Have a look at economist Robert Reich's visual representation of how the rich in the U.S.A. have got richer while ordinary working people have got poorer. Exactly the same applies here in the UK. Click on the link below:
http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2011/09/04/opinion/04reich-graphic.html?ref=sunday
Tuesday, 8 November 2011
You have to remind people what you're worth
'You have to remind people what you're worth'
(21/10/11)
For many UNISON members, the thought of industrial action is scary – not least because many of them have never been on strike before.
And with that comes the fear that any action we take is pointless – that the odds are just too great.
So it's always good to remind ourselves exactly what industrial action can achieve – and here are four brief examples.
In 1888, the workforce at the Bryant & May match factory in London faced 14-hour days, poor pay and fines for various 'offences' – plus serious health problems caused by working with white phosphorus.
But management was a bit put out when an article appeared describing the conditions as akin to "white slavery", and tried to get the workforce to sign a paper contradicting the claims.
When they refused, this became the pretext for sacking one of the workers – and 1,400 women and girls walked out immediately.
Many helped raise money for a strike fund, and a deputation visited Parliament. The management instantly offered to reinstate the sacked worker, but her colleagues decided to demand other concessions, including ending the system of fines that they faced.
Eventually, management agreed to scrap the fines and other deductions – and allow meals to be taken in a different room, avoiding contamination of the food with the white phosphorous.
The women had won – and their action had started a campaign that, a few years later, would see the outlawing of white phosphorous.
When the gas workers of Beckton, East London, took action a year later, in 1889, they wanted something that seems absurdly normal to us now.
They wanted an eight-hour working day.
For some time, skilled workers' unions had been asking for this, but no progress had been made.
Gas workers in Beckton were working a 12-hour day, seven days a week.
But then the so-called unskilled workers started to organise, including the gas workers, and led by Will Thorne, they set about winning that aim by industrial action.
Mr Thorne told a meeting of gas workers: "The way you have been treated in your work for many years is scandalous, brutal and inhuman.
"I pledge my word that, if you will stand firm and don't waver, within six months we will claim and win the eight-hour day, a six-day week and the abolition of the present slave-driving methods in vogue not only at the Beckton Gas Works, but all over the country."
After the speech, 800 workers joined the union. Within a month, another 3,000 had joined.
Mr Thorne was right and the members stood firm. In response to a 'petition', the Gas Light & Coke Company cut the working day without a strike being called. It was the first time in the history of industrial workers that such an agreement had been struck.
At the Ford factory in Dagenham in 1968, the women machinists, who sewed the covers for the car seats, found themselves on the end of a regrading exercise.
It left them classed as 'less skilled production workers', thus meaning that they were going to be paid 15% less than their male colleagues, who were classed as doing 'more skilled production jobs'.
They were joined in their walkout by machinists at Halewood and, as the stock of seat covers ran out, it halted car production.
After intervention from the then secretary of state for employment and productivity, Barbara Castle, the women ended their strike after three weeks.
They had won an immediate increase in their pay to 8% below that of their male colleagues, with the promise of a further increase the following year.
Although the machinists only won a regrading into the higher job category in 1984, after a further six-week strike, their action paved the way for the 1970 Equal Pay Act – the first time that there had been any legal attempt to prohibit inequality between men and women in terms of pay and conditions.
In 2009-10, refuse workers in Leeds went on strike for 11 weeks over attempts to slash their pay.
The Tory-Lib Dem council was trying to use the implementation of equal pay as an excuse for cutting pay by up to a third. It was an attempt to divide and rule that didn't work.
UNISON members stood shoulder to shoulder with their GMB colleagues – and they never wavered.
And the women, whose right to equal pay was being used as an excuse to cut the men's pay, helped their male colleagues, handing out leaflets and campaigning to raise sympathy and understanding among the public.
As Dave Prentis said when the strikers won: "Leeds members have shown what can be achieved by old-fashioned solidarity and discipline. I am proud of them."
It's something that workers down the years have learned – and it's as true today as it was when the matchgirls finally refused to accept their appalling working conditions.
(InFocus, November 2011)
(21/10/11)
For many UNISON members, the thought of industrial action is scary – not least because many of them have never been on strike before.
And with that comes the fear that any action we take is pointless – that the odds are just too great.
So it's always good to remind ourselves exactly what industrial action can achieve – and here are four brief examples.
In 1888, the workforce at the Bryant & May match factory in London faced 14-hour days, poor pay and fines for various 'offences' – plus serious health problems caused by working with white phosphorus.
But management was a bit put out when an article appeared describing the conditions as akin to "white slavery", and tried to get the workforce to sign a paper contradicting the claims.
When they refused, this became the pretext for sacking one of the workers – and 1,400 women and girls walked out immediately.
Many helped raise money for a strike fund, and a deputation visited Parliament. The management instantly offered to reinstate the sacked worker, but her colleagues decided to demand other concessions, including ending the system of fines that they faced.
Eventually, management agreed to scrap the fines and other deductions – and allow meals to be taken in a different room, avoiding contamination of the food with the white phosphorous.
The women had won – and their action had started a campaign that, a few years later, would see the outlawing of white phosphorous.
When the gas workers of Beckton, East London, took action a year later, in 1889, they wanted something that seems absurdly normal to us now.
They wanted an eight-hour working day.
For some time, skilled workers' unions had been asking for this, but no progress had been made.
Gas workers in Beckton were working a 12-hour day, seven days a week.
But then the so-called unskilled workers started to organise, including the gas workers, and led by Will Thorne, they set about winning that aim by industrial action.
Mr Thorne told a meeting of gas workers: "The way you have been treated in your work for many years is scandalous, brutal and inhuman.
"I pledge my word that, if you will stand firm and don't waver, within six months we will claim and win the eight-hour day, a six-day week and the abolition of the present slave-driving methods in vogue not only at the Beckton Gas Works, but all over the country."
After the speech, 800 workers joined the union. Within a month, another 3,000 had joined.
Mr Thorne was right and the members stood firm. In response to a 'petition', the Gas Light & Coke Company cut the working day without a strike being called. It was the first time in the history of industrial workers that such an agreement had been struck.
At the Ford factory in Dagenham in 1968, the women machinists, who sewed the covers for the car seats, found themselves on the end of a regrading exercise.
It left them classed as 'less skilled production workers', thus meaning that they were going to be paid 15% less than their male colleagues, who were classed as doing 'more skilled production jobs'.
They were joined in their walkout by machinists at Halewood and, as the stock of seat covers ran out, it halted car production.
After intervention from the then secretary of state for employment and productivity, Barbara Castle, the women ended their strike after three weeks.
They had won an immediate increase in their pay to 8% below that of their male colleagues, with the promise of a further increase the following year.
Although the machinists only won a regrading into the higher job category in 1984, after a further six-week strike, their action paved the way for the 1970 Equal Pay Act – the first time that there had been any legal attempt to prohibit inequality between men and women in terms of pay and conditions.
In 2009-10, refuse workers in Leeds went on strike for 11 weeks over attempts to slash their pay.
The Tory-Lib Dem council was trying to use the implementation of equal pay as an excuse for cutting pay by up to a third. It was an attempt to divide and rule that didn't work.
UNISON members stood shoulder to shoulder with their GMB colleagues – and they never wavered.
And the women, whose right to equal pay was being used as an excuse to cut the men's pay, helped their male colleagues, handing out leaflets and campaigning to raise sympathy and understanding among the public.
As Dave Prentis said when the strikers won: "Leeds members have shown what can be achieved by old-fashioned solidarity and discipline. I am proud of them."
It's something that workers down the years have learned – and it's as true today as it was when the matchgirls finally refused to accept their appalling working conditions.
(InFocus, November 2011)
Monday, 7 November 2011
You deserve better - join a union
Watch President Obama talk about why he supports trade unions. These are the rights trade unions have also won for workers in the UK, and they wouldn't have done it without members STANDING UP, STANDING TOGETHER & TAKING ACTION. Think about what your job would be like if members of trade unions had not fought for these rights.
Sunday, 6 November 2011
Decent Pensions for All
UNISON members have voted massively in favour of industrial action over pensions, but the day of action on 30th November is not just about our pensions, but about fair pensions for all. We live in a country, which pays the lowest state pension in Europe - our pensioners live well below the poverty line. The majority of the UK population don't even have a decent occupational pension scheme, as many of the good private sector schemes have been closed down so that the companies involved can make even greater profits for their shareholders and bonuses for those at the top. Our day of action is for all those workers who have not been given the opportunity of a decent pension scheme, and our belief that it should be every worker's right to have a comfortable retirement after a working lifetime of contributing to society.
This government's proposals for public sector schemes are an attack on all working people, not just those in the public sector, because if public sector schemes are reduced to the level of what remains of private sector schemes, then all of us will be poorer. But their proposals are also a false economy. If public sector workers can no longer afford to contribute to pension schemes, they will withdraw and then be more reliant on state benefits in their retirement. We have record levels of youth unemployment in the UK and yet the government's answer is to make people work longer, and to provide them with such poor pensions that even in so-called retirement they are forced to continue working in order to pay the bills. The government have already made many existing pensioners poorer by switching the yearly cost of living increase from the Retail Price Index to the Consumer Price Index – this applies not only to public sector pensions, but to some private pension schemes and to the state pension.
The government are saying that their proposals will improve public sector pensions – why then is it the case that none of the extra contributions will go into our pension pots? - but will be used by the government to pay off the deficit – a deficit caused by the greed of the bankers, which we as tax payers have been forced to pay for. Public sector workers have had their pay frozen for the last 2 years – given the rate of inflation I estimate this pay freeze has amounted to a 6% pay cut. The government’s pension proposals amount to another 3% pay cut for public sector workers. Does anyone really think that any working person in this country can keep on taking pay cut after pay cut, while the bankers continue to pay their bonuses? I find it very difficult to understand why we as a society seem to find it acceptable that some people struggle to support their families with minimum wage jobs, while those at the top earn 300 times as much. The Archbishops of Canterbury and York have also expressed their concerns about corporate greed and huge income inequality and its negative impact on society in terms of social cohesion, health and social problems. The Occupy protests in London, Bristol and many other parts of the country are also demanding changes to a system, which works in favour of the 1% and not the 99%.
This government of millionaires don't have to worry about how they make ends meet on a daily basis or about their retirement, and despite David Cameron's protests they are not interested in helping ordinary working people. If they were they would have chosen to cut the deficit by clamping down on tax avoidance and increasing taxes on those individuals and corporations right at the top. Instead they have chosen to cut the deficit by slashing spending on public services, which hits the poorest and most vulnerable the hardest. In North Somerset alone £50 million, or one third of the council’s budget, is being cut from public services, impacting on children, young people, the elderly and disabled people. Our day of action on 30th November will also be a protest against the cuts to public spending, which we believe are unfair and unnecessary. The proposals for our pensions, and the cuts to jobs and public services are all part of the government’s decision to make ordinary working people bear the brunt of a financial crisis that they were not responsible for. We would like to invite anyone living in North Somerset who is feeling the impact of the cuts, either because they don’t have a decent pension, or they’ve lost their job or been forced to take a pay cut, or because their benefits have been cut, or because they’ve had a public service they relied on cut, to join us on 30th November, either on our picket lines or on the march and rally in Bristol. If you want to find out more please give us a ring – 01934 634759 or have a look at our website www.northsomersetunison.co.uk. It is now time for ordinary working and non-working people to stand up and demand that our society needs to change.
This government's proposals for public sector schemes are an attack on all working people, not just those in the public sector, because if public sector schemes are reduced to the level of what remains of private sector schemes, then all of us will be poorer. But their proposals are also a false economy. If public sector workers can no longer afford to contribute to pension schemes, they will withdraw and then be more reliant on state benefits in their retirement. We have record levels of youth unemployment in the UK and yet the government's answer is to make people work longer, and to provide them with such poor pensions that even in so-called retirement they are forced to continue working in order to pay the bills. The government have already made many existing pensioners poorer by switching the yearly cost of living increase from the Retail Price Index to the Consumer Price Index – this applies not only to public sector pensions, but to some private pension schemes and to the state pension.
The government are saying that their proposals will improve public sector pensions – why then is it the case that none of the extra contributions will go into our pension pots? - but will be used by the government to pay off the deficit – a deficit caused by the greed of the bankers, which we as tax payers have been forced to pay for. Public sector workers have had their pay frozen for the last 2 years – given the rate of inflation I estimate this pay freeze has amounted to a 6% pay cut. The government’s pension proposals amount to another 3% pay cut for public sector workers. Does anyone really think that any working person in this country can keep on taking pay cut after pay cut, while the bankers continue to pay their bonuses? I find it very difficult to understand why we as a society seem to find it acceptable that some people struggle to support their families with minimum wage jobs, while those at the top earn 300 times as much. The Archbishops of Canterbury and York have also expressed their concerns about corporate greed and huge income inequality and its negative impact on society in terms of social cohesion, health and social problems. The Occupy protests in London, Bristol and many other parts of the country are also demanding changes to a system, which works in favour of the 1% and not the 99%.
This government of millionaires don't have to worry about how they make ends meet on a daily basis or about their retirement, and despite David Cameron's protests they are not interested in helping ordinary working people. If they were they would have chosen to cut the deficit by clamping down on tax avoidance and increasing taxes on those individuals and corporations right at the top. Instead they have chosen to cut the deficit by slashing spending on public services, which hits the poorest and most vulnerable the hardest. In North Somerset alone £50 million, or one third of the council’s budget, is being cut from public services, impacting on children, young people, the elderly and disabled people. Our day of action on 30th November will also be a protest against the cuts to public spending, which we believe are unfair and unnecessary. The proposals for our pensions, and the cuts to jobs and public services are all part of the government’s decision to make ordinary working people bear the brunt of a financial crisis that they were not responsible for. We would like to invite anyone living in North Somerset who is feeling the impact of the cuts, either because they don’t have a decent pension, or they’ve lost their job or been forced to take a pay cut, or because their benefits have been cut, or because they’ve had a public service they relied on cut, to join us on 30th November, either on our picket lines or on the march and rally in Bristol. If you want to find out more please give us a ring – 01934 634759 or have a look at our website www.northsomersetunison.co.uk. It is now time for ordinary working and non-working people to stand up and demand that our society needs to change.
Thursday, 3 November 2011
£50 million of cuts in North Somerset
This letter was published in today's Weston Mercury:
I am writing on behalf of North Somerset UNISON, which represents workers at North Somerset Council regarding the £50 million of cuts which the council intend to make up until March 2015. The residents of North Somerset should be very worried by proposals put forward by the council which will see massive cuts to services to the elderly, people with disabilities, children and young people. In Adult Social Services the cuts include a £1 million cut to care for people with learning disabilities, another £1 million cut to care for the elderly and disabled, a £1.2 million cut to the council’s budget for care home provision, and a £4 million cut which the council propose to make as they attempt to help more elderly and disabled people to live independently so they can save more money on care home placements. The council will also cut its support to services for domestic abuse, anti-social behaviour and drugs and alcohol. In total Adult Social Services are proposing to make cuts of £14 million, which amounts to about a quarter of their budget. If anyone thinks that it is possible to cut such large amounts of money without it impacting on services then they are not living in the real world.
In Children’s and Young People’s Services the council is proposing to concentrate its resources on the 300 families in North Somerset who will be assessed as needing the most support – other families will barely get a look in. As a result there will be no early intervention and preventative work done with other families, which will simply store up problems for the future, add to the crisis in children’s services and cost the council more money in the long term. Our youth service will cease to exist with an almost £1 million cut, which will see 60 youth workers lose their jobs, and will also close down youth clubs, unless town and parish councils are willing to take them on. The council also intends to spend £2 million less on placements for looked after children. In total Children and Young People’s Services are being asked to make cuts of £12 million, which amounts to one third of their budget.
In both Adult and Children’s services there is a proposed reduction in the number of already over worked social workers. North Somerset Council, like many other local authorities, finds it difficult to recruit and retain experienced social workers. This situation is likely to worsen as reduced staff numbers will increase workloads for those that remain. In addition the council intends to make a £1 million cut to services provided by the voluntary sector to adults, children and young people. The council is also proposing to make cuts to staff and services in housing, highways, planning and grounds maintenance. And it looks likely that many of our rural libraries will close unless members of the community are prepared to volunteer to run them. In all 280 full time jobs will go, but because many council jobs are part-time this is likely to affect between 400 and 500 people. In effect the council will lose a quarter of its workforce, and this at a time when Weston super Mare has seen the 14th biggest rise in unemployment in the country.
It is now time for the people of North Somerset to stand up and join the trade unions to defend public services, because if we don’t fight these cuts then the outlook for every single one of us is bleak. The welfare state which was created to provide support and protection to our most vulnerable citizens and look after every one of us from cradle to grave will have been dismantled by 2015, if not sooner. There will be no safety net if you or a member of your family becomes sick or disabled, or loses their job. Your children’s education will suffer. If they want to go to university they will face huge debts, and there will be no decent jobs for them anyway. There will be no one to protect our most vulnerable children and young people. There will be no youth clubs to keep children off the streets. There will be no libraries or leisure facilities for you to spend your free time in. When you and your family get older you will find yourselves being forced to work longer than you’re physically able, when you do get to collect your pension you will be living well below the poverty line, and there will be no one to care for you in your old age. The people of North Somerset must act now before it’s too late. I urge you to write, phone or go to see your councillor. You can also request to speak at the Special Budget Council meeting on 15th November at 6 pm. We will be lobbying the meeting from 5.30 pm outside the town hall, along with members of the campaign to save Portishead Youth Club, and we urge the residents of North Somerset to join us.
I am writing on behalf of North Somerset UNISON, which represents workers at North Somerset Council regarding the £50 million of cuts which the council intend to make up until March 2015. The residents of North Somerset should be very worried by proposals put forward by the council which will see massive cuts to services to the elderly, people with disabilities, children and young people. In Adult Social Services the cuts include a £1 million cut to care for people with learning disabilities, another £1 million cut to care for the elderly and disabled, a £1.2 million cut to the council’s budget for care home provision, and a £4 million cut which the council propose to make as they attempt to help more elderly and disabled people to live independently so they can save more money on care home placements. The council will also cut its support to services for domestic abuse, anti-social behaviour and drugs and alcohol. In total Adult Social Services are proposing to make cuts of £14 million, which amounts to about a quarter of their budget. If anyone thinks that it is possible to cut such large amounts of money without it impacting on services then they are not living in the real world.
In Children’s and Young People’s Services the council is proposing to concentrate its resources on the 300 families in North Somerset who will be assessed as needing the most support – other families will barely get a look in. As a result there will be no early intervention and preventative work done with other families, which will simply store up problems for the future, add to the crisis in children’s services and cost the council more money in the long term. Our youth service will cease to exist with an almost £1 million cut, which will see 60 youth workers lose their jobs, and will also close down youth clubs, unless town and parish councils are willing to take them on. The council also intends to spend £2 million less on placements for looked after children. In total Children and Young People’s Services are being asked to make cuts of £12 million, which amounts to one third of their budget.
In both Adult and Children’s services there is a proposed reduction in the number of already over worked social workers. North Somerset Council, like many other local authorities, finds it difficult to recruit and retain experienced social workers. This situation is likely to worsen as reduced staff numbers will increase workloads for those that remain. In addition the council intends to make a £1 million cut to services provided by the voluntary sector to adults, children and young people. The council is also proposing to make cuts to staff and services in housing, highways, planning and grounds maintenance. And it looks likely that many of our rural libraries will close unless members of the community are prepared to volunteer to run them. In all 280 full time jobs will go, but because many council jobs are part-time this is likely to affect between 400 and 500 people. In effect the council will lose a quarter of its workforce, and this at a time when Weston super Mare has seen the 14th biggest rise in unemployment in the country.
It is now time for the people of North Somerset to stand up and join the trade unions to defend public services, because if we don’t fight these cuts then the outlook for every single one of us is bleak. The welfare state which was created to provide support and protection to our most vulnerable citizens and look after every one of us from cradle to grave will have been dismantled by 2015, if not sooner. There will be no safety net if you or a member of your family becomes sick or disabled, or loses their job. Your children’s education will suffer. If they want to go to university they will face huge debts, and there will be no decent jobs for them anyway. There will be no one to protect our most vulnerable children and young people. There will be no youth clubs to keep children off the streets. There will be no libraries or leisure facilities for you to spend your free time in. When you and your family get older you will find yourselves being forced to work longer than you’re physically able, when you do get to collect your pension you will be living well below the poverty line, and there will be no one to care for you in your old age. The people of North Somerset must act now before it’s too late. I urge you to write, phone or go to see your councillor. You can also request to speak at the Special Budget Council meeting on 15th November at 6 pm. We will be lobbying the meeting from 5.30 pm outside the town hall, along with members of the campaign to save Portishead Youth Club, and we urge the residents of North Somerset to join us.
30th November - day of action to protect pensions and public services
UNISON MEMBERS VOTE YES FOR INDUSTRIAL ACTION OVER PENSIONS
Over 75% of members who cast a vote in the ballot voted YES for industrial action on 30th November.
The branch is now preparing for the day of action and we are asking members to take part in picketing, even if only for an hour, and / or attend one of the marches and rallies planned in the South West. We will need pickets in the morning and late afternoon at:
Somerset House, Castlewood and Weston General Hospital.
Please contact the branch office if you are interested in helping out. It is really important that our members are visible on the day of action, so pleaswe make every effort to help out.
The branch will have a hardship fund for members who take action and face particular financial hardship through loss of pay through taking part in the strike. Please download our hardship fund application form. These will be considered in early December and payments made before Christmas.
BRISTOL MARCH AND RALLY TO PROTECT PENSIONS AND PUBLIC SERVICES
Assemble College Green from 11 am where there will be speakers. Then march to Castle Park, arriving between 12 and 12.30 pm where there will be more speakers and music.
TAUNTON MARCH & RALLY
Assemble at the Old Cattle Market at 12 noon, march to Somerset County Council Offices for rally at 1.30 pm
It's not too late to join UNISON and take part in our action to protect pensions and public services - please contact the branch.
Over 75% of members who cast a vote in the ballot voted YES for industrial action on 30th November.
The branch is now preparing for the day of action and we are asking members to take part in picketing, even if only for an hour, and / or attend one of the marches and rallies planned in the South West. We will need pickets in the morning and late afternoon at:
Somerset House, Castlewood and Weston General Hospital.
Please contact the branch office if you are interested in helping out. It is really important that our members are visible on the day of action, so pleaswe make every effort to help out.
The branch will have a hardship fund for members who take action and face particular financial hardship through loss of pay through taking part in the strike. Please download our hardship fund application form. These will be considered in early December and payments made before Christmas.
BRISTOL MARCH AND RALLY TO PROTECT PENSIONS AND PUBLIC SERVICES
Assemble College Green from 11 am where there will be speakers. Then march to Castle Park, arriving between 12 and 12.30 pm where there will be more speakers and music.
TAUNTON MARCH & RALLY
Assemble at the Old Cattle Market at 12 noon, march to Somerset County Council Offices for rally at 1.30 pm
It's not too late to join UNISON and take part in our action to protect pensions and public services - please contact the branch.
Thursday, 27 October 2011
The Big Equality Debate
There was a great turnout at the Big Equality debate in Bristol last night. Richard Wilkinson, the co-author of the Spirit Level gave a brilliant presentation on his very common sense idea, which is supported by huge amounts of data. That idea quite simply is: in societies with huge income inequality, such as the UK, there are more social problems. When societies narrow the gap between rich and poor they also see a reduction in social problems.
Professor Wilkinson showed us some truly shocking statistics, including the fact that in some private companies in the UK the chief executive's wages are 300 times that of the lowest paid staff in the company.
The audience discussed how we could take action on income inequality, and the suggestions included: clamping down on tax avoidance, making high earners in corporations accountable, by for instance having trade union reps on boards, calling for everyone to publish details of how much tax they pay, and encouraging people to feel proud that they pay tax because they're making a contribution to society, creating a rift between the small businesses that pay their taxes, and the multi nationals that avoid paying taxes, calling for legislation to restrict pay differentials, campaigning for a living wage. We as individuals could choose only to shop with companies who have small income differentials between those at the top and those at the bottom.
Half of Bristol City councillors have signed the Equality pledge. North Somerset has the widest social inequalities gap in the South West, and the seventh biggest in England. Weston-super-mare South ward is in the 3% most deprived areas in England and Central ward is in the 1% most deprived. Linked to this is a significant health inequalities gap, and a gap in overall life expectancy. Can we get North Somerset MPs and councillors to sign the Equality Pledge?
The Equality Pledge
"Compelling new evidence presented by The Equality Trust shows that more equal societies - those with a narrower gap between rich and poor - are more cohesive, healthier, suffer fewer social problems and are more environmentally sustainable. In view of these findings I am committed to making the UK a more equal society as the most effective means of building a better society. I will therefore actively support the case for policies designed to narrow the gap between rich and poor; and engage with the debate on which measures should be implemented to achieve that aim."
Can we also get North Somerset Council to set up an independent Fairness Commission?
You can get more information on the Equality Trust from their website.
Professor Wilkinson showed us some truly shocking statistics, including the fact that in some private companies in the UK the chief executive's wages are 300 times that of the lowest paid staff in the company.
The audience discussed how we could take action on income inequality, and the suggestions included: clamping down on tax avoidance, making high earners in corporations accountable, by for instance having trade union reps on boards, calling for everyone to publish details of how much tax they pay, and encouraging people to feel proud that they pay tax because they're making a contribution to society, creating a rift between the small businesses that pay their taxes, and the multi nationals that avoid paying taxes, calling for legislation to restrict pay differentials, campaigning for a living wage. We as individuals could choose only to shop with companies who have small income differentials between those at the top and those at the bottom.
Half of Bristol City councillors have signed the Equality pledge. North Somerset has the widest social inequalities gap in the South West, and the seventh biggest in England. Weston-super-mare South ward is in the 3% most deprived areas in England and Central ward is in the 1% most deprived. Linked to this is a significant health inequalities gap, and a gap in overall life expectancy. Can we get North Somerset MPs and councillors to sign the Equality Pledge?
The Equality Pledge
"Compelling new evidence presented by The Equality Trust shows that more equal societies - those with a narrower gap between rich and poor - are more cohesive, healthier, suffer fewer social problems and are more environmentally sustainable. In view of these findings I am committed to making the UK a more equal society as the most effective means of building a better society. I will therefore actively support the case for policies designed to narrow the gap between rich and poor; and engage with the debate on which measures should be implemented to achieve that aim."
Can we also get North Somerset Council to set up an independent Fairness Commission?
You can get more information on the Equality Trust from their website.
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