Solidarity 260, 10 October 2012

The three trade unions at Glasgow City Council have written to councillors demanding that they refuse to make any further cuts and set a “needs budget”. Unions are also demanding the council reclaim money cut from previous budget settlements. Unison branch secretary Brian Smith said: “Over 2,500 jobs have already been cut since 2010 ... more than 10% of the workforce. “Elected members have a choice — make the cuts or demand an end to the slash and burn austerity policies of the ConDems and fight for a return of the tens of millions stolen from Glasgow in the last few years.” Unions around the...

Throwing a sop to the Tory right, chancellor George Osborne has said (8 October) that he will legislate to let bosses "buy out" workers' rights. By giving you £2000 in shares in the company, your boss will be able to cancel your right to sue for unfair dismissal, your right to redundancy pay, your right to ask for flexible hours or time off for training, and some of your maternity-leave rights. Paul Kenny, GMB general secretary, said: “Slashing people’s employment rights under the guise of ownership schemes won’t create jobs and it won’t create growth”. Even bosses were sceptical. John...

The new Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt thinks the legal time limit on abortion should be halved to 12 weeks. Maria Miller, the so-called Women’s Minister, thinks it should be 20 weeks. Any more for anymore? For Tory politicians to pitch their own personal preferences for time limits like this is vile. They do it without reference to scientific or political argument, and without any understanding about what it is like to face an unwanted pregnancy. Cameron was quick to say the government had no plans to change the law on abortion. Probably he does not want to fight another battle with the Lib...

Pat Smith, the Hull North Constituency Labour Party delegate who moved the NHS motion at Labour Party conference, spoke to Solidarity. What’s your assessment of the debate on the NHS? The presence of protesters on the NHS Liaison Committee lobby was very effective, and must have been a factor in a majority of delegates prioritising the NHS for discussion. It also put pressure on the party officials and right-wingers who tried to water down the motion in compositing. We got everything we wanted apart from text against the internal market. I think the leadership realised they couldn’t bully or...

"It's an economic delusion to think you can balance the budget only on the wallets of the rich", claimed Chancellor George Osborne as he spoke to the Tory party conference (8 October). He was trying to justify another £10 billion cuts in benefits for the worse-off, on top of all the cuts already in train. Yes, you can balance the budget on the wallets of the rich! Or, rather, we could balance the budget that way. The Tories never would, and the New Labour types never would, but a government based on and accountable to the labour movement, a workers' government, could and would. Osborne's claim...

Tina Beacock is a socialist long active in Chicago, and now a retired member of the Chicago Teachers' Union (CTU). She spoke to Solidarity about the recent Chicago teachers' dispute. *** Chicago teachers struck between 10 and 18 September. The union reports that the strike won wage rises, and in addition: "This fight produced many wins - from the right to appeal a rating, to language that gives teachers control over our own lesson plan format. Equally important, we stopped many harmful 'reforms'. "The district was forced to give up on merit pay, made to abandon a 7 hour 40 minute teacher day...

Media workers voted today at their union’s conference to make policy and instruct its executive only every two years. Delegates at the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) conference in Newcastle were asked to support the proposal by the National Executive Council to only meet biennially as it would help save the union money at a time when it is in financial difficulties. Outgoing president Donnacha DeLong spoke on the delegate meeting floor and said it was not just about the money but would also give officers more time to achieve things passed at conference. He also said it would allow more...