As decided at Dundee TUC‘s November 2nd meeting

Assemble 12noon, West gate of Dudhope Park (postcode DD1 5RE for satnav / GoogleMap). March off at 12:30pm. Route; Lochee Road, Marketgait, West Marketgait, Nethergate to rally in City Square (postcode DD1 3BA) commencing at approx 1pm. Provisionally, feeder marches are being investigated from Dundee University (via Hawkhill to join up at Marketgait Circle) and Abertay University (via Bell Street to join up at Marketgait).

TUs are asked to check & advise on speakers (Dundee or national officers). STUC speaker has been requested.

Further details; dundeetuc@ymail.com, 07951 443656.

The Dundee Pensioners Forum have organised a rally in Dundee for those who can’t make it down to London.

Location: Burns’ Statue, Albert Square, Dundee
Time: 26 March · 12:00 – 13:00

There is an event set up on Facebook for further information.

There are two events in Dundee around May Day.

On Friday 29th April there will be a demo starting from 11:30 in Hilltown park with a rally in the city square at noon.

Mayday2011

Later that night there will be a social in Lyrics in St Andrews Lane from 7:30pm. This will have Music, Raffle and Revolutionary Enjoyment tickets cost £10.

SocialPoster2001

Next meeting of Defend Dundee Services will take place between 7.30pm and 9pm on Wednesday 19th January, Committee Room 1, 14 City Square (same as last meeting).

Our next few meetings will be on the following dates

Next meetings:

• Wednesday 12 January 2011
• Wednesday 26 January 2011
• Wednesday 9 February 2011
• Wednesday 23 February 2011

There is an Dundee anti-cuts meeting on the 19 January so to avoid a clash we have had an extra week break over the holiday period.

The main topic for the next meeting will be the coming Tory/Lib Dem cuts. To come along contact us in one of the listed ways.

I’m sure most friends and supporters of Dundee SSP will be interested in this great community campaign.

Helping the Dundee folk in distress

A Dundee pair set up a Facebook page to co-ordinate helpers for vulnerable people in Dundee during the severe snowstorm we are experiencing just now. Volunteers are going shopping for elderly people trapped in their homes and clearing paths to make it safer for people to get about sheltered housing complexes etc.

Whether through this group or not it is instinctual for people to do these sorts of things. Most of the papers have praised the group whilst being shocked that about 30 years of individualist propaganda people will do these sorts of actions. Some seem to think that it is strange to imagine those of us who clear paths near us or chap our elderly neighbours to see if they are ok and if they need anything. This says more about the ideas constantly bombarding us through the media than the community spirit of the vast majority of society.

In the coming year some of those out gritting roads will be made redundant. Some of those out shovelling snow and shopping for neighbours will lose jobs or homes because of the recession. The bankers and politicians who caused this mess – how many of them will be out in their wellies helping their neighbours and friends? If the cold hits again next year will it cause more disruption when councils cut waste i.e. make some of those people clearing snow and gritting paths redundant?

The Courier reported today that the disgraceful parking charges at Ninewells Hospital are to rise again!

It’s bad enough that relatives and visitors to the sick and injured are lining the pockets of the Vinci parasites but raising the charges just adds insult to injury.

Dundee SSP have campaigned against these charges for years. What is most galling is that most other hospitals have had them abolished. Only those with disastrous PFI deals remained.

Recently the newspapers were full of politicians outraged over the locked in contract which delivered terrible value for money on aircraft carriers.

It is worth noting that those same politicians are silent when it comes to worse contracts sucking money out of our schools and hospitals in PFI deals.

PFI – created by Tories, perfected by Labour.

From the Dundee TUC

A call to the people of Dundee

• The Tory / Lib Dem Government has proposed massive cuts in services, benefits,
  pensions, jobs and wages as their answer to the deficit created by the banking crisis.
• Dundee City Council is set to cut £40Million over the next four years, and that’s on
  top of local cuts in budgets for Police, Fire, Health, Universities and the Civil Service.
• The poorest are facing a bigger share of the cost of a crisis that was not of their
  making. The bankers, who caused that crisis, are still raking in their bonuses.
• Last year £123 Billion of UK tax was either dodged through loopholes (avoided),
  illegally not paid (evaded) or simply not collected. Google’s UK earnings were £1.6
  Billion. Using loopholes in UK tax law, they paid no Corporation Tax. They should have paid £450 Million. UK Boardroom pay went up 7% and bonuses by 22%.

There is a better way

• The Government’s vicious cuts are not necessary: Current UK debt is only 68% of
  GDP, compared to Greece 115%, Japan 217%, USA 83.2%, Germany 73%, Belgium 97% and France 77%. The average for advanced economies is 77.3%.
• The UK and Argentina are the only G20 countries to withdraw financial stimulus from
  their economies for 2010. The others are investing in infrastructure and growth.
• We should be supporting our economy by investment in jobs, industry, training and
  research. We should be building our way out of this crisis; creating a future for our
  young people by developing our green industries such as offshore wind generation.
• We should be supporting our students and our Schools, Universities and Colleges.

Press release from Dundee Trades Council

Public March & Rally

Dundee, 29th September 2010

The European Trade Union Confederation is staging a European Day of Action on 29 September next. This Day of Action follows a decision by the ETUC Executive Committee on 1 and 2 June. It will be made up of a Euro-demonstration in Brussels and trade union actions in the various European countries. The European trade unions will be demonstrating against the austerity measures adopted recently by many EU countries, and to demand recovery plans in favour of quality jobs and growth.

As Dundee’s contribution to this activity a March & Rally will take place;

Assemble Hilltown Park, 11.30am

March off; 12 noon: Route: Hilltown, Victoria Road, Meadowside, Albert Square (North side), Reform Street to City Square.

Rally: City Square from approx 12.20pm to 1pm.

Called by Dundee Public Services Campaign, comprising Dundee TUC, Dundee Joint Shop Stewards Liaison Committee, Right to Work Campaign (Dundee).

A member of East Dumbartonshire SSP has dug out a load of old pamphlets which don’t appear to be online anywhere.

One of them is Head Fixing Industry by John Keracher. John was born in Dundee and later moved to America where he formed a group called the Proletarian Party of America.

Interesting stuff. Hopefully someone can find the time to run some text scanning software against it and get a text version of it.