull out of Workfare!</b></i></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="text-align: left;">
<i>Before it even starts, <span data-mce-style="color: #800000;" style="color: maroon;"><b><a data-mce-href="http://www.boycottworkfare.org/?p=1154" href="http://www.boycottworkfare.org/?p=1154">the Week of Action</a> </b></span>has had a major success: Holland & Barrett who have been using workfare on a huge scale (<span data-mce-style="color: #800000;" style="color: maroon;"><b><a data-mce-href="http://johnnyvoid.wordpress.com/2012/03/20/one-quarter-of-holland-barrett-staff-could-be-workfare-slaves/" href="http://johnnyvoid.wordpress.com/2012/03/20/one-quarter-of-holland-barrett-staff-could-be-workfare-slaves/">1,100 placements</a></b></span> a year amongst a workforce of 3,500)<b> </b>
that “the 60 people currently undertaking the work experience scheme
will be the last to complete the eight week placement. After this time
Holland & Barrett will not participate further in that scheme.”</i></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="text-align: left;">
<i>Unable
to acknowledge people’s ethical concerns about them using an unpaid
workforce on a massive scale, they have made the hilarious claim that
the decision is due to the threat to customer and staff safety from our
peaceful protests planned this weekend! These follow regular pickets
called by Sol Fed who co-ordinated a national campaign against the
company’s involvement in workfare.</i></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="text-align: left;">
<i>But
Holland & Barrett aren’t totally off the hook yet. They continue to
use the current 60 workfare placements until these finish. Their
announcement indicates that they intend to replace workfare with
apprentices, which would allow them to pay a wage of just £2.60 an hour,
far below the living wage.</i></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="text-align: left;">
<i>Nevertheless, their announcement shows that our protests can push back workfare in the UK. </i></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="text-align: left;">
<i>Holland & Barrett is just one of <span data-mce-style="color: #800000;" style="color: maroon;"><b><a data-mce-href="http://www.boycottworkfare.org/?page_id=16" href="http://www.boycottworkfare.org/?page_id=16">hundreds of businesses, public sector employers and charities</a></b></span>
profiting from replacing paid work with workfare. Protests will
continue this week to target other brands still involved. These include
British Heart Foundation, who have boasted that they have at least one
workfare placement in every store, Argos, Superdrug, ShoeZone, Asda,
Tescos, Wilkinsons, The Works, <span data-mce-style="color: #800000;" style="color: maroon;"><b><a data-mce-href="http://www.boycottworkfare.org/?page_id=16" href="http://www.boycottworkfare.org/?page_id=16">the list goes on</a></b></span>.</i></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="text-align: left;">
As a result of this move, activists in Bath Anti-Cuts Alliance, <a href="http://b.a.r.f./">B.A.R.F.</a><a href="https://network23.org/barf/2012/07/06/stop-workfare-update-new-target-whsmiths/">.</a>
and others will instead be targeting WHSmiths for their involvement in
the scheme - the times for the demonstration haven't changed.</div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="text-align: left;">
<a data-mce-href="https://network23.org/barf/files/2012/07/bnr34.png" href="https://network23.org/barf/files/2012/07/bnr34.png"></a></div>Bath Anti-Cuts Alliancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10210432415236319121noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5570491031488708291.post-71244035257702894662012-07-05T15:40:00.003-07:002012-07-05T15:42:32.134-07:00NHS Subsidises Private Hospital in Bath<a href="http://nhsvault.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/circle-bath.html">http://nhsvault.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/circle-bath.html</a>Bath Anti-Cuts Alliancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10210432415236319121noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5570491031488708291.post-14018278991843676852012-07-05T15:39:00.002-07:002012-07-05T15:42:03.123-07:00Solidarity Demo With Carillion Cleaners<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Activists from Bath Ant-Cuts Alliance joined Goan cleaners, GMB unionists, and members of both <span style="color: maroon;"><a href="mailto:swindonanarchists@riseup.net">Swindon Anarchist Group</a></span> and <span style="color: maroon;"><a href="http://bristolaf.wordpress.com/">Bristol Anarchist Federation</a></span>
yesterday afternoon, the 4th of July, as they held a solidarity
demonstration outside Swindon’s Great Western Hospital. Between ten and
30 strong throughout the day, and receiving much honking support from
passing motorists, the protest was held in support of the ten Carillion
whistle-blowers currently subject to disciplinary procedures.</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
For background, Carillion, who run the
domestic cleaning contract for GWH and elsewhere, have been criticised
for the culture of institutionalised racism that has infested the
company for years. One element of this racism is their informal
tradition of ‘gift giving’, in which the mainly South Asian workforce
are required to offer either cash or goods to their supervisors in order
to attain the holidays, shift changes or overtime to which they are
lawfully entitled; when this corruption was reported back in 2009, the
staff were not believed. Then in December 2011, when 109 workers filed
the same grievance, the company conducted a sham investigation before
straight-facedly claiming there was nothing to investigate. It was only
after the GMB union carried out their strike (now having racked up 20
days of strikes), and another five months of renewed investigation, and
three sacked managers, that the company partially admitted their error.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Adding insult to injury, now, after all
the cover-ups and foot-dragging, Carillion have had the gall to take the
ten workers brave enough to give evidence about the company’s
shake-downs, and accuse the cleaners themselves of offering bribes!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
But these dirty bastards have more
skeletons in their closet; their hatred of unions led them to dismiss
and blacklist engineer Dave Smith –former UCATT safety rep – after he
raised concerns about asbestos and poor toilets. His name was added to
an unlawful blacklist of 3,000 trade unionists, preventing them from
securing future work. For their trouble, he took the company to court.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
In the future, in the case of the
Carillion cleaners, expect more strikes, and more lost contracts and
embarrassment for Carillion. The campaigners refuse to back down!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
See also the following links:</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="color: maroon;"><a href="http://union-news.co.uk/2012/05/blacklist-hero-tells-carillion-strikers-dont-give-up-battle-for-justice/">http://union-news.co.uk/2012/05/blacklist-hero-tells-carillion-strikers-dont-give-up-battle-for-justice</a></span><br />
<span style="color: maroon;"><a href="http://union-news.co.uk/2012/07/whistleblowers-who-exposed-corruption-at-carillion-find-themselves-in-the-dock/">http://union-news.co.uk/2012/07/whistleblowers-who-exposed-corruption-at-carillion-find-themselves-in-the-dock</a></span>Bath Anti-Cuts Alliancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10210432415236319121noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5570491031488708291.post-71750380615345650682012-07-03T14:36:00.000-07:002012-07-05T15:41:20.818-07:00Boycott Holland & Barrett: Stop Workfare<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Activists from Bath Anti-Cuts Alliance, <a href="http://network23.org/barf">BARF</a> and others will be outside Holland & Barrett health foods on Saturday the 7th July, due to their practice of employing unpaid,
coerced slave labour, as part of the Con-Dem’s controversial ‘Workfare’
scheme. Despite slavery’s apparent abolition in the British Isles back
in 1833, the unelected Con-Dems and their buddies in the business world
have concocted this new plot to squeeze out more profit from the people
they’re meant to serve and undermine the jobs of other workers lucky
enough to still have jobs. Wilburforce will be turning in his grave.</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The protest will mark the first day of the national Stop Workfare week
of action – running until the 14th July – and will coincide with other
actions in the westcountry, and up and down the country. Meet at 11am at
the pillars near the Abbey Churchyard and Stall Street in Bath.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
See<b> <span style="color: maroon;"><a href="http://www.boycottworkfare.org/">Boycott Workfare</a></span></b> for more information.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<a href="https://network23.org/barf/files/2012/07/workfare2.pdf">workfare2</a>Bath Anti-Cuts Alliancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10210432415236319121noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5570491031488708291.post-76631662756489785332012-05-01T06:25:00.002-07:002012-05-01T06:25:49.493-07:00Fight for a Workers' May Day!TAKEN FROM THE https//:bristol1stofmay.wordpress.com WEBSITE:<br />
<br />
<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em>Tuesday 1st of May <strong> </strong></em><strong>Spreading May Day</strong></span><br />
Meet at 3pm by the fountains in the centre of town to raise conciousness
of may day. Stalls, leaflets, chats, food & fun. Bring your
campaigns information/stalls and help get more people involved in le <em>resistance</em> !<br />
<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em>Wednesday 2nd of May</em> <strong>Picket ATOS</strong></span><br />
ATOS are the company paid to take away disabled peoples benefits, their
decisions have resulted in the deaths of people due to their poor
physical health and in atleast several cases suicide. Picket their
offices and help people who are forced to interview with them. Meet 2pm
at Flowers Hill in Brislington. <a href="http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=flowers+hill+bristol&hl=en&ll=51.428768,-2.542155&spn=0.010716,0.018003&hnear=Flowers+Hill,+Bristol+BS4,+United+Kingdom&gl=uk&t=m&z=16">Map.</a><br />
<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em>Thursday 3rd of May</em> <strong>Anti-Workfare Flash Mob</strong></span><br />
Be in the centre of town near the galleries before 12.30 and call<strong> 07930311065 </strong>to
find out the details of the target! Dress in prison clothes (or warden
outfit) if you can, and be prepared for some theatrical direct action!<br />
<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em>Friday 4th of May</em> <strong>Anti Nuclear Protest</strong></span><br />
South West Against Nuclear protest against a local supplier to the
proposed new nuclear power station at hinkley. It will take place at
midday in Almondsbury; over court lane BS32 4DF. It can be reached by
Bus (309 from bristol centre), train (patchway station), bike (8 miles
from bristol), or contact SWAN for lift shares from Bristol
swanactive[at]gmail.com.<br />
<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em>Friday 4th of May</em> </span><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Radical History – The Real Story Behind May Day</span><br />
</strong><a href="http://www.brh.org.uk/brhgevents/">Bristol Radical History Group</a>
are giving a talk on the story behind May Day; anarchists, executions
and the international struggle for the eight hour day. It will take
place from 6pm at <a href="http://www.hydrabooks.org/location/">Hydra Books</a>, Old Market, with cakes and zapatistsa coffee on sale. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/290273877726703/">Facebook Event</a>.<br />
<em><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Saturday 5th of May</span></em><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong> May Day March</strong></span><br />
Saturday 5th of May, gathering from 11am on College Green. March
against the privitisation of the NHS, and the other attacks on the
working class by the coalition government. Links: <a href="http://www.bristolanticutsalliance.org.uk/">More Info</a> and <a href="http://www.facebook.com/events/397400083617115/">Facebook Event</a><br />
<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em>Satruday 5th of May</em> <strong>Recalim the Beach</strong></span><br />
Reclaim the streets style fun starting at the end of the may day march
12.30ish at college green! Bring hawaiian shirts. palm trees, deck
chairs and get ready for some anticapitalist fun on the streets of
Bristol.<br />
<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em>Sunday 6th of May</em> <strong>Picnic at Hinkley Point</strong></span><br />
French energy giant EDF will be closing off the public footpaths around
hinkley as it continues to turn the beautiful area of countryside into
europes largest construction site – despite having no planning
permission for its new build. Defend the land against nuclear
contaminsation! Shuttles to hinkley will be leaving from bridgewater,
info line;0793 392 0425 <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/360826840631251/">facebook event</a>.Bath Anti-Cuts Alliancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10210432415236319121noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5570491031488708291.post-4881878857585058602011-10-13T07:33:00.001-07:002011-10-13T07:33:52.334-07:00Public Meetings in BathTwo public meetings will be showing their faces soon in the city:<br />
<br />
On Friday the 4th of November, about possible changes to the NHS, at Friends Meeting House at York Street in Bath, at 7.30pm.<br />
<br />
And then on Tuesday the 8th November, Bath Anti-Cuts Alliance will be holding a public meeting at 7.30pm - also at the Friends Meeting House - about the governments cuts plans and how to get involved in the fight against them.<br />
<br />
See you on the seats!Bath Anti-Cuts Alliancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10210432415236319121noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5570491031488708291.post-47179535471051095102011-09-12T03:39:00.000-07:002011-10-13T07:34:24.873-07:00Public Meeting 8th November<div align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></div><div align="center" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>PUBLIC SPENDING CUTS WON’T HEAL!</b></span></span></div> <br />
<br />
<br />
<div align="center" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>JOIN US TO PROTECT OUR FUTURE</b></span></span></div><div align="center" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Bath Anti Cuts Alliance Public Meeting</b></span></span></div><div align="center" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Tuesday 8</b></span></span><sup><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>th</b></span></span></sup><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b> November, 7.30pm</b></span></span></div><div align="center" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Friends Meeting House, York St, Bath</b></span></span></div><br />
<div align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">We’ve hardly begun to see the full impact of the coalition’s proposed cuts in public spending, but this winter will see many people suffer significantly. As usual it will be the poorest and most vulnerable members of our society who will be hit hardest.</span></span></div><div align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0.64cm;"><br />
</div><div align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Cuts already in the pipeline include:</span></span></div><div align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0.64cm;"><br />
</div><ul><li><div align="justify" class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Care home closures as the private providers fail.</span></span></div><div align="justify" class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"></div></li>
<li><div align="justify" class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Severe reductions in education provision – the closure of A level courses locally and the tripling of tuition fees for university students</span></span></div></li>
<li><div align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Withdrawal of funding for a whole range of services for the most vulnerable in society, including children, the elderly and the mentally ill.</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b> </b></span></span></div></li>
</ul><div align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0.64cm;"><br />
</div><div align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: -0.02cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">All this pain and worry is not only unnecessary, but leading economists are now saying that the proposed cuts will make our situation even worse: if we want to solve our deficit problem we should increase taxes on the more affluent members of our society rather than punish the poorest. </span></span></div><div align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0.64cm;"><br />
</div><div align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The Prime Minister tells us that we are ‘all in this together’ but this is clearly not true. Women are suffering job losses disproportionately, and latest figures show that 20% of young people between 16 and 24 are not in education, work or training – what a waste of our young talent!</span></span></div><div align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0.64cm;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>NOW IS THE TIME TO FIGHT BACK</b></span></span></div><div align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0.64cm;"><br />
</div><div align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">If you are a pensioner, a student, a public or private sector worker, a tenant, a home-owner, unemployed or working – unite to defeat this government’s attack on us all. </span></span></div><div align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Come to the meeting: we want to hear how you have been affected and how you think we can best resist. </span></span></div><div align="center" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><b>bathagainstcuts@yahoo.co.uk</b></span></span></span></span></span></div><div align="center" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><b>www.bathanticutsalliance.blogspot.com</b></span></span></span></span></span></div>Bath Anti-Cuts Alliancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10210432415236319121noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5570491031488708291.post-61016989553532152312011-06-22T14:51:00.000-07:002011-06-22T14:51:07.105-07:00“Pensions: A Right, Not A Privilege: Support The Union Strike!”<div align="CENTER" class="western" style="border: none; font-style: normal; line-height: 0.4cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 2; padding: 0cm; widows: 2;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Together, we can...</b></span></span></span></div><div align="CENTER" class="western" style="border: none; font-style: normal; line-height: 0.4cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 2; padding: 0cm; widows: 2;"><br />
</div><div align="CENTER" class="western" style="border: none; font-style: normal; line-height: 0.4cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 2; padding: 0cm; widows: 2;"><br />
</div><div align="CENTER" class="western" style="border: none; font-style: normal; line-height: 0.4cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 2; padding: 0cm; widows: 2;"><br />
</div><div align="CENTER" class="western" style="border: none; font-style: normal; line-height: 0.4cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 2; padding: 0cm; widows: 2;"><br />
</div><div align="CENTER" class="western" style="border: none; font-style: normal; line-height: 0.4cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 2; padding: 0cm; widows: 2;"><br />
</div><div align="CENTER" class="western" style="border: none; font-style: normal; line-height: 0.4cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 2; padding: 0cm; widows: 2;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>...STOP THE CUTS!</b></span></span></span></div><div align="CENTER" class="western" style="border: none; font-style: normal; line-height: 0.4cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 2; padding: 0cm; widows: 2;"><br />
</div><div align="CENTER" class="western" style="border: none; font-style: normal; line-height: 0.4cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 2; padding: 0cm; widows: 2;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Thursday 30<sup>th</sup> June</b></span></span></span></div><div align="CENTER" class="western" style="border: none; font-style: normal; line-height: 0.4cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 2; padding: 0cm; widows: 2;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Demonstration & Rally</span> </b></span></span></span> </div><div align="CENTER" class="western" style="border: none; font-style: normal; line-height: 0.4cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 2; padding: 0cm; widows: 2;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>starting at 11.00am, at College Green in Bristol</b></span></span></span></div><div align="CENTER" class="western" style="border: none; font-style: normal; line-height: 0.4cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 2; padding: 0cm; widows: 2;"><br />
</div><div align="CENTER" class="western" style="border: none; font-style: normal; line-height: 0.4cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 2; padding: 0cm; widows: 2;"><span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Pensions: A Right, Not A Privilege</b></span></span></span></div><div align="CENTER" class="western" style="border: none; font-style: normal; line-height: 0.4cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 2; padding: 0cm; widows: 2;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Support The Union Strike!</span>”</b></span></span></span></div><div align="CENTER" class="western" style="border: none; line-height: 0.4cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 2; padding: 0cm; widows: 2;"><br />
</div><div align="CENTER" class="western" style="border: none; font-style: normal; line-height: 0.4cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 2; padding: 0cm; widows: 2;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Next Bath Anti-Cuts Alliance meeting: </b></span></span></span> </div><div align="CENTER" class="western" style="border: none; font-style: normal; line-height: 0.4cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 2; padding: 0cm; widows: 2;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Tuesday 19<sup>th</sup> July 8pm at the Bell public house, Walcot Street </b></span></span></span> </div><div align="CENTER" class="western" style="border: none; font-style: normal; line-height: 0.4cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 2; padding: 0cm; widows: 2;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>www.bathanticutsalliance.blogspot.com</b></span></span></span></div><div align="CENTER" class="western" style="border: none; font-style: normal; line-height: 0.4cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 2; padding: 0cm; widows: 2;"><br />
</div><div align="CENTER" class="western" style="border: none; font-style: normal; line-height: 0.4cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 2; padding: 0cm; widows: 2;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Co-ordinated strikes between Association of Teachers and Lecturers, National Union of Teachers, Public & Commercial Services Union and the University and College Union</b></span></span></span></div>Bath Anti-Cuts Alliancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10210432415236319121noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5570491031488708291.post-5835194951749807212011-06-06T09:36:00.001-07:002011-06-06T09:36:59.776-07:00FIGHTBACK BRISTOL: ORGANISING AGAINST THE CUTS<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b></b></span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Saturday 18th June 12 noon – 5pm<br />
<br />
Colston Hall, Colston Street, Bristol, BS1 5AR<br />
<br />
New speakers added to the event are:</span><br />
Katrine Williams – Chair Public & Commercial Srevices Union, Wales<br />
Roger Davey – Unison, Health Executive (person capacity)<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">An A4 poster is attached. There are still printed flyers. If you can distribute any please email <a href="http://uk.mc292.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=admin@bristolanticutsalliance.org.uk" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">admin@bristolanticutsalliance.org.uk</a> or phone Tom on 07986 951527.<br />
</span>Bath Anti-Cuts Alliancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10210432415236319121noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5570491031488708291.post-80374862520915496062011-06-06T09:29:00.000-07:002011-06-06T09:29:44.816-07:00Next MeetingThe next meeting of Bath Anti-Cuts Alliance will be Tuesday 21st June, from 8pm at the Bell, and we will be focusing on plans on how best to support the co-ordinated union strikes on the 30th June. Hopefully see folks there!Bath Anti-Cuts Alliancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10210432415236319121noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5570491031488708291.post-26709964736887527022011-06-06T09:27:00.001-07:002011-06-06T09:27:38.395-07:00Whose University?<span style="font-size: x-small;">Goldsmiths and Birkbeck present WHOSE UNIVERSITY?, a two-day symposium co-hosted by GLITS, Goldsmiths Literature Seminar and InC Research Group in Continental Philosophy<br />
9-10 June 2011<br />
<br />
In the wake of the government’s plans to drastically alter the funding of higher education, the very ethos of the university is undergoing transformation.<br />
<br />
At stake are learning for its own merit, the validity of disciplines, the forms of life there produced and the concept of academic freedom, all under scrutiny amidst concerns of value--monetary, societal, public and private.<br />
<br />
The intention of this symposium is twofold: to defend the role of arts, humanities and social sciences in academic learning and to establish a discourse for the university as a public good beyond the well-rehearsed humanistic defences of the past and the emerging value-based discourses of the present.<br />
<br />
Day 1: RESISTANCE, will be an interdisciplinary event that will foster debate on the current crisis in higher education, broadly based around the themes of Creation, Action and Critique. Why is the study of arts, humanities and social sciences indispensable? How are such fields crucial to critical reflection on human values and principles? What are the most effective modes of resisting the changes to higher education? What is the relationship between theoretical critique and political activism?<br />
<br />
Confirmed speakers: Nina Power, Alberto Toscano, Peter de Bolla, Priyamvada Gopal, Andrew McGettigan, Simon Szreter, Sarah Wood, Sam Riviere, Luke Wright, University for Strategic Optimism, Stewart Motha, Simon Hewitt, Louise Purbick<br />
<br />
Day 2: IDEA OF THE UNIVERSITY, a series of panel discussions, seeks to bring together philosophers and pedagogists to reflect on the question of 'What is a university?' and interrogate this historically contested institution that disciplines cohabitate, demarcate and regulate in terms of their particular subject, social, economic and political positions.<br />
<br />
Confirmed speakers: Alexander Düttmann, Mary Evans, Gordon Finlayson, Roberto DiNapoli, Soo Tian Lee, Benjamin Noys, Stephen Rowland, Jennifer Saul, Anton Schutz<br />
<br />
The symposium will conclude with a Roundtable discussion open to all participants.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
For more info on WHOSE UNIVERSITY?, contact <a href="http://uk.mc292.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=resistance-glits@gold.ac.uk" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">resistance-glits@gold.ac.uk</a> and <a href="http://uk.mc292.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=inc@gold.ac.uk" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">inc@gold.ac.uk</a><br />
<br />
<br />
This event is sponsored by Goldsmiths' Graduate School and Visual Cultures Department, Birkbeck College, Open Birkbeck and organized by Jenny Doussan, Catherine Humble, Helen Palmer and Thanos Zartaloudis.</span>Bath Anti-Cuts Alliancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10210432415236319121noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5570491031488708291.post-21139976914202114572011-05-26T09:30:00.000-07:002011-05-26T09:30:13.805-07:00Relaunch groupThe next Bath Anti-Cuts Alliance meeting will be this Tuesday, the 31st, 8pm at the Bell. Please make it along, and invite anyone you think might be interested, as we hope to make a bit of an effort to relaunch the campaign, following the March 26th demo in LondonBath Anti-Cuts Alliancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10210432415236319121noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5570491031488708291.post-15607454226182357312011-04-21T12:02:00.001-07:002011-04-21T12:02:22.084-07:00Defend Our May Day!Defend Our May Day!<br />
<br />
As well as its roots in folk history and pagan festivity, ever since the struggles of<br />
the Haymarket Martyrs of Chicago in 1886, the May Day festival has long been a<br />
celebration of workers' power. Even though the rich and powerful would like us to<br />
believe that they have graciously handed us our every freedom, the truth is far<br />
different. Whether it's laws to protect people in their jobs, universal suffrage,<br />
equality, environmental protection, the welfare state or whatever limited<br />
democracy we still have, it's us – or those who have come before us – that have<br />
had to fight and win those rights, wrestling them one by one away from those<br />
would rule.<br />
<br />
Now the Con-Dem coalition have announced plans to scrap the May Day bank holiday<br />
and relocate it to the autumn as 'Trafalgar Day'. Yet there are already far too many<br />
religious, military, rich or royal figures that we are forced to revere; May Day is one of<br />
the few days celebrating the achievements of ordinary people, and our self-styled<br />
leaders want to take it from us. It seems that in a time of united struggle against the<br />
cuts, and of re-emerging ideas of people power, that this is a move to try and erase any<br />
memory that the common people have ever won anything.<br />
<br />
So, to defend our history, Bath Trades Council, the Bath Anti-Cuts Alliance and others<br />
will gather on Saturday the 30th May, from 11.30am, outside Marks & Spencers at the<br />
bottom of Stall Street. Why not join us with banners, placards and leaflets?<br />
Remember: the powerful give nothing up willingly, and neither will we.<br />
<br />
e-mail: bathagainstcuts@yahoo.co.uk<br />
www.bathanticutsalliance.blogspot.comBath Anti-Cuts Alliancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10210432415236319121noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5570491031488708291.post-48419929562892077972011-04-21T12:01:00.001-07:002011-04-21T12:01:38.094-07:00Bath's Republican Picnic against ParasitesBath's Republican Picnic against Parasites<br />
<br />
In 1649 and the close of the second English Civil War, Britain came very close to being great, with the beheading of Charles I – the best cut of all! However, since Cromwell and his ilk then betrayed all our ancestors' hard work and reinstalled the monarchy, things went down hill from there.<br />
<br />
Now, 361 years later, the British public are still being robbed and subjugated to feather these inbred parasites' nests. Figures are difficult to ascertain, due to a shroud of bureaucracy, laws and misinformation, but best estimates place the Windsors' annual expenses and allowances at a figure around £40-50 million. Making a mockery of any concept of democracy, the Battenberg/Windsor family have been granted positions of heridatory government, even though we've never once voted for them and they know nothing about life for ordinary people, or display any competence. This nation's history is a sad one of being invaded and invading others, and the Royals are a blatant reminder of that shame, an everyday symbol of a brutal past and decadent present; whilst we struggle to make ends meet, they flaunt their ill-gotten wealth, with 'Her Majesty' even going so far as applying to the Community Energy Fund back in Autumn, to lessen their heating costs. It seems their soul purpose is to give tourists a good chuckle over our medieval ways, and to clog up our newspapers and airwaves with bushels of yet more useless celebrity trivia pap.<br />
<br />
Even if we can't enjoy the sight and sounds of “Off with their heads”, let's at least strip these scroungers of their titles and privilege, and put them to work like the rest of us. <br />
<br />
Yet now, they're really taking the piss! Whilst an unelected government Con-Dems us to a £60 billion plus program of easily avoidable cuts – a politically-motivated attack against anyone who's not from Eton – we are now expected to shell out a further £80 million on Royal Wedding security. But could the spectacle of the happy couple's 'special day' actually be a smokescreen, cynically arranged to distract us from the savagery of the Coalition's class war antics?<br />
<br />
So, instead of gawping at the box on Friday the 29th April, why not join us in Royal Victoria Park (oh, the irony!) in Bath, for a Picnic Against Parasites! Meeting at the war memorial at midday, please dress for the occasion, and bring food, drink, music, friends and banners; oh, and the odd effigy to burn, too.Bath Anti-Cuts Alliancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10210432415236319121noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5570491031488708291.post-83958514639862335932011-04-11T07:39:00.000-07:002011-04-11T07:39:00.925-07:00Philip Green: Daylight RobberyLeaflet text from last Saturday's Dorothy Perkins/Burton blockade:<br />
<br />
"We are here to take action against Philip green. Sir Philip Green is a multi-billionaire businessman who runs a retail empire which inludes BHS, Topshop, Topman, Burton, Dorothy Perkins and Miss Selfridge. He is also Britain's most notorious serial tax dodger.<br />
<br />
Philip Green does not actually own any of the Arcadia Group that he spends every day running. Instead, it is in the name of his wife who lives in Monaco, where she pays not a penny of income tax. In 2005, this arrangement allowed Sir Philip to dodge a £300m tax bill when he awarded himself the biggest corporate paycheck in British history.<br />
<br />
And yet despite this slap in the face to the British public, David Cameron has recently appointed Sir Philip to advise the government on how best to slash public spending.<br />
<br />
Each year extremely wealthy individuals and big business avoid around £25 billion of tax and the government are barely lifting a finger to stop it. In fact, they have made tax dodgin easier by cutting funding to HM Revenue and Customs by a quarter, making them toothless in the face of corporate tax avoiders.<br />
<br />
The rich are getting away without paying their fair share whilst the poor, the unemployed, the disabled, thnic minorities and poorly paid public service workers face the brunt of these cuts. The cuts are not fair, we're not 'all in this together' and there are alternatives.<br />
<br />
Here's one alternative to the savage cuts: force the richest to pay the tax that they owe us, starting with Philip Green's missing millions.<br />
<br />
Join our fight:<br />
<br />
www.ukuncut.org"<br />
<br />
The joy of tax:<br />
<br />
Arcadia Group own 2,500 outlets in the UK.<br />
<br />
Divided equally among all the outlets, the tax avoidance of 285mil amounts to £114,000 per outlet.<br />
<br />
In Bath, Arcadia Group owns seven businesses, meaning the tax avoidance from the Bath branches is £798,000.<br />
<br />
Things in Bath that money could protect:<br />
<br />
<ul><li>Youth counselling service £60,000</li>
<li>Charity for victims of domestic violence £8,700</li>
<li>Mentoring charity for young people cut by 10%</li>
<li>Youth services £345,000</li>
<li>Homelessness charity cut by 30%</li>
</ul>Bath Anti-Cuts Alliancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10210432415236319121noreply@blogger.com0