Saturday, 01 May 2010
Time:
11:40 – 12:50
Location:
Cowgate to Albert Square

The Fire Board have for the second year in a row marked it for cuts. It needs to be defended for the second year in a row.

Read about the campaign at the website http://www.savebalmossiefireengine.co.uk/

If one of your councillors is on the Fire Board please contact them to ensure they vote against downgrading.

A list of members can be found at the campaign site

They include

• Elizabeth Fordyce (Maryfield)
• Helen Wright (Coldside)
• Rod Wallace (The Ferry)
• David Bowes (Coldside)
• Andy Dawson (North East)
• Richard McCready (West End)
• Christina Roberts (East End)

So basically 6 of the 8 wards in Dundee.

There are also other councillors from Angus and Perthshire.

Professional Firefighters in Tayside are on the Threshold of taking Industrial Action to Protect Your Community from cuts to Your Front Line Emergency Fire Cover.

Join us on Saturday 20th March 2010
Protest Once Again Against the Chief Fire Officer’s Proposals

Speakers include
Matt Wrack, FBU General Secretary
Jim Malone, FBU Regional Organiser
Local Tayside Politicians

Assemble 12.30 Castle Green, Broughty Ferry
March Begins at 13.00.
Rally at St Aidens Hall.

CUTS COSTS LIVES – YOURS

March will be led by the Mains of Fintry Pipe Band

For more information see the campaign site

By Richie Venton – SSP national workplace organiser

Two major trade union events in the space of 48 hours demonstrate the seething anger at public sector cuts, the potential for a united resistance across the trade unions, and the potency, increasing popularity and urgent necessity of the Scottish Socialist Party’s alternatives to this assault on jobs, services and conditions.

EIS 10,000 march

On Saturday 6th March, 10,000 teachers, lecturers, nursery staff, parents, pupils and other trade unionists poured out of Glasgow ’s Kelvingrove Park , snaking their way round a mammoth route to the EIS union’s rally in the SECC.

This was the first national demo called by the EIS in decades. The overwhelming majority of the marchers had never been on a demo before. The age profile was a whole cross-section, from toddlers in buggies and primary kids, through trainee and newly qualified teachers, to bearded veterans of the profession – united in their fury at education budget cuts, whilst bankers’ bailouts, renewal of Trident weapons and bloody war cost the public a fortune.

Anger at that obscene contrast was reflected in speeches by the EIS president and others at the rally. They denounced the governments of Westminster and Holyrood for regarding these expenditures as more important than the education of our children, who represent the future, and lambasted the SNP government for now confronting children with the choice of either free school meals or smaller classes, when they had promised both and children deserve both.

SSP on the march

The EIS march is part of a campaign they have entitled “Why must our children pay?”

The SSP was the only party with a leaflet that directly dealt with the issues of the march, demanding “make the rich pay – not our kids; bail out education and all services – not bankers’ profits; 20’s plenty in any class – give our kids a chance.”

People snapped up the leaflets, smiled and murmured their agreement with the headlines, turned and quoted it to their friends as they assembled to march off.

The lively SSP contingent was joined by parents and children who fought the heroic Save Our Schools Campaign in Glasgow last year. As we marched we led the chant “Twenty’s plenty in any class – give our kids a chance”, which caught on with the crowd marching and bystanders on the pavements.

As the 10,000 trod towards the end of their marathon march to the SECC rally, we improvised an SSP “street meeting” on the pavement as they passed us! We belted out our message on a very loud PA system: “The SSP demands that the government tax the rich, to bail out education, not bankers’ profits and bankers’ bonuses.” Several sections of the march shouted back their agreement with us as they marched past, and even more contingents applauded us as they marched past. A sign of how profoundly the bankers’ bailout has changed people’s consciousness, including their open-ness to the SSP’s unashamed socialist demands.

The EIS leadership promised in speeches that this mass demo is just the start of the campaign, which is to be welcomed, and which EIS union activists and members will make sure is the case.

It is absolutely right that as the union representing 60,000 members in education they should take up the cudgels in defence of that service. But what would be tragic, and totally divisive and counter-productive, is if the EIS leadership argued for cuts in other services to save education; unity of opposition to all service cuts, combining the power and scale of members of all public sector unions and the communities they service is what is urgently needed to stop the slaughter.

Biggest civil service strike since 1987

It was therefore encouraging that an EIS representative (as well as speakers from the FBU, UNISON and STUC) addressed the 8th March strike rally in Glasgow, called during the 48-hour stoppage by all civil service workers, members of PCS.

This was the biggest civil service strike since 1987. Across the UK, over 250,000 workers brought services to a halt in tax and customs offices; Job Centres; driving centres; the Courts; the MoD; passport offices; the Scottish parliament (for the first time ever); Westminster … to name but some. 30,000 of these strikers were in Scotland .

They are overwhelmingly low-paid workers, whose partial compensation for low pay has been a modest average pension of £6,500 and a reasonable redundancy scheme – which is now under assault. The government has set in motion the legislation to slash the Civil Service Compensation Scheme, cutting the package that most workers would get on being made redundant by up to one-third, tens of thousands of pounds each. A sure sign that the Labour government (backed up quite openly by the Tories on this) want to slaughter tens of thousands of jobs on the cheap – in addition to the 100,000 already shed in the past 5 years – and usher in privatisation by making the prospect more attractive to the privateers.

The response to the 48-hour strike was absolutely overwhelming – forcing management to stoop to tricks like jetting in a handful of scab managers from Newcastle to open the Glasgow DVLA office.

Socialism in the civil service

Again, not only did SSP members in PCS play an instrumental part in building the strike, but our policies were more widely and eagerly embraced than for a long time: on the picket lines, at the PCS strike rallies in Glasgow and Dundee, and at the SSP public meeting in Glasgow after the union rally. This was a really large meeting, with over half those present attending their first ever SSP meeting. And strikers were enthusiastic in their support for our socialist aims – many commenting wryly that if only we could get a fair hearing in the media, imagine how popular our case would be – as well as our proposals on how to build public sector unity against all cuts in the immediate future.

Unity against the carnage – build 10th April Demo

Alongside a rolling programme of further industrial action by the PCS, railway workers are striking (Scotrail) and balloting for pre-General Election strikes (Network Rail). Numerous anti-cuts campaigns, involving council workers’ unions and communities, are campaigning against the brutal council cuts that loom. Already 5,000 council jobs face the chop, with hair-raising predictions of 32,000 jobs (one in every eight!) being butchered by 2014. And community centres face closure up and down Scotland .

So an immediate opportunity to tie all these strands of struggle into a rope to restrain the axe-wielders presents itself on Saturday 10th April. Scottish UNISON is calling a mass, national demonstration in Glasgow that day, in defence of public services.

SSP members in all the various trade unions – alongside other union members – need to move heaven and earth to make this an almighty display of the power of a united working class on the march, by calling on their unions to mobilise members into an event that dwarfs even the brilliant 10,000 on the EIS march.

As Labour, Tory, Lib Dem and SNP politicians sharpen their knives in a grisly pre-election competition for whose cuts are the deepest, the SSP in contrast will stand up for public sector workers and the communities that depend on public services.

We will build for a united march for public services – not private profit, demanding the governments tax the rich and bail out all public services – not bankers’ and billionaires’ profits.

We will campaign inside the unions for measures that would fund these services, protect and create jobs, and begin to re-distribute wealth from the millionaires to the millions.

Measures such as a 10% tax on every millionaire (to fund 80,000 new jobs in Scotland alone, on £25,000 a year for 3 years!); restoration of income tax on the rich to pre-Thatcher levels (83%) and likewise Corporation Tax on big companies, from the current paltry 28% to the 52% it was at before Thatcher and then New Labour made this country a tax haven for the tax-dodging rich.

A sea-change has begun in the outlook of workers in the frontline of public sector carnage by the parties that back big business and the profit system. Socialist measures – including full-blown public ownership of the entire banking sector, natural wealth, services and big industries, but with democratic control – are increasingly convincing to people whose future is under threat.

The time is ripe for the potential power of a united trade union movement to be mobilised – starting with 10th April – and for socialist demands to be boldly advanced amongst an increasingly receptive crowd of angry workers. The SSP will do its part, emboldened by the events of the past 48 hours.

Bus from Dundee :-

Bus – 33 Seater booked – spaces still available, If you would like to book a seat please get in touch as soon as possible

To reserve seat contact: Karen Grogan, karen1grogan@hotmail.com.

Bus leaves Meadowside, opposite Post Office, at 8.30 a.m.

Returns to Dundee by 5.00 p.m.

£10 per seat (£5 concessions).

Assemble 10.30am East Market Street, Edinburgh, leaving at 11am

Troops Out of Afghanistan Now / No to NATO / Scrap Trident

The NATO defence ministers are meeting at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre the weekend of the 14th. The war in Afghanistan is waged under the NATO banner. Opinion polls make it clear that a big majority want the troops home now.

Joan Humphries, whose grandson Kevin Elliott was killed while on foot patrol in the southern Afghan province of Helmand on 31 August, will be speaking at the end of the march and there will be music from David Ferrard

Called by Stop the War Scotland, supported by STW UK, CND, SCNDSACC

To join the SSP go to the site and fill out a form, email, phone etc.

This Saturday, 22nd August, assemble 12 noon George Square, march to Kelvingrove Park.

by Richie Venton – 16th July 2009

It’s a classic case of the greedy rich sacrificing human beings to amass even more profit.

The announcement by the world’s biggest drinks company, Diageo, that they will shut the giant bottling plant in Kilmarnock, plus the distillery and cooperage in Glasgow, have provoked a wave of justified rage.

The whisky firm has been in Kilmarnock since 1820, the Glasgow cooperage since 1810. After two centuries of workers’ skills, hard graft and sacrifice helping the owners stack up billions in profits, these ruthless exploiters have declared war on whole communities.

They want the ‘Striding Man’ to walk away from Ayrshire. It would mean the direct loss of 700 jobs in Kilmarnock (making it one of the worst unemployment blackspots in the whole of Scotland) and another 140 in Glasgow. And that’s not taking any account of the knock-on effects, with shops, haulage firms and others facing devastation from the decisions of remote boardroom bosses who put profit first, second and always.

And they can’t even trot out the lame excuse that “it’s the recession”! It is not due to plummeting sales. This is the world’s biggest drinks firm. In just the last 6 months of 2008 – yes, half the year – Diageo piled up £1.63billion in profit!

But their top bosses have blurted out the real reason for the threatened closures: We want to protect future profit levels.

Nor can they claim they are cutting back on all expenditure to save the company. They have just forked out to get the Johnnie Walker logo on Lewis Hamilton’s helmet at Grand Prix races. This is part of a £90 million leap in advertising expenditure – from £643m in the first half of 2008 to £732m in the second half.

The top dogs in Diageo will certainly not suffer. Chief Executive Paul Walsh last year ‘earned’ £2.3million! A million of that was his ‘basic’ salary; £1.19m a ‘performance bonus’; £39,000 in other benefits. And that takes no account of his 720,000 shares in Diageo, worth about £6m – or his pension pot of £8.26m, which makes the much maligned Sir Fred Goodwin look like a pensioner pauper!

These criminals have the cheek to make speeches about the social responsibility of corporations, and then announce annihilation for whole communities. Paul Walsh is European chairman of an outfit called the International Business Leaders’ Forum, which tries to promote big business as a way to build sustainable and equitable societies!

That’s a sick joke for starters: big business exists to make profits, not to help people, and builds a gaping chasm of inequality into society.

But if you think the idea of money-grabbing capitalists being the source of sustainable and equitable societies is monstrous, it gets worse. Paul Walsh told the International Business Leaders Forum conference

Above all, I want Diageo to become a byword for integrity, social responsibility and commitment to the communities in which it operates. I want business with soul!

The people of Kilmarnock and Glasgow are up in arms at this betrayal for profit. Window posters, petitions, summits with councils and government ministers, and a rally in Kilmarnock are all part of the resistance.

To add insult to injury, Diageo bosses try to say there is an option for the workers facing devastation: there are 400 jobs being created at a bottling plant in Leven, Fife!

Who the hell do they think is going to commute from Ayrshire or Glasgow to Fife to work? And why should families be uprooted for the sake of protecting future profit levels?

Big business is out for one thing only: profit. The only way to resist their butchery is through decisive action, people uniting in their unions and communities, marching, protesting, looking at industrial action to hit the profiteers where it hurts – their wallets.

The governments of Westminster and Edinburgh should not offer to subsidise these corporate gangsters’ profits from public funds; they should demand Diageo drop all redundancy and closure plans, and if they refuse to bow to public outrage, step in and take over their assets, to sustain the jobs.

As one Kilmarnock man put it: “What would the farm born grocer [Johnnie Walker] say? Shame on you Diageo, 189 years of tradition sacrificed for some fat cat’s wallet!”

The SSP will fight all the way alongside workers and their communities, united to fight the closures, putting people before profit – a real version of social responsibility.

Assemble 8.15 p.m. march off 8.30 p.m.

Speakers: John McAllion (confirmed) others yet to confirm.

Bring candles, hand lights, banners, etc.

Also, to commemorate the bombing of Nagasaki, please join Erik Cramb on Sunday, 9th August, at 11.01 a.m. at top of Law.

Dear Colleague,

I write to advise you of 2 important forthcoming events for peace movement in Scotland. I wonder if you would send this letter and the attachments on to your usual contacts.

1. A joint STUC/Scottish CND Conference entitled ‘Trident, Jobs and Scotland’s Economy’ to be held on Saturday 6th June at the STUC, 333 Woodlands Road, Glasgow from 10.30am to 1.30pm. The speakers will include Jeremy Corbyn MP, Bill Kidd MSP, Lynn Henderson, Jackson Cullinane(TGWU/Unite), and Dave Moxham STUC. Among other things the Conference will mark the launch of a new STUC/CND research report providing up to date figures on the job losses associated with the Trident programme. Contrary to other claims, Trident renewal is actually costing Scotland vital jobs now and cancelling it could release resources for new productive investment in its economy. Attached is a leaflet in PDF format. I would be grateful if you could circulate your contacts to inform them of this important event.

2. A march and rally in Glasgow entitled ‘Crunch Time for Trident’ on Saturday 20th June – assemble George Square 11am, march to Kelvingrove Park for a rally. There will be keynote speakers and songs specially commissioned for the event. The event is organised by Scotland’s for Peace. Again, I would be grateful if you could circulate your contacts and encourage them to bring banners etc to the event. I attach a copy of a leaflet to advertise the event. If you would like to receive copies of the leaflets for either event or posters for the latter event, please contact the Scottish CND office at 15 Barrland Street, Glasgow G41 1QH – tel 0141 433 2821.

Yours in Peace

Alan Mackinnon
Chair, Scottish CND

It is 175 years since the protest march demanded their pardon and freedom.

A blog has been set up detailing events surrounding the anniversary of this extremely important movement.

Got to tolpuddlekx.wordpress.com/ for more information.

No doubt it was just a bad apple in the barrel and one of the other decent human beings who make up the majority of the police force will be able to identify the person who has probably committed manslaughter. If not, the CCTV footage from the area may help. Or the footage the police took. Or the other footage the protesters took (which the police were forcing people to delete).

Save Our Schools parents and education workers are occupying Wyndford Primary and St Gregorys in Maryhill. People living near by are asked to go to the school with food supplies and messages of support. Text messages of support to:

Wyndford: 07894 123721

St. Gregory’s: 07776 396152

Demonstration in support of schools occupations today (Saturday 4th April) at 12 Midday

The Glasgow-wide Save Our Schools Campaign is appealing to people from the local community and across Glasgow to join a demonstration in support of parents occupying Wyndford and St Gregory’s primary schools today at 12 noon.

The support event is at Wyndford and St Gregory’s schools, Glenfinnan Drive, at the back of Maryhill Rd Tescos.

SSP on the Save our Schools campaign

The tactics used elsewhere were reportedly worse, and they wonder why people fight back. A few people go for the set up of an open bank and it grabs the headlines whilst more police attacks on peaceful protesters goes unreported.

In it he points out some of the policies we should be demanding now that we own the banks.

Now the Labour Party are planning to privatise 30% of Royal Mail. Twice disgraced Business Secretary Peter Mandelson claims that Royal Mail is in danger of running out of money and that the taxpayer could not be expected to fund potential liabilities in the region of £8bn in the companies pension fund. Part of the reason the pension fund is in deficit is that the return on the investment for them is based on Labours glorious Free Market which has just failed, spectacularly, again. The main part though, and this is good, is because Labour allowed the bosses to take a pension holiday for thirteen years!

They encouraged the bosses to not pay money into the pension fund, then use the fact it’s now, obviously, in deficit to attack the service.

Billy Hayes, leader of the Communication Workers’ Union hit the nail on the head:

The government is saying they want a foreign company to run the post office, which is ridiculous. We could be faced with a situation where the Royal Bank of Scotland is nationalised and the Royal Mail is privatised.

This is not an isolated incident, Labour and the Tories freed up the most profitable parts of the Royal Mail to competition, and more recently Labour have been attacking whole swathes of the service. This included disgracefully closing four post offices in Dundee, one of which was in the area they are now trying to convince voters to elect them in. Dundee SSP were out campaigning constantly getting people to sign petitions and write letters objecting to the closures and taking part in the Consultation.

The outcome of privatising the most profitable parts of the service is that Labours demands that the company turn a larger profit is harder than ever, because of Labour gutting the service in the first place.

New Labour for consultation is clearly English for proclamation and farce. The objections of hundreds were ignored. A handful of Post Offices have been saved from closure, only for others to take their place. Showing clearly they were not closing based on popularity or local need but purely because they wanted to close X number. The act of removing one from that list resulted in the adding of another.

There are two petitions on the issue, and the least you can do is sign them. After that write to your MP. There will no doubt be other protests and actions taking place over this issue so pledge to take part in any that do.

CWU petition

Petition on Number 10 site

Public report of police harassment and charging of Fight Racism! Fight Imperialism! street protest. Dundee, Saturday 17th January 2009.

The day had started very well with a militant, angry and noisy protest march against Israel’s attack on Gaza going into Dundee’s city centre. After the rally, activists from Fight Racism! Fight Imperialism, one of whom had spoken at the event, set up a protest stall in the Murraygate to continue building support for the people of Gaza and Palestine.

Once again the city centre ambassadors demanded we remove our stall as we did not have permission or insurance. Once again we told them no! The police were called this time and proceeded to threaten the comrades with Breach of the Peace or causing alarm. It was suggested they go and consult their law books and superior officers as we were not backing down to such contrived charges. They appeared to accept this but returned an hour later with a van and told those present that this time they had come up with obstruction as a charge.

Third time lucky for them maybe but the comrades then began speaking to the gathering crowds explaining what the police were doing and asking them to stay around as witnesses, sign the petitions and support political rights. People were told to check out the YouTube videos about the cops in Liverpool trying to close down protest there and to check out Dundee Arrest on YouTube where a comrade was violently assaulted and arrested by Tayside police for handing out leaflets about Cuba. Speakers explained that when people start to protest here about unemployment, low wages and rent rises that the same cops would be out attacking their rights too. We were speaking out for the people of Gaza who were dying at that moment and we would not allow the police to silence us.

Talk about obstruction! – by now there was 1 police van and 100 people prepared to listen to speeches and chants about free speech. Comrades from the Socialist Workers Party joined the protest having been harassed for doing political work for Gaza that week.

By now the police action was a very public affair and they were not looking so comfortable. They charged Michael with obstruction under Section 53 of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982. As Michael explained to the youth present this was one of the hated Margaret Thatcher’s laws and it was no surprise that her favourite bobbies were digging it up now!

53. Obstruction by pedestrians.
Any person who, being on foot in any public place—

• (a) obstructs, along with another or others, the lawful passage of any other person and fails to desist on being required to do so by a constable in uniform, or
• (b) wilfully obstructs the lawful passage of any other person shall be guilty of an offence and liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £500

Michael was threatened with arrest if the stall was not immediately removed and after consulting with the comrades and the crowds it was decided to call a rally in the Murraygate at 12 the following Saturday to protest the harassment and charges.

We call on everyone to openly and publicly challenge this attack on democratic and political rights. Get up! Stand Up! Stand Up For Your Rights!

Defend Democratic Rights!

no to Police interference!

Rally at Murraygate. 12 Noon, Dundee, Saturday 24 January 2009.

Contact the campaign on frfiscotland@yahoo.co.uk

Venceremos!

We Shall Win! Shall Win!

Press Release from Tayside for Justice in Palestine

This Saturday, 17th January, the people of Dundee will be marching to show their support for the one and a half million people of Gaza, and their condemnation of Israel’s brutal war and policy of oppression. Even before the military attacks, the Israeli blockade had turned Gaza into an open prison. Now it is at the mercy of one of the world’s most well equipped armies, and its people have nowhere to hide. Over 1,000 Palestinians have died, thousands more are seriously wounded and the psychological damage is immeasurable. At the same time, while any death is too many, the total of 13 Israeli dead has been fewer than those killed on Israeli roads, and cannot even begin to justify what is happening.

This is an opportunity for Dundee to demonstrate the importance of its well-established links with Palestine, and the march follows on from two weeks of vigils and meetings in response to the current crisis.

The march will assemble at the New University Building at the corner of Hunter Street and Old Hawkhill at 11.30 a.m. and terminate in a rally at the City Square.
Speakers to be confirmed.

Poster for Dundee demo

Assemble 11.30am Saturday 17th January,

New Teaching Block, Old Hawkhill, (Dundee University)

March to City Square

Stop Israel’s crime against humanity

Scotland-wide Demonstration

Edinburgh

Saturday 10 January 2009

Assemble 12:30pm East Market Street (behind Edinburgh Waverley Train Station)

March through the city centre and to the US Consulate.

Bring in-date medicine for Gaza, and spare shoes.

Supported by Stop the War Scotland, Glasgow and Edinburgh, Pauline McNeil MSP, Sandra White MSP, Muslim Association of Britain, Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Glasgow Palestine Human Rights Campaign, Lebanese Community Scotland, Scottish Afghan Society, Scottish Islamic Foundation, Scottish Friends of Palestine, and others to be confirmed.

Coaches departing Glasgow, George Square, Saturday 10 January 10:30am. To reserve seats call: 0791 2348 366 or email: glasgowstopwar@gmail.com

For details on transport to Edinburgh from other parts of Scotland, please contact 07840101589.

—-

In Dundee:

At a meeting today at Brown Street Mosque, a few important decisions were taken:
Activists’ meeting, Wed, 7th Jan, 6.30 p.m. at YY centre (across from the Mosque, Brown St.)
Saturday, 10th Jan, March to Dundee City Square, 12 noon. More info re starting point etc. to follow.
This has been postponed and a vigil is being held in Dundee City Centre on Friday 2:30pm-6pm instead.

Also decided at meeting, to name campaigning organisation: Tayside for Justice in Palestine. Also, 26 people from Tayside travelled on hired bus to demo in Edinburgh on Sat. (Many more made their own way). Excellent response. We’ll keep up the pressure.

Edith Constable

We demand an immediate ceasefire, the lifting of the Israeli blockade of Gaza, an increase in the flow of humanitarian aid, the re-opening of negotiations, an end to the expansion of Israeli settlements, the withdrawal by Israel to 1967 borders and the establishment of a Palestinian state.

Nadia El-Nakla

The vigil is not intended to debate politics. The aim is to highlight the recent inhumane abuse of power, violence and excessive force along with the humanitarian crisis that faces 1.4 million people in the Gaza Strip.

Bus leaves Discovery Point (opposite Rail station) 10.30 a.m. Saturday. Leaves Edinburgh 3 p.m. arrive back in Dundee 4.30 p.m. £10 waged, £6 concession.

Assemble at Balmossie at 11.00 a.m.

Public Rally at St. Aidan’s Hall.

Speakers: Matt Wrack, Fire Brigade Union general secretary and Ken Ross, Scottish secretary.

The fire service wants to remove a night-time shift at the station and replace it with a retained crew as part of a structural overhaul that would see new appliances stationed in Perth and Forfar.

The parade was attended by about 200. Banners included the local FBU and PCS banners as well as SSP, Solidarity and CPB. Jack Jones, the 95 year old former leader of the TGWU, who fought in Spain, unveiled the new plaque.

This ceremony was followed by a public meeting where former Fire Brigades Union leader Ken Cameron spoke along with the Spanish Consul and a librarian from the National Library of Scotland who maintains the Spanish Civil War collection.

An exhibition entitled Dundee and the Spanish Civil War will be running in Dundee’s Wellgate Library from October 7th – 25th.

The two plaques

March moving up Reform Street

Jack Jones during rededication ceremony

Some of Dundee SSP waiting on the march to start

Sunday 12 October:
10.00; Showing of BBC documentary, The Guernica Children, Cinema 1, Dundee Contemporary Arts Centre (DCA), 152 Nethergate,

13.00; Unveiling of Basque Children’s Colony plaque, 17 Mall Park Road, Montrose (a bus to Montrose leaves from the rear of DCA at 11.20)

14:30 Bus back to Dundee.

The events today were terrific, a good turn out of over 200 for the march and rededication and 100+ for the public meeting in the Steps Theatre.

There is an exhibition at Dundee Library on Dundees contribution to the International Brigade which will run for a wee while.

There was a range of merchandise available including the excellent t-shirts and the Trades Council publication on Dundees International Brigadiers. T-shirts were £6 and the publication was £3. If you would like any of these let us know and we will pass on Mike Arnotts contact details for you.

There is a picket of the Edinburgh U.S. Consulate (Regents Terrace) for Thursday October 9th from 4pm to 6pm. This has been called by the Scottish Cuba Solidarity Campaign.

This is timed to follow the visit of Olga Salanueva and Adriana Perez (wives of two of the Cuban Five) to Holyrood. They will attend the picket and speak. Both have been denied visa’s to visit their husbands in jail.

On the tenth anniversary of their arrest progress has been made in the UK in breaking the silence on the Five. See the links following for reports on their visits to the TUC and Labour Party Conference:

Miami Five and Cuba50 get union and TUC backing

TUC delegates pack Cuba fringe meeting

Miami Five wives at Labour Conference

Unions fight for justice for Miami Five on 10th anniversary of imprisonment

This picket is an opportunity to broaden the numbers in action who defend the five, which ultimately will be the key to securing their freedom.

Please forward this to all others you can : union/political/campaign/ organisation lists, newspapers, etc and urge a large attendance. Please also take any steps you can to get labour movement banners to this too.

regards
Peter Clifford

I’m writing to request a big turn-out from Trade Unionists, especially with banners, for the parade up Reform Street from City Square to Albert Square at 11am on Saturday 11th October (assemble 10.45am). The event is to mark the rededication of the City’s Memorial to those who died in the Spanish Civil War, and the unveiling of a new plaque.

It is hoped that Jack Jones, the 95 year old former leader of the TGWU, and who fought in Spain, will be present.

The ceremony will be followed by a public meeting in the Wellgate Steps Theatre where former FBU leader Ken Cameron will be speaking, along with the Spanish Consul.

Tickets for the evening social, in the Apex Hotel City Quay suite are also available at £5 each, as are commemorative t-shirts at £6.

An exhibition entitled Dundee and the Spanish Civil War will be running in the Wellgate Library from Oct 7th – 25th.

Banners are important seeing as Dundee Trades Council banner was seized by Police whilst on an anti-G8 march.

Public sector Unions, Rally City Square, tomorrow.
Assemble: Hilltown Park, 11.00 a.m. march to City Square.

Aldermaston Big Blockade – Monday, October 27 2008

Help disrupt illegal work on WMD at Britain’s nuclear bomb factory

In 2006/7, Faslane 365 saw well over 1000 arrests during a year-long blockade of the Trident submarine base in Scotland. Last Easter, AWE Aldermaston saw its biggest demonstration in two decades as 5000 people surrounded the base to mark the 50th anniversary of the first Aldermaston march. Trident Ploughshares now invite you to a major blockade of the Berkshire nuke factory, where billions of pounds are currently being spent developing new warhead facilities that will scupper nuclear disarmament for another 50 years. Help us uphold international law by blockading this factory of death in what promises to be a colourful celebration of life and people power. There is a role for everyone. This event is supported by CND.

For further details, see: Block AWE and Trident Ploughshares.org

Trident Ploughshares is a campaign to disarm the UK Trident nuclear weapons system in a non-violent, open, peaceful and fully accountable manner. There will be a mini-bus(at least) going from Glasgow. If you want to join them e-mail Jane or phone 0845 4588 367

Scottish CND

This message has been sent to you by Scottish CND on behalf of Trident Ploughshares

If you with to change the types of messages you receive from Scottish CND, please visit Their site

Scottish Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
15 Barrland St,
Glasgow,
G41 1QH,

0141 423 1222

Scottish Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament

Saturday, 25th October, 12 noon,

George Square, Glasgow.

How would you spend £20 billion of public money in the next 5 years?

Speakers: Bruce Kent, Judith Robertson, Oxfam; Matt Smith (Unison); Dave Gibb (music) and others. Stalls/Food. Anyone interested? Enough interest to organise transport from Dundee or at least help with expenses those wishing to participate.

LEGALISE IT – 2008 – MARCH TO LEGALISE CANNABIS

GLASGOW – SATURDAY JULY 26th

ASSEMBLE 11.30am – George Square, Glasgow

March to Kelvingrove Park for bands, DJs and more!

FEATURING:

ARGONAUT SOUNDS, THE BEING, LOKI, RESPEK-DA, MARRICK LAYDEN DEFT, TAZ BUCKFASTER, HENDY RUNS TINGS, PHILLYBLUNTZ, DARYL and more!

Michael has learned through his Legal Aid solicitor that the procurator fiscal decided way back on 18 December not to proceed with the charge of Disorderly Conduct against him. Only they did not tell anybody. Does this mean that very useful CCTV evidence against the police may have been discarded?

When we got back to Aberdeen bus station, we had a chat with some Stagecoach bus drivers about what we were doing and why. They agreed that its shocking that the couple were spoken to as they were by the driver. The Stagecoach employees agreed that a gay person has just as much right to ride the bus as anyone else, and said that their company should apologise to the couple.

Around the country there was a similar picture from Edinburgh, Dundee and Glasgow. One can only assume that since no one complained, and the drivers didn’t say anything either, that the driver Steven and Mark were unfortunate to have was homophobic, and of course Stagecoach is 100% behind him.

Theres a great article on protest from http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-6064.html and there are photos from the Aberdeen protest on http://www.flickr.com/photos/20902609@N05/ more from around the country will be going up as I get them in.

We would like you and another person of the same sex to go on a stagecoach bus that day, and one of you have your arm around the other, just like the couple were doing when they were threatend to be booted off the bus, then made to sit apart. Even just one stop would be fine. We want as many people as possible to do it so please let me know how many of you are taking part in the Equality Ride, i.e. more than one couple, what the bus route is and the bus number, and where you are in the UK, and if possible take a picture of the two of you on the stagecoach bus with you arm around the other person. It would be even better if you were holding a bit of paper or something with the word ‘apologise’ or ‘let all couples take the bus’ or something. And we will send it off to the media and to Stagecoach.

Then either text (07760308173) or email me the image (hendersonn2704@hotmail.com).

Some of us are going to Aberdeen where we will retrace the route with the couple, Steven and Mark, where the incident originally took place. If you are free to travel to Aberdeen that day or are there already then please let me know.

Remember that if someone does complain, and the driver threatens you, then that constitutes discrimination under the Equality Act and is illegal. Nor is it innapropriate behaviour, straight couples do far worse on busses all the time.

Please take a ride for Equality this thursday by participating. The media attention we will get and the extra pressure it will put on Stagecoach to apologise will outweigh the downside of having to give money to Stagecoach to protest, but this is about the right of all customers to be able to ride the bus without hassle or intimidation.

After several months of suspension, fourteen days of strike action and a six day disciplinary Karen Reissmann, chair of the Manchester Mental Health Unison branch has been sacked for the ‘crime’ of opposing mental health cuts.

The 700 strong branch has voted to go on indefinite strike. Urgent financial and other solidarity is needed.

Unison’s national industrial action committee has sanctioned the community mental health team comprising some 160 workers to go on indefinite official strike action from this Thursday. This is a strike Unison must win. Donations need to flood in, with messages of support, invitations for speakers, national publicity and demands of Unison officials that they respect the demand of the branch and that the official strike is spread to cover the whole branch.

Rush donations and messages of support to the Manchester Community and Mental Health Unison branch, 70 Manchester Road, Manchester, M21 9UN. Phone 07972 120 451 or email unison@zen.co.uk

Cheques can be made out to UNISON Manchester Community & Mental Health

Visit the support website at reinstate karen site .

The petition can be downloaded here and printed off to use at work or union meetings.

More background here and here

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UNISON STATEMENT ON KAREN REISSMAN

On Monday November 5th Karen Reissmann, CPN and UNISON branch chair was sacked on 4 counts. Firstly that, when she was interviewed in December 2006 criticising the transfer of NHS work to the voluntary sector, she brought the Trust into disrepute. Secondly, for telling people that she was suspended and what for. Thirdly, for protesting her innocence. Fourthly, for allowing the press to print information, some misleading about her case. The fifth charge of misusing time was dropped. All the charges were gross misconduct and all sackable offences.

UNISON believes this is an absolute disgrace. Union reps must have the right to campaign against cuts and victimisation of our trade union reps. The Human Rights Act brought in by the Labour government allows for freedom of expression. Karen works in the NHS, in 2007, in Britain not Burma – she must have the right to speak out without fear of persecution. If she remains sacked it will make all NHS staff and all trade union reps feel much more cautious about saying anything.

UNISON is determined to fight for Karen’s reinstatement. 150 members of her branch who work in community mental health teams and crisis resolution teams will start an indefinite strike from Thursday 8th November as part of that fight. There will be picket lines from 8am to 11am at North Manchester General Hospital, MRI Hathersage Rd, and Chorlton House. On Thursday strikers will then meet at 12noon to organise their next activities and march to the strategic Health Authority at Piccadilly.

In 2 weeks we will have a branch wide one-day strike.

We also hope to have a solidarity rally on Wednesday 14th November in Manchester in the early evening, details to follow.

We also plan a Saturday demonstration in Manchester, probably 24th Nov.

We expect to be able to pay very substantial hardship pay to all strikers and will be sending delegations of strikers around the country to speak to other trade unionists and raise money. Already we have had significant promises of money from a number of branches eg Pennine have promised £2000 a month.

If you want to make a donation please send to “Manchester Community and Mental Health branch UNISON” c/o union office, Chorlton House, 70 Manchester Rd, Manchester M21 9UN. If you want a speaker at your next union meeting please contact us on unison@zen.co.uk or 07972 120 451.

Bus leaves Dundee, The Howff (opposite GPO) 9.00 a.m.

Departs Edinburgh 3 p.m. Ticket donation only

Our next broadcast will be on the 24th of April.