UK Newswire Archive
Census Refuser Latest - three court appearances this week
16-05-2012 06:43
Deborah Glass Woodin appeared in Reading Magistrates court at the beginning of the week, was found guilty and fined. Barbara Dowling appeared at Glasgow Sheriff's court and her trial has now been adjourned until 25 September.
East Midlands Trains ASLEF Strike
15-05-2012 16:55
Tuesday 15 May 2012
ASLEF members were picketing outside Nottingham Train Station this morning.
This is the 5th one day strike in support of the ASLEF [Associated Society of Locomotive Steam Enginemen and Firemen] action against East Midlands Trains, a Stagecoach company.
A number of train were 'parked' in Nottingham Station. Cancellations shown on the board with anouncements over the tanoy, apogising for the inconvenience.
Speaking to them on their picket line, they pointed out that other train companies had settled the issue with the unions, but, East Midlands Train remain obstinate.
A official from this union was on of the speakers at the Trades Council Mayday event.
Mayday Speeches & Event http://nottingham.indymedia.org/articles/2572
ASLEF general secretary Mick Whelan said the ‘bizarre and insulting’ media statements put out by East Midland Trains recently shows that they are getting desperate. ‘They have run out of ideas, so they are beginning to hit our like naughty children. Their latest accusation – that the union is ‘keeping its members in the dark’ – is even more ridiculous than it is insulting.
‘They are obviously ignorant about this issue,‘ says Mick Whelan. ‘Not being members of our union, they obviously do not know what has been communicated. If they had been ASLEF members they would know the company’s accusations are ridiculous. We have communicated with our members by every means available to us.
‘This type of misleading attack will only lengthen this dispute. I call on EMT management to try to control themselves and come back to the negotiating table in a reasonable and dignified manner.’
Mick Whelan had earlier said 'he would make a full report to his executive committee who would determine how to act most effectively to protect the pensions of union members working for EMT. In the interim, our door remains open. We are willing to meet the company at any time, anywhere.’
ASLEF Vs EMT Strike Leaflet:
http://www.aslef.org.uk/files/132769/FileName/ASLEFEMTStrike.pdf
+++++
ASLEF Press Release:
East Midlands – why we are on strike today
ASLEF’s 460 members who work for East Midland Trains will be on strike today as a result of a dispute with management over their pensions. In essence
· EMT has decided to cut the amount of money going into our pension scheme – thus saving the company £2.1 million between now and the next valuation.
· So the scheme becomes cheaper. And ‘cheaper’ inevitably means ‘worse’.
· Our pensions are our security in retirement. We have paid for them ever since we began work. We can’t sit and watch them being devalued.
EMT is telling the media that they are being kind to us by ‘saving’ us £500 a year in money we don’t need to pay into the fund. This is very misleading.
· We don’t want to cheapen our fund. The company fails to mention that because the pension scheme is ‘shared cost’ they save £750 a year – and so £1,250 less goes into our pension fund. In fact, some £2.1 million.
· That means the pension scheme is worth less. Our pensions will be worth less.
It is vital for all British workers to defend their pensions. In this case, why doesn’t EMT care about a cheaper pension fund? Because
it might not be running the franchise in a couple of years, so it has a short-term view of the world.
If the pension fund then is worth a lot less, they don’t care.
If they lose the franchise, they don’t have to deal with it – and if they win it, staff get lower pensions.
PENSIONS ARE IMPORTANT TO US ALL. WE ALL DESERVE DIGNITY IN RETIREMENT.
SO WE HOPE YOU WILL BE UNDERSTANDING AS WE FIGHT TO PROTECT OUR PENSIONS.
We’ve been prepared to negotiate and resolve this for the best part of a year.
Why hasn’t EMT?
+++++
ASLEF: Train Drivers Union
http://www.aslef.org.uk
____________________________________________
ALAN LODGE
Photographer - Media: One Eye on the Road. Nottingham. UK
Email: tash@indymedia.org
Web: http://digitaljournalist.eu
Member of the National Union of Journalists [NUJ]
____________________________________________
"It is not enough to curse the darkness.
It is also necessary to light a lamp!!"
___________________________________________
<ends>
Direct democracy (England and Wales) promised -- then dropped
15-05-2012 15:32
World Week for the Abolition of Meat: 21-27 May 2012
15-05-2012 15:20
Report of today's Surprise demo at EDO MBM
15-05-2012 12:58
Smash EDO have called for three months of direct action to close down EDO MBM - From 1st May to 1st August 2012Fri 18 May, London: Solidarity with South Indian Anti-Nuclear Peoples' Movement
15-05-2012 12:05
Defend the right to Democratic protest Against Nuclear Power in Tamil Nadu, IndiaNO NUCLEAR POWER PLANT IN KOODANKULAM!
Picket the High Commission of India, Aldwych, London WC2B
Friday 18 May 2012 4.00pm - 7.00pm
called by South Asia Solidarity Group, the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Foil Vedanta & South West Against Nuclear (SWAN)
more attacks from the Informal Anarchist Federation & others (Global)
15-05-2012 10:32
claim for shooting of Ansaldo Nuclear CEO Roberto Adinolfi by "Olga Cell FAI/IRF", Genoa (Italy) // "Network of Wisconsin Snapper Turtles" sabotage ATMs and smash windows of Chase Bank in Milwaukee (USA) // communiques from "Anarquistas Nihilistas" for actions in Barcelona (Spain) // claim for sabotage of ATMs in Murcia (Spain) // claim by "Cell of Conspirators for the Spread of Chaos / FAI" for bombing of European Union headquarters in Buenos Aires (Argentina) // communiques from "Autonomous Fraction of Rebel Thieves - FAI/IRF" for sabotage of Hipermaxi supermarkets and arson of an ATM in Cochabamba (Bolivia)Take the flour back! Transport details
15-05-2012 09:37
Stop the open-air release of GM Wheat that contains genes ‘most similar to that of a cow’
The Wobblies - Free film - Wednesday at the Cowley Club, Brighton
15-05-2012 07:50
CHICAGO-CatholicWorkers converged&arrested in anti-NATO nvda
15-05-2012 06:39
VIDEO CHICAGO (2 mins) - 125+ Catholic Worker converge in anti-NATO Chicago. Arrests in occupation of U.S. Prez Obama's campaign offices
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/video?id=8660928 4,000 days today! The Parliament Square peace campaign continues
15-05-2012 04:54
The Big Six are Ripping us off - heres what you can do about it
15-05-2012 01:27
Organise. Resist.Smash EDO Summer of Resistance Week three day one
14-05-2012 22:03
Smash EDO have called for three months of direct action to close down EDO MBM - From 1st May to 1st August 2012.Public Services Unions Strike and Rally
14-05-2012 16:55
Thursday 10 May 2012
Public Service workers in health, education and the civil service were striking on Thursday 10 May in their next stage of the pensions dispute.
Members of Unite working in health, UCU in education and the PCS in the civil service took part in the action which they thought to be an important step to bigger and more coordinated action in June.
Joining with ASLEF train drivers who were taking their 4th day of action over changes to their own pensions, which will see their pension pot devalued as a result of lower employer contribution. Like workers in the public sector, they are facing pensioner poverty for themselves and young people hoping to move into employment whose future the government seem determined to sell out.
There were two rallies on the day. The first started at the Queens Medical Centre at 11.00 am and linked in with Unite members there. After that, the main rally took place at 12.00 in the Market Square, Nottingham. Guest speakers will included union members in ASLEF, UNITE, UCU and PCS and a representative from Occupy Nottingham, students as well as representatives of other unions in dispute.
Notts TUC http://www.nottstuc.org
Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) 'live' reports
http://www.pcs.org.uk/en/campaigns/10-may--all-out/10-may--live.cfm
Mayday March & Event
http://nottingham.indymedia.org/articles/2571
N30 The March - Events in Nottingham [more links at bottom of report]
http://nottingham.indymedia.org/articles/2232
____________________________________________
ALAN LODGE
Photographer - Media: One Eye on the Road. Nottingham. UK
Email: tash@indymedia.org
Web: http://digitaljournalist.eu
Member of the National Union of Journalists [NUJ]
____________________________________________
"It is not enough to curse the darkness.
It is also necessary to light a lamp!!"
___________________________________________
<ends>
Census refuser case dropped: Press Release from John Marjoram
14-05-2012 16:28
John Marjoram was prosecuted for failing to complete the 2011 Census. His trial was set for the end of this month in Bristol, but the Crown Prosecution Service suddenly decided that it didn't have enough evidence to "provide a realistic prospect of conviction." It has likewise dropped the case against John Voysey, which had been linked with John Marjoram's case but had latterly been referred back to Wrexham Magistrates. Other census court cases are still going ahead with some hearings taking place this week.antifascist action updates, Athens (Greece)
14-05-2012 16:27
news from struggle in Athens against fascism & racismCaptain Paul Watson Arrested In Frankfurt, Germany on Warrant Issued by Costa Rica
14-05-2012 14:34
Smash EDO: Summer of Resistance week 3 events
14-05-2012 14:31
Thanks to everyone who have participated in the Summer of Resistance so far. There have been something happening up at the factory every weekday since the first of May, a phone an twitter blockade , as well as several events at Barclays. For reports of EDO, Barclays and critical mass events from the last two weeks see www.smashedo.org.ukNew Police Strategy in New York – Sexual Assault Against Peaceful Protestors
14-05-2012 13:30
A few weeks ago I was with a few companions from Occupy Wall Street in Union Square when an old friend — I’ll call her Eileen — passed through, her hand in a cast.
“What happened to you?” I asked.
“Oh, this?” she held it up. “I was in Liberty Park on the 17th [the Six Month Anniversary of the Occupation]. When the cops were pushing us out the park, one of them yanked at my breast.”
“Again?” someone said.
We had all been hearing stories like this. In fact, there had been continual reports of police officers groping women during the nightly evictions from Union Square itself over the previous two weeks.
“Yeah so I screamed at the guy, I said, ‘you grabbed my boob! what are you, some kind of fucking pervert?’ So they took me behind the lines and broke my wrists.”