Latin American Workers' Association's MayDay events

Dear Southwark SOS members

You are more than welcome to any of our Mayday weekend activities in Elephant and Castle.

Jake/Latin American Workers' Association (LAWAS)

1) SATURDAY: BANNER MAKING AND SINGING FOR MAYDAY

We will be holding our last workshop making banners using batik, for use on Sunday’s Mayday March and other demos. This will be followed by bilingual singing workshop: A las Barricadas, Solidarity Forever, Solo Pido a Dios etc!

Date: Saturday 30 April

Time: 11am-4pm (banners); 4.30-7pm (singing)

Place: “Studio at the Elephant” (Unit 207/208), Elephant & Castle Shopping Centre, SE1 6TE

2) SUNDAY: MAYDAY MARCH AND CELEBRATION

Join us at Clerkenwell Green from 11.30am for the Mayday march, and then at 7pm for a celebration, also at Elephant & Castle Shopping Centre (Unit 207/208) with music and special guests. This is the last activity at this temporary venue, which was recently featured on Venezuelan TV  where they interviewed local activists about the cuts and showed the area etc.

Other stuff....

3) SUPPORT PALACE CLEANERS

PCS cleaners at royal palaces demand living wage of £7.85 la hora.

Sign the petition: http://www.pcs.org.uk/en/culture_media_and_sport_occupational_association/campaigns/fair-pay-for-royal-cleaners.cfm

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=109669709118427#!/event.php?eid=193452954033371

4)  A LATIN AMERICAN CLEANER ON A FIGHTING PLATFORM

Latin American cleaner Emilse Ocampo Medina from Birkbeck College is standing for the reserved seat for low paid workers in the Unison NEC elections.

She says:

“I am a migrant worker working for a private contractor in the public sector. I am a committed UNISON activist with a track record in fighting low pay, standing up to bullying bosses and fighting for dignity and respect for all workers. I believe the 26th March demonstration against the cuts was a great start but that we need to unite across the public sector and beyond to build real resistance to the attacks on public services and on our jobs.”

See her Facebook page

27 APR STUC hustings for the Lane Ward By-election

Dear All,

Southwark Trade Union Council (STUC) is hosting a hustings for the Lane Ward By-election.

Wednesday 27th April
7pm
At the Consort Estate TRA Hall
Consort Estate
Philip Walk SE15.

All the candidates have been invited and Michael Davern will chair. Please
would you spread the word as we would like to get a good turn out and the
hustings held in Brunswick Park was very succesful

Fraternally

Sue Plain
Secretary Southwark Trades Union Council

KEEP OUR NHS PUBLIC!

Protesters prepare to lobby Simon Hughes over the Government’s Health & Social Care Bill on Friday 1^st April. The Lobby was called by the local ‘Keep Our NHS Public’ group and supported by SSOS.

 Simon Hughes trying hard to convince the lobbyists (or is he trying hard to convince himself?) that the Bill is ‘not all bad’.

Plus here is a link to Lambeth action: http://www.lambethunited.org/index.php/2011/03/health-workers-chase-minister/

After Saturday's demonstration - anti-cuts action continues!

After the magnificent march and demonstration last Saturday, we are organising our future events at our meeting on Wednesday (see below).  There is an important demonstration on Friday, a protest on Sunday and two meetings to discuss plans for action across London. Please contact us if you want more details, and see below for reports and pictures of the South London Feeder march which attracted 5,000 people!

WEDNESDAY 30th March

7 pm. Southwark Save Our Services (SSOS)  Organising meeting – open to all. Room A2, at London South Bank University, London Road Building, SE1 6LN. Ring 07939 090 667 for further directions and to receive an agenda.

FRIDAY 1st April

5pm - 6pm. LOBBY SIMON HUGHES TO DEFEND THE NHS! Liberal Democrats' Office, Market Place, Bermondsey, SE16 3UQ.

As part of the TUC’s "All Together for the NHS Day", London Keep Our NHS Public is organising a lobby of the Liberal Democrats' office in Bermondsey, constituency of Simon Hughes, calling on him to vote against the Bill.  Join us there. Southwark Keep Our NHS Public are supporting this event.

SATURDAY 2nd April

3 pm - 6pm. A mass open meeting for activists from community groups, national campaigns and especially the local anti-cuts movement, to come together after the demo at UCL to discuss: i. An assessment of the 26 March ii. Future plans and actions. No plans for any top table speakers, etc, but a space to develop a concrete plan of action. Called by the National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts (NCAFC) and co-sponsored by Coalition of Resistance & Right to Work Campaign

SUNDAY 3rd April

10 am at 10 Downing Street, London SW1A 2AA

Mother's Day Protest (presenting petition re Children’s Centre closures. Organised by No Cuts for kids)

TUESDAY 5th April

7.30 pm. ‘Where next after March 26?’ – Open Forum, Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Square, WC1R 4RL (Holborn Tube) John McDonnell MP, strikers from: Tower Hamlets and Camden NUT and UNISON, health campaigners, UCU strikers and more. Called by the Right to Work Campaign

FUTURE EVENTS:

Saturday 16 April: 1pm. "Our cuts - their celebration" a meeting at London South Bank University, London Road SE1, Room A10. Organised by RSC. Further details to be announced.

A BIG ‘THANK YOU’ TO ALL OUR SUPPORTERS

Thanks to all everyone who has sent us messages of congratulations and support after Saturday’s hugely successful march through central London.

We think the feeder march from Kennington Park to Westminster Bridge which we helped to organise marks a turning point in the campaign against cuts to services and jobs in South London. About 2 - 3,000 people assembled in Kennington Park and by the time we were marching up Kennington Road, the numbers, according to police estimates, had swollen to 5,000.

 

Large contingents of local trade unionists came with their banners from UNISON, NUT, GMB, UNITE, UCU and others; Campaign groups from across south London including those fighting for Rights for the Disabled, Defending Adult Education, ‘Keep Our NHS Public’, BARAC the black activists group, and the Latin American Coalition Against the Cuts; Students from Camberwell College of Art, Goldsmith’s and South Bank Universities, and from local secondary schools; ‘The Armed Wing of the TUC’ brought not only people but a huge ‘Trojan Horse’ to accompany the demonstrators.

All those who took to the streets of Kennington showed a determination to make their voices heard, traffic was halted, and as people poured onto Westminster Bridge the police lines conceded as demonstrators flooded across to meet with the main body of the march. It was a great feeling!

BUT THIS WAS JUST THE BEGINNING!

From the messages we have received, we feel that Saturday’s huge demonstration has given confidence to thousands more, both in south London and elsewhere, to resist the cuts being made by a Government that has no mandate for its policies. Given the number of strikes planned across London by public sector workers later this week in Camden and Tower Hamlets, and the occupations of public buildings in south London threatened with closure, we will be doing everything possible to encourage the same sort of actions in our own borough in the coming weeks and months!

SUPPORT US - WITH YOUR TIME

Having said all that, Southwark SOS campaign urgently needs more volunteers to help with the tasks of keeping in contact with the rapidly expanding number of people and community groups who want to work with us. Also, if you’re not yet on our email list to receive a weekly bulletin of events, we will gladly add you to the e-list.  Please email southwarksos@gmail.com.

SUPPORT US - WITH YOUR MONEY

We spent a lot of money - printing 16,000 leaflets for Southwark alone – in order to advertise the feeder march and the TUC demonstration. We are already thinking about future events to organise and support so please help us to fund all this by donating, or setting up a standing order to Southwark SOS campaign.

Donate online to: Southwark SOS, HSBC, Sort code: 40-05-25, Account no: 11643002

26MARCH - more than half a million people march against the government cuts

It was an amazing day!

There are many reasons why I’ll be marching with my family on 26th March.

"I believe the government does not have a mandate from the electorate to dismantle the public sector. Why is the bailing out of the banks being paid for by the loss of public services, pensions and welfare benefits, which support all in society including the most vulnerable? Meanwhile, those in the banking sector continue to be astronomically rewarded.

I am an artist who works part time for Southwark Mind a small charity supporting those most at risk and isolated in society and who experience mental health problems. My hours are likely to be reduced, many mental health services are under threat and the impact of such changes, as well as those to the benefits system is having a terribly detrimental impact on the well-being of Southwark Mind’s members.

I have made six lollipops in support of Southwark Save Our Services, I understand the numbers of lollipop people and community wardens will be cut in Southwark this year. My eight year old daughter will wear a tee-shirt with her drawing of a lollipop sign on it.

These cuts impact on what I value and work to improve in our society: below is a cartoon I have drawn which portrays the carnage of the cuts and expresses why I am marching on the 26th March 2011."