Tottenham, North London, scene of riots over the weekend
54 jobseekers for ever job. Eight out of 13 youth centres closed and the youth budget's been cut by 75%, while cuts to public services spending will be slashed by £41 million over the next three years.This picture is replicated across the UK. And we wonder why people are so angry??
Labour councils need to start representing the needs of the people who put them there,and start by setting 'needs' budgets and sticking to them.
Monday 8 August 2011
Wednesday 27 July 2011
The big british retail workers' sellout
While Mark Constantine, the founder of Lush Cosmetics, recently awarded shop workers employed by Lush the London Living Wage of £7.85 per hour, figures show that pay across the capital's retail sector is woefully low. Here are some examples of what London's top retail companies pay their workers:
Barratts £6.00
Harmony £6.50
French Connection £5.96
Next £7.26
Marks & Spencer £7.82
Dorothy Perkins £6.00
Topshop £6.50
John Lewis £7.00 (£8.05 if you include bonus)
Souvenirs of London £5.93
Madhouse £5.93
These companies and their fat cat bosses should hang their heads in shame. If they are not prepared to follow Mark Constantine's example, then the trade union and labour movement need to work collectively to demand that all workers in the retail sector are paid a living wage now!
Friday 15 July 2011
Wednesday 13 July 2011
John McDonnell to table amendments to the Sovereign Grant Bill to ensure royal cleaners are paid the London Living Wage.
MPs move to make the Royals pay their cleaners the London Living Wage
Chair of the PCS Parliamentary Group, Labour MP for Hayes and Harlington, John McDonnell, today tabled amendments to the Sovereign Grant Bill which would require the Royal Household to ensure that cleaners in the Occupied Royal Palaces are paid the London Living Wage (£8.30 per hour) or lose the annual £30 million grant in aid the Royals receive from the taxpayer.
John McDonnell said: “A significant coalition of community organisations and prominent individuals and politicians including many churches and religious groups and the Mayor of London, have come out in support of the London Living Wage.
“I am hoping that the Royal Household could now lead by example in tackling the scourge of poverty pay in the capital by ensuring all those working for the Queen and the Royal family inLondon
Chair of the PCS Parliamentary Group, Labour MP for Hayes and Harlington, John McDonnell, today tabled amendments to the Sovereign Grant Bill which would require the Royal Household to ensure that cleaners in the Occupied Royal Palaces are paid the London Living Wage (£8.30 per hour) or lose the annual £30 million grant in aid the Royals receive from the taxpayer.
John McDonnell said: “A significant coalition of community organisations and prominent individuals and politicians including many churches and religious groups and the Mayor of London, have come out in support of the London Living Wage.
“I am hoping that the Royal Household could now lead by example in tackling the scourge of poverty pay in the capital by ensuring all those working for the Queen and the Royal family in
Wednesday 6 July 2011
Save our Cultural Assets!
The TUC's Creative and Leisure Industries Committee met last night and unions represented included BECTU, Musicians Union and PCS.
As we know, whenever there is a crisis in the economy, the arts are the first to get hit. The Department of Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, predicts cuts between 25 - 30 % across the Uk's culture sector.
The PCS Culture,Media and Sport Sector represent members working at DCMS, and it is predicted we could see cuts of up to 50% at it's headquarters. Like their counterparts across museums, galleries, heritage and sports bodies, and like the rest of our members in PCS, our members at DCMS are campaigning to defend jobs, pensions and working conditions.
In response to ConDem attacks on our cultural assets, PCS members have been working alongside professor Roger Seifert to produce a document, 'An Alternative Vision for the Culture Sector (the case against government spending cuts)', which was launched at PCS conference in May. Members have also mounted a campaign 'Save our Cultural Assets' : http://www.pcs.org.uk/en/culture_media_and_sport_occupational_association/
The culture sector accounts for 10% of Britain's GDP. For every £1 government spends on culture, the UK gets £2 back. The culture sector is worth 34.5bn to the UK's economy, and the British film industry alone contributes £1.2bn to the exchequer. In the UK we have five of the 20 most visited art galleries in the world and in 2008, more than 33 million people visited the UK. Why then, are the government intent on destroying a sector which is not only boosting the economy, but continues to maintain Britain's reputation as one of the foremost centres of cultural and historical excellence?
It is clear that these attacks, like attacks across the public sector, are ideological.
Nicholas Serota, Director of the Tate, has described the ConDem's plans to slash spending in the sector as a 'blitzkrieg', and says that this threatens cultural provision 'that has made Britain a civilised place to live, where all have the opportunity to enjoy the arts or celebrate our hertitage'.
In 2008 - 2009, over 4 million people from under privileged households were able to enjoy the cultural resources which DCMS oversees. Studies show that DCMS's funding of sport generates long term economic value in terms of avoided health costs and improved quality of life.
The TUC's Culture and Creative Leisure Industries Committee will seek to work alongside all creative unions, aswell as the wider movement and community groups, to raise awareness of these attacks and to form a collective response to the cuts.
I look forward to updating you on progress over the coming weeks and months.
If you would like a copy of Professor Seifert's report, please email me at: lizzie@pcs.org.uk and I will happily send you one.
As we know, whenever there is a crisis in the economy, the arts are the first to get hit. The Department of Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, predicts cuts between 25 - 30 % across the Uk's culture sector.
The PCS Culture,Media and Sport Sector represent members working at DCMS, and it is predicted we could see cuts of up to 50% at it's headquarters. Like their counterparts across museums, galleries, heritage and sports bodies, and like the rest of our members in PCS, our members at DCMS are campaigning to defend jobs, pensions and working conditions.
In response to ConDem attacks on our cultural assets, PCS members have been working alongside professor Roger Seifert to produce a document, 'An Alternative Vision for the Culture Sector (the case against government spending cuts)', which was launched at PCS conference in May. Members have also mounted a campaign 'Save our Cultural Assets' : http://www.pcs.org.uk/en/culture_media_and_sport_occupational_association/
The culture sector accounts for 10% of Britain's GDP. For every £1 government spends on culture, the UK gets £2 back. The culture sector is worth 34.5bn to the UK's economy, and the British film industry alone contributes £1.2bn to the exchequer. In the UK we have five of the 20 most visited art galleries in the world and in 2008, more than 33 million people visited the UK. Why then, are the government intent on destroying a sector which is not only boosting the economy, but continues to maintain Britain's reputation as one of the foremost centres of cultural and historical excellence?
It is clear that these attacks, like attacks across the public sector, are ideological.
Nicholas Serota, Director of the Tate, has described the ConDem's plans to slash spending in the sector as a 'blitzkrieg', and says that this threatens cultural provision 'that has made Britain a civilised place to live, where all have the opportunity to enjoy the arts or celebrate our hertitage'.
In 2008 - 2009, over 4 million people from under privileged households were able to enjoy the cultural resources which DCMS oversees. Studies show that DCMS's funding of sport generates long term economic value in terms of avoided health costs and improved quality of life.
The TUC's Culture and Creative Leisure Industries Committee will seek to work alongside all creative unions, aswell as the wider movement and community groups, to raise awareness of these attacks and to form a collective response to the cuts.
I look forward to updating you on progress over the coming weeks and months.
If you would like a copy of Professor Seifert's report, please email me at: lizzie@pcs.org.uk and I will happily send you one.
Tate Museums plan to award interns the London living wage
In an unprecedented move, management at Tate Museums have decided to award all interns the London living wage. The plans are outlined in a report published by the Tate's Diversity Group, Tate for All, and are due to be implemented later this year.
The policy proposes that going forward Tate would pay interns at least the National Minimum Wage and will seek to award them the London living wage.
This would be a significant change for Tate and ' would have an impact upon the number of interns that Tate could host'.
The report states that 'our aim through this would be to have a smaller but better managed internship programme through which makes a demonstrable contribution to developing and diversifying our future workforce'
The policy proposes that going forward Tate would pay interns at least the National Minimum Wage and will seek to award them the London living wage.
This would be a significant change for Tate and ' would have an impact upon the number of interns that Tate could host'.
The report states that 'our aim through this would be to have a smaller but better managed internship programme through which makes a demonstrable contribution to developing and diversifying our future workforce'
Tuesday 5 July 2011
Newly released Buckingham Palace accounts reveal spending down in 2010
Buckingham Palace accounts released yesterday show that the cost of keeping the monarchy fell by £1.8 million in 2010.
The Queen's official spending for 2010 - 2011 fell 5.3 per cent from £33.9m in 2009-10 to £32.1m.
The royals spent 50 per cent more on travel - up to £6m from £3.9m - while spending on their estates fell from £15.4 m to £11.9m - in other words, they continue to squeeze low paid workers, expecting them to work harder for less money - indeed, a pay freeze has been imposed across all in-house staff there.
Meanwhile, royal cleaners working for contractors KGB Holdings, who are paid by the palace to oversee cleaning, languish on £6.45 an hour. It is obscene.
The British taxpayer hands the royal household £30 million a year, half of which is paid to the palace.
Meanwhile, royal cleaners working for contractors KGB Holdings, who are paid by the palace to oversee cleaning, languish on £6.45 an hour. It is obscene.
The British taxpayer hands the royal household £30 million a year, half of which is paid to the palace.
PCS will continue campaigning for royal cleaners to be awarded the London living wage. Please get in touch if you require further information: lizzie@pcs.org.uk
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