30 May 2008

LAMBETH UNISON CALLS PUBLIC MEETING IN DEFENCE OF LOCAL SERVICES

Thanks to James Caspell for this....

Speakers include:
Mark Serwotka – General Secretary, PCS
Alan Walter – Secretary, Defend Council Housing
Heenal Rajani – Lambeth UNISON
Barbara Glosby – Lambeth Pensioners Association
Jean Kerrigan – Former Chair of Lambeth Tenants Council

6.30pm to 8.30pm
Wednesday 11th June
Lambeth Town Hall, Brixton

Not content with transferring management of its council housing to an ALMO despite residents voting against it, Lambeth Council is proposing to give massive private companies ten-year contracts worth over £1.2 billion to run housing services.

They call this "Partnering" – really it is a licence for contractors to line their pockets and decimate the services tenants and leaseholders receive. Hundreds of Lambeth staff could be transferred to private sector firms and services provided away from local, democratic control.

What's more, Lambeth Council are not even intending to give tenants and leaseholders a vote on whether they want this privatisation or not! And officers are refusing to even come up with the costs of providing services in-house through a Direct Labour Organisation.

UNISON members who work for the Council are holding a consultative ballot on industrial action in a bid to stop this privatisation going through. Residents must support them and unite with other public sector workers fighting to prevent the privatisation of the services we rely on!

On 24 April teachers, college lecturers and civil servants were on strike and marched through Brixton protesting against pay cuts. Nurses and local government workers are now balloting on strike action over pay. Private sector involvement is threatening education, health, social care, the Royal Mail, rail and tube, and the civil service, as well as council housing.

Come to this meeting to hear the truth about privatisation. Help organise the action that is necessary if we are to save our services in Lambeth.

CONTACT

For more information please email info@saveourservices.org.uk or visit www.saveourservices.org.uk

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