On Saturday 5 February over 100 trade union reps and activists attended a seminar organised by the TUC under the auspices of the Northern Public Services Alliance. A well attended morning session started with an address by the Chair, Clare Williams who began by saying it is a great honour to be speaking today as Chair of the Northern Public Services Alliance. With one in three jobs in our region in the public sector, it is essential that trade unions continue to build the campaign and show that there is an alternative to the 'slash and burn' approach of the government. Our next speaker was Jo Curry, Chief Executive of VONNE, the north east voluntary sector support body. Jo began by saying the voluntary and community sector in the north east stands shoulder to shoulder with colleagues here today in opposition to the cuts. She commented on the government's ill-defined vision of a 'big society' and the suggestion by Lord Way that 'people should volunteer to stack supermarket shelves in exchange for organic veg'. Poverty is at the heart of many communities and cutting services will only exacerbate that - hardly a time for holding street parties (another of Lord Way's suggestions....). There are nearly 9,000 registered charities in the north east with a volunteer army of thousands. Over half of ý1.5bn income is generated through public sector grants and contracts. Many services are at crisis point and over a quarter of services have closed. At a time when there is a greater demand for relationship counselling and debt management support and with the imminent closure of CABs, quality of service is suffering due to lack of funding. We need to be thinking carefully about practical ways to work with trade unions to organise, to share information and resources and to protect the most vulnerable in our communities. Jo's presentation led nicely into our next session on building community alliances and practical steps for developing local coalitions, facilitated by Kenny Bell, Unison. The voluntary sector is a key sector of employment. In Newcastle alone around 5,000 people are employed in the voluntary sector. There are 11 Trade Union led coalitions in the north east and Cumbria which meet regularly to plan activity, organise lobbies, demos and leafleting in local communities, involving local Labour Councillors and student union alliances. The scale and the level of the cuts are now emerging and will hammer every community and service. We know that at times of increased poverty, deprivation and job losses the politics of hatred thrive and there is a real possibility that people will look towards anti-fascist and anti-racist organisations for solutions. We need to create a long term and sustainable alternative, be proactive by reaching out to small groups rooted in communities and those who would not normally get involved. Encourage people to play their part and get involved in local coalitions, build the campaign, spread the message. Get young people involved through student youth council elections - raise the profile and mobilise support for the biggest union led Public Services Demonstration in London on March 26th. The penultimate speaker was Neil Foster, TUC Campaigns and Policy Officer. Neil commented that we are facing the worse cuts to public services since the Second World War. We have a big argument to win and it's vital to get our core messages across to bring the public with us. To succeed the campaign needs to link to people, families and communities, sharing their experiences. There is a wealth of information out there and he recommended False Economy as a good source http://falseeconomy.org.uk/andone the TUC utilise. As one in three workers in our region is employed in the public sector and the majority of those are women, women are at the forefront of the campaign. The government should be looking at smart savings not crude cuts. Key messages - Jobs, Growth and Justice. Clare then introduced our last speaker, Frances O'Grady, TUC Deputy General Secretary. Frances brought greetings of solidarity on behalf of the TUC General Council and gave an overview of the national campaign to date. The aim of the campaign is simple - to build the biggest, broadest possible alliance with key involvement of community groups and users. A diverse alliance from the grass roots up. Government tactic is divide and rule, workers against service users, public against private. The campaign was formally launched at last year's Congress. Following the launch, a national rally was held in October when the House of Commons had to close its doors as there were so many people trying to get in to lobby MPs. This month a major community conference takes place bringing together faith groups, anti-poverty organisations etc. building for the 26th March rally in London. Following the march there are plans to revitalise the 'all together for the NHS' campaign. Nationally there are 152 coalition MPs in marginal seats, organising fringe meetings across party meetings and engaging with ministers. There are new campaign tools and materials available including 'cuts are not the cure' based on solid research. The government have no strategy for growth. The latest national polls indicate they are losing the fairness argument but here is a lack of confidence that we can do anything about it and that the cuts are inevitable. We need to build morale and confidence, highlight our successes, for example, we won a delay on the timetable regarding public sector pensions. The Chair thanked all speakers and presenters and finished by saying: Be ready. Our priorities are about what matters to our members and our communities. Never under-estimate the government; nothing is inevitable; there is an alternative. We have the materials, we have the arguments, and we have the commitment and the motivation. Attendees then joined hundreds of protestors and students at the Monument for a rally addressed by Clare Williams, Chair of the Public Services Alliance; Alan McLean, FBU President; Fran Heathcote, PCS; Colin Smith, GMB; Frances O'Grady, TUC Deputy General Secretary; David Manasse (Student), and Paul Clays of the CWU.  |