Low paid workers and tax payers in Dorset are set to benefit from a new campaign being launched to persuade local employers to pay a so called “Living Wage” of £7.45 an hour.
The campaign group – called Living Wage for Dorset (LWD) – is backed by a number of faith groups, community organisations, political parties and trade unions in the county who claim that Dorset is one of the country’s low pay economies dominated by the agriculture, hospitality and service industries. Read more >>
Warning Signs
The warning signs have been there for some time. Last 
month one poll showed that the general public has lost confidence in politics providing solutions to the failing economy. More recently opinion polling showed antipathy to all things Europe, amplified by anxieties about a contagion of struggling EU economies. Read more >>
Statement from Boycott Workfare: Stop the Sanctions!
The PCS conference takes place in Brighton later this month. Join a 
rally urging delegates to support a position of non-cooperation with sanctions against welfare claimants at 12.30pm on 21st May. We are extremely disappointed that PCS leadership have decided not to allow debate at their conference on two motions which called for the union to move from theoretical to practical unity with claimants in challenging sanctions. Read more >>
Police sponsorship deals: the thin end of the wedge of police privatisation
In a recent article in the Daily Echo, Martyn Underhill, the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for Dorset said he would consider sponsorship deals with “reputable organisations”. 
He said ideas could include adverts on police cars, website links or plugs on Twitter and that there was “huge potential” in sponsorship, but it would be long-term. He added: “This will help us to plan and sustain projects that might otherwise not have been possible due to the ongoing financial constraints.” Read more >>
Benefits in Britain: Separating the facts from the fiction
The attack on our welfare state is hitting a whole range of services – privatising the NHS,
winding up legal aid for people in debt and closing SureStart centres and libraries. All this will make life poorer for every community and the myths spread about people living on benefits must be challenged and dispelled. Read more >>
Three judges have ruled that the procedure currently used by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to decide whether hundreds of thousands
of people are eligible for Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) disadvantages people with mental health problems, learning disabilities and autism. Read more >>
Independent Living Fund recipient interviews
Interviews with people who are directly affected by the government’s atrocious recent decision to close the Independent Living Fund (the ILF).
The ILF was set up as a standalone fund to pay for extra carer hours for people with severe disabilities. That additional funding made it possible for people to pay for enough care to continue to live independently in their homes, rather than in residential care. At the end of last year, the government made an extremely unpopular decision to close the fund and devolve it to local authorities. A recent attempt to challenge the closure was lost, but claimants plan to appeal. Read more >>
Some ideas to fight the Bedroom Tax
The bedroom tax can be stopped by people and communities standing together. 
Many local groups have mushroomed all over the UK and are raising awareness, challenging social landlords and building solidarity within communities. Read more >>
Follow the Money: Tory Ideology is all about handouts to the wealthy that are funded by the poor
Here is yet another great Tory lie exposed – “Making work pay”. This Government have raided our tax-funded welfare provision and used it to provide handouts
to the very wealthy – £107, 000 each per year in the form of a tax cut for millionaires. The Conservatives claim that it is “unfair” that people on benefits are “better off” than those in work. But the benefit cuts are having a dire impact on workers as well. Read more >>
TUC Campaign Plan 2013: Five steps towards a future that works
The TUC’s Campaign Plan for 2013 has been agreed by the General Council, 
the body which governs the TUC between its annual Congresses. It outlines the priorities the union movement will focus around, to make the case against austerity, and for a new economic approach that can deliver a future that works for Britain’s working people and their families. Read more >>
7pm, Town Hall, Bridport DT6 3HA
Read more >>
Tuesday 31st May – Living Wage Campaign Launch
7pm, Corn Exchange, High Street East, Dorchester DT1 1HF
Read more >>
Monday 3rd June – Unite Community Activist Training Day
11am – 4pm, Unite the Union, 238 Holdenhurst Road, Bournemouth BH8 8EG
Read more >>
Wednesday 5th June – Living Wage Campaign Launch
6.30pm, Barnes Theatre, Bournemouth University Talbot Campus BH12 5BB
Read more >> Register here >>
Tuesday 18th June – Demos against the Bedroom Tax
Assemble from 6pm outside Poole Civic Centre or Bournemouth Town Hall
Read more >>
Saturday 22nd June – The People’s Assembly
9:30am – 5pm, Central Hall Westminster, Storey’s Gate, London, Westminster, London SW1H 9NH
Read more >>
“We are both disabled as well as being disability activists. We experience pain and suffering ourselves and see it in our friends, families and colleagues. It is one thing to live with the physical challenges of a disability. It is quite another to hear lies and misinformation every day from our own government.”
Sign petition >>
WOW Petition – War on Welfare
“We call for a Cumulative Impact Assessment of Welfare Reform, and a New Deal for sick & disabled people based on their needs, abilities and ambitions”
Sign petition >>
People’s Petition Against Austerity – Coalition of Resistance
“The failed policies of the politicians and the bankers caused the financial crisis. Spending cuts are driving us into poverty. An economic alternative is essential to protect ordinary people, and to save the NHS and welfare state. The government should:
- Stop cuts and halt privatisation;
- Tax the millionaires and big business;
- Drop the debt, and put the banks under democratic control;
- Invest in jobs, homes, public services and the environment.”
Say No to South West Pay Cartel
“The NHS that we know and love is under threat. One of the biggest challenges is the pressure to cut costs and make savings. This has resulted in 20 Trusts across the South West collaborating on radical changes to pay and conditions and the creation of a regional pay system.”
Sign petition >>
Details of more events throughout the UK can be found at The Word
