Sussex heading for a standstill (From The Argus)
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Sussex heading for a standstill
5:15pm Tuesday 29th November 2011 in News By Neil Vowles
Striking public sector workers earlier this year
The biggest strike in a generation is set to cause major disruption to schools, transport, courts, libraries, leisure centres and even driving tests.
More than 15,000 public sector workers are expected to strike in Brighton and Hove tomorrow (November 30), bringing the city to a standstill.
Strike action will begin just after midnight, when the first of 4,000 Unison members employed by Brighton and Hove City Council walk out on a 24 hour strike.
Pickets will be formed at about a dozen university, college and council buildings from about 6am.
Brighton march
Then from 11am, three feeder marches from Whitehawk Bus Garage, Hove Town Hall and Brighton University buildings in Moulsecoomb will head into the city centre to be joined by groups of protesters from the city’s hospitals, law courts, job centres, schools and waste depot.
The main march, made up of members of 26 trade unions, will meet at Victoria Gardens in Grand Parade, Brighton, at 11.45am and a mass rally will be held at The Level at 1pm.
More than 60 schools will be closed in Brighton and Hove tomorrow.
School and college closures
County council counts have confirmed that almost 100 schools in East Sussex and about 40 in West Sussex will close, but many schools do not know whether they will open or close until the actual strike day, depending on the number of staff arriving.
Universities will also be impacted, with the University of Brighton confirming that it will close all campuses in Brighton, Hastings and Eastbourne for the day to ensure the safety of its 21,000 students and 2,500 staff.
The University of Sussex expects to be open for business as usual and any teaching staff taking strike action will be expected to inform students via the university intranet if any individual teaching activities are being cancelled.
City College Brighton and Hove has also announced that it will suspend many of its classes, with The City College East campus closed for the day and the Preston Road campus only opening in the evening for an open evening.
The college’s Central Campus in Pelham Street will remain open to allow students to access library facilities, and some classes will continue to operate.
Refuse, housing and other council services
Uncertainty surrounds which council-run services will be available.
Brighton and Hove City Council is warning that it expects no recycling, refuse or street cleaning to take place, while customer service centres, housing offices and parking information centres are all expected to run limited services.
The council is also uncertain whether there will be sufficient staff to open the Royal Pavilion, museums and libraries.
East Sussex County Council has also warned residents that adult social care, libraries, registration offices and recycling services could all be affected.
Bus delays
Brighton and Hove Bus and Coach Company is warning customers about the potential for significant disruption and diversions between at least 10am and 1pm to more than 80 services.
Border controls
Gatwick Airport is set to be heavily affected by planned action by UK Border Agency staff, which is set to cause considerable delays for customers getting through passport control on arriving flights.
Presently the airport does not know how many Border Agency staff will turn up for work or what impact this could have, but delays of up to 12 hours at Gatwick’s rival airport Heathrow have been predicted.
Emergency services
Emergency service bosses are confident that strike action won’t affect the large majority of their service, with only some outpatient clinics operating a limited service at hospitals.
Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust said it was “business as usual for medical emergencies” with the majority of nurses due to work that day not taking part in industrial action and doctors and midwives also not participating.
Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust said that some non-urgent appointments may be disrupted.
East Sussex NHS Healthcare Trust said that the majority of its services would continue to operate, although non-urgent patient transport services may be limited.
Courts and job centres
As well as local government workers, strikes by central government employees are set to cause disruption at courts and Jobcentres in the county.
A spokesman for Her Majesty’s Court and Tribunal Service said that robust contingency plans were in place to prioritise the delivery of the most essential services.
A Department for Work and Pensions spokeswoman said that it didn’t know how many Jobcentre staff would be on strike but measures are in place to maintain a service and any strikes were not expected to affect any benefit payments due that day.
Driving tests
Uncertainty also surrounds what service will be available to learner drivers hoping to take their test. The Driving Standards Agency said that it was unclear how many of its examiners would join their fellow Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union workers at the seven test centres across Sussex, although drivers are encouraged to turn up for their tests and will have them rearranged for them.
Keep track of school closures with The Argus’ dedicated web page at bit.ly/strikenov2011.
Follow the impact of strike action online throughout the day tomorrow, with pictures and video.
Look out for our reporters at the six picket locations around Brighton and Hove.
See more on the strike action in today's Argus special report.
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Comments(34)
Fercri Sakes
says...
6:04pm Tue 29 Nov 11
Rocco10
says...
7:15pm Tue 29 Nov 11
BertDoncaster
says...
7:29pm Tue 29 Nov 11
Rocco10 wrote:As a council officer, lowest management grade, could you please expand upon what you mean by this "gravy train" that you allege I am riding?
I think you're blowing it out of proportion there Fercri. They've been riding the gravy train too long and it's time to get off. Alot of people would love to get the benefits these people do. Think yourself lucky to live in a developed world where you even get a pension.
Thank you in advance
hippyhippyshake
says...
7:48pm Tue 29 Nov 11
bogs
says...
7:48pm Tue 29 Nov 11
Fercri Sakes wrote:I am sure those below will be touched by your kind words....Andy Gilchrist's salary over £82,000 a year,
I'd just like to say thank you and good luck to the unions, without whom we wouldn't have weekends. Let's hope our kids wont have to work 7 days a week until they're 80.
Derek Simpson £510k, Bob Crow £123k, Dave Prentis £131k, Christine Blower £113k, I am sure they won't be missing out on a days pay! Up the workers! Right up 'em!
hippyhippyshake
says...
7:55pm Tue 29 Nov 11
Rocco10
says...
7:57pm Tue 29 Nov 11
Alot of people don't even have a pension and these people just don't realise how lucky they are to live in a decent country that saves for them and has good healthcare (and it is good) that takes care of them. Even in USA you have to pay for healthcare. Having travelled round the 3rd world I appreciate how lucky we are.
I wonder what the exact pension rates work out at for the individuals that are striking. I bet it's more than I earn working my backside off.
hippyhippyshake
says...
8:11pm Tue 29 Nov 11
My pension is not going to be "great" if yours is so bad then get a better one, if you can't be bothered to fight for one then why should we have to suffer because of your perception that we are on the "gravy train"?.
I work 12 hr Shifts doing both manual tasks and life changing decision making high stress and potentially dangerous situations, after todays speech I will have to do this until I am at least 68!............ 68!....thats if I was planning to retire in the next 10 years which i'm not....
As for living in a country that is saving and providing for you please see my previous post.......
Rocco10
says...
8:24pm Tue 29 Nov 11
As for my pension? Not great, but I have one and it's all I can get right now. It'll help out but ultimately it's my responsibility to save for my future and retirement and that's what I'm doing (though Christmas is derailing things as ever. Flaming presents!).
You best option? Grit your teeth the next few years until you can vote Labour back in.
hippyhippyshake
says...
8:34pm Tue 29 Nov 11
Servalan
says...
8:35pm Tue 29 Nov 11
hippyhippyshake wrote:oh dream on - you put in £200 a month, they "invest" it in casino banking for you and magically turn it into £2000 lol
Please remember that as a PSW my pension is not a freebie, its an investment that I make every month for my future, (it costs me about £200 per month), why should my investment be pillaged to pay to shore up a hole created by the financial sector. But this is all the thin end of the wedge...if the Public sector workers are lost then the public sector will crumble and then who will take over?....private sector... and this will mean that the "bottom line" will be king... do you want your babies delivered by a "tesco plc" midwife? how will you feel when your childs asthma medication isn't covered by your health insurance (if you can afford it) so you have to pay £100s every month. What about your mum who can't get out 'cos a new knee would cost £15k. What about when your childs' school has to get sponsorship from McDonalds or Coke (will conveniently located vending machines and product placement).....these are all things that have happened in the worlds largest economy so why can't they happen here? but remember George, David and pals say we're "in the same boat"...
That's one pyramid scheme that's not gonna last much longer - and certainly not until you retire.
corsair1
says...
8:48pm Tue 29 Nov 11
Servalan wrote:I think you need to get out more mate, you post an absolute load of crap
My god! It'll almost be as bad as the Royal Wedding earlier in the year! Remember that? When the Russians invaded?
Servalan
says...
8:50pm Tue 29 Nov 11
corsair1 wrote:Shall I come round to your house then?
Servalan wrote:I think you need to get out more mate, you post an absolute load of crap
My god! It'll almost be as bad as the Royal Wedding earlier in the year! Remember that? When the Russians invaded?
Andy R
says...
9:23pm Tue 29 Nov 11
hippyhippyshake wrote:Ahhh...but you see....in the world of "bogs" this is a killer argument which completely invalidates the whole campaign. (Duh!?)
So your argument is that because less than half a dozen people have very high salaries, thousands of people who are essential to the prevention of this country descending into the dark ages (i don't think i'm overestimating the contribution the PS makes here) deserve to be given short shrift with regard to their Ts &Cs?????
Are union leaders paid too much? Probably. That's something the rank and file need to sort out. But it has absolutely naff all to do with the fight of millions of ordinary people to maintain some sort of dignity in retirement.
The leaders didn't call these strikes - some don't much want them - the call for action is coming from below. That's what you'll see tomorrow.
Rocco10
says...
9:29pm Tue 29 Nov 11
But the high salaries of the union execs reflects the high pressure of the job, from their members, the gov and most of all the media. If I was to be put into that domain where I'm scrutinized and critisized by the media I would want hundreds of thousands too.
I hate Bob Crow, the militant OTT chairman of the RMT. But he gets alot of hatred from the media and that whittles down the number of people willing to do the job and bumps up the required pay.
Sussex-Dave
says...
9:30pm Tue 29 Nov 11
Sussex-Dave
says...
9:31pm Tue 29 Nov 11
Rocco10
says...
9:36pm Tue 29 Nov 11
I do believe that the Cons have messed up big time. Labours economic plan of stimulus with more gradual cuts made much more sense, especially with the world economy on a knife edge.
hippyhippyshake
says...
9:44pm Tue 29 Nov 11
Rocco10
says...
9:59pm Tue 29 Nov 11
a person
says...
10:14pm Tue 29 Nov 11
The people should all stand together and stand up to the bosses and the government.
Whether people work for the private or public sector, everybody that works
should be able to expect a decent wage and pension.
I am sure that if this country had no money, then people would be prepared to compromise for a few years to help out.
As it is there is millions of pounds every year going to the E.U. and to other countries to help them out.
The government of this country should sort out this country before it gives all the money away.
I have never heard of a hard up pensioner that had had a job in the government .
Rocco10
says...
10:26pm Tue 29 Nov 11
http://www.metro.co.
uk/news/883129-publi
c-sector-pensions-de
bate-a-lead-balloon-
or-gold-plated#ixzz1
f5vYMuux
Ringmer Rich
says...
5:14am Wed 30 Nov 11
Rocco10 wrote:Did you look at the poll results?
This puts it in perspective. They look gold plated to me.
http://www.metro.co.
uk/news/883129-publi
c-sector-pensions-de
bate-a-lead-balloon-
or-gold-plated#ixzz1
f5vYMuux
Rocco10
says...
7:01am Wed 30 Nov 11
clearbluesky
says...
7:57am Wed 30 Nov 11
However on this occasion, I sympathize with the strike. For the government to take money out of the pension pots of some of the lowest paid people in society and then use that money to reduce the deficit that is in a large part attributable to bailouts and a global recession triggered by highly paid bankers and executives beggars belief.
an average citizen
says...
8:25am Wed 30 Nov 11
Bankers and company owners (especially multinational companies) are EXTREMELY and disgustingly over paid, and definitely UNDER-WORKED!
We are in a worldwide financial crisis, that means money is short everywhere. (Some countries are virtually bankrupt.)
It's a crisis made worse by the under-working of Bankers; and because of what is legal, but possibly immoral, tax avoidance. If bankers were taxed more and tax avoidances limited there would be more money. (There might also be more if those public sector workers who are overpaid had less of the public purse - it would certainly be more moral and a demonstration that "we are all in this together".)
There are workers in the private sector who do the exact same job as those in the public sector; they usually get paid less, have no pension, and less job security. (A lot more than a few years ago because of privatisation and out-sourcing.)
To keep public sector pay and pensions as they are now will require more money, but because there isn't enough money anyway now, cuts are having to be made now. The only way to pay more NOW is to get more money. (These cuts are making those who can't work suffer most, and it will be those supporting them who are private sector workers who will be first to go. Then those with less will have even less, which will mean still less money to try to provide a pension they don't have.) To spend money when its not there will result in bankruptcy (like the bankers nearly did to this country).
Maybe this is an argument that should be deferred until there is more money.
Maybe the argument should be over making those who can pay (and are responsible), pay more. (This might also mean changing tax laws so high earners can't escape paying taxes by either supposedly moving abroad, or other tax avoidance methods.
Money earned in this country should be taxed in this country! Bosses and owners moving production overseas will not stop products being sold in this country and therefore earning profit. Unless that is we all stop eating, drinking, moving around, and living in this country!)
Many live longer healthier lives today than when today's retirement ages were set - why shouldn't those who can and/or want to work longer be allowed the dignity (so many are also shouting for anyway at the moment) to contribute to their and the country's wealth and well-being, beyond today's retirement ages.
Rocco10
says...
8:39am Wed 30 Nov 11
BTW Bas, have you got any examples of private sector being paid more? In my experience they get paid less. My friend is a private nurse and gets a fraction of what an NHS nurse would. And in an outsourced industry you are normally screwed into the ground as cost are cut in order to be the cheapest provider of a service.
jimbobmaginty
says...
8:45am Wed 30 Nov 11
Fercri Sakes
says...
9:24am Wed 30 Nov 11
jimbobmaginty wrote:Yes, these strikes are outrageous. It's clear to all that the huge deficit was created by nurses, not by corporations and the mega rich avoiding tax.
Bunch of losers the lot of them! I can’t believe the pathetic reasons this lot are striking for!
Those hard working investment bankers deserve their £500K+ bonuses and if they mess up I think that teachers should pay for it by having their pensions reduced.
And I think that the bin men should be proud that they'll have to work another year so that I don't have to pay an extra 3p a litre to drive my Range Rover.
We're all in this together, obviously.
Rocco10
says...
11:54am Wed 30 Nov 11
TheDrive
says...
1:19pm Wed 30 Nov 11
•Minimum of 23 days holiday entitlement plus bank holidays
•Excellent final salary pension scheme
•Maternity, paternity and adoption leave above the statutory minimum
•Achievable work/life balance through a range of flexible working options including job-share, compressed working patterns, term-time only working, annualised hours
•Generous leave provisions to help employees deal with childcare/domestic emergencies and bereavement
•Comprehensive training and development opportunities
•Excellent occupational sick pay scheme
•Childcare benefit voucher scheme
•Confidential counselling and welfare service
•Financial assistance to help new staff relocate to the area and key worker housing scheme (where applicable)
•Discounts on bus tickets for staff travelling to and from work and interest free loans to purchase bus and rail season tickets and bikes.
Fercri Sakes
says...
2:25pm Wed 30 Nov 11
TheDrive wrote:You're quoting that list as if they're bad things to have. Maybe you should swap employers, or strike yourself.
How many private-sector workers in Brighton get the below deal? Then spend a higher than average rate off sick, and then go on strike for day?
•Minimum of 23 days holiday entitlement plus bank holidays
•Excellent final salary pension scheme
•Maternity, paternity and adoption leave above the statutory minimum
•Achievable work/life balance through a range of flexible working options including job-share, compressed working patterns, term-time only working, annualised hours
•Generous leave provisions to help employees deal with childcare/domestic emergencies and bereavement
•Comprehensive training and development opportunities
•Excellent occupational sick pay scheme
•Childcare benefit voucher scheme
•Confidential counselling and welfare service
•Financial assistance to help new staff relocate to the area and key worker housing scheme (where applicable)
•Discounts on bus tickets for staff travelling to and from work and interest free loans to purchase bus and rail season tickets and bikes.
Workers should be helping each other up the ladder for a better quality of life, not stamping on their fingers to out-do each other.
TheDrive
says...
2:40pm Wed 30 Nov 11
Fercri Sakes wrote:Not at all - agreed they are excellent benefits and I am all for people being well rewarded for useful roles in society.
TheDrive wrote: How many private-sector workers in Brighton get the below deal? Then spend a higher than average rate off sick, and then go on strike for day? •Minimum of 23 days holiday entitlement plus bank holidays •Excellent final salary pension scheme •Maternity, paternity and adoption leave above the statutory minimum •Achievable work/life balance through a range of flexible working options including job-share, compressed working patterns, term-time only working, annualised hours •Generous leave provisions to help employees deal with childcare/domestic emergencies and bereavement •Comprehensive training and development opportunities •Excellent occupational sick pay scheme •Childcare benefit voucher scheme •Confidential counselling and welfare service •Financial assistance to help new staff relocate to the area and key worker housing scheme (where applicable) •Discounts on bus tickets for staff travelling to and from work and interest free loans to purchase bus and rail season tickets and bikes.You're quoting that list as if they're bad things to have. Maybe you should swap employers, or strike yourself. Workers should be helping each other up the ladder for a better quality of life, not stamping on their fingers to out-do each other.
However, the fact that they are excellent benefits which the majority of people do not enjoy is exactly why pretty much all those who are not striking and marching today are extremely angry and upset with everybody on strike today.
Everybody (within limits) is suffering financially and the attitude of 'we refuse to work if we don't get what we want, and to hell with the chaos we cause' is alien to most working people and unbelievably selfish.
Servalan says...
5:42pm Tue 29 Nov 11