Category Archives: Demo

No More Austerity Demo 1st October Manchester

Theresa May and the Conservative Party have got themselves in a real mess, with a dramatically weakened Government, a divided party, and no obvious way out of the situation. Join Barnet TUC as we head up for a national protest against them.manky

The details for the train to Manchester are:
01/10/2017 London Euston (EUS) 08:20 Manchester Piccadilly (MAN) 11:02
01/10/2017 Manchester Piccadilly (MAN) 16:35 London Euston (EUS) 18:46

Contact Helen Davies (07432 733168) or the Barnet UNISON office (020 8359 2088) and leave your contact details if you want a ticket. Tickets will go on a first come first served basis.

“The NHS will last as long as there are folk with the faith to fight for it” Nye Bevan, Founder of the NHS

nhs_temp_leaflet_frontIt’s Our NHS

  • No cuts, closures or privatisation
  • End the pay restraint for NHS staff
  • For a fully funded, publicly owned health service

National Demonstration
Saturday 4 March 2017, Central London
Full details soon

Our NHS is in a major crisis and this government is doing nothing to stop it. Some say the NHS only has one winter left in it.

On the backdrop of continued cuts and closures, private companies seek to gain even more of a foothold within the NHS.

Continued pay restraint has seen the value of NHS staff salaries reduce by 14% since 2010 and there are now 25,000 nursing and 3,500 midwifery vacancies in NHS England alone.

The Government’s latest plans for Sustainability and Transformation Plans are, in reality, just a smokescreen for £22bn in cuts and it’s latest instrument of privatisation.

The NHS is the single greatest achievement of working class people in Britain. We cannot allow it to be undermined and ultimately destroyed by a Tory government who’s priority is to put profit in the pockets on the corporations & big business.

Please help us make the demonstration as big as possible. Leaflets, posters and publicity will be available soon from the People’s Assembly office. In the meantime, please share and invite your friends on Facebook, discuss with your union branch, local campaign groups and community organisations about supporting the demonstration & book transport to London.

The People’s Assembly Against Austerity
http://www.thepeoplesassembly.org.uk/

Update on Save Barnet Libraries campaign: Protest with Unison workers on 6th of December

Barnet UNISON Librarylast-ditch-libraries-2 workers 46% of whom are facing the sack are quite rightly outraged by the latest financial information on Council spend which was published last week.

Barnet Council Policy & Resources Committee meets at Hendon Town Hall at 7 pm on Thursday 2 December 2016.

 

It is Agenda Item 10 – Annual Procurement Forward Plan which has caused anger and dismay and disbelief.

http://barnet.moderngov.co.uk/documents/s36302/Appendix%201%20-%20Annual%20Procurement%20Forward%20Plan%202017-18.pdf

Scroll down to point 17 in the procurement plan it reveals proposed spend on Libraries construction of £12 million with additional items 18-25 showing an additional £2.125 million for additional associated costs:

Making a total of £14.125 million.

A quick recap on other Barnet Council spend.

Below are the Agency/Consultancy figures for the last four years.

  • £12,526,943
  • £13,775,546
  • £15,538,090
  • £17,907,052

Making a total of £59, 747,631 million

In the first two quarters of this financial year Barnet Council has spent £9.3 million which, if it continues at this rate, will bring the total spend for this year to over £20 million on Consultants/Agency.

Barnet Council claims it is being forced into the Library changes by a need to cut £2,162 million from the Library Service budget by 2019/20.

Members and Barnet UNISON have been asking a very simple question:

“Is it true that in order to save £2,162 million Barnet Council are spending over £6 million (which does not include redundancy costs) on a project to close four public libraries (by handing them to volunteers), on a project that will restrict access for disabled people and children under 15 and are now planning to spend an additional £14,125 million on construction and associated costs (making a grand total of £20.125 million)?”

This latest revelation seriously calls into question as to why staff are being made redundant and why a service with a 97% Customer satisfaction is being brutally dismantled.

As far as Barnet UNISON is aware the £14.125 million construction and additional costs have never been disclosed in any of the reports going to previous Children’s Education, Libraries and Safeguarding Committees.

What can we do?

There is still time to stop the destruction of the Barnet Libraries Service. Barnet UNISON will be speaking at General Functions Committee on Tuesday 6 December at 7 pm at Hendon Town Hall. The Leader of Barnet Council Richard Cornelius is on this committee. The committee could refuse to implement the redundancies which would save the Library Service.

 

Join Barnet UNISON on #6December

5th of November – Call for Stewards for the Save Libraries March

Keith Martin writes:

Hi supporters of libraries, museums, galleries and all who work in them.

Attached is a letter in today’s Ham and High. It is published too in the Barnet Times and, I hope, in the Barnet Press and Camden New Journal, which has a wrap around publicising the National Libraries, Museums and Galleries demo on 5 November.

For this demo, which starts at 12 noon from The British Library and goes via The British Museum to the National Gallery, we shall have the Metropolitan Brass Band and the speakers include Michael Rosen. The march has a KIDS4LIBRARIES group.

The Metropolitimg_0001an Police are allowing us to march on the roads, but they are stretched for resources marshalling another demo the same day and advised us to recruit our own stewards. This we are doing, and our aim is to have thirty yellow-clad volunteer stewards to maintain all our health and safety.

If you are willing to be one of these thirty stewards, please email me your name and email address (keith.martin18@btinternet.com), and I shall see that you receive a briefing on what is required.

The aim of the demo is to stop the cuts to our library, museum and gallery services, and to save the jobs of all who work in them.

There is a national crisis, and we are determined to achieve these aims.

Tories Out – Austerity Has Failed

Slider_Brum

At Teresa May’s first Tory Party Conference as Prime Minister the People’s Assembly with the support of the TUC will be holding a mass demonstration to say we demand an alternative to ‘Austerity Britain’.

We will demand investment in public services, in infrastructure, and in decent jobs for all. An end to scapegoating of migrants which divides our communities and whips up racism. Join us and help make sure the demonstration is as big as possible. Transport is being arranged for Barnet:

Dep: 8:50 London Euston so be at station for 8:15a.m

Dep: 16:50 Birmingham New Street to arrive London Euston 18:18

A small number have been pre-bought: please get email Helen.Davies@barnetunison.org.uk if you would like to buy one.

 

Please circulate info,

Remember, remember…

NationalLibrariesMuseumsGalleries

 

It’s the demonstration every Library & Museums campaigner has been calling for and now it’s on. The march will start from the iconic British Library and end outside the House of Commons for a Rally. Jeremy Corbyn is supporting the protest.

Public Libraries and Museums remain the lynchpin of communities, offering access to learning, reading, history, art, information and enjoyment. Libraries are, or should be, trusted public spaces for everyone. They play a crucial role in improving literacy, in combating the digital divide and in widening democratic involvement. BUT, in the UK since
2010, we’ve LOST:
• 8,000 paid and trained library workers;
• 343 libraries (600-plus including ones handed to volunteers); and
• One in five regional museums at least partially closed.

We’ve also seen:
• Libraries’ and museums’ opening hours cut;
• Budgets, education programmes and mobile/ housebound/specialist services slashed;
• An escalation in commercialisation and privatisation;
• A 93% increase in the use of volunteers in libraries;
• Income generation become the priority for almost 80% of museums.

This is a crisis and not an opportunity. Users, staff, campaigners and unions need to unite and fight before it’s too late. PCS Culture Sector, Unite the Union, Barnet UNISON & Save Barnet Libraries, and Campaign for the Book have been calling for a national demonstration to highlight the ‘clear and present danger’ to our national Library service. Support the protest on 5th November!

JEREMY CORBYN, Leader of Labour Party says: “I give my 100% support to this demonstration. The Tories have devastated our public services using austerity policies as justification. I promise that a Labour Government will act to ‘in-source’ our public and local council services and increase access to
leisure, arts and sports across the country. We will reverse the damage the Tories have done to our communities in the cities, towns and villages.”

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