Thursday 20 August 2015

Health services under the axe!

Southwark Action Alert                        16th August 2015

You don’t need to look far to see the scale of cuts people in Southwark are facing: Public health funding in south London will be cut by £40 million from next January; King’s College Foundation Trust is estimating an £86million shortfall in this financial year, threatening job losses and a deteriorating service. And health is supposed to be a ‘protected’ area of government spending!

These are all reasons for joining people from Southwark who will be travelling to Manchester on 4th October to demonstrate outside the Tory Conference. (See below) Can your trade union branch/campaign give formal support to the advertising of this TUC event? Or help with costs of hiring transport and selling tickets? Reply to this email to let us know.

EVENTS LIST

Tuesday 18 August
7.15am to 9.30am. Protest against fare rises and calling for an affordable railway under public ownership. At Waterloo station, outside Exit 5, ‘Victory Arch’. Called by Action For Rail Campaign. See more here.

Wednesday 19 August
9am onwards. Southwark Day of Action in support of the National Gallery all-out strike against privatisation. Campaigners and trade unionists in Southwark please come to the picket line or send a message of support initially to southwarksos@gmail.com to be taken on the day. Strikers will help adapt a suitable painting from the National Gallery collection to help publicise our solidarity. For updates visit the strike Facebook page ‘No Privatisation at The National Gallery’.

Saturday 22 August
4pm – 7pm. Meeting of Aylesbury Tenants and Leaseholders First, inviting residents and friends to discuss what is happening on the estate and listen to people who have been displaced by Council’s previous demolitions. Venue: Pembroke House, 80 Tatum Street SE17 1QR.  Email: aylesburytenant@yahoo.co.uk or call: 07476532632.


ADVANCE NOTICE

Sunday 13 September
Rally and lobby of the TUC Congress in Brighton, calling on the TUC and the unions to organise a midweek demonstration on the day that the Tories bring their Trade Union Bill to Parliament and to prepare for mass co-ordinated strike action if it is passed. (Venue: Charlotte Room in the Grand Hotel 97-99 King’s Rd BN1 2FW , next to the Brighton conference Centre). Email info@shopstewards.net if you want to attend and need transport. More info at http://shopstewards.net/activate/events/

Saturday 19th September
7.30pm Housing Rights, Human Rights Film night, includes a film by Simon Hanna about the fight against social cleansing and the destruction of council housing in Southwark, and seven days in the Barcelona anti-eviction movement that has inspired people everywhere to fight for their homes. Venue: Tiendas Del Sur, 91–95, Newington Butts, Elephant & Castle SE1 6SF. Event  supported by: South London People's Assembly Against Austerity, London Mexico Solidarity, Southwark Defend Council Housing.

Tuesday 29 September
7pm. Defend Council Housing meeting at the Alvey Estate Tenants Hall, ground floor of Thomson House, Beckway Street, off East Street, SE17 1TS. Beckway Street is close to the end of East Street at its junction with the Old Kent Road. More information from southwarkdch@gmail.com

Sunday 4 October
7am. Coaches depart Southwark to the TUC’s national demonstration at the Tory Party Conference, Manchester.See details here. If you want to go, reply to this email to find out about times and tickets. Can your trade union branch/campaign support and advertise this event, or send a donation to help with cost of coach hire? Reply to this email or write to secretary@southlondonpa.org

3-8th October
A week of protests and action at the Tory party conference. Organised by the People’s Assembly and other supporting organisations. See above for details.


OTHER LOCAL CAMPAIGNS not listed above:

Campaign to Save the Aylesbury. Campaigners are supporting local tenants to oppose the demolition of council housing in Southwark. Replacing social housing with private dwellings is denying thousands of people decent, affordable housing.  A petition demanding that the Council respects the result of their ballot in 2001, or gives them another vote to decide what happens to their homes is being circulated. If you can help going door to door to seek signatures, contact southwarkdch@gmail.com or phone 07792 786 192. Website: www.defendcouncilhousing.org.uk/dch. Facebook page: click here.

Defend Lewisham Southwark College campaign The governors have voted to sell-off the Camberwell campus and a separate proposal by Southwark Council, published last month, is to take over the parts of the buildings that formed Southwark College before it merged with Lewisham in 2012.The Camberwell site is used by about 300 students - who mostly do ESOL classes and basic numeracy and some Job Centre plus courses. Contact savelscollege@gmail.com for more info or to join the mailing list. Campaign Facebook page ‘Defend Lewisham Southwark College’. You can download the latest proposal from Southwark Council’s website.

Keep Our NHS Public meet monthly (except in August) in the upstairs room at the Phoenix pub, 348 Clapham Road, SW9 9AR (between Clapham North and Stockwell tube stations). There is no Southwark KONP group so Southwark activists please make contact with this Lambeth group to find out about local activity. The group have a new Facebook page at www.facebook.com/LambethKONP .

London Play and Youth Work Campaign is supported by Unite the Union. If you're a playworker, a child, a mum, a dad, a cousin, a youth worker, or you’re just concerned about cuts to youth services, please join. Find out more here or contact londonplaycampaign@gmail.com

London Unemployed Strategies (LUS) - a campaign to give a voice to unemployed people. For more information and to get involved, contact Nick on: 020 7467 1283 or 07530 001653, or email nickplus007@gmail.com. Facebook page here.

Save Lewisham Hospital
There is an indication that Lewisham Hospital may be under threat again. a petition online has been launched. For more information, click here. For the petition, click here.

SolidariTEA, a weekly drop-in between 2pm and 4pm for those affected by work capability, benefits & housing problems etc. Mutual support & planning direct action, at 97 Dawes House, Orb St, Walworth, London, SE17 1RD. For information, email to solidariteasouthwark@gmail.com or phone 07966180429 on Mondays pm. See the Facebook page.

South London People’s Assembly organising meetings are held monthly at Bread & Roses pub, 68 Clapham Manor St, London SW4 6DZ. More information from secretary@southlondonpa.org.

South London Unite the Resistance. For news updates and action alerts on trade union and anti-austerity events in south London, join the email list by writing to southlondonunitetheresistance@gmail.com or phone 07956579466.

Southwark Trades Council meets on the second Wednesday each month at 160 Tooley Street. The Trades Council or local TUC group is a forum for local unions to meet and organise together. ALL Southwark trade union members are welcome. Contact 07983475050 or southwarktuc@gmail.com for more information.

Southwark Disabled People Against Cuts can be contacted at Southwark Independent Living Centre, 10 Bradenham Close, SE17 2QB or by emailing southwarkdpac@mail.com