On 30/11/2012 16:27, Martin Francis wrote:
From Caroline Lucas's blog today
The Chancellor will publish details of his spending plans in the Autumn Statement next week.
They are expected to include information from the Office of Budget Responsibility showing that the Government’s programme of austerity and cuts to public services is failing to get our economy back on track.
The promised creation of new private sector jobs has simply not materialised and more and more households are struggling to cope with rising bills, unemployment or job insecurity, and attacks on essential support mechanisms.
What’s more, the Government’s economic policies have resulted in many public services workers having their pay frozen, their pensions cut and their terms and conditions placed under review.
None of this makes sense if we want to keep money circulating in the local economy.
So I'm pleased to support today’s protests by members of the Public and Commercial Services Union, designed to highlight the harmful impact of the Government’s policies on individuals and on the city.
Friday, 30 November 2012
Wednesday, 28 November 2012
Vote for the GREEN KNIGHT, Sasha Khan.
THE GREEN PARTY TRADE UNION GROUP meeting this evening voted unanimously to call for votes for Sasha Khan, Green party candidate in Croydon North. All Croydon North voters should vote for the GREEN KNIGHT, Sasha Khan.
Shock Therapy and Popular Uprising: Greece at the Crossroads.*
Syriza UK invites you to join an event on the Greek crisis and the current situation.
*Title: Shock Therapy and Popular Uprising: Greece at the Crossroads.*
Date: 7 December 2012
Location: ULU, Malet Suite 7,Malet St, London WC1E 7HY
Time:19.00 – 21.00Speakers:
Costas Douzinas, Birkbeck College, London
Stathis Kouvelakis, King’s College, London
Seumas Milne, The Guardian
Marina Prentoulis, University of East Anglia
A contribution of £5 towards the cost of the room is recommended.
This event is organised by the London branch of Syriza which lacks its own financial means to cover the cost of hiring the hall.
Tuesday, 27 November 2012
Principal of Ruskin College, Audrey Mullender, ordered the shredding of thousands of historic student records
Principal of Ruskin College, Audrey Mullender, ordered the shredding of thousands of historic student records from 1899 to recent years, an act which has been nationally condemned by students, staff, historians, archivists and journalists. No records have been scanned and only barest details digitised. Information on students' backgrounds, progress and achievements has now gone. Only some from the 1950s remain.
She has insisted, after the event, that these actions were legally justified despite repeated advice to the contrary from experienced archivists and internationally prestigious historians.
On Thursday Nicholas Kingsley, Head of Archives Sector Development & Secretary of the Historical Manuscripts Commission at the National Archive, confirmed ‘it would have been acceptable to retain these records indefinitely for historical purposes’.
Archives-NRA listserv (https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?A0=archives-nra)
In October we listed the records that have been destroyed. They included thousands of files on individual students as well as those of the Ruskin Student Union. Student dissertations, often based on the unique opportunities for access to working lives that Ruskin students possessed, were also destroyed. Further unwanted material, including collections on the National Register of Archives, had been dispersed to other archives.
Over 7,500 people * (see examples of names below) have signed the petition to halt immediately the destruction and to transfer the remaining records to an institution committed to preserving the recorded experiences of working people. We have had no confirmation from Ruskin management that the remaining historic student records, mainly dating from the 1950s, will be saved. We have had no expression of regret as to the destruction of records relating to so many people’s lives.
In order to save the remaining student archives and to ensure that no further destruction takes place we are lobbying the next meeting of the Ruskin College governing executive on Friday 30 November from 10.30 am outside the Rookery entrance, Ruskin College, the new Headington site, Dunstan Road, 0X3 9BZ.
We will be presenting the petition. We will also be laying a wreath in memory of the achievements of students whose lives have been eradicated from the records. Please come and show your support and, if you can, bring your banner or placard. Please email me onhildakean@hotmail.com if you can come. We will adjourn afterwards for coffee in the White Hart.
Please also write again to the governing executive members (email details attached) alerting them to the advice of the National Archives and asking them to save the remaining archives –and to help salvage Ruskin’s tarnished reputation.
Dr Hilda Kean FRHistS
*Signatories include Sarah Waters, Alan Bennett, M Lewycka, Sir Brian Harrison former editor of the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography; Dr Nick Mansfield former director of the People’s History Museum; Dr Eve Setch History publisher at Routledge; Professor Alison Light (widow of Raphael Samuel); Professor Jonathan Rose author of The Intellectual Life of the British Working Classes; Stewart Maclennan, chair of the Scottish Labour History Society; MPs John McDonnell, Dave Anderson and Jeremy Corbyn; Harry Barnes, former Labour MP and former Ruskin student; John Hendy QC; Professor Geoff Whitty, former director of the Institute of Education; Professor Pat Thane, co-founder of History and Policy; Alice Kessler-Harris former President, Organization of American Historians; Dr Andrew Foster, Chair of the Public History Committee of the Historical Association; Professor Geoff Eley, Chair of the History Department at the University of Michigan; Dr. Serge Noiret, Chair of the International Federation for Public History, Italy; Dorothy Sheridan, former archivist of the Mass Observation archive; Dr. Roger Fieldhouse, joint author of A History of Modern British Adult Education;Keith Bilton on behalf of the Social Work History Network; Bob Price, leader of Oxford City Council; former governors including David Buckle and Brian Cohen; and hundreds and hundreds of former Ruskin students and staff.
RUSKIN GOVERENORS
The Chair of governors is
David Norman, retired trade union officer from CWU
cllrDNorman@southend.gov.uk
Vice chair Carole
Orgell-Rosen Carole is a nominee from the Ruskin Fellowship, the alumni
association. rosen.carole@gmail.com
Other members at July 2012:
Chris Baugh, assistant general secretary Public and Commercial Services
Union
Jane Dixon, head of Denman
College
j.dixon@denman.org.uk
John Fray, former NUJ deputy general secretary
john.fray@ntlworld.com
Anne Hock of Popularis, a company managing ballots and elections
Roger McKenzie, Unison West Midlands regional secretary R.McKenzie@unison.co.uk
Jo Morris, former women’s officer at TUC
Doug Nicholls, national officer for youth work, Unite the Union Doug.Nicholls@unitetheunion.com
Professor John Raftery, Pro Vice-Chancellor (student experience) Oxford Brookes
University
jraftery@brookes.ac.uk
Pauline Ryall from WEA
Alan Shepherd,secretary of the Ruskin Fellowship, the alumni
association
Marva Small, former student
Colin Taylor of Oxford
City
Van Coulter, Oxford
cllrvcoulter@oxford.gov.uk
Staff members are:
Kieron Winters (Unison) kwinters@ruskin.ac.uk
Alan Irwin (UCU) airwin@ruskin.ac.uk
Peter Dwyer (UCU) pdwyer@ruskin.ac.uk
2 student members:
Karl Gay 10gaykar@ruskin.ac.uk
Geraldine Sherratt 10sherge@ruskin.ac.uk
and the principal Audrey Mullender
amullender@ruskin.ac.uk
Wednesday, 21 November 2012
IWW John Lewis cleaners win pay rise
Cleaners at contractor ICM working in John Lewis stores in London, who are members of the Industrial Workers of the World revolutionary union, have won a 9% backdated pay rise following them balloting for strike action.
Outsourced John Lewis cleaners have won an immediate and backdated 9% pay rise following their pledge of industrial action. The increase, backdated 5 months, takes their pay to £6.72 per hour at three central London sites, and £6.50 at one outer London site. Supervisors will now get £8.00 per hour and £7.84 respectively.
United in the IWW trade union, the cleaners notified their employer, ICM, last week of the trade dispute and impending ballot for industrial action. This ballot could have seen visible and noisy industrial action by cleaners at four John Lewis sites in London in the run up to Christmas.
John Lewis has seen pre-Christmas profits increase on last year already. The company are proud of their partnership structure, where all staff are ‘partners’ who share in the company’s profits.
But John Lewis’ cleaning contract is outsourced to MML, who outsource it again to ICM. The cleaners have seen their hours reduce and workload increase, while they were paid minimum wage of £6.19 – and they don’t share in the profits.
This increase, including a backdated lump sum just before Christmas, will make a real difference to our members’ lives. ICM further pledged to look at the potential to pay a Living Wage of £8.55 as they enter contract talks early in 2013.
IWW National Secretary Frank Syratt said:
“It is our members’ unity, solidarity and courageous stance that has won this increase. They are an inspiration and a lesson to other workers”
“There is still work to do. John Lewis needs to ensure all their workers – whether partners or outsourced - take home a Living Wage of £8.55 and receive full sick pay, lifting them out of poverty and insecurity. IWW pledges to continue organising and campaigning to make this happen”.
Edited from www.iww.org.uk
(acknowledgements to Danny Bates)
(acknowledgements to Danny Bates)
Thursday, 15 November 2012
GPTU banner at Eurostrike solidarity demo
Wednesday, 14 November 2012
Naya Nikolaou and Vasilis Sylaidis, both militant unionists, talk about the situation in Greece and the importance of the international general strike at 14 of November
Naya Nikolaou and Vasilis Sylaidis, both militant unionists, talk about the situation in Greece and the importance of the international general strike at 14 of November
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