Delivering Christmas Wishes for a Future that Works for the Black Country

A few days before Christmas, the TUC Youth Unemployment campaign group set out on a special festive mission to deliver hundreds of Dudley residents' Christmas wishes for action on youth unemployment to their local MP Chris Kelly (Dudley South).   Little did we suspect that Mr Kelly would be harder to find in his own constituency than a prize turkey on Christmas Eve...

The team had a special TUC Future that Works Christmas card (above) to deliver to Chris Kelly which contained the signatures of hundreds of his constituents who had signed our petition calling for Kelly to commit to the TUC's Charter for a Future that Works .  
You can add your name here.

His constituents were concerned that cuts to public services, EMA and Connexions – that Chris Kelly voted for – have had a disastrous impact on young people in your constituency. Indeed Dudley South now has double the national average rate of youth unemployment. 

We wanted Chris Kelly to see how many people in his constituency were wishing for a Future that Works this Christmas,particularly as he had been unable to hear these concerns that were also raised at our recent Black Country Youth Unemployment Summit we held in Dudley at the end of November.  Unfortunately Kelly was not able to meet us in person, so we decided to deliver the card to the only Dudley address listed for Chris on his website:

  

The Beech Building, Waterside Estate, Primrose Hill, Cradley Road, Netherton, Dudley, West Midlands DY2 9RG

 However, when we arrived at this address, we found that 'the Beech Building' was the C Beech and Sons factory deep in the industrial zone of Netherton, not exactly the kind of local accessible location you might hope an MP would have in their own constituency. Determined to gt the message to Chris, the team decided to take a photo as close to Chris' constituency 'address'.  We then emailed Chris an electronic version of the card that night and posted the card to his office in the House of Commons so he will receive the concerns of his constituents sooner or later, even if he will read them from a cosy office in London...

Late in the day, Chris Kelly emailed to say that we should post anything for his attention to his House of Commons address.  This begs the question -  how can properly represent Dudley South when he has no place his constituents can find him in his own constituency?

But even belated Christmas presents are welcome so we hope Chris decides to give the hundreds of young unemployed people in Dudley the gift of employment and training this Christmas by signing the TUC Charter.  And Chris might also think about opening a public office in his constituency - a locked factory is not what young people should be faced with when they try to raise concerns about youth unemployment with their local MP.

Now there's just time for me to wish everyone a Merry Christmas from me and the team, thanks for a successful year's campaigning against youth unemployment in the Black Country and here's to a Future that Works in 2013!

Dwayne, Ashley, Fiona and Kim from the campaign group with Chris Kelly's Christmas card 

Rosa Crawford
TUC Local Organiser, Black Country Youth Unemployment Campaign

Benefits cap will hit working families, says TUC

Commenting on the Welfare Benefits Up-rating Bill published today (Thursday), which will see a range of benefit and tax credit rises capped at just one per-cent until 2015, TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said:
"The Chancellor's decision to cap benefit rises at one per cent is yet another squeeze on working families' budgets. At a time when real wages are still falling the government is taking thousands away from struggling households in tax credits and child benefit, whose value is also being cut.
"In the week before Christmas George Osborne is bringing forward measures that will make it even harder for people to make ends meet in the year ahead." 

Stubborn inflation is putting pressure on family finances in run-up to Christmas

Commenting on the latest inflation figures published today (Tuesday) by the Office for National Statistics - which show that CPI inflation did not fall as expected in November and remained at 2.7 per cent, while RPI inflation fell from 3.2 to 3 per cent - TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said:
"The stubbornness of inflation, combined with poor wage growth, is putting real pressure on people's finances in the run up to Christmas.
"With the Office for Budget Responsibility not expecting real wage growth until 2014 and further cuts to in-work benefits due this April, 2013 looks like being another tough a year for working families.
"Today's figures are also another reminder of how painful the forthcoming benefits uprating cap will be for low-income families."

Autumn statement interview with BBC

Midlands TUC Regional Secretary, Rob Johnston, waiting for his live interview on BBC following the Chancellor's autumn statement that did little to promote economic growth or investment in jobs. Also in the picture is Liz Verney and Richard Butler from the CBI.

Mary Beilby

Mary Beilby was a member of the TUC Midlands Regional Council and Secretary of the Erewash Trades Union Council for many years. Mary was an active member of the National union of Journalists and was given the unions highest award - Member of Honour - at the 2011 NUJ conference. Sadly, Mary passed away in August. There are two obituaries colleagues may wish to read, on the NUJ website here   and on Hold the Front Page here

New capital spending won't undo damage from Chancellor's £22bn infrastructure cuts, says TUC

Commenting on the government's announcement today (Tuesday) that it will invest £5bn in new infrastructure projects, Midlands TUC Regional Secretary Rob Johnston said:

“The government's £5bn u-turn on infrastructure spending, though welcome, is still nowhere near enough to undo the damage caused by the £22bn of infrastructure cuts over the last two years.

Sign our giant Christmas Card, support your NHS

Saturday 8 December, Beeston High Street

Broxtowe Save Our NHS will be joined by local campaigners and trade union members on Beeston High Street this Saturday 8th December from 10.00am to wish a "happy Christmas" to our NHS.

They'll be joining forces to ask Christmas shoppers in Beeston to sign a giant card to the NHS, to its staff and to the communities that it serves.  They'll be joined too by the Nottinghamshire Clarion Choir, who'll be singing a selection of 'alternative' carols. 

Once the card is full of signatures, it will be presented to local MP and Health Minister, Anna Soubry at her constituency surgery.

Check out our Facebook event

Black Country Youth Unemployment Summit

The Midlands TUC and Dudley College Students Union held a joint youth unemployment summit at the new Evolve Theatre on Friday 30th November. Speakers on the three panels included MP's John Spellar, Ian Austin and Pat McFadden. From the unions were Rob Johnston, (Midlands TUC Regional Secretary) Lee Barron, (CWU) Ravi Subramanian, (UNISON) Gavin Miller (Community) and Geoff Dexter (PCS).