Another Absentee Councillor

It would appear that some Labour councillors are not receiving sufficient public subsidy - poor things! Some of them are forced to go AWOL (Absent Without Official Leave). The latest case of this is in Prince's Ward in Lambeth (in the parliamentary constituency of Vauxhall). It would appear that Cllr Townend moved some time ago to Henleave in Bristol in order to get the nomination to become a parliamentary candidate there.

Clle Townend was successful in his ambition and continued to live in Bristol while drawing on his councillor's allowance of £10,212 per annum.According to today's South London Press: "Townend continued to draw on his allowance as a Lambeth councillor, claiming that he was able to represent the ward despite living elsewhere." When it came to light, however, that he had only attended two meetings over the last year, his claim was called into question.

On Friday Cllr Townend resigned and had the audacity to do so on a Bristol radio station! Lambeth Council has confirmed that he has resigned and says that a by election date will be set soon. And they wonder why politics has fallen into disrepute? I hope he serves his new constituents better in Bristol that his old ones in Lambeth, if elected that is. Somehow I expect that there will be a dramatic fall in Labour MPs elected next time.

Campaign for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel!

In response to the recent Israeli onslaught, 180 Palestinian organizations and unions have called for a campaign of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Apartheid Israel.

The movement for BDS is growing fast. South African Dockers refused to offload an Israeli ship on 5 Feb. In Norway on 8 January, locomotive drivers stopped trains and trams for 2 minutes and informed passengers of the solidarity stoppage.

The shop workers’ union is asking employers to remove Israeli goods from stores, and at least 6 major unions are demanding the Norwegian government withdraw all State investment in Israel.

Come along to a lunchtime meeting to discuss ideas on how we can develop the BDS campaign in Lambeth Unison.

Date: 29 April 2009
Venue: Lambeth Town Hall
Time: 1pm-2pm

DEFEND ADULT EDUCATION AT LAMBETH COLLEGE!

MARCH THROUGH BRIXTON TUESDAY 28 APRIL March starts at Brixton College 12.30pm and from Lambeth Town Hall 12.45pm

PUT STUDENTS FIRST!
REDUCE TEACHERS’ WORKLOAD
REINSTATE COURSE MANAGERS
Organised by Lambeth College UCU (teachers’ union)

WHY WE ARE STRIKING

Teachers are buckling at the knees trying to keep this College on its feet. On top of teaching 23 hours a week, we have to attend more and more meetings, complete excessive amounts of admin and paperwork, mark students’ work, carry out interviews, oversee exams, etc, etc. Teachers are working a lot of unpaid overtime hours, working through their breaks, and taking work home with them. For about 2 years we have been telling Lambeth College Management that we are suffering stress and illness due to overwork. However Management have ignored us and continued to pile on the workload even more. We are saying that we want our teaching hours reduced to 21 hours a week because we no longer have enough time to prepare lessons properly, and this is not fair on our students.

Management are also implementing a more hierarchical system of Management, cutting some existing manager posts (although this will cost more) - this means that teachers will have less support and be under even more pressure.

Since 2006, each year we have faced £millions in cuts to provision, and lived with repeated threats to the security of our jobs. Yet again this year we are expecting more massive cuts, so we know that things will only get worse.

Now we feel we have no choice but to take action. We have balloted our members and agreed to take 2 hours strike action (which means we will lose pay) to highlight the effect that workload and restructuring is having on our ability to provide a decent education to our students.

PLEASE SUPPORT OUR DEMONSTRATION

Support the occupation of Enfield Visteon workers!

Hot off the heels of workers who have occupied their factory in Belfast, workers in the Enfield Visteon plant joined them this week when they went into occupation on Wednesday 1 April. Some workers are demanding the factory be kept open and that workers make green products such as bikes, solar panels and turbines. The mood is confident and workers are asking for solidarity and support from the labour movement.

For more information visit: http://www.permanentrevolution.net/entry/2636