Green Party press releaseFor immediate release – 26 April 2016Junior doctors' strike: The Green Party stands in solidarity with NHS staff* Natalie Bennett: 'The government must change the way it treats our NHS’* Larry Sanders: 'Junior doctors are heroes in the fight for a high quality NHS'Speaking ahead of the planned junior doctors' strike, Natalie Bennett, Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, said:“It is sad that junior doctors have been forced to this point by the obstinate approach of the health secretary, whose flat-out refusal to drop his insistence on imposing a new contract has scuppered any possibility of meaningful talks with the British Medical Association.“Industrial action is a last resort and I know from having spent time on the picket lines over recent months that junior doctors are taking this unprecedented action with a heavy heart.“The government must change the way it treats our NHS and reopen negotiations with the junior doctors. A caring health secretary would negotiate with the junior doctors to produce an acceptable contract.“Until then, I, and fellow Green Party members and supporters will continue to stand in solidarity with NHS staff as we fight for what’s right.”Larry Sanders (1), the Green Party's Health and Social Care Spokesperson and the brother of US presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders, added:“The Green Party supports the junior doctors’ strike because the new contract, if imposed, would have disastrous effects on patients and the NHS.“We are pleased that medical risks will be minimised by the back-up of senior doctors.“The junior doctors are heroes in the fight for a high quality NHS. They do not want to strike; their pride is in their work.“Jeremy Hunt is attempting to force a contract on them which puts patients at risk and reduces their pay. If he succeeds he will drive devoted doctors from the NHS. We already have too few doctors, nurses and hospital beds, with £22 billion of further cuts in the pipe line. A victory for Hunt would be an important step towards a profit-based NHS.”endsNotes
News and views for trade Unionists and supporters in the Green Party
Tuesday 26 April 2016
Junior doctors' strike: The Green Party stands in solidarity with NHS staff
Junior doctors' strike: The Green Party stands in solidarity with NHS staff
Wednesday 20 April 2016
UCU London Retired Members Branch Newsletter april 2016
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Tuesday 19 April 2016
Rebecca Johnson, Green Party Peace & Defence Spokesperson speaks and discusses at Brent Stop the War meeting 11th April 2016 on "Stopping Trident: actions and strategies to win"
Rebecca Johnson, Green Party Peace & Defence Spokesperson speaks and discusses at Brent Stop the War meeting 11th April 2016 on "Stopping Trident: actions and strategies to win". Edited highlights Part 1
url: https://youtu.be/Rm7ag3x0fps
Rebecca Johnson, Green Party Peace & Defence Spokesperson speaks and discusses at Brent Stop the War meeting 11th April 2016 on "Stopping Trident: actions and strategies to win". Edited highlights Part 2
url:https://youtu.be/3npoAt7HXdw
Rebecca Johnson, Green Party Peace & Defence Spokesperson speaks and discusses at Brent Stop the War meeting 11th April 2016 on "Stopping Trident: actions and strategies to win". Edited highlights Part 3 url:https://youtu.be/rBLJEE3KLyI
Refugees Welcome: Convoy To Calais Organising Summit
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Monday 18 April 2016
London May Day 2016
LONDON MAY DAY 2016
LONDON MAY DAY 2016
· JOIN JEREMY CORBYN & JOHN McD0NNELL ON MAY DAY
· JOIN THE FIGHT AGAINST THE TU BILL/ANTI-UNION LAWS
· FIGHT AUSTERITY AND THE CUTS
· CELEBRATE THOSE WHO KEEP BRITAIN WORKING
· MAKE MAY 1ST A PUBLIC HOLIDAY
With May Day falling on Sunday this year we urge maximum turn out by unions. Mobilise your members to join a major day for workers. Make sure your banners are at May Day.
May Day 2016 assembles at Clerkenwell Green from 11.30 on Sunday 1st May – marching to Trafalgar Square
Thursday 14 April 2016
Upcoming events Greece Solidarity Campaign
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Monday 11 April 2016
GET ORGANISED: SUPPORT OUR JUNIOR DOCTORS!***THURSDAY, 21st April at 19:15
GPTU is supporting an event with London Young Greens as part of our
joint "Get Organised" campaign. See details below - would be great to
see you there!
***GET ORGANISED: SUPPORT OUR JUNIOR DOCTORS!***THURSDAY, 21st April at 19:15
Development House, 56-64 Leonard St, London EC2A 4JX
With further strikes taking place throughout April, including doctors'
first ever full walk-out, we'll be holding a discussion on the current
dispute between junior doctors and the government, and more broadly on
why it's so important for our young members to get organised and join
Trade Unions- especially in
With further strikes taking place throughout April, including doctors'
first ever full walk-out, we'll be holding a discussion on the current
dispute between junior doctors and the government, and more broadly on
why it's so important for our young members to get organised and join
Trade Unions- especially in an age of austerity and a sustained attack
on public services.
Speakers so far include:
Yannis Gourtsoyannis- British Medical Association
Barry Faulkner- Unite the Union
Look out for more updates! All welcome!
RSVP on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/
joint "Get Organised" campaign. See details below - would be great to
see you there!
***GET ORGANISED: SUPPORT OUR JUNIOR DOCTORS!***THURSDAY, 21st April at 19:15
Development House, 56-64 Leonard St, London EC2A 4JX
RSVP on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ events/1159950377356958
With further strikes taking place throughout April, including doctors'
first ever full walk-out, we'll be holding a discussion on the current
dispute between junior doctors and the government, and more broadly on
why it's so important for our young members to get organised and join
Trade Unions- especially in
With further strikes taking place throughout April, including doctors'
first ever full walk-out, we'll be holding a discussion on the current
dispute between junior doctors and the government, and more broadly on
why it's so important for our young members to get organised and join
Trade Unions- especially in an age of austerity and a sustained attack
on public services.
Speakers so far include:
Yannis Gourtsoyannis- British Medical Association
Barry Faulkner- Unite the Union
Look out for more updates! All welcome!
RSVP on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/
The Waltham Forest Pensioners Convention is organising a contingent on a march from Whipps Cross Hospital to Walthamstow High Street in support of the hospital doctors strike on Wednesday 6th April at 1pm
Your Junior Doctors Need You
Junior doctors at Whipps Cross will be striking for 48 hours from 8 am on April 6 and need your support. In particular join the picket line Wednesday from 8 am and the march from Whipps at 1 pm to the "Meet the Doctors" event at Walthamstow Central at 2 pm..
Sunday 10 April 2016
GREECE NEEDS A EUROPE FIT FOR WORKING PEOPLE! MEET GIORGIS GOGOS, CHAIR OF THE PIRAEUS DOCKERS
GREECE NEEDS A EUROPE FIT FOR WORKING PEOPLE!
MEET GIORGIS GOGOS, CHAIR OF THE PIRAEUS DOCKERS
Joint meeting: Unite London & Eastern Region/Greece Solidarity Campaign
Book your FREE tickets here: http://chair-piraeus-
The Piraeus dockers have been foremost in the battle against the austerity programme imposed on Greece. The latest “punishment” for the Greek defiance of the big industrial, commercial and banking monopolies presently running the EU includes privatisation of the docks.
Greek workers cannot continue to fight on their own. They must have real practical solidarity from all European workers to build the kind of Europe we need – a Europe fit for working people.
DATE & TIME: Wednesday 27 April 6.30-8.30pm
VENUE: Unite House, Holborn, 128 Theobald’s Rd WC1X 8TN
CHAIR: Andy Green, Unite EC member for Docks & Waterways
OTHER SPEAKERS: Isidoros Diakides Greece Solidarity Campaign, Jim Kelly, Chair Unite London & Eastern Region
Book your FREE tickets here.: http://chair-piraeus-
Saturday 9 April 2016
United We Stand: A play about the Shrewsbury 24, imprisoned for defying anti-TU laws
United We Stand
In November 2015, at the Bussey Building in Peckham, South East London, the play United We Stand by Neil Gore was produced, directed by Louise Townsend. The cast was writer Neil Gore and William Fox who take on multiple roles, often in the same scene, but primarily they portray the Shrewsbury pickets Eric (Ricky) Tomlinson and Des Warren during the 1972 builders strike. It is performed on a set of scaffolding bars and breeze blocks at the construction of the Wrexham by-pass which is also adorned by strike posters 'Ban the Lump', 'Decasualise the Building Industry', and 'A Better Deal for Labourers.' A projector shows footage of Tory prime minister Edward Heath, the 1972 Miners' strike, and working people's resistance to the 1971 Industrial Relations Act.
This piece of anti-worker legislation essentially suppressed the right to collective bargaining, and all strike action became legally unprotected. (even the CBI Director General thought it needed to be replaced). The act set up the Industrial Relations Court which granted injunctions to prevent strikes, and cases were decided against trade unions. Heath's tenure in office was a fiasco; a seven weeks Miners' strike in January-February 1972 was a victory for the NUM, and in July 1972 the Pentonville 5 (dockers) were imprisoned for defying the Industrial Relations Act which was followed by a near-general strike.
In the early 1970s the building industry was making millions while building workers faced dangerous working conditions, injuries, deaths and poor wages. United We Stand references the building of the Mersey Tunnel when 17 workers were killed, and Des Warren says 'life and limb are cheap on the building sites.' Between 1970-73 there were 242,000 registered industrial injuries but the highest fine paid by a contractor was £300 for two deaths. Today in austerity Britain, casualisation, self-employment and agency work are features of working class lives, and in 1972 these same conditions were rife in the building industry, where they were known colloquially as 'the Lump.' The Lump Labour Scheme institutionalised casual cash-paid daily labour without any employment rights. Building workers were a dispersed force, little unified because of the diverse and the transitory nature of their trades, unionisation was weak, and thus they were a section of the working class generally ignored by the trade unions.
The first nationwide building workers' strike in the Summer of 1972 lasted 12 weeks and involved 300,000 workers. Rank and file workers in unions UCATT, TGWU, and GMWU across the country organised around the Building Workers' Charter, which demanded £1 per hour, a 35-hour working week, holiday pay, enforcement of health and safety regulations, union rights, and abolition of the Lump. In United We Stand we see clearly that the building workers are more militant than the labour aristocracy which controls the trade union movement. Ricky and Des express belief in 'solidarity and workers' rights' A rendition of the Strawbs 1973 song Part of the Union which is an adaptation of Union Maid, a Woody Guthrie work song, is particularly effective.
The building workers' borrowed from the successful Miners' strike of earlier in 1972 the tactic of 'flying pickets', bussing strikers to geographically isolated building sites where work had not stopped, to attempt to convince the workers, many 'on the Lump' to down tools. United We Stand
is concerned with the Shrewsbury picket of 6 September 1972 when the North Wales Strike Committee bussed strikers from North Wales and Chester to picket building sites in Shrewsbury to seek support from workers 'on the lump.' Tomlinson, a plasterer and TGWU official, and Warren, a steel fixer and UCATT official organised the flying pickets. Despite confrontations with site management, no picket was arrested, and the police did not complain about the pickets on that day. The strike ended on 15 September 1972 in a victory for the building workers, winning an unprecedented pay rise in the construction industry but still left them at the bottom of the pay heap. The strike failed, however, to end 'the Lump.'
The first half of United We Stand ends with a 15-minute long satire called the 'Big Conspiracy' which details the alliance of building employers such as McAlpine, Bovis, Wimpey and Laing with the Tory government, the media, the police, and judiciary to punish the building workers who had been on strike. The National Federation of Building Trades Employers started a dossier on intimidation during the recent strike, which was sent to the Home Secretary Robert Carr who ordered a police investigation into events in North Wales. The Attorney General Peter Rawlinson saw no case to charge any pickets but he was overruled, and a cabinet decision was made to prosecute pickets in Shrewsbury. In 1973 charges of unlawful assembly, affray, intimidation and conspiracy were brought against 24 Shrewsbury pickets including Tomlinson and Warren for events on 6 September 1972. None of the pickets had been cautioned or arrested during the strike and on the day in question approximately 70 police had accompanied the pickets on the Shrewsbury building sites at all times.
The second half of United We Stand focuses on the trial of Tomlinson and Warren at Shrewsbury Crown Court in 1973 where the two actors alternate roles between the judge and the accused. Tomlinson and Warren refused to testify against fellow strikers. In all 24 building workers were convicted and six jailed as a result of their picketing activities. Tomlinson and Warren were found guilty of 'conspiracy to intimidate' under the 1875 Conspiracy Act, and sentenced to two and three years imprisonment respectively. The prosecution was an attempt to suppress organised workers in the building industry and political revenge for the Tory government after its defeats in the Miners', Dockers' and Builders' strikes.
In prison Tomlinson recalled 'we were told we were two of six political prisoners at the time. Two of the others may have been the Price sisters (jailed for an IRA bombing they did not carry out). I don’t know who the other two were. We did not wear prison clothes. We did not get visitors. We were kept in segregation.' Both Tomlinson and Warren refused to conform to the prison regime, and Warren was particularly badly treated by prison officers, administered the 'liquid cosh’ (to control 'unmanageable' inmates), which is likely to have contributed to his chronic ill health later in life and premature death. In prison Tomlinson became more politicised after reading the novel The Ragged Trousered Philanthropist by Robert Tressell.
Today union membership in the construction industry continues to fall, and the most recent HSE statistics for 2014-15 cite 69,000 cases of work-related illnesses, 65,000 workplace injuries, and 142 workers killed in the construction industry. In the last twenty five years there have been 2,800 deaths.
A blacklist of workers in the construction industry meant Tomlinson pursued a career in acting notably appearing in the TV soap opera Brookside (1982-88), two Ken Loach films Riff-Raff (1991) about the building industry, Raining Stones (1993), TV dramas Hillsborough (1996), Dockers (1999) about the Liverpool dockers strike, and the TV sitcom The Royle Family (1998-2000). Tomlinson and others lodged an application to the Criminal Cases Review Commission in 2012 citing abuse of executive process in the case of the Shrewsbury pickets.
United We Stand is serio-comic Brechtian agitprop, the audience is incorporated into the performance, the 'fourth wall' is fully dismantled with an expert use of Brecht's alienation effect: 'playing in such a way that the audience was hindered from simply identifying itself with the characters in the play. Acceptance or rejection of their actions and utterances was meant to take place, instead of, as hitherto, in the audience's subconscious.' (Brecht Alienation Effects in Chinese Acting 1936) There is a link between United We Stand and the Liverpool Everyman Theatre whose 1972 production of Brecht's The Caucasian Chalk Circle was adapted to a company of actors who arrive at a Liverpool building site where the workers have occupied the site (when one of them falls from scaffolding) in protest at the prevailing working conditions. Brecht is performed on the building site and Alan Dossor recalled 'at the end a copy of the Industrial Relations Act was burnt in a cement mixer, and the audience stood up because they wanted to see it burn.' (Margaret Eddershaw Performing Brecht)
United We Stand is testament to Brecht's poem To Danish Working-Class Actors on the Art of Observation (1934): 'the workers' actors can play your part creatively in all the struggles/Helping, with the seriousness of study and the cheerfulness of knowledge/To turn the struggle into common experience and Justice into a passion.'
The case of the Shrewsbury 24 is still relevant today, with the present government's latest attack on workers' rights in the Trade Union bill. The Shrewsbury 24 campaigns to overturn the miscarriages of justice that were the convictions of the pickets at Shrewsbury Crown Court in 1973 and 1974. The main focus of the campaign is an application to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) to have the cases of the 24 referred to the Court of Appeal and for the convictions to be overturned. The campaign also demands the release of all documents under section 23 of the Freedom of Information Act which relate to the Shrewsbury trials. Oliver Letwin MP announced that the cabinet had reviewed the withheld documents and decided not to release them to the national archives at Kew for public scrutiny.
The Green Party is proud to fight for equality and stand up for working people. We recognise the role of organised labour in creating a fairer and greener society – that’s why the Green Party promotes the rights of Trade Unions, including the right to collective bargaining and the right to strike.
Stephen Clayton,
(Croydon Branch, Green Party of England and Wales)
Friday 8 April 2016
UCU campaigns update
In this week’s campaigns update:
1. Higher education pay campaign 2016
2. UCU warns on college mergers
3. In the news
4. Undergraduate teaching quality survey – have your say
5. Support colleagues at the University of Nottingham
6. Contact your MP on job security
7. Hull College ballot over lesson observations and pay
8. People’s Assembly march – join the education bloc
9. Hands off Hastings: save University of Brighton campus
10. UCU congress 2016
11. Reimagining further education
1. Higher education (HE) pay campaign 2016
The ‘notice of intention to ballot’ has been served on HE Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) employers in respect of the 2016/17 pay dispute. The ballot will open on 14 April and close on 4 May. You can read and share the general secretary’s all member message here.
2. UCU warns on college mergers
UCU’s general secretary urged caution on mergers in further education (FE) this week, calling on institutions to engage in meaningful consultation with unions, students and the community. Sally Hunt told FE Week that ‘UCU will work hard both to protect our members’ jobs and defend local educational opportunities where mergers put them at risk’ – you can read all about it here.
3. In the news
• College merger ‘rush’ exposed
• Committee report highlights funding gap between further and higher education
• Salford City College to axe 30 jobs in new cuts round
• Prevent duty back in the spotlight
• Racist bullying ‘trivialised’, academics say
Read all about it here.
4. Undergraduate teaching quality survey – have your say
If you teach on an undergraduate higher education course at any UK higher education institution, FE college or private provider please add your voice to the debate about teaching quality by filling in this short survey which you can find here.
5. Support colleagues at the University of Nottingham
The University of Nottingham is proposing to make 11.5 academic staff redundant whilst embarking on an ambitious £580 million capital investment programme. As part of a vigorous campaign to oppose any compulsory redundancies, the UCU branch havelaunched a petition and ask for your support.
6. Contact your MP on job security
Kelvin Hopkins MP has tabled an early day motion (EDM 1265) highlighting the issue of job insecurity in HE – please take a few minutes to contact your MP and ask for their support for the motion.
7. Hull College ballot over lesson observations and pay
Members at the college are to be balloted for strike action following management refusal to implement an agreed 0.7% pay rise and to address concerns over a new lesson observation system. UCU is calling on the college to pay what was promised and get round the table to discuss outstanding issues.
8. People’s Assembly march – join the education bloc
UCU members will join the anti-austerity march for health, homes, jobs and education in London on Saturday 16 April. Join the education bloc from 12:30 on Gower Street, WC1E.
9. Hands off Hastings: save University of Brighton campus
Students, staff and local people have joined forces to save the Hastings campus at University of Brighton from being closed. Plans to close the campus have been met with anger over the potential damage to the local community, educational opportunities in the area and the threat to staff jobs. See more on the campaign’s Facebook page and then sign the petition.
10. UCU congress 2016
UCU branches that have not yet done so are urged to register their delegates for attendance at UCU congress 2016. Full details including how to register and entitlements can be found here. Any questions email Sue Bajwa at sbajwa@ucu.org.uk.
11. Reimagining further education
UCU, the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) and The Education & Training Foundation are co-hosting a conference on 29 June at Birmingham City University bringing together key figures in the sector to cover themes including apprenticeships, work-based learning, accountability and governance. See full programme details here and you can register here.
All the best,
Justine Stephens
UCU head of campaigns
1. Higher education pay campaign 2016
2. UCU warns on college mergers
3. In the news
4. Undergraduate teaching quality survey – have your say
5. Support colleagues at the University of Nottingham
6. Contact your MP on job security
7. Hull College ballot over lesson observations and pay
8. People’s Assembly march – join the education bloc
9. Hands off Hastings: save University of Brighton campus
10. UCU congress 2016
11. Reimagining further education
1. Higher education (HE) pay campaign 2016
The ‘notice of intention to ballot’ has been served on HE Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) employers in respect of the 2016/17 pay dispute. The ballot will open on 14 April and close on 4 May. You can read and share the general secretary’s all member message here.
2. UCU warns on college mergers
UCU’s general secretary urged caution on mergers in further education (FE) this week, calling on institutions to engage in meaningful consultation with unions, students and the community. Sally Hunt told FE Week that ‘UCU will work hard both to protect our members’ jobs and defend local educational opportunities where mergers put them at risk’ – you can read all about it here.
3. In the news
• College merger ‘rush’ exposed
• Committee report highlights funding gap between further and higher education
• Salford City College to axe 30 jobs in new cuts round
• Prevent duty back in the spotlight
• Racist bullying ‘trivialised’, academics say
Read all about it here.
4. Undergraduate teaching quality survey – have your say
If you teach on an undergraduate higher education course at any UK higher education institution, FE college or private provider please add your voice to the debate about teaching quality by filling in this short survey which you can find here.
5. Support colleagues at the University of Nottingham
The University of Nottingham is proposing to make 11.5 academic staff redundant whilst embarking on an ambitious £580 million capital investment programme. As part of a vigorous campaign to oppose any compulsory redundancies, the UCU branch havelaunched a petition and ask for your support.
6. Contact your MP on job security
Kelvin Hopkins MP has tabled an early day motion (EDM 1265) highlighting the issue of job insecurity in HE – please take a few minutes to contact your MP and ask for their support for the motion.
7. Hull College ballot over lesson observations and pay
Members at the college are to be balloted for strike action following management refusal to implement an agreed 0.7% pay rise and to address concerns over a new lesson observation system. UCU is calling on the college to pay what was promised and get round the table to discuss outstanding issues.
8. People’s Assembly march – join the education bloc
UCU members will join the anti-austerity march for health, homes, jobs and education in London on Saturday 16 April. Join the education bloc from 12:30 on Gower Street, WC1E.
9. Hands off Hastings: save University of Brighton campus
Students, staff and local people have joined forces to save the Hastings campus at University of Brighton from being closed. Plans to close the campus have been met with anger over the potential damage to the local community, educational opportunities in the area and the threat to staff jobs. See more on the campaign’s Facebook page and then sign the petition.
10. UCU congress 2016
UCU branches that have not yet done so are urged to register their delegates for attendance at UCU congress 2016. Full details including how to register and entitlements can be found here. Any questions email Sue Bajwa at sbajwa@ucu.org.uk.
11. Reimagining further education
UCU, the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) and The Education & Training Foundation are co-hosting a conference on 29 June at Birmingham City University bringing together key figures in the sector to cover themes including apprenticeships, work-based learning, accountability and governance. See full programme details here and you can register here.
All the best,
Justine Stephens
UCU head of campaigns
Thursday 7 April 2016
ARCHITECT OR BEE?
Launch at TUC Congress House of the new edition of Mike Cooley's pioneering book, ARCHITECT OR BEE?, on Wednesday 6 April
I attended as London Federation of Green Parties Trade Union Liaison Officer and representing UCU London Retired Members’ Branch.
About 30 + attended a large minority being from CND and associated groups.
A short extract from Lucas plan video (https://youtu.be/0pgQqfpub-c) was shown. Followed by an address from Frances O’Grady, (TUC General Secretary), who focussed on the importance of consultation between workers and managements over the questions of deciding what production should be done and how it should be carried out.
She also argued that since the original Lucas Plan In 1976, many jobs were still repetitive and boring and did not involve workers in decision-making, and in some ways the contemporary situation was worse as many of the workers doing this type of work were over qualified for it. Generally she argued that the British economy suffered from “financialisation” at the expense of manufacturing. She mentioned projects that the TUC had been involved in, which addressed such matters eg the green workplace projects. Currently the negotiations around Tata steel included TUC planning for alternatives for the workforce.
Other contributions ( form Robin Murray, Hilary Wainwright and others),recounted similar projects, concerned with extending planning beyond than a managerial elite, that had taken place since 1976 including the work of the Economic Policy Unit, the Greater London Enterprise Board and the Defence Diversification Agency.
Tony Simpson (of Spokesman Books) had introduced the event by suggesting that that there was a good fit between a revived or updated Lucas plan and proposals for coping with climate change such as those in “One Million Climate Jobs: Tackling the Environmental and Economic Crisis”, but this was not discussed much, even though a message sent by Mike Cooley contained the following question: “Can sophisticated electronics renovate our transport system and keep us safe from climate change? Is there a way of combatting the dehumanisation of whole communities?”
It may be unfair to take these remarks out of a wider context of Mike Cooley’s concerns about climate change and the nature of working lives, but it would be good to debate ways in which technical fixes such as those enabling new forms of transport could fit in with a wider programme that facilitated older low-carbon forms of transport, eg walking, cycling, canals etc. Clearly transport is not the only aspect of a low carbon economy/society where such solutions could be planned and enacted.
There is a conference proposed to commemorate the Lucas Plan and also to discuss its relevance for future developments. This event is planned for October or November 2016, date and venue to be finalised (contact breakingtheframe.org.uk)
References
Mike Cooley “Architect or Bee: The Human Price of Technology”, Foreword by Frances O'Grady, http://www.spokesmanbooks.com/
Campaign Against Climate Change “One Million Climate Jobs: Tackling the Environmental and Economic Crisis” http://www.campaigncc.org/greenjobs
APPENDIX: The Lucas Plan
In 1976, the militant workforce within Lucas Aerospace were facing t layoffs. Under the leadership of Mike Cooley, they developed the Lucas Plan[2] to convert the company from arms to the manufacture of socially useful products, and save jobs.
The plan was not put into place but it is claimed that the associated industrial action saved some jobs. It's a model to enact a just transition from ecologically damaging to ecologically positive employment in a low-carbon economy, where certain industries will have to shrink- for example, the power generation, aviation and cars. However, instead of a net loss of jobs, efforts must be put into creating green jobs or ‘converting’ old jobs. to produce the hardware for harnessing renewable wind and solar energy- employing skilled engineers and training new engineers for the future.
The Plan, drawn up by workers on the shop floor, contained over 150 ideas with detailed plans. The issue of climate change was not so well known as it is today, but there was a problem of oil supply and the Lucas plan focused extensively on the development of alternative, renewable energy.
Plans included:: Efficient wind-turbines, Solar cells and heat pumps, The “Power Pack” to create cars with 80% less emissions and 50% greater fuel economy, an efficient method for small scale electricity generation and a vehicle like a train but with pneumatic tyres allowing it also to travel on roads.
However, the importance of the Lucas Plan is not the specific technologies and products but in the questions raised about production under capitalism and the vision it offered of a new society in which human needs come before the blind pursuit of profit.
(Rob Marsden & P.Murry “Swords into Ploughshares, Tridents into Turbines: It’s Time for a New Lucas Plan” in Watermelon
I attended as London Federation of Green Parties Trade Union Liaison Officer and representing UCU London Retired Members’ Branch.
About 30 + attended a large minority being from CND and associated groups.
A short extract from Lucas plan video (https://youtu.be/0pgQqfpub-c) was shown. Followed by an address from Frances O’Grady, (TUC General Secretary), who focussed on the importance of consultation between workers and managements over the questions of deciding what production should be done and how it should be carried out.
She also argued that since the original Lucas Plan In 1976, many jobs were still repetitive and boring and did not involve workers in decision-making, and in some ways the contemporary situation was worse as many of the workers doing this type of work were over qualified for it. Generally she argued that the British economy suffered from “financialisation” at the expense of manufacturing. She mentioned projects that the TUC had been involved in, which addressed such matters eg the green workplace projects. Currently the negotiations around Tata steel included TUC planning for alternatives for the workforce.
Other contributions ( form Robin Murray, Hilary Wainwright and others),recounted similar projects, concerned with extending planning beyond than a managerial elite, that had taken place since 1976 including the work of the Economic Policy Unit, the Greater London Enterprise Board and the Defence Diversification Agency.
Tony Simpson (of Spokesman Books) had introduced the event by suggesting that that there was a good fit between a revived or updated Lucas plan and proposals for coping with climate change such as those in “One Million Climate Jobs: Tackling the Environmental and Economic Crisis”, but this was not discussed much, even though a message sent by Mike Cooley contained the following question: “Can sophisticated electronics renovate our transport system and keep us safe from climate change? Is there a way of combatting the dehumanisation of whole communities?”
It may be unfair to take these remarks out of a wider context of Mike Cooley’s concerns about climate change and the nature of working lives, but it would be good to debate ways in which technical fixes such as those enabling new forms of transport could fit in with a wider programme that facilitated older low-carbon forms of transport, eg walking, cycling, canals etc. Clearly transport is not the only aspect of a low carbon economy/society where such solutions could be planned and enacted.
There is a conference proposed to commemorate the Lucas Plan and also to discuss its relevance for future developments. This event is planned for October or November 2016, date and venue to be finalised (contact breakingtheframe.org.uk)
References
Mike Cooley “Architect or Bee: The Human Price of Technology”, Foreword by Frances O'Grady, http://www.spokesmanbooks.com/
Campaign Against Climate Change “One Million Climate Jobs: Tackling the Environmental and Economic Crisis” http://www.campaigncc.org/greenjobs
APPENDIX: The Lucas Plan
In 1976, the militant workforce within Lucas Aerospace were facing t layoffs. Under the leadership of Mike Cooley, they developed the Lucas Plan[2] to convert the company from arms to the manufacture of socially useful products, and save jobs.
The plan was not put into place but it is claimed that the associated industrial action saved some jobs. It's a model to enact a just transition from ecologically damaging to ecologically positive employment in a low-carbon economy, where certain industries will have to shrink- for example, the power generation, aviation and cars. However, instead of a net loss of jobs, efforts must be put into creating green jobs or ‘converting’ old jobs. to produce the hardware for harnessing renewable wind and solar energy- employing skilled engineers and training new engineers for the future.
The Plan, drawn up by workers on the shop floor, contained over 150 ideas with detailed plans. The issue of climate change was not so well known as it is today, but there was a problem of oil supply and the Lucas plan focused extensively on the development of alternative, renewable energy.
Plans included:: Efficient wind-turbines, Solar cells and heat pumps, The “Power Pack” to create cars with 80% less emissions and 50% greater fuel economy, an efficient method for small scale electricity generation and a vehicle like a train but with pneumatic tyres allowing it also to travel on roads.
However, the importance of the Lucas Plan is not the specific technologies and products but in the questions raised about production under capitalism and the vision it offered of a new society in which human needs come before the blind pursuit of profit.
(Rob Marsden & P.Murry “Swords into Ploughshares, Tridents into Turbines: It’s Time for a New Lucas Plan” in Watermelon
Conference Newsletter of Green Left Spring 2016)
Monday 4 April 2016
Solidari-Tea actions with the BMA Junior Doctors on strike this week.
See below three confirmed Solidari-Tea actions with the BMA Junior
Doctors on strike this week.
Please support these if you can - even if you can only come along for a
few minutes, your support is greatly appreciated! Also distribute the
details as far as you can.
Please also let us know if you have any similar actions planned. More
info on Solidari-Tea at: http://gptu.greenparty.org.uk/
---
KINGSTON HOSPITAL - WEDNESDAY 6th April, 8am
Greens from GPTU and Kingston Green Party will be showing solidarity
with the junior doctors at Kingston Hospital, on WEDNESDAY 6th April
from 8am. Picket line will be either at Kingston Railway Station or at
the hospital main entrance on Galsworthy Road just round the corner. Let
us know if you can come - and let us know if you can bring tea or coffee
along.
Details on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/
---
ST GEORGE'S HOSPITAL, TOOTING - THURSDAY 7th April, 8am
Greens from GPTU, Wandsworth Green Party and the Young Greens will be
showing solidarity with the junior doctors at St George's Hospital,
Tooting, on THURSDAY 7th April from 8am. Picket line will be at the
Effort Street entrance. Nearest tube: Tooting Broadway. Let us know if
you can come - and let us know if you can bring tea or coffee along.
Details on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/
---
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY - this week 6th-8th April
Bristol Greens and GPTU will be showing solidarity with the junior
doctors at Bristol Royal Infirmary this week from 6th-8th April. See
Facebook event below for details of picket lines and times.
Details on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/
---
In solidarity,
Kieron
Kieron Merrett
Secretary, Green Party Trade Union Group
secretary@gptu.greenparty.org.
07545 705 964
Doctors on strike this week.
Please support these if you can - even if you can only come along for a
few minutes, your support is greatly appreciated! Also distribute the
details as far as you can.
Please also let us know if you have any similar actions planned. More
info on Solidari-Tea at: http://gptu.greenparty.org.uk/
---
KINGSTON HOSPITAL - WEDNESDAY 6th April, 8am
Greens from GPTU and Kingston Green Party will be showing solidarity
with the junior doctors at Kingston Hospital, on WEDNESDAY 6th April
from 8am. Picket line will be either at Kingston Railway Station or at
the hospital main entrance on Galsworthy Road just round the corner. Let
us know if you can come - and let us know if you can bring tea or coffee
along.
Details on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/
---
ST GEORGE'S HOSPITAL, TOOTING - THURSDAY 7th April, 8am
Greens from GPTU, Wandsworth Green Party and the Young Greens will be
showing solidarity with the junior doctors at St George's Hospital,
Tooting, on THURSDAY 7th April from 8am. Picket line will be at the
Effort Street entrance. Nearest tube: Tooting Broadway. Let us know if
you can come - and let us know if you can bring tea or coffee along.
Details on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/
---
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY - this week 6th-8th April
Bristol Greens and GPTU will be showing solidarity with the junior
doctors at Bristol Royal Infirmary this week from 6th-8th April. See
Facebook event below for details of picket lines and times.
Details on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/
---
In solidarity,
Kieron
Kieron Merrett
Secretary, Green Party Trade Union Group
secretary@gptu.greenparty.org.
07545 705 964
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