TUSC supporting unions not attacking them

Since the Coalition Government was formed, the Labour Party under the leadership of Ed Miliband has attacked proposed or actual strike action involving members of:

Aspect, Association of Educational Psychologists, Association of Headteachers and Deputies in Scotland, Association of Teachers and Lecturers, Chartered Society of Physiotherapists, Educational Institute of Scotland, Fire Brigades Union, FDA, GMB, Irish National Teachers Organisation, NAPO, NASUWT, National Association of Head Teachers, Northern Ireland Public Services Alliance, NUT, POA, Prospect, Public and Commercial Services union, Rail, Maritime and Transport union, Services Industrial Professional and Technical Union, Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists, Society of Radiographers, Transport Salaried Staffs' Association, Ulster Teachers' Union, Undeb Cenedlaethol Athrawon Cymru, Union of Construction, Allied Trades, and Technicians, UNISON, UNITE and University and College Union.

Just in case you were wondering why Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition candidates were standing against Labour candidates in local elections on Thursday 3rd May.

As cuts bite, firms stash the cash

The government's been stealing from the poor in wage freeze and, cuts in jobs and services then giving to rich individuals and corporations through tax cuts, free labour in the form of workfare and direct bail-outs. One in 10 of the UK's richest individuals pay less than 20% income tax, according to the BBC today. They've been behaving like some perverse, inverted Robin Hood.

All our pain is supposed to be justified on the grounds of incentivising (they destroy language with the same abandon they destroy working class communities) entrepreneurship and investment but it's not working!

Much of the media tries to draw positive messages from a report from financial advisors, the 'Earnest & Young Item Club', which suggests that Britain has avoided a double dip recession. But the interesting part of the report is the section that suggests that despite all the government's efforts to pump cash into the economy, growth has stalled because companies have "stashed the cash". Big private, corporations are sitting on £billions and paying out to shareholders while our public services are being slashed to the bone.

Once again this is confirmation of what the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition candidates are saying - cuts are unnecessary and don't work.

For further examples of how working class people are being ripped off to protect the profits of big business, and for an alternative, read TUSC councillor, Dave Nellist's article in this week's Socialist. http://www.socialistparty.org.uk/articles/14307/11-04-2012/on-3-may-use-your-vote-to-rage-against-austerity

If she could have found more paid work she'd have done so before!

This was sent to us by a TUSC supporter in Wales:

"Just talking to one of my neighbours, who has lost a lot of her income as a result of tax credit changes. She works as a school 'dinner lady' and kitchen assistant, term-time only (Unison member). In a small village, very limited public transport and no car, how's she supposed to find those extra hours? If she could have found more paid work she'd have done so before!"

This is the reality for millions of workers who have now been disenfranchised from tax credits. And with over 2 and a half million people officially jobless and firms being offered all the unpaid slave labour they want through workfare, where are part time workers supposed to get he extra hours from? The Mirror reported this week that:

"...just 52% of 112,000 vacancies advertised in JobCentres guarantee enough hours to meet the new limit." full article: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/only-half-of-available-jobs-offer-785573

This is the reality of austerity Britain. If you want real change vote vote, campaign for and join with Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition candidates.

Life in austerity Britain - tell us your stories

This is a brilliant article from this week's Socialist, which explains the realities of working for nothing under the workfare scheme: http://www.socialistparty.org.uk/issue/713/14320/11-04-2012/living-to-work-not-working-to-live

The Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition in Wales would like to collect similar stories of how the cuts are affecting you: workers, youth, disabled people, the unemployed, and what you want your politicians to do about it. E-mail stories to Swansea TUSC.

Politicians receive one final payment at our expense.

Today's Evening Post picks up on a story that has been circualting for a couple of days in Wales, of 22 former AMs who were either defeated or stood down at the last election, sharing over £840,000 in resettlement payments.

See article: http://www.thisissouthwales.co.uk/AMs-net-pound-840-000-payout/story-15812579-detail/story.html

TUSC condemns politicians standing down or failing to be re-elected, picking up payments ranging between £27,000 and £51,000. Public sector workers made redundant in some cases by cuts passed on by these politicians won''t be getting payments of anything like this level and if we walk away from jobs to take up other posts (assuming we can get them) we don't receive any payments. Here is the take of TUSC in Wales on this issue form the TUSC Wales Blog site: http://tuscwales.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/failed-politicians-dip-one-last-time.html

Further posts in this blog related to politicians expenses include:

• A story about MPs' expenses: http://tuscswansea.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/mps-perks-it-doesnt-have-to-be-this-way.html
• Comment on the Labour councillor in Wales paid more than £100,000 from 4 public jobs: http://tuscswansea.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/tusc-no-cuts-to-services-or-council.html

Cuts increase inequality - official!

As councils lay off staff around the country, an inevitable consequence of passing on Tory cuts, evidence is emerging to back up what trade unionists had always expected - that's while cuts, while being disaster for working class communities as a whole, are ruinous for some sections. The GMB union has published a report which shows that 62% of those being made sacked by councils in Wales are women.

Read further details yourself: http://union-news.co.uk/2012/03/women-make-up-75-of-council-job-losses-gmb/

Whose Water? Whose Profits?

We often moan about the weather in Swansea - one of the wettest cities in the UK. Now the high rainfall in Wales has caused £ signs to flash before the eyes of certain people and not just Welsh Water's shareholders.

Plaid Cymru supports proposals to use the scarcity of fresh water in parts of England and its relative abundance in Wales to increase charges to English customers. They say this is to create wealth for the people of Wales. What they fail to explain is how it can benefit ordinary people in Wales to increase charges for 'Welsh' water when water, like all other utilities is in private hands. The only people that would profit would be the share holders of the likes of Welsh Water and, as the other water companies would inevitably pass on any increased costs in higher charges, the people that would suffer would be working class customers in drier parts of the UK.

TUSC is not in favour of boosting the profits of one set of shareholders at the expense of working class customers. We say that water is too precious to be left in private hands. Nationalise water and all other utilities so that our natural resources can be controlled and protected by, and used for, the millions not rich shareholders.