June 30th PCS & NUT Strike in Defence of Pensions

On June the 30th the PCS and NUT are having a strike day in defence of their conditions, pensions and protesting against the projected Job losses which will be forced on them by this Coalition Government. In Leicester discussions will be taking place with representatives of the PCS and Mike McLoughlin who will be wearing his Chair of the Midlands TUC Pensioners Network, Unite Regional RMA Coordinator and NPC NEC member hats, will be helping to support the activity planned in Leicester on that day. It has already been planned in principle to have activity on the Victoria Park, which will include speeches, after the speech making, there will be a number of bands providing entertainment..

David Jones will be involved in assisting in the organisation of events in Nottingham, although the plans for the day there have not as yet been fully finalized. It is important that we succeed in being involved in any activity that is being planned on June 30th in the major centres of population e.g. Derby, Chesterfield, Lincoln, Northampton, And all the major cities in the West Midlands. Its very important that all retired members where possible should participate and give their full support to any activity being planned for that day. Its an opportunity for us to demonstrate our solidarity with those people still in work who are being treated very shabbily by the present Government.

I am very anxious to hear from all our activists in the TUC Network, East Midlands NPC E-C members, and from the Regional Union RMA's, with regards to all activity taking place in their patch which effects the community i.e. Local Authority job losses, changes in the travel concessions for retired and disabled people, closure or sale of care homes etc. Please send in your comments to this blogs email address, they will be published if relevant. Its also important that the recipients of this email, pass the link on to their friends and family members, this blog   is in existence for the benefit of the Midlands Retired Members, it will only be your blog if you use it and help shape it by your participation and contributions. There is a lot happening to our members out there in the Midlands and we need to know about and to publicise it. This blog is not just for Retired members its for everyone.

                                                                            

                                                                            The Photo above was taken at the TUC 

                                                                            Midlands Pensioners Network Conference

                                                                            on April 14th

TUC supports Age UK pensions lobby

Commenting on the mass lobby of parliament organised by Age UK involving women affected by the government’s decision to bring forward plans to raise the state pension age, TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said:

“Earlier this year 2.6 million women in their fifties woke up to the news that they were going to have to work up to an extra year – and in some cases two – before they could claim their state pension, despite government assurances in the coalition agreement that moves to raise the state pension age wouldn’t start for women until 2020.

“Women in the affected age group – those born between December 1953 and October 1954 – could lose up to several thousand pounds and will have to work for much longer than any of them had intended. Many quite understandably will have been planning their retirement. Now those plans will have to be put on hold.

“Ministers need to put a halt to this mean-spirited move to bring in the change at breakneck speed. The government should go one step further and back down completely on the plans to make both men and women wait until they are 66 before they can start drawing their state pension. There is no justification for such a move.”