German student protests

Link to German student protests that are ongoing:

http://www.euronews.net/2009/11/17/german-university-strike-spreads/

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,4901195,00.html

German student protests

Link to German student protests that are ongoing:

http://www.euronews.net/2009/11/17/german-university-strike-spreads/

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,4901195,00.html

The Working Class Movement Library marks the 25 anniversary of the Miners Strike 1984-1985

Forwarded from Minersinfo by National Shop Stewards Network
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The Working Class Movement Library marks the 25 anniversary of the Miners
Strike 1984-1985

The Working Class Movement Library will be holding a meeting to mark the 25th anniversary of the Miners Strike 1984-1985.

On Saturday 21 November at 2.30pm speakers Granville Williams, editor of Shafted; the Media,the Miners' Strike and the Aftermath (2009) and Paul Kelly (Ex-Agecroft Miner) will look back at the personal, political and economic effects of the strike.

The strike was one of the largest and most significant industrial disputes of the 20th Century. The role of women in the strike enabled the strike to last longer than any national strike in British history.Throughout the country people decided what side they were on and diverse groups rallied to support the miners.

Shafted;the Media,the Miners'Strike and the Aftermath was edited by Granville Williams and published by the Campaign for the Press and Broadcasting Freedom earlier this year The contributors reflect on topics such as the press and TV coverage of the strike, documentaries about the strike, the role of the security services and the role of women during the strike,

Bernadette Hyland of the WCML said "We meet on the 21 November to remember how much we gained from the strike, not just how much we have lost in terms of our trade union and human rights. Please join us and bring with you your remembrances, both good and bad, of that traumatic year. We also hope that young people will come along to find out more about this historic event."

The meeting will take place in the Working Class Movement Library, 51 Crescent Salford M5 4WX, Tel :0161-736-3601. email; enquiries@wcml.org.
uk. www.wcml.org.uk

Press Contact

Bernadette Hyland : 01457-838885.
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07:38:00

Welfare Reform Bill - URGENT - please take action by Wednesday

> From: Global Women's Strike <http://uk.mc250.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=womenstrike8m@server101.com>
> Date: 10 November 2009 22:28:40 GMT>
To: http://uk.mc250.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=romaynephoenix@mac.com> Subject: Welfare Reform Bill - URGENT - please take action by Wednesday>

Reply-To: http://uk.mc250.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=womenstrike8m@server101.com> >

Dear friends,> > URGENT -- please take action by the end of Wednesday>

> Welfare Reform Bill -- protection for children under five overturned by MPs> >

MPs supporting the government tonight brutally overturned the amendment won in the Lords, which protected single parents of children under five from losing benefit for not doing “work-related activity”. Single parent families could have their benefit cut by 40%. This is an outrageous attack on single mothers who are looking after children full-time. 236 MPs voted against the government, and some made clear that mothers’ caring work is a vital contribution to society. It should be recognised not penalised.> > Please write to the Lords who backed the amendment to urge them to keep this important protection for children, and let them know the strength of feeling in the community on this issue. Personal statements from mothers, fathers and carers are most convincing.> >

Lord Freud, the Conservative Lord who led on this amendment, will raise it again when the Bill goes back to the Lords on Thursday at 11.30am. We have another chance of defeating the government on their uncaring policy.> > Fax number for the Lords: 020 7219 5979 (mark for the attention of the Peer you are writing to.)> >

(As time is short, please send your letters direct, don’t rely on us to forward them, but do send us a copy at http://uk.mc250.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=womenstrike8m@server101.com Fax 020 7209 4761)> >

Please write to:> > Conservatives> > · Chris Scott http://uk.mc250.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=scottcg@parliament.uk >
Conservative Office, House of Lords – has undertaken to pass on emails received by end of Wednesday.> > ·
Lord Freud> http://uk.mc250.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=freudd@parliament.uk> Fax: 020 7219 5979 – mark attention Lord Freud> Tel: 020 7219 4907> > ·
Lord Taylor of Holbeach CBE> Tel: 020 7219 4051> http://uk.mc250.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=taylorjl@parliament.uk> > ·
Baroness Morris of Bolton OBE> Tel: 020 7219 5353> http://uk.mc250.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=whitbycollins@parliament.uk> > >
Liberal Democrats> > · Baroness Celia Thomas> Tel: 020 7219 3586 > http://uk.mc250.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=thomascm@parliament.uk> > ·

Lord Kirkwood of Kirkhope> Fax: 020 7219 5979 – mark Attention Lord Kirkwood> (no email)> >
Crossbench> > · Lord Northbourne> Tel: 020 7219 3884 > Fax: 020 7219 5933> http://uk.mc250.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=northbournec@parliament.uk> > >

> Sent: 09 November 2009 12:59> Subject: Welfare Reform Bill: Urgent - today: contact your MP and Minister Yvette Cooper> > Welfare Reform Bill:> Mothers, carers, people with disabilities,> victims of domestic violence …> win important changes in the Lords.> But some may be overturned on Tuesday> when the Bill returns to the Commons.> Join us to press MPs to keep them.> > Many important concessions have been won. Testimonies from those affected, among a wealth of letters and evidence from organisations, including ours which campaigned for months and lobbied in person and in writing, were taken up by Peers and journalists, forcing the government to shift. The government has publicly agreed to some of the changes, but some remain under threat. > > The Bill is coming back to the Commons on Tuesday 10 November. > ACTION YOU CAN TAKE:> Phone and/or email your MP and Yvette Cooper, the Minister for Work and Pensions, to urge them to keep the changes below> and to condemn the worst measures in the Bill.> House of Commons tel: 020 7219 3000

Find your MP> Rt Hon Yvette Cooper MP> Secretary of State for Work and Pensions> House of Commons London SW1A 0AA> http://uk.mc250.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=coopery@parliament.uk> Please copy your email to us at http://uk.mc250.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=womenstrike8m@server101.com> > > Most under threat:> > · Single parents of children under five are entitled to care for our children full-time without losing benefit for not doing “work-related activity”. We need to press MPs not to overturn this. No mother should be forced to go out to work if she feels her pre-school age children need her.> > > Changes likely to be approved:> > · Single mothers/parents of children aged three to six. Single parents on Income Support will be able to keep £50 earnings, up from £20. No “work-related activity” will be compulsory outside school hours, childcare or term-time. Mothers won’t have their benefit cut for missing “job seekers” appointments due to family responsibilities. The government reaffirmed that under current rules, parents with school-age children claiming Job Seekers Allowance can reject jobs that do not fit within school hours, they do not have to work full-time. > > · Parents. Jobcentre advisers and “back to work” staff must have regard for the welfare of the child in what they tell parents to do. > > · Carers. Single parents will be exempt from job seeking if their disabled child under 16 receives any rate of Disability Living Allowance for care. Previously, the government said the parent must work if a child is on the low rate for care.> > · Women fleeing domestic violence. A three-month exemption from job seeking. Though not enough for recovery and settling distressed children, it is an improvement over the previous discretionary decision by Jobcentre staff.> > · It is illegal for anyone to be pressured into medical treatment. Jobcentre or “back to work” staff will not be able to tell disabled people claiming Employment and Support Allowance (including people with mental health problems) that they have to take their prescription or undergo surgery. The government previously claimed that some people are “wilfully keeping themselves unfit for work”. People with drug and alcohol problems can be required to attend assessments and “motivation” sessions, but cannot lose benefit for refusing rehabilitation or treatment. > > Despite these changes, the Bill takes away many of our rights: > > It abolishes Income Support. This is the main benefit which acknowledges unwaged caring work by single mothers and other carers. > > It wipes out entitlement based on need and brings in US-style workfare. Couples with young children must both seek work. Almost all claimants of working age must look for a job or engage in a “work-related activity”. Those who cannot find a job will have to “work for their benefits”, i.e. for £1.60 an hour. Forcing more people to chase scarce jobs, while allowing employers to bypass the minimum wage, lowers everyone’s wages. Councils looking to cut costs are already preparing for workfare staff. Those of us who do not or cannot comply are threatened with destitution. Asylum seekers were the first to be made destitute, and this inhuman standard is being extended to others. > > It introduces compulsory joint birth registration even where the father is violent. If the mother has no official proof of his violence (a common situation) she will be forced to give his name. Mothers of newborns should not have to worry about going to court to stop the father abusing his parental rights to persecute her and the child.> > It expands charging for disability services. Some disability groups welcome “the right to control” budgets for services, in the Welfare Reform Bill. However, the new percentage charging system is discriminatory. People with more severe disabilities have greater needs and so are allocated a bigger budget. For them, the fixed percentage is a larger amount of money. Local authorities are allowed to set their own (higher) percentage. They will deduct charges at source before funds are paid out, leaving people to make up the missing cash. This is instead of charging separately, which allows older and disabled people not to pay charges they can’t afford, or to query when their income or disability expenses are wrongly calculated. > > We are determined to defend our entitlement to benefits and free high-quality services. Many people have signed up to a letter condemning the abolition of Income Support. Add your name. LINK> >
Contact us for more info:> > Single Mothers’ Self-Defence http://uk.mc250.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=centre@crossroadswomen.net> WinVisible (women with visible and invisible disabilities) http://uk.mc250.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=winvisible@allwomencount.net> Global Women’s Strike http://uk.mc250.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=womenstrike8m@server101.com> Legal Action for Women http://uk.mc250.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=law@allwomencount.net> > Tel: 020 7482 2496 www.allwomencount.net www.globalwomenstrike.net

Allegations of ‘Islamophobia'

Dear Andy,

I am writing to you on behalf of the Steering Committee of Green Left. We are very concerned about the allegations of ‘Islamophobia’ being thrown at us by Barry Kade and the fact that you have now given him a full thread to develop this further – this despite a request from Duncan Chapple of Socialist Resistance to stop attacking us. This is causing great offence to members of Green Left, many of whom have been battling hard against Islamophobia and in the anti-war movement. I myself am the Green Party’s delegate to Stop the War Coalition. Furthermore, many of us have worked hard to support the anti-war and anti-Fascism movements both inside and outside the Green Party. We have also played a central part in the effort to get an agreement in Birmingham re Salma and have suffered some attack from others in the party as a result.

To then be attacked on your website is doubly insulting. I cannot help but think that at a time when we are trying to work closely with Socialist Resistance and others in Respect, that this is a deliberate attempt to drive a wedge between us. Let me be clear about this, Green Left would like to focus on Left unity. We have no intention of diminishing in any way our criticisms of homophobia for the sake of some on the Left who regard LGBT rights as dispensible. We believe that all rights – and that includes those of Muslims – are bound together. The postings referred to were not in any way Islamophobic and merely raised some question s about the policy of the Respect Central Committee at the time. I do not think it appropriate here but we have not launched any criticisms or attacks on some in Respect on our website and have tried to build a progressive alliance. I consider your efforts and those of Barry Kade to be detrimental to this. I would hope that Barry Kade would issue a retraction of some of his allegations re Green Left and you would desist from publishing such attacks on Green Left.


Regards

Joseph Healy

Co-Convenor

Green Left

Battersea & Wandsworth TUC Public meeting - Support the Postal Workers 09/11/2009 7.30pm

Battersea & Wandsworth TUC Public meeting - Support the Postal Workers 09/11/2009 7.30pm

Postal workers have been bearing the brunt of the public';s anger since beginning to take strike action. They are being blamed for the late delivery of mail and being portrayed in the press as the ones in the wrong.

But, what you have to remember here is that postal workers are not greedy, well paid workers trying to squeeze money out of an unprofitable company. They are over worked and underpaid workers who aren';t just fighting to protect their terms and conditions they are fighting to protect our Royal Mail.

What the public don';t see is that behind the scenes the government are trying to run Royal Mail like a business &- not the public service that it is. The government does deals with large, private companies to deliver their mail. The government then hand this over to the Royal Mail to deliver at 13p per letter as opposed to 35p. The only person that really benefits in all this is the private companies making a profit.

How can this be justified when the government took a pensions holiday for 13 years from postal workers pensions? The government are shamelessly allowing private companies to profit at the expense of ordinary workers.

Your posties job will have changed dramatically over the past few years &- with no consultation from management. They now work longer hours and under more pressure. They work in an environment where they face constant bullying and intimidation from a management who make their bonuses by enforcing cuts on the workforce.

709/11/2009 7.30 PCS hq
106 Falcon Rd Clapham Junction SW11
Contact Nadine Nadine@bwtuc.org.uk
Tel 07946172461

Anti War demo 24/10/2009