Published 7th September, 1994. Signal Workers Dispute.
I joined the rally for the Signal Workers in Nottingham last Saturday.
Leading the march were John Heppell & Tony Benn.
Personal Contracts.
It is remarkable how this dispute is developing and the threat of personal contracts is worrying.
I speak from personal experience; colleagues in management caved under when B.R. imposed personal contracts on us in 1988.
However, I expect the trade union culture and resolve of RMT to provide a stronger bulwark than TSSA.
Speakers.
Speakers at the march extended the issue to wider matters of the right to quarrel with union rights, unemployment, homelessness & non-payment of poll tax.
However, a key conclusion may be how the railway needs to be run as a network, by one organisation.
Prospective private train operators may well have been deterred as they see the existing British Rail lose millions because of a dispute in the separate Railtrack.
County Council Budget.
The Labour Group is currently reviewing it spending priorities in anticipation of a reduced budget next year.
This is because Notts. is having to adjust to spending in line with the Government's guidance;
and because further severe Government cuts are expected in November.
Charges for Social Services.
One of the options under consideration is to start charging for certain services supplied.
The Govt. expect 15% of the SSA for Social Services to be raised by charges, and Notts. is in a minority in no charging (85% of other authorities do levy charges).
I would be interested to hear views on the desirability or practicability of charging.
New Initiatives.
The Group also wants to create opportunities for new projects to give the Council a sense of progress and new ideas.
Beechwood.
The latest meeting of the Close Beechwood Cttee. attracted 40 people.
Pete Scoffings attended the meeting and reports that the Cttee. continues to attack myself for lack of help or support.
To counter-act the poison they are spreading, our approach must be to continue to distribute our own literature and to canvass.
Hopefully, we can start some canvassing in Mapperley once the Portland by-election is out of the way.
Sherwood Shopping Centre.
The Sherwood Traders are now collecting signatures for a petition expressing opposition to a new Sainsbury's at the City Hospital.
The Hazelwood estate.
This estate is finally to be finished at the end of September.
Hopefully, we'll then see progress on the finishing of the roads and the completion of the open space.
New Policies for Common Security.
Alan Simpson MP has written a pamphlet ("Beyond the Famished Road") which re-emphasises his commitment to CND and seeks to change the emphasis of our foreign and defence policies to one of building up developing countries and building our links with them.
Alan says the major risks to world security are fear, famine, drought, civil war & the lack of democracy.
"Unelected State".
Jack Straw MP highlighted how the ratio of the waste in public money was £60 in quangoes to every £1 in local democratic government.
Jack alleged that the "feel bad" factor within society now meant people perceived a "smell bad" aura about the Tories.
Ireland.
The ceasefire is encouraging.
The message seems to be that the Government has recognised that our military presence cannot enforce the current political system.
There must and will be change. One factor is that the republican communities in the north of Ireland will be in a majority in 30 years or so.
25th anniversary.
The recent media coverage has highlighted just how the public were misled in 1969;
Martin Bell's comments about ethnic cleansing taking place in Belfast and yet the BBC controller refusing the situation to be explained was chilling.
Cases.
125 in 1994.
Unemployment.
639 in Mapperley ward (16.1%, June'94).
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