26 March: everyone's invited: Unite is joining other unions and organisations on the TUC's national demonstration against the government's public sector cuts in London on 26 March.

26 March: everyone's invited: Unite is joining other unions and organisations on the TUC's national demonstration against the government's public sector cuts in London on 26 March.

Subject:	Labor unions (United Kingdom) Labor unions (Conferences, meetings and seminars) Labor unions (Political activity)
Author:	Ratnaike, Danny
Pub Date:	02/01/2011
Publication:	Name: Community Practitioner Publisher: Ten Alps Publishing Audience: Academic Format: Magazine/Journal Subject: Health; Health care industry Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2011 Ten Alps Publishing ISSN: 1462-2815
Issue:	Date: Feb, 2011 Source Volume: 84 Source Issue: 2
Topic:	Event Code: 290 Public affairs Canadian Subject Form: Labour unions; Labour unions; Labour unions
Product:	Product Code: 8630000 Labor Unions NAICS Code: 81393 Labor Unions and Similar Labor Organizations SIC Code: 8631 Labor organizations
Organization:	Organization: Trades Union Congress; Trades Union Congress
Geographic:	Geographic Scope: United Kingdom Geographic Code: 4EUUK United Kingdom

Accession Number:	248402372
Full Text:	Unite is encouraging members and their friends, colleagues and families to join the March for the Alternative against public sector cuts in London on 26 March. Unite national officer for health Karen Reay stated: 'It is our responsibility to defend our NHS and public services for future generations--it is essential that this government listens to the people.' She added: 'We cannot let others do the fighting for us. A huge collective show of strength on this demo will wake the sleeping public and make the government take our concerns seriously.' Economic vandalism The government's cuts were labelled 'economic vandalism' in a joint New Year message from the three largest unions in the UK--Unite, UNISON and the GMB. Within it, Unite general secretary-designate Len McCluskey stated: 'It is possible to pull the UK economy out of recession without the misery of mass unemployment. This government is ripping a huge hole in the economy by contracting spending and throwing one and a half million people on the dole.' Assistant general secretary Gail Cartmail warned: 'The speed and scale of the coalition's helter-skelter rush to dismantle public services is a cynical ploy to cut back the welfare state before the British public wakes up to the massive and negative consequences.' Saving the NHS The Unite 4 Our NHS campaign (see Take six steps, right) is fighting proposed NHS reforms at a time when fall-out from cuts across the public sector is expected to have a large impact on services and staff. Unite/CPHVA lead professional officer Obi Amadi stated: 'This is the time to stand up and speak out against cuts that will affect jobs in the health sector. We need to show our concern by supporting this event.' Transport to the march for Unite members and their families [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Transport to the national demonstration is being organised for all regions: * East Midlands--Fred Hanna, email: Fred.Hanna@unitetheunion.org * London and Eastern--Sarah Cook, email: sarah.cook@unitetheunion.org * Ireland--Jimmy Kelly, email: jimmy.kelly@unitetheunion.org * North East--Jeff Tate, email: jeff.tate@unitetheunion.org * North West--Tony Hayes, email: tony.hayes@unitetheunion.org * Scotland--Kenny Jordan, email: kenny.jordan@unitetheunion.org * South East--Matt Tipper, email: matt.tipper@unitetheunion.org * South West--Hugh Kirkbride, email: hugh.kirkbride@unitetheunion.org * Wales--Graham Smith, email: graham.smith@unitetheunion.org * West Midlands--Peter Clews, email: peter.clews@unitetheunion.org * Yorkshire--Dick Croft, email: dick.croft@unitetheunion.org [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] March for the Alternative London, Saturday 26 March Assemble 11am on Victoria Embankment, between Temple Place and Blackfriars, to march to a rally in Hyde Park Take six steps Show your support for the Unite 4 Our NHS campaign by: * Adding your name to our map: http://nhs.unitetheunion.org/ page/s/addyourvoice * Putting our poster up at work: www.unitetheunion.org/ pdf/004-Poster.pdf * Writing a letter to your local newspaper, explaining why you think plans to privatise the NHS will make local services worse * Telling your MP what you think of the government's NHS plans: http://action.unitetheunion.com/ page/speakout/emailyourMP * Getting colleagues, friends and family involved in letting the public know their NHS is under threat * Booking transport for the TUC demonstration on 26 March. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] For resources and updates, see: www.unitetheunion.org/campaigns/ don_t_break_britain.aspx Danny Ratnaike Editor
Gale Copyright:	Copyright 2011 Gale, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

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