Thursday 2 October 2014

Wales Against Austerity And Cuts Conference Saturday 4th Octobe

Wales Against Austerity And Cuts Conference Saturday 4th October October 2, 2014

Filed under: Uncategorized — Bridgend or Swansea Green Party - South Wales West @ 7:29 am 
APOLOGIES FOR LATE NOTICE
Cardiff Saturday 4 October 2014 11.00 – 16.00 at the Owain Glyndwr High Street 
Arcade CF10 1GL
Proposed structure of the day
i. Introduction to the Day to include briefing paper on the public sector
cuts situation in Wales – Len Arthur. 11.0-11.20 a.m.
ii. Feedback from the floor, to include reports of action already taken or
proposed by local groups. 11.20 – 12 noon
iii. People’s Assembly UK speaker 12 noon – 12.20p.m.
iv. Lunch – 12.20 – 1.20 p.m.
v. Two speakers from public sector unions – in support of the 14 October
strike and the 18 October TUC demonstration (names to be confirmed)
1.20 – 1.40 p.m.
vi. Questions and discussion from the floor 1.40 – 2.15 p.m.
vii. The Way Forward – Next Steps – Plans for Action (to include October 14th
and October 18th London Demonstration, and Action for Wales)
Open discussion around the draft outcome to be tabled leading to agreed
statement from the day. 2.15 – 3.15 p.m.
viii. Future organisation of Wales campaign. – 3.15 – 4.0 p.m.
Chairing
Woman in the morning – man in afternoon: TBC
Draft action statement
See attached
Name of campaign
People’s Assembly Wales will be put to the meeting as well as the working
title Wales Against Austerity and Cuts.
After the 4th
The action focus should initially be on the UK budget announcement and
the Assembly consideration of the 2015-16 budget. Following that process
supporting bodies should address ongoing organisational requirements.
Calling letter distributed in August
The People’s Assembly RCT/Bridgend made a call to anti cuts, anti austerity and
trade union organisation across Wales recently, to support a meeting to coordinate
and prepare for the fightback against the new Tory austerity measures that will be
announced this coming autumn. The outcome is this letter which is currently
supported by 14 organisations. It is also hoped to add individual’s names in the
near future.
We are asking you to add you own or your organisation’s name to this call and to
attend or send a delegate to the Cardiff 4 October meeting that will be from 11.00 –
16.00 at the Owain Glyndwr, St John Chambers, High Street Arcade, Cardiff CF10
1GL.
The prime purpose will be to establish a coordinated campaign across Wales to
oppose austerity cuts that will be announced this autumn, to help mobilise support
for the 14 October public sector strikes and the TUC 18 October demonstration.
A draft agenda will be circulated to all supporting organisations and individuals at
least three weeks before the start of the meeting. If you wish to help with this
please let us know.
The austerity policies of this Tory government are increasing inequality and
degrading public services across the UK.
In Wales we have been directly affected through cuts made to both devolved and
non devolved services.
About £700m will be cut from local council revenue budgets across Wales by 2017
– 18. If reductions in capital spending are added in this figures rises to about
£1000m or £1bn. These figures are dependent on a number of assumptions that
may not happen but are nevertheless based upon ‘prudent’ assumptions of
councillors’ financial advisers.
To put these figures into context the current Welsh Government budget is £15bn:
£1bn is therefore a significant additional reduction in real public sector spending
and a huge hit on a public sector that provides a quarter of all jobs in Wales.
Over 2010 to 2017 there is by the end date likely to be a loss of £750m in real
spending in the Welsh NHS.
Across Wales there will be loss of £930m through social security cuts in 2015/16.
This means that by 2017 austerity will have cost Wales almost £3bn a year in lost
public service spending – around £1000 per person per year in Wales or £4000 per
year for the average family.
Everyone in Wales knows a person or family that has been directly hit: everyone in
Wales knows of a local service that has been cut.
We cannot allow this to continue. We did not create this financial crisis and we
should not be forced to pay for it.
Wales already has some of the poorest and most deprived communities in the
United Kingdom, with both rural and urban poverty a feature of many Welsh
people’s lives. These cuts hit the most vulnerable members of our communities the
hardest.
This autumn we will be faced with decisions involving another round of cuts and
we should insist that our political representatives join with us in resisting and
fighting back.
Len Arthur – secretary People’s Assembly RCT/Bridgend
Supporting organisation so far:
Bridgend Green Party
Cardiff Against the Cuts
Cardiff People’s Assembly
Cardiff Trades Union Council
Green Left (Wales)
Left Unity Wales – Chwith Unedig Cymru
Mid-Wales Uncut
North Wales Against the Cuts
Pembrokeshire People’s Assembly
Penybont Plaid Cymru
People’s Assembly RCT/Bridgend
People’s Assembly Wales – Cynulliad y Werin Cymru
People’s Assembly Wrexham
Powys Uncut
South Wales Federation Against the Bedroom Tax
Unison RCT branch

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