CONTACT: RUGBY AGAINST THE CUTS:

Email: rugbyagainstthecuts@googlemail.com Tel: 07881 520626

Write to: RUGBY AGAINST THE CUTS - PO Box 4123, Rugby, CV21 9BJ.

CONVENOR and PRESS OFFICER – Pete McLaren.TREASURER – Julie Weekes TRADE UNION LIAISON –Martin Eversfield and Roy Sandison

Sunday 21 November 2010

ANIT CUTS GROUP AND UNITE TRADE UNION SAYS NO TO YOUTH SERVICE CUTS IN WARWICKSHIRE!

Rugby Advertiser 18th November 2010
Rugby Observer 18th November 2010
FULL PRESS RELEASE BELOW
ANGER AT PLANS TO DESTROY WARWICKSHIRE’S YOUTH SERVICE

Rugby Against the Cuts has expressed its anger at proposals by Warwickshire County Council to cut its budget for youth services by £4.6 million, and close the Youth Service completely.  “This is the reality of the Con-Dem Governments spending cuts announced in the Comprehensive Spending Review,” the campaign’s spokesperson Pete McLaren said today.   “To cut the Youth Service, and the parallel Positive about Young People organisation, would effectively deny young people any real, voluntary access to crucial support, and lead to hundreds of redundancies.  Youth clubs and related organisations provide vital services for the community, especially in deprived working class areas.  The County Council should be supporting the young people of Warwickshire and be seeking ways of persuading the Government to find other ways of resolving the country’s debt problems.  We have put forward a number of alternatives, including a 5% tax increase for the wealthiest 10% of the population, nationalizing the banks and financial institutions and using their profits to improve public services, and collecting the £120 billion owed by the wealthy through tax evasion or avoidance, “ he concluded.

The groups’ Trade Union Liaison Officer Roy Sandison was particularly concerned about the effects of these cuts on young people themselves.  “The Youth Service targets its provision towards areas most in need.  Removing the service will have a serious impact on local communities, particularly those in deprived areas”, he claimed.

Geoff Dewhirst (Warwickshire Branch secretary of Unite – Youth Work section) went further.  “Youth clubs, and the activities within them, are the vehicles through which professional youth workers gain the trust and confidence of our more marginalised young people. Their purpose is to help those young people towards constructive and fulfilling engagement with others, their communities and society at large. Withdrawing this support, encouragement and role model can only lead to continued disaffection, at a time when it’s universally recognised that disaffection is the antithesis of cohesive, safer communities.  Increases in youth unemployment mean that state funded youth provision should be expanded, not decimated,” he concluded.

NOTES
  • Rugby Against the Cuts was set up by local trade unionists and political activists on September 22ndOfficers were elected as above
  • Rugby Against the Cuts meets on the second Thursday of every month, 7.30pm, at the Three Horse Shoes, Rugby
  • Rugby Against the Cuts can be contacted on 07881 520626, at rugbyagainstthecuts@googlemail.com, or through our web site at http://rugbyagainstthecuts.blogspot.com   

Friday 19 November 2010

HELP BUILD THE MOVEMENT AGAINST THE CUTS - COME TO COR CONFERENCE!

Rugby Against The Cuts is affiliated to the COR and members will be attending.


Coalition of Resistance Conference

Saturday November 27

Camden Centre

Bidborough St, London WC1H 9AU

10am-5pm

Tickets:

  • Unemployed/Student Rate £3
  • Standard Rate £5
  • Representative £10

Conference Agenda

10:00 – 10:30 REGISTRATION
10:30 – 11:45 OPENING PLENARY 
Mark Serwotka PCS, Andrew Murray, Jean Lambert MEP, Bob Crow RMT,  Christian Mahieux (Solidaires unions, France), Clare Solomon NUS,  Heather Wakefield UNISON, People’s Charter, John McDonnell MP, Lindsey  German CoR.
12:00 – 13:15 ORGANISING AGAINST THE CUTS LOCALLY
Range of speakers from anti-cuts and other organisations from around the country
ANALYSING THE CRISIS
James Meadway, Stathis Kouvelakis, Derek Wall, Hilary Wainwright
MOBILISING THE UNIONS
Alan Whittaker President UCU, Rebecca Allen PCS, George Binette UNISON
WHAT SHOULD POLITICAL REPRESENTATIVES DO?
Liz Davis, Samir Jeraj (Green Party), Billy Bragg, Laurie Penny
YOUTH, STUDENTS AND EDUCATION
Speakers from recent school and student protests, Alex Kenny NUT, Jean-Baptiste Tondu (NPA student , France)
RESPONSES TO CLIMATE CHANGE
Chris Baugh PCS, Jonathan Neale CACC, Peter Robinson
13:15 – 14:00 LUNCH
14:00 – 15:15 DEFENDING THE WELFARE STATE
Colin Leys KONP, Chris Nineham CoR, Dr Jacky Davis, DCH
ALTERNATIVES TO THE CRISIS
Ozlem Onaran, Richard Brenner, John Hilary (War on Want)
STATES OF INEQUALITY
Zita Holbourne, Terry Conway, Phyll Opoku-Gyimah, Katherine Connelly, Linda Burnip
COR: HOW AND WHY
Paul Mackney, Andrew Burgin, Lindsey German
DEFENDING BENEFITS AND PENSIONS
George Thompson PCS, Colin Hampton (Chesterfield UWC), Pip Tindall (BBC), Pensioners’ Convention
15:30 – 17:00 VOTING, ELECTIONS AND CLOSING PLENARY
Dot Gibson (Pensioners Convention), Lee Jasper (BARAC), Jeremy Dear  (NUJ), Jeremy Corbyn MP, John Rees (CoR), Kate Hudson (CND), Chris  Bambery (RTW), Lowkey, Tony Benn. Chairing by Paul Mackney and Romayne  Phoenix
There will be elections for a National Steering Committee – nominations  will be taken at the conference from individuals,organisations and  anti-cuts groups that support Tony Benn’s statement. There will a vote  on a campaigning plan for the forthcoming period. The plan of action  will be amendable at the conference and will include suggestions from  the sessions. This is a founding conference and we are proposing that  the incoming steering committee prepare a resolution based conference to  take place within 9 months.

Thursday 11 November 2010

Students Protest Against Education Cuts

MORE THAN 50,000 PROTEST AGAINST EDUCATION CUTS

Claire Laker-Mansfield, Socialist Students National Organiser
Yesterday, Wednesday November 10th, more than 50,000 students and education workers marched through the streets of London to protest at the tripling of university fees and at huge cuts to the funding of both higher and further education.
On the demonstration, the anger was palpable. Thousands upon thousands shouted chants of 'no ifs, no buts, no education cuts' and 'when they say cut back we say fight back'. The day was a testament to the strength of workers and youth when organised to take united action, and echoed the mass demonstrations seen in France in recent weeks and months.
The masses assembled on the streets yesterday will have shaken the government, who naively believed that the days of mass student demonstrations were over. It showed that the coalition will not be able to simply get away with these cuts- that young people and workers will fight.
But this demonstration must only be the start of the fightback. We need a mass, sustained campaign organised at every college and campus and linked on a national level.
Socialist Students is calling for a day of walk-outs, protests and demonstrations to take place on November 24th, as the next stage in building the movement. This needs to be built around the country, starting from today. A day of mass protests on the 24th will shake the government to its core. It will show that the demonstration yesterday was only the beginning, and that students and workers are determined to defeat the coalition government and stop education cuts.

Tuesday 9 November 2010

NSSN National Anti-Cuts Conference

All anti-cuts campaigns, trade union branches,trade councils and workplace organisations are invited to send delegates and visitors.
To download/print the flyer for this important conference click here

Monday 1 November 2010

FIRE FIGHTERS DESERVE YOUR SUPPORT SAYS RUGBY AGAINST THE CUTS

Rugby Against The Cuts have sent the following letter of support to striking fire fighters in London
Brothers and Sisters

Rugby Against The Cuts http://rugbyagainstthecuts.blogspot.com/ are sending you our support in your current struggle to defend the Fire Service in London.

Rugby is in Warwickshire and we have just seen a number of our local fire stations closed using similar arguments to those used in your dispute – modernisation is a buzz word that really means worse and unsafe conditions for not only fire fighters but also the general public.

You will be pleased to know that the local FBU is part of our campaign and we are proud to have such dedicated workers involved.

Good luck and best wishes

Roy Sandison Joint Trade Union Liaison Officer on behalf of Rugby Against The Cuts.  


FBU LEAFLET FOR MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC