Wednesday 30 November 2011

Nottingham Pensions Justice day of action


Thousands of Nottinghamshire trade unionists marched through the streets of Nottingham today as part of the TUC national day of action for Pensions Justice. The march from the Forest Recreation Ground took thirty minutes to leave the assembly area before progressing to The Albert Hall for a series of speeches from both local and national speakers.
The rally was chaired by Adrian Axtell, Vice Chair of the Midlands TUC. Speakers included Heather Wakefield, National Secretary for UNISON, Keith Stokold, National Treasurer for NAPO and NASUWT Junior Vice President Mick Lyons.
Perhaps the most telling contribution was from Grace Perry, a Community Care officer from Nottinghamshire County Council who explained in detail how she would lose out in the proposed changes to her pension scheme.
The speeches were relayed outside the Albert Hall to a thousand members who watched proceedings on a large video screen while enjoying the late autumn sunshine.

Monday 28 November 2011

Mary's Story - a Pension's tale

UNISON west midlands region have produced a striking new video on pensions in the health service. A must watch.

Monday 21 November 2011

Sickness review could force ill workers back too soon, says TUC

Commenting on the review of sickness absence carried out by Dame Carol Black and David Frost published today (Monday), Midlands TUC Regional Secretary Rob Johnston said: "The current method of sickness absence certification and pay is not in need of a major overhaul. Unions are concerned that however well-intended this report, there is a danger it will be seized upon by some rogue employers as an excuse to force people back to work before they are good and ready.
"The report, while very limited in its remit, recognises that the current sick pay scheme is broadly fit for purpose, but makes a number of recommendations in respect of job-brokering and an independent assessment system which could be used to force sick and injured employees back to work far sooner than is good for their health.
"While employers need more advice and support in dealing with sickness absence, the biggest gains can be made by supporting workers through early access to rehabilitation, as well as increasing prevention measures to stop them becoming ill or injured in the first place.
"Unfortunately, because of the narrow remit that the government gave to the review, these issues are not covered. Instead employers could attempt to use the proposals to challenge the advice from a GP or seek to move someone who has become disabled to another job rather than make adjustments to keep them in their existing one.
"The report also fails to address the huge issue of "presenteeism" where workers come in to work when they should be off sick, despite evidence that this is a major and growing problem in the workplace."
The report comes a week after a research report in the USA showed that the absence of sick pay cost the US economy over $1 billion a year. http://www.iwpr.org/carousel/access-to-paid-sick-days-could-save-1-billion

Singing out loud for public services



Ahead of the Day of Action on 30 November, the TUC has brought together a group of public sector staff as The Workers to re-record the classic song Let’s Work Together as a charity track that celebrates everything that is good about the public sector and raises money for today’s pensioners.

The song will be launched on Monday 21 November to chart on Sunday 27 November – the week of the TUC Day of Action.

The Workers are 14-strong and include a firefighter, probation officers, a teacher, civil servant, social worker, student support officer and health service staff including a nurse, midwives, a physiotherapist and a clinical engineer.

The aim of the song is to get people talking about the importance of the public sector and its staff in a week when the government wants to focus on union bashing.

The single will also raise money for charity. A major part of the sale price, equivalent to about 40p out of the 99p cost in most outlets, will be donated by the TUC to Age UK to show support for today’s pensioners.

Let’s Work Together will be available to download from 2pm on Sunday 20 November on itunes, amazon and other major online retail outlets. Further information about the band and how to buy the single is available at www.theworkers.org.uk

Sunday 20 November 2011

Observer 20th Nov: EDL splinter groups may target public sector strikers, unions warn

    Britain's biggest unions are warning of a threat of violence by far-right groups during national strike action this month, amid concern that fascist elements are increasingly intent on targeting striking public sector workers.

    UNITE, UNISON and the TUC said they were taking the prospect of disruption by far-right supporters seriously, and had begun to liaise with police to assess any risk to pickets or those on protest marches. The development follows signs that splinter groups from the English Defence League are broadening their campaign from targeting Muslims to trade unionists and socialist organisations. Members of the EDL have recently been involved in attacks on anti-racist and anti-cuts protesters, as well as attempting to target the Occupy movement which has camped outside St Paul's Cathedral.

    More than two million workers are expected to walk out on 30 November during a day of protest against public sector pension changes.

    Dave Prentis, general secretary of Unison, the country's main public sector trade union, said: "We take any threat to our members' health and safety very seriously. As a matter of course, ahead of a major day of action, we work with the police to assess risks, and our many stewards work hard to keep people safe. The far right's latest attempt to stir up hate and fear is a disgrace."

    Rob Johnston, the Midlands regional secretary for the TUC, said: "There is a concern, a general wariness, that the EDL are very active. There have been attacks on trade unionists. We need to put our heads together and think about how we deal with it."

    Nine days ago an EDL faction attempted to attack the north-west headquarters of Unite, the UK's biggest trade union. Online messages from the EDL in Merseyside stated they were "patrolling for leftys [sic]". Those they finally identified turned out to be former council workers protesting after they lost their jobs when a contractor went bust. A march of female asylum seekers has also been recently targeted by EDL supporters in the city.

    One EDL splinter group, the Infidels, has stated that it considers any leftwing or anti-cuts activists fair game. A north-east wing of the Infidels was recently blamed for attacking an Occupy Newcastle camp in which one protester was taken to hospital and others injured. A statement from the leader of the Infidels faction, John "Snowy" Shaw, states: "We have decided to put all our efforts into opposing everything you do regardless of the issue at hand, it's your organisations we oppose." He adds: "Every event you hold will be a potential target along with your meetings, fund raisers and social events."

    On the same day as the Liverpool attack, police arrested 179 EDL members after intelligence they were planning to attack Occupy protesters camped outside St Paul's Cathedral. A Facebook page carried comments discussing attacking "lefties" at St Paul's and included death threats from one supporter.

    Dr Matthew Goodwin, extremism expert and political lecturer at the University of Nottingham, said the far right in the UK was becoming increasingly confrontational. "Historically, trade unionists and the far right have been fiercely opposed to one another," he said. "Trade unionists view the modern far right as a continuation of interwar fascism, and so support anti-fascist campaigns and groups. Meanwhile, far-right extremists tend to view trade unionists as promoting multiculturalism and political correctness. While these disputes are ideological, they have often become incredibly personal.

    "Over the past three years, the far right in Britain has become increasingly confrontational and provocative."

    Bill Adams, TUC regional secretary of Yorkshire, said he was aware of a new far-right presence in his region – 300 members of the North East Infidels recently protested in Leeds city centre – and had been advised by police to avoid antagonising the far right. "They have said to watch what I say about the EDL, they have some info that they have my details." Last year prominent TUC member Alec McFadden was placed under police protection after threats from the Merseyside branch of the EDL who doctored a placard he was carrying criticising coalition cuts to make it read as if it were protesting against homecoming British troops.

    Unite general secretary Len McCluskey said the union movement would not be cowed by a group whose only concern was "spreading fear" instead of advancing the rights of working people. "Trade unionists stand against everything the EDL stands for," he said. "Trade unionists have fought long and hard for a fairer society, one with respect at its core. Ultra-rightwing groups care about nothing other than stoking hatred, which is why they have no place in our communities."

    Other incidents this year that suggest that the EDL and its spin-offs are adopting an increasingly anti-leftwing agenda include attacks at anti-racist meetings in Brighton and Leeds and during a Labour party event held in Barking, east London, in May.

The TUC is calling for an end to violence and discrimination against transgender people on Transgender Day of Remembrance today (Sunday).

Around the world 20 November each year is recognised as Transgender Day of Remembrance. The Day commemorates trans people who have been the victims of violent crimes and aims to bring their stories to public attention.

This year sees the 13th international global day of tribute, and new names are still being added to the list of trans people who have been murdered simply because they were different. In Britain last year, there were 357 trans victims of hate crime reported - a rise of 14 per cent on 2009.

Midlands TUC Regional Secretary Rob Johnston said: 'The profile of trans people is improving with sympathetic coverage on mainstream television, and the government appears to be committed to challenging the prejudice and discrimination they face.

'But the level of violence faced by trans people - and the reported crimes could be only the tip of the iceberg - represents an appalling percentage of a very small community.

'Prejudice against trans people remains deep, as it does for lesbian, gay and bisexual people, and public spending cuts could severely impact on the ability of authorities to identify and tackle such crimes.'

Saturday 19 November 2011

Pensions Justice Action Saturday - November 19th

Trade Unions across the Midlands were out in force on Action Saturday, 19th November.

(Pictured: Joe Morgan, GMB Birmingham and West Midlands Regional Secretary with Gerard Coyne, UNITE West Midlands Regional Secretary )

Unions were out in the community building support, discusssing with Saturday shoppers why unions are taking industrial action on 30
th November.

Activity was taking place in Birmingham, Telford, Leicester, Solihull, Lincoln, Mansfield and Nottingham.

In Birmingham alone some 10,000 leaflets were distributed by activists from the GMB, UNITE, NUT, PCS and NASUWT unions. The leaflets aimed to both dispell myths surrounding the pensions debate and promote the 'Pensions Justice - Day of Action' in Birmingham on November 30.

The reponse from the public was overwhelmingly positive, with many people choosing to sign a petition speaking out against the Government's 'Triple Squeeze' of working longer, paying more and getting less.

It is clear that the public are increasingly aware that working people are being scapegoated by the Government for the mistakes of the financial speculators.


Friday 18 November 2011

Solihull Pensions leafleting Saturday 30th november

UNISON’s, Solihull Local Government Branch, will be leafleting in Pine Square, Chelmsley Wood & Solihull High Street between 10am and 1pm on Saturday 19th November. If you can help for an hour just turn up and get leafleting!

Public Meeting - “Crisis in Midlands Journalism”

Public Meeting - “Crisis in Midlands Journalism”

6.30-9.30pm Thursday, December 8

Committee Rooms, Birmingham Council House, Victoria Square

Speaker: NUJ General Secretary Michelle Stanistreet

The Murdochs have dragged journalism’s reputation into the gutter nationally, but in the Midlands other dangerous attacks on the profession are taking place.

Trinity Mirror has put a dagger through the heart of its Midlands operations with news of scores of job cuts at its titles, including making all of its photographers in the region redundant and axing the 140-year-old Sutton Coldfield News.

National Union of Journalists members at the BBC’s Mailbox centre and Radio Coventry and Warwickshire are braced for around 100 editorial job cuts, as part of 2,000 demanded nationally because of the politically-driven short-changing of the Licence Fee settlement.

When these are combined with savage restructurings that have already taken place at ITV Central News, all the commercial radio stations and other local newspapers, we have a perfect storm not only for journalism, but democratic scrutiny in our communities.

Birmingham & Coventry NUJ Branch has called this debate to highlight the urgent peril to the West Midlands. Join us on the night to show your support for quality journalism.

Nottinghamshire Pensions leafletting tomorrow

Nottinghamshire trade unionists are holding leafletting sessions right across the county - can you help for an hour to promote this campaign to protect public sector pensions?
Contacts below:

Nottingham Market Square, 12 noon, contact nottstc@gmail..com
Beeston 12 noon, contact Thomas.unterrainer@talk21.com for more info
Sutton in Ashfield town centre, 12 noon, contact Mick at mansfieldcentralbranch@googlemail.com
Mansfield town centre, 12 noon contact Danny on maggiekind@btinternet.com
West Bridgford, Outside Oxfam Shop contact Martin Sleath on martin.sleath@nottscc.gov.uk
Sherwood Nottingham, 12 noon, contact Richard Buckwell, richardbuckwell@hotmail.com

Wednesday 16 November 2011

Youth joblessness milestone is the true mark of government economic strategy

Commenting on the latest unemployment figures published today (Wednesday) by the Office for National Statistics, Midlands TUC Regional Secretary Rob Johnston said: “Today’s milestone of more than a million young people being out of work is the true mark of the government’s economic strategy.
“Government plans to offer cut-price work experience are a woefully inadequate response. The Prime Minister must stop the risk of losing a generation to unemployment and under achievement by guaranteeing a job or high quality training to every young person out of work for six months.
“But the UK’s jobs crisis is not confined to youngsters. Overall unemployment is now rising at a rate not seen since the worst days of the recession. And wage rises are falling at a faster rate than inflation.
“Rather than using the Eurozone as an excuse for our mounting economic troubles, the government should be using it to change course. The 2.6 million people out of work is the clearest sign yet that self-defeating austerity is not working.”

Friday 11 November 2011

Scrapping the 50p tax would be both unfair and bad economics, says TUC

Midlands TUC Regional Secretary, Rob Johnston
Commenting on calls from business leaders that the Chancellor should speed up plans to scrap the 50p income tax rate, Midlands TUC Regional Secretary Rob Johnston said: "This is no more than a bunch of very rich people saying that they should make the ultimate sacrifice of paying less tax to help the economy.
"The truth is that giving more cash to the rich is not just unfair but bad economics as they are least likely to spend it in ways that boost jobs. Any plan for growth should ease the position of low to middle earners, not the super rich."

For more from the TUC on the arguments against scrapping the 50p tax, see this Touchstone blog from TUC Head of Economics Nicola Smith http://touchstoneblog.org.uk/2011/09/what-are-the-arguments-against-scrapping-the-50p-tax-rate/

Thursday 10 November 2011

Derby visit highlights social costs of government policies

Frances O'Grady with Mohammed Sharief, Executive Director of JET (right)
 and TUC Regional Secretary Rob Johnston (left)
When TUC Deputy General Secretary Frances O'Grady viisted Derby one message came through loud and clear - government policies on manufacturing, jobs, procurement, pensions and social welfare were just not working.
During her visit to the threatened Bombardier plant she heard of the frustrations of both management and shop stewards who knew their plant could be successful if they were given the chance. They also were very aware that Bombardier is the last UK based train manufacturer and were keen to see the skills required for train building retained in this country. Generations of derby workers had delivered high quality trains to customers - now threatened by the decision to give the Thameslink contract to Siemens.
The second leg of Frances' visit took her to JET - Jobs Education and Training - set in the most deprived wards of Derby. Mohammed Sharief, Executive Director of JET, explained how the need for the services his organisation had grown recently. "We now have over 1,000 people coming through our doors every month," he said, "looking for support in a whole range of areas from learning to speak English to setting up a business". Mr Sharief continued, "We are also aware that cuts to the voluntary sector means other support organisations are finding it difficult to continue so we look at how we can help them keep going."
The final leg of the tour was to discuss the current dispute around public sector pensions which will result in a day of action on November 30th. Plans to build for a march and rally in derby were well advanced - and turnout is expected to be high given some unions not noted for taking strike action had also returned yes ballots.
Frances said, "It is always good to get out of Congress House and hear the views of the people e represent, on both industrial and social issues. Clearly there is much going on in Derby of which working people can be proud - our aim is to keep them in work and to support those without jobs in getting them - and soon."

Wednesday 9 November 2011

TUC comes to Derby to see the impact of spending cuts on the city

Frances O'Grady, TUC Deputy General Secretary
TUC Deputy General Secretary Frances O’Grady is today (Wednesday) visiting the Midlands as part of a nationwide tour to see at first hand the impact of government spending cuts upon jobs and services across the UK. Since May Frances and TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber have been travelling to various parts of England to meet workers and service providers whose lives and jobs have been affected as a direct result of government austerity measures.
Today’s visit to the Midlands kicks off at the Bombardier factory in Derby where Frances, accompanied by recently-appointed TUC Midlands Regional Secretary Rob Johnston, will meet managers and reps from the Unite and RMT unions. Whilst at the Litchurch Road site they will hear more about the ongoing campaign to save the 1,400 jobs now set to go at the factory because of the government’s decision not to award the Thameslink contract to the firm.
It’s then on to a lunchtime meeting of the region’s union leaders at Derby’s Hallmark Hotel on Midlands Road where Frances will learn more about the local impact of cuts and how plans for the TUC day of action for pensions justice on 30 November are progressing.
After lunch it’s off to JET, a charity based in Normanton Road in the south of the city, where Frances will meet with Mohammed Sharief the head of the charity. JET works closely with local unemployed residents to help them find work and access training opportunities.
The final stop of the day will be the city’s Silk Mill Industrial Museum which was mothballed earlier this year by Derby City Council. Here there will be a photo opportunity with some of the workers who lost their jobs in April when the museum closed its doors.
Commenting on the visit Frances O’Grady said: “Across the country, public sector workers are losing their jobs and vital services are being closed or cut back as the true impact of the government’s spending cuts starts to bite.
“Meanwhile the government’s fixation with deficit reduction is having a devastating impact on unemployment and job prospects, particularly for our young people, and the economy is struggling to get back on its feet. The UK desperately needs an economic plan B, one which puts growth and jobs at its heart. Without this the people of Derby and the rest of the UK will have little to look forward to.”
Midlands TUC Regional Secretary Rob Johnston said: “Derby has been at the forefront of the government’s self-defeating austerity measures – from the closure of the Silk Mill Museum that houses much of the city’s industrial heritage, to the ill-thought out Bombardier factory decision. The people of Derby have not had a good time in recent months.
“While Frances is here she’ll spend the day talking to ordinary residents and businesses to find out more about the impact that the government’s spending cuts are having here and across the wider Midlands region.”


Details of the visit (all timings are approximate):
10.30am–12.30pm: Bombardier, Litchurch Lane, Derby DE24 8AD
1.00pm–2.30pm: Meeting with union regional secretaries from across the Midlands – Hallmark Hotel, Midlands Road DE1 2SQ
2.30pm–3.30pm: JET, 284 - 286 Normanton Road, Derby DE23 6WD
3.45pm–4.30pm: Silk Mill Industrial Museum, Silk Mill Lane, off Full Street, DE1 3AF


NOTES TO EDITORS:
- Interviews and photographs with Frances can be arranged through the Midlands TUC.
Contacts:
Media enquiries:
Liz Chinchen T: 020 7467 1248 M: 07778 158175 E: media@tuc.org.uk
Rob Johnston T: 0121 236 4454 M: 07879 497291 E: rjohnston@tuc.org.uk
Alan Weaver, Midlands TUC Press and Campaigns T: 0121 236 4454 M: 07771 778694 E: aweaver@tuc.org.uk

Monday 7 November 2011

Derby Telegraph 7th November: Unions united in fight against government's pension proposals



THE TUC took to Derby's streets on Saturday to raise awareness of proposed changes to public sector pensions.


Unison members have voted to strike on the planned day of industrial action on November 30, with others including the GMB awaiting ballot results.


The uproar is over proposed changes to public sector pensions which would see employee contributions increase and later retirement ages.


The Government had revised its offer so staff currently aged 50 years or over would not be affected by plans to raise the retirement age.


Rob Johnston, the Regional Secretary for Midlands TUC, which is a federation of Britain's trade unions, said: "We are here in Derby to make our voices heard and to get the Government to listen to us. Members from all unions are handing out leaflets and letting the public know about the fight we have. Everyone has come together and all the unions are supporting each other."
Members from GMB, the NUT and Unison all turned out to show their support. Mr Johnston said: "Everyone is in the same boat on this issue. We are all out here in solidarity for every member of all our unions.


"We have had a very positive response from the people of Derby and we hope that raising the issue in the city will keep it at the front of everyone's mind. "People feel let down by the Government. We welcome the amendments that they made to their plans last week but they do not go far enough.


"We want to talk with the decision-makers and we are happy to do that at any point, but they do not want to listen to what we have to say."


Paul Berrisford is a social care worker, working with adults with learning difficulties.
He said: "I am angry that the Government think that they can just dip into everyone's pensions and take what they want.


"I have worked out that I will pay another £8,000 into my pension over the rest of my working life, but I won't see a penny of that back. It's just paying off someone else's debt.
"What they are proposing is just a tax on going out to work."


Liam Conway, a member of the NUT, said: "This issue is not just for the people coming up to retirement to think about. This change will affect everyone. Young people working as teachers now will be living in poverty when they are collecting their pensions; they won't have enough to live.


"They will have to work until they are 68 years old – working longer, paying more and getting less back. Having teachers aged 68 is not good for the children they will be teaching. That scenario is not good for anyone – kids, teachers or parents."


Despite the revised offer from the Government, the planned industrial action is still going ahead on November 30.


Mr Johnston said: "Everyone feels let down by the plans and the planned walk-out will affect hospitals, social workers, police staff and schools with teachers, cleaners and support workers all going on strike. We don't buy into the separation of public and private sector. We're hoping the private sector will support our fight too."

Saturday 5 November 2011

Regional Council takes pensions campaign to the streets of Derby

David Cameron robbing a teacher of his pension contributions
at today's Pension Justice campaign event in Derby
Today's Midlands TUC regional council was cut short to enable delegates to take to the streets of Derby to pursue the Pensions Justice campaign which is gaining ground as union ballots produce heavy results in favour of strike action later this month. Some forty trade union and trades council delegates, along with TUC staff, leaflets Derby and took the chance to engage with Saturday shoppers to explain why the industrial action is necessary.
Coverage from Central TV and the Derby Evening Telegraph will help to further promote the message that public sector pensions are affordable without increasing the contribution rate and extending the pension age.
The next day of action will be held on Saturday 19th November with events in many towns and cities across the midlands.

Thursday 3 November 2011

UNISON members vote yes in pensions strike ballot


Members of UNISON, the UK’s largest union, have today voted overwhelmingly in favour of strike action to protect their pensions.
The union balloted members including nurses, teaching assistants, social workers, care assistants, paramedics, police staff, school dinner ladies, probation workers and cleaners.


Overall:
Yes: 245,358
No: 70,253
Results
Local Government (Including Scotland)
Yes 171,428
No 54,500
76% in favour – Turnout 30%


NHS (including Scotland)
Yes 73,930 No 15,753
82% in favour – Turnout 25%
Dave Prentis, General Secretary of UNISON said:
“The decisive yes vote in the ballot, reflects the deep concern that our members have over Government ministers’ proposals for their pensions. “Yesterday’s statement in Parliament was a marked improvement on earlier proposals.
“But, it is important to understand that the statement has to be translated into offers in the scheme specific talks. We still have had no offer in those negotiations, where such an offer can legitimately be made.
“We support the TUC day of action on 30 November, but will be negotiating right up to then and beyond to get a fair deal for our members.” Senior lay officials of the union are meeting throughout the afternoon to discuss the latest Government statement on pensions and to decide what action to take as a result of the strike ballot.

Wednesday 2 November 2011

Statement after pensions meeting


A meeting of the TUC's Public Services Liaison Group (PSLG) at Congress House in London today (Wednesday) agreed the following statement:

'At the meeting earlier today Danny Alexander and Francis Maude outlined a number of new proposals to the TUC negotiating team, including an improvement in the proposed accrual rates within the major public service schemes compared to their previous position, and new proposed transitional protections for those closest to retirement. They also indicated a long-term commitment to any agreed reforms not being reopened within the next 25 years.
'The PSLG welcomed this movement in the government's position which has come as a direct result of the strength of feeling and determination shown by public sector workers and the groundswell of support for the TUC's day of action at the end of this month.
'These proposals, and their detailed implications for the pensions offer within each scheme, will now need to be considered in detail within the sector specific negotiations, alongside all the other issues including proposed contribution increases, increases in the pension age, and the impact of the indexation change from RPI to CPI on which the government's position remains unchanged.
'All the unions have indicated throughout this process their determination to reach a negotiated settlement on all these issues. That remains the position and unions will engage intensively in the coming weeks. But unless and until further real progress is made and acceptable offers are made within those negotiations, unions remain firmly committed to continuing their preparations for the planned day of action on November 30.
'A further meeting of the PSLG will be held in November to consider reports on any progress made within the sector talks.'

Tuesday 1 November 2011

Economic bounce-back hasn't happened

Commenting on the latest GDP figures published today (Tuesday) by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which show that the economy grew by 0.5 per cent in the third quarter of 2011, Midlands TUC Regional Secretary Rob Johnston said:

"This was meant to be the quarter when the UK economy started bouncing back, but that hasn't happened. You have to go back nearly a century to find a slower recovery from a crash.

What's worse is that this is economic self-harm. The government's deep austerity programme has choked off what was always going to be a slow and difficult recovery. No doubt ministers will try and blame the Eurozone crisis, but these figures date from before the recent difficulties.

The government must listen to the growing demands for a Plan B that puts growth and fairness first."

Falling household spending is dragging the economy down, says TUC


Rob Johnston,
Midlands TUC Regional Secretary
Household spending has now been falling for 12 months and is a key drag on the UK's economic growth, the TUC says ahead of the first estimate of GDP growth in the third quarter of 2011 due to be published later today (Tuesday). Consumption in the second quarter of 2011 fell by -0.8 percentage points; the sharpest fall since early 2009, when the country was still in recession.
With wages rising at less than half the rate of inflation, public sector workers facing a pay freeze, and tax credit cuts, benefit reductions and increased VAT further reducing family incomes, the TUC expects household spending to be an even bigger drag on growth in the months to come.
Government expenditure (which made a contribution to growth of 0.26 percentage) and investment (which contributed 0.24 percentage points) just about kept the economy afloat in the last quarter, says the TUC.
Government spending was particularly crucial - showing its strongest growth since the end of 2008. But with the government's austerity measures now starting to bite, expenditure is now likely to fall and further depress output, says the TUC.
With consumer and business surveys showing confidence still falling, and the effects of the Eurozone crisis yet to fully show up in official data, there are fears that the UK's economic woes are getting worse rather than better, says the TUC.
With the 'so-called' economic recovery on course to be the slowest for nearly a century, the TUC is calling on the government heed the growing economic warning signs, reconsider its austerity programme, and create a new plan for growth that prioritises jobs and decent wages.
Midlands TUC Regional Secretary Rob Johnston said: "We all hope that tomorrow's GDP figures bring good news. But with consumer spending plummeting, cuts now starting to bite and exports increasingly weakened by the global economic situation, it's hard to see how the UK's economy can return to full health in the near future.
"Ministers need to take action to ease the cost of living squeeze as you can't build a sustainable economic recovery while people are getting poorer.
"The government must recognise the scale of our economic quagmire, review its austerity programme and introduce immediate measures to stimulate growth."