Why we should support the Postal Workers

This is a letter sent to the Swindon Advertiser

Why we should support the Postal Workers

The dispute that is currently taking place at Royal Mail is not the result of postal workers being bloody minded. They are defending their interests in the face of a bullying management which wants to manage by dictat and to break the power of the CWU.

Behind these dictatorial management methods, though, lies the process of ‘liberalisation’ of Postal Services introduced as a result of European Union legislation. Unfortunately the current government was so enthusiastic about liberalisation that it introduced it earlier than legislation required it to do.

Swindon Council suspends Housing transfer proposal

At last night’s lobby of the Swindon Council meeting, we were informed that the ruling Tory group was withdrawing their resolution proposing to ballot tenants on transfer of our Council housing to a Housing Association. Swindon TUC had called on the ruling group to suspend their proposal in the light of the government consultation on the new Housing Finance system that they are proposing to introduce. The consultation document which will include the detailed proposals as well as the timetable for their introduction, will be published shortly, before the summer Parliamentary recess. (See a Swindon TUC Briefing on Housing Minister John Healey’s statement on the consultation – http://swindontuc.wordpress.com/2009/07/11/swindon-tuc-breifing-government-consultation-on-new-housing-finance-system/ ).

South Cambridge tenants – big vote against transfer

John Marais, a leading campaigner against privatisation of Council Housing reports on a big vote against transfer in South Cambridgeshire

South Cambridgeshire tenants have kicked out plans to transfer their homes out of council control with a decisive 72 per cent No vote on a 73 per cent turnout.

New Council House building is necessary to tackle the housing crisis

Swindon TUC Press Release October 6th 2008

Swindon TUC believes that in order to address the housing crisis (both locally and nationally) there needs to be a break with the policy which has been followed since Thatcher’s government and continued by New Labour under both Blair and Brown. The ‘right to buy’ and the effective ban on new Council House building have created a massive shortage of housing. It is no wonder as the Advertiser has reported that the waiting list for Council accommodation has risen from 3,000 in 1997 to over 8,000 today.

Prescription Charges – almost but not quite

This is a Swindon TUC Media Release 23rd September 2008

In his speech to New Labour’s conference today Gordon Brown announced that:

• From next year cancer patients will not have to pay for prescription charges;

• Over “the next few years” savings from the NHS drugs budget will be ploughed back into free prescriptions for people with “long term conditions”.

The first is a welcome step in relation to what has long been a national scandal, though it should not be forgotten that it has taken Brown 11 years to do it, and not without the pressure of a political crisis in which he is fighting for his survival.

The second of these promises appears conditional on the level of savings.

It should be borne in mind that the government is estimated to receives only £430 million this year from prescription charges. Recently it stumped up £50 billion for Northern Rock and even more recently £100 billion for a bunch of spivs in the city to cover their “toxic loans”.

We don’t know how much of the £430 million is comprised of prescriptions from cancer patients, but if you take away the receipts from them and people with chronic illnesses there would be barely any income left.

To maintain prescription charges for whoever might be left in England simply does not make sense. Therefore we should continue to press for abolition in England. Far from being a “gift” from Gordon, his announcement makes a nonsense of his government’s refusal to follow Scotland and Wales in abolishing prescription charges for the whole UK, for everybody.

Visit: http://abolishprescriptioncharges.wordpress.com

For further comment ring Martin Wicks on 07786 394593

 

Government response to Suspension Trauma petition

This is the governments’ response to the Suspension Trauma petition by the local CWU BT branch. I have asked for their comments on the government’s response and will post them as soon as I receive them.

“The Government, through the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), has commissioned research into the first aid treatment of those suffering from suspension trauma resulting from a fall from height, as differing medical treatments have been advocated. A workshop is to be held on 30 April to consider the results of the research, to which the petitioner has been invited.

Following the workshop, HSE will consider the development of proposals both on the correct medical advice to treat those suffering from suspension trauma and the most appropriate way to disseminate any subsequent medical advice, taking account of the petitioner’s suggestion.”