Wednesday 24 March 2010

Budget supports Government handling of recession and recovery, says TUC

Commenting on the 2010 Budget announced today (Wednesday), TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: “This was a measured Budget that took no risks with the recovery and showed that the Government’s handling of the recession is working."
“Better than expected tax income and lower unemployment has given the Chancellor scope to extend the jobs guarantee for young people and provide some extra money for tackling poverty. Support for business, a green investment bank and for industrial policy are welcome steps in rebalancing the economy away from finance."
“We welcome the decision to maintain this year’s planned increase in spending, but there are real concerns that cuts planned for future years will damage public services."
“Instead the Chancellor should have put more emphasis on raising tax from those who benefitted most from the boom years, through a Robin Hood Tax on financial transactions and limits on tax breaks for the rich.
“This was a good Budget. The Chancellor not just acted responsibly, but with a real sense of social justice and the need for government to help create a better, fairer and more sustainable economy.”

Further TUC comment on the Budget is available at www.touchstoneblog.org.uk

PCS Members take industrial action on budget day

PCS mmebers have been taking industrial action across the midlands to protect their redundancy agreement. The government’s changes to the scheme tear up our accrued compensation scheme rights and rob many hard-working public servants of tens of thousands of pounds if made redundant. Many PCS members are low paid workers and the redundancy rights have always been part of the balancing act. Read more about the dispute and the Civil Service Compensation scheme at:  http://www.pcs.org.uk/en/campaigns/cscs/index.cfm

Friday 19 March 2010

New TUC blog site for LGB & T members

The Midlands LGB & T Network has a new blog site where information will be posted on current campaigns and events. This will be updated on a regular basis. Look for information on our presence at Pride events across the Midlands and at the IDAHO commemoration in Birmingham.
Visit the site at: http://midtuclgbtnetwork.blogspot.com/