Conservatives Cuts Plan In Chaos As Brighton And Hove Opposition Parties Agree To Support the Workers
Rob Macey | 05.10.2009 19:26 | Social Struggles | Workers' Movements | South Coast
The Conservative controlled administration in Brighton is today under threat as opposition councillors in the Labour, Green and Liberal Democrat Groups have stated that they do not support cuts to the wages of council workers.
CONSERVATIVES CUTS PLAN IN CHAOS AS BRIGHTON AND HOVE OPPOSITION PARTIES AGREE TO SUPPORT THE WORKERS
The Conservative controlled administration in Brighton is today under threat as opposition councillors in the Labour, Green and Liberal Democrat Groups have stated that they do not support cuts to the wages of council workers.
In this long running dispute between employees and the Council the Conservative Administration has informed employees in the street cleaning and refuse service that they intend to slash their wages by up to £8000 each.
In response to this threat the GMB is in the process of initiating a ballot of the workers for industrial action. The GMB has also written to each of the 54 Brighton & Hove City Councillors individually to ask them if they personally support the decision to cut the wages of Cityclean workers.
Of the 54 Councillors the 13 Labour Councillors, 13 Green Councillors and 2 Liberal Democrat Councillors have responded stating they do not support the cuts. This is a total of 28 Brighton & Hove City Councillors who are against the cuts, and gives a clear majority that would now be able to vote down any Conservative proposal to go ahead with the cuts at full council.
GMB Officer Rob Macey said:
‘We are delighted to know that our members have the support of the Labour, Green and Liberal Democrat Councillors in Brighton & Hove who have stated unequivocally that they do not support the proposed cuts to wages.
These Councillors know what it would mean to hardworking GMB members who perform some of the most difficult jobs in the Council to have their wages cut by up to £8000.
We are disgusted but not surprised that individual Conservative Councillors have not even had the courtesy to respond to our members and have instead hid behind council officers to deliver the bad news.
Voters across the Country should look at Brighton and Hove City Council as an example to see how a Conservative Administration has a devastating effect on hardworking public service workers by slashing budgets, services and wages.
We now hope the opposition parties will continue to work together to ensure that the Conservatives are not allowed to carry out this draconian policy’
ENDS
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Mark Turner, GMB Branch Secretary 07860 787973, Rob Macey GMB Regional Organiser on 07710 618 908, Charles Harrity GMB Regional Organiser 07977 518042.
The Conservative controlled administration in Brighton is today under threat as opposition councillors in the Labour, Green and Liberal Democrat Groups have stated that they do not support cuts to the wages of council workers.
In this long running dispute between employees and the Council the Conservative Administration has informed employees in the street cleaning and refuse service that they intend to slash their wages by up to £8000 each.
In response to this threat the GMB is in the process of initiating a ballot of the workers for industrial action. The GMB has also written to each of the 54 Brighton & Hove City Councillors individually to ask them if they personally support the decision to cut the wages of Cityclean workers.
Of the 54 Councillors the 13 Labour Councillors, 13 Green Councillors and 2 Liberal Democrat Councillors have responded stating they do not support the cuts. This is a total of 28 Brighton & Hove City Councillors who are against the cuts, and gives a clear majority that would now be able to vote down any Conservative proposal to go ahead with the cuts at full council.
GMB Officer Rob Macey said:
‘We are delighted to know that our members have the support of the Labour, Green and Liberal Democrat Councillors in Brighton & Hove who have stated unequivocally that they do not support the proposed cuts to wages.
These Councillors know what it would mean to hardworking GMB members who perform some of the most difficult jobs in the Council to have their wages cut by up to £8000.
We are disgusted but not surprised that individual Conservative Councillors have not even had the courtesy to respond to our members and have instead hid behind council officers to deliver the bad news.
Voters across the Country should look at Brighton and Hove City Council as an example to see how a Conservative Administration has a devastating effect on hardworking public service workers by slashing budgets, services and wages.
We now hope the opposition parties will continue to work together to ensure that the Conservatives are not allowed to carry out this draconian policy’
ENDS
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Mark Turner, GMB Branch Secretary 07860 787973, Rob Macey GMB Regional Organiser on 07710 618 908, Charles Harrity GMB Regional Organiser 07977 518042.
Rob Macey
Comments
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FUCK THE OPPTUNIST COUNCILERS-ONLY WORKING CLASS ACTION CAN DEFEAT THE CUTS
06.10.2009 00:57
The union buecarcy in leeds has openly used the strike as an excuse to electioner for next may, even openly urging pickets to vote for labour party candidates in the next election and displaying the logo all over the leaflets. obviously a labour council would never do such a thing....er except wait a secound, what about the labour run Bristol, Liverpool and Glasgow councils who have carried through excally the same attack on bin worker in their local authorites? Hillary benn even poped down to the picket lines, yes the same hillary benn who is on the cabinet which has starved local authorites of decent budgets and is now weilding the axe errr....yeah. The Greens, well lets not forget the self confessed neo-libereals within their ranks, a market solution to climate change...err maybe.
what is clear is that
1. There is a clear national statergy across all the exiciting parties to attack the pay of bin workers, oftern using un-funded equal pay legilation as an excuse -this is the first round of public sector cuts, and shows the furousity of the coming ruling class offensive.
2. Parties in opposition will use this oppertunistically to further their own electoral agendas...so they can weild the axe.
3. rank and file working class self activity is the only way our class can win, we need a new party for our class and to undercut the burocrats who will allways sell us out.
bolshi.boy