May Day and Workers Memorial Day

Do you have a May Day event or Workers Memorial Day we can help publicise? Email the details to Alan Weaver at aweaver@tuc.org.uk and we shall put them on this blog and on the TUC main website.

Midlands TUC condemns English Defence League presence in Dudley

The Midlands TUC today (Saturday) issued a statement condemning the English Defence League for holding a rally in the centre of Dudley.

Cheryl Pidgeon, Regional Secretary of the Midlands TUC said, “We know that this group includes football hooligans and racist thugs who are intent on causing trouble. Their claim to be protesting against radical Islam has been shown to be a fraud, as their behaviour in other cities has shown, where they quickly descend into exposing their hate for all Muslims.
The timing is designed to cause maximum disruption to the people of Dudley and will place severe demands on police resources today. The Midlands TUC rejects the EDL message of hate, and would urge the people of Dudley to do the same leaving the EDL in no doubt that their shameful politics are not welcome in the midlands.”

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

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/

Colin Hampton presentation

Cheryl Pidgeon, Midlands TUC Regional Secretary, presented a copy of the History of the Tolpuddle Martyrs to Colin Hampton to celebrate twenty five years of service to his community. Colin joined the Derbyshire Unemployed Workers Centre as Co-ordinator in 1985 and has been at the forefront of the campaign for justice for unemployed workers ever since.

"Colin is an inspiring figure, a great campaigner and not afraid to tell it like it is to the powers that be," said Cheryl. "It is a mark of the man that he was late for his own celebration event because he was helping a member of the public who came for advice late on Friday. Colin wouldn't walk away from someone in need - and he never has".

Threat of double dip recession looms large, warns TUC

Commenting on figures published today (Tuesday) by the Office for National Statistics which show that the UK economy is estimated to have grown by 0.1 per cent in the final quarter of 2009, Midlands TUC Regional Secretary Cheryl Pidgeon said:
“The 2.5 million people currently without work will draw little comfort from the news that the UK is now officially out of recession. Unemployment will increase again, with more people continuing to face long spells out of work.
“No sectors of the economy are fully recovered and areas such as construction are still really struggling. Tough decisions lie ahead to get Britain back in full working order.”
“These figures show just how fragile the economy is. With the threat of a double dip recession looming large, it would be madness to cut public spending now."