Retired Members Should Become Involved in the preparations for the Day of Action on November 30th 2011.

The Midlands TUC Pensioners Network and the East Midlands NPC asks that all Retired Members Should Support the Day of Strike Action on Pensions - November 30th.

Twenty Unions are now in the process of making preparations for holding a strike ballot of their members, seeking their support for the strike action in defence of pensions, scheduled to take place on November 30th, a small number of these unions have never before taken industrial action. It does illustrate the effect that the Coalition Government's cuts are having on the Public sector workers. The Midlands TUC pensioners Network and the East Midlands National Pensioners Convention are fully in support of the proposed day of Industrial action in support of pensions, and want as many retired people as possible to show their solidarity, by either visiting pickets lines, if there are any in the local area's, or by participating in march and rallies taking place in the larger towns and cities.

It is very important that we as retired trade unionists, do not just pay lip service and say that we support the day of action, and then do nothing in support of it. We pensioners are under attack from this Government, and having our living standards lowered just as surely as are the public sector workers, and its in our interests to give them every possible support. Its crucial that the unions win this battle with the Coalition Government. It is important that all our RMA branches and Pensioners groups get involved with their local trades council's, local day of action Co-ordinating Committee's, which will be set up in the various localities, to organize activity on the day, Rallies etc. We need to get ourselves involved in these Committee's and more importantly stress that we as retired members should have a speaker on the platform, where Rallies are organized.

We must show our solidarity with those who will on strike, and lift our own organisational profile, just because we are retired we must not be shy, when it comes to standing up and defending our corner; if we do not stand up and shout the odds in our own defence, nobody else will do it for us. I would remind everyone that campaigning to defend our own interests is vital, we have an opportunity here to make an impact, we made a start in Birmingham, Leicester, Derby, and Nottingham, on June 30th, we must now build on those beginnings. Lets get stuck in and get some of our people on those platforms on November 30th, and get the TUC Pensioners Network and the NPC message across to as wide an audience as possible. I want to kept up to date on all that is going to be happening in the Midlands on November 30th, please send me your comments, photographs, and articles for this blog.