Leading Brighton Greens reaffirm support for striking workers

Brighton and Hove City Council’s leader and Brighton Pavilion’s MP have reaffirmed their support for public sector workers ahead of Wednesday’s large-scale nationwide strike.

Hundreds of thousands of workers are to strike against the Government’s proposals for their pensions in what is expected to be one of the largest days of industrial action in a generation.

Council leader Bill Randall insists his party are standing by public sector workers and he will be joining his colleagues and party leader Caroline Lucas at the picket lines and marches taking place in the city on 30th November.

He said: “The proposals are little more than a stealth tax on public sector workers, many of them on low incomes. The money will be used to pay off the nation’s debts. It’s a political choice which penalises people who did not cause the problem. Meanwhile the Government offers giveaways to the financial sector that did.

“From the £70bn lost in tax evasion, to selling off the only profitable sections of Northern Rock at an overall loss, the Government has its focus in all the wrong places.

“Greens stand by public sector workers fighting against this Government raid. Nobody wants to disrupt services, but the Government has left the unions little room. I’m glad to say that the unions have agreed to maintain ‘life and limb’ services throughout the day.”

Caroline Lucas, MP for Brighton Pavilion, added that she regrets the disruption that will be caused by the action but insists she supports the actions taken by nurses, teachers and civil servants in response to the feeling that ‘the Government is simply not listening’.

She explained: “The Conservative-led Government’s assault on public sector pensions is a serious concern for my constituents and for workers across the public sector. While recent moves by Ministers to improve the pensions package offered some hope, it’s clear that we are still far from a genuinely fair deal.

“I regret the disruption caused by industrial action, but feel confident that union leaders have resorted to a full strike only as a last resort – because public sector employees up and down the country continue to feel that the Government is simply not listening.

“We must not forget that these are our nurses, teachers, and civil servants – the people who provide the crucial services which we rely on every day. The Greens will not hesitate to lend our support and solidarity to them on November 30.”

Related Posts:

• Caroline Lucas supports Sussex student protest
• Caroline Lucas steps down as Green Party leader
• Brighton MP concerned at UK aid money corruption threat
• MP joins schoolgirl in campaigning for diabetes research funding
• Nightclubs warned against flyposting

Posted by Joseph Lewis on November 29, 2011. Filed under Brighton and Hove News,Featured,Green Party. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry