Join the Nottingham unions NUT, ATL, UCU, PCS joint strike march from The Forest and city centre rally at Trinity Square on 30th June, then meeting at Albert Hall with many solidarity actions. Supported by Notts Trades Council, Notts Save Our Services, Nottingham Students Against Fees and Cuts, University of Nottingham UCU Local Association, Notts Uncut, plus Notts Unison action at County Hall West Bridgford against cuts to social care provision in the County.
* NO PENSION CUTS!
* NO JOB CUTS!
* NO CUTS TO SERVICES!
* Bring banners, friends and family!
Timetable
- 8.00am. Notts UnCut. Meet up at Nottingham Railway station to feed pickets and engage in solidarity action. Download Notts UnCut latest newsletter
- 8.30am. Unison action against major cuts to social care provision – assemble County Hall, West Bridgford. Download leaflet: Notts ASCH demo 30 June 2011
- 11 am. NUT, ATL, UCU, PCS joint strike march – assemble from 11.00 am, Forest Recreation Ground (Goose Fair site). Download: 30 June 2011 joint strike leaflet Nottingham
- 11.30 am. Marchers leave The Forest, march down Mansfield Road, on to Milton Street and then in to the Trinity Square.
- Noon/12.30 pm with the arrival of the march in Trinity Square. Speakers, stalls, refreshments and more in Trinity Square. There will be face painting and other activities for younger people.
- 13.30 pm. March continues along Burton Street, South Sherwood Street and Parliament Street to the Albert Hall on Derby Road for speakers and debate on the way forward for the dispute. There will be live music provided by Banner Theatre, Trade Union speakers and an opportunity to contribute from the floor. Ending 3pm approx.
Background: Striking for pensions | Striking against Job cuts | Striking for you and your services
Teachers, lecturers, and civil servants, in the NUT, ATL, UCU, and PCS are being forced to take strike action on 30th June.
The strike is against Con-Dem plans to:
– cut public sector pensions by a third;
– increase the public sector pension age to 68;
– make public sector workers pay 50% more for it!
– cut jobs, hundreds of government jobs have already been lost in Nottinghamshire
– close workplaces, such as DWP Sutton and Mansfield
– Cut all public sector pay at a time when inflation is above 5% and utility bills will be increased by 19%!
This strike action is not happening because union members and their families are greedy; pensions are a vital part of our pay. These union members have chosen to work in the public sector because they believe in providing good public services for all and taking strike action is never an easy decision.
The attacks on the public sector are part of a much bigger agenda. The Con-Dems want to privatise the NHS, cut spending on schools and services, price our kids out of college and university, cut benefits to those in need and see unemployment soar.
In essence, they want to attack every service that we value and hold dear.
Yet none of this is necessary. The richest 1000 people in Britain have seen their wealth increase by £130 BILLION in the last two years to a staggering £396 BILLION. Instead of cutting staff the Government should employ more tax inspectors to get in the £120 billion in avoided, evaded and uncollected tax by the rich, such as the reported £6 BILLION owed by Vodafone.
We’re taking action to stand up for pensions and public services for all. Bring your family and join us on the demonstration and rally to show your support for public services and public servants.
Unison action at County Hall. Please back demonstration ahead of the Full Council meeting on 30 June. We’ll be protesting from 8.30am (the council meeting starts at 10am). All staff, service users and community groups welcome. Make some noise so your councillors can hear you!!!
Adult day care centres forced to close. The council plans to close 35 specialist adult day centres, and replace these with just 13 generic ones. UNISON fears this will leave too few centres, forcing elderly or vulnerable people to travel further. Over 118 care staff face the sack.
Supporting People budgets halved.The council also plans to cut £10million of funding to ‘Supporting People’ projects—with many axed or cut as much as 50%. The council under-spent by £24million in the last financial year, but intends to cut frontline services to the most vulnerable and needy. The council claims it has consulted widely on these plans, but UNISON fears these cuts have yet to be fully explained to those most likely to face them.
UKUncut support: Notts Uncut will be supporting the June 30th strikes by members of NUT, ATL, UCU and PCS.
Nottingham UKUncut will be involved in several activities throughout the day and would love as many people as possible to come along to any or all of them, starting the day by visiting the picket lines and delivering some breakfast to the strikers, meeting at 8am at the front of the railway station. After the pickets have all been fed we will be forming a Notts Uncut bloc on the march. Assemble at the Forest Recreation Ground at 11am and look out for the Notts Uncut banner. If you are able to come along at 8am to feed the pickets can you send us a message to let us know please – everything else, just turn up.
University of Nottingham UCU Local Association and Nottingham Students against Fees and Cuts. Those university staff who are able to take the day off (UCU has a seperate pension scheme not controlled by government in which changes have been railroaded by employers) will join at the Forest at 11am and March to Trinity Square. The key message from Nottingham University staff and students is that cuts to university teaching budgets by 80% and enormous rises in student fees will price out students of less wealthy families or leave them with crippling debts. Due to pension changes staff will get a pay cut and worse standard of living in retirement. Government and employers have chosen to make the people pay for the mistakes of the banks. Trade unions are right to defend the terms and conditions of ordinary workers. We urge you to support the actions on 30th June.
What can I do?
There has already been a great deal of work done but there is still much to do. Joint union leaflets are being produced and should be available for collection / distribution on Friday 24 June. Your help distributing these leaflets will be invaluable. I have attached an electronic copy for e-distribution, attachment to web sites etc but to order paper copies, please contact paul.williams@dsa.gsi.gov.uk 07771 940812.
Saturday 25 June
There will be an opportunities to leaflet in the Market Square, Nottingham from 12.00 and at Long Eaton Carnival, West Park, Wilsthorpe Rd from 12.00. Support at Long Eaton would be especially welcomed.
Thursday 30 June
It is hoped that p1cket lines can be advertised on the Trades Council website so please ensure you keep checking for updates.
ATL, NUT, PCS and UCU members will be delighted to see you and your members visiting their lines, marching with your flags and banners, celebrating in the Trinity Square and rallying in the Albert Hall so PLEASE publicise these events to your own membership, encourage them to pop along and show your support. We’d be delighted to pass on any messages to members in the participating unions so feel free to send them to this address.
If you are free on the day and would like to help out on the day, please let us know. Stewards are always welcome and ‘gophers’ a necessity. Anything you can do would be appreciated.
Speakers are required for the Trinity Square celebration – if you or a representative of your union or a campaign group you are involved in would like to speak in support of the action, please contact Cara Nurse of PCS at cara-lee.nurse@dsa.gsi.gov.uk, Paul Martin at nottspcs@hotmail.co.uk or 07986 351807
be thankful you have a job and get back to work now stop being so selfish you are lucky you work in the public sector and not the private because then you would have something to complain about
So the logic here is we should all seek to have no pensions and work til we are 70 if we live that long? Look, the point of collective action is to improve conditions and pay against a system of obscene profits mostly benefiting large corporations, their owners, shareholders and top earners. Of course this is not the same for many smaller companies plus lots of people are losing their jobs in all parts of the private sector too. But why not use this as an opportunity to ask why we are in the situation and not try fall for this “race to the bottom”? And also ask yourself for example, why is food and fuel getting more expensive? why are house prices so high?
This is worth a look.
http://falseeconomy.org.uk/blog/this-is-not-a-pension-reform-it-is-simply-a-pay-cut