Tories-Labour-Libs & Pensions. The Difference Being?

The Three Stooges

So finally, Labour have come out and given an opinion on the public sector pension dispute and surprise, surprise, they are sitting on the fence. They are correct in stating that the LibCons have set a trap in terms of encouraging industrial action, but the trap was set as much for Labour as it was the trade unions. There was absolutely no way that Red Ed Miliband was going to be seen on a picket line during the current economic circumstances, as the New Labour focus groups will have been screaming at him not to do it.

So, where does that leave the unions and what will be their reaction to Labour's response? To an extent all three British parties are correct in encouraging negotiation rather than strike action but of course at the same time, the LibCons have also been goading the unions into strike action, hoping to trap both them and the Labour party. So far, all the unions who have voted for strike action are non-affiliated and so have no financial tie to Labour. However, the vast majority of their leadership are Labour members and will quietly be furious that their party has once again, stepped away from supporting them.

What surprises me is that anyone is remotely surprised that Labour are ducking the issue. After all, they were planning to do exactly the same thing with public sector pensions and even the man advising the LibCons is a former Labour Minister. As someone who works in Local Government and pays into a public sector pension, I am prepared to accept that there will have to be some changes, but we have already accepted changes in the last few years and what is being proposed, is well beyond what is required to 'balance the books'.

I have said before and repeat the accusation now, that this has nothing to do with sustaining the public sector pension system, but all about managing the collapse of it. For all these drastic changes will do, is to discourage new membership of the pension schemes and encourage people to leave. It does not matter if the revised schemes are still better than what is on offer in the private sector, as many workers are very sceptical about the whole pension system anyway, after the banking collapse.

So in conclusion, all three British parties are standing as one in what they want from the pension changes, with two trying to goad unions into action and the other sitting well and truly on the fence. There is no sign of any sensible compromises as all three British parties have allowed for savage public sector pension cuts in their figures to 'save the economy'. In other words, they want some of the poorest paid workers in the UK to sacrifice some of their 'deferred pay' to save the bankers' blushes.

On a point of information, did you know that British MPs have one of the best pension schemes in Europe? Please feel free to curse.

Labour Want Your Money, Your Vote and Your Terms & Conditions of Employment

Is this Transport House?

As someone who has worked in Local Government for over 20 years and mostly as a trade union steward, I can honestly say that the current cuts being passed onto Councils from London are huge. I spent 12 months as a Senior Officer negotiating many cuts with managers and it has been as difficult for them as it has for us. In fact, it was quite a 'team-building' exercise at times.

Looking at all 22 Welsh Authorities, they have all managed the cuts in different ways, but have been given a sensible steer by the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA). Then, there are the Labour controlled Councils. Both Rhondda Cynon Taf and Neath Port Talbot (they only control 2 outright) chose not to follow the advice of the WLGA and instead followed the advice of the Local Government Association (LGA). The LGA is controlled and dominated by right wing Tory English Councils and they have been advising Councils not to bother negotiating cuts, but just serving notice on their staff to force them through. This is what was done by the Labour Councils in Wales.

The Council staff have effectively had a gun held to their head and have been told, 'sign your new contract or you are out of a job.' This is not just my opinion, but the opinion of the public sector unions.

So why is it that the very same unions are asking their members to vote for these charlatans?

So maybe you think I'm just giving half the story. Have Plaid Councils treated their staff the same? Well, no they have not. In fact, even the only Tory controlled Council in Wales (Monmouth) has not treated their staff with such utter contempt. This may explain the Labour First Minster recently making a panic visit to RCT to try to resolve the dispute between the staff and Labour Councillors. His visit appears to have made matters worse, so his negotiating skills do not seem to be up to much.

To add to Labour's shameful actions, the Labour group in Carmarthenshire Council have supported the Council in cutting the facilities times for Unite trade union activists. This work time is given to employees to represent their members and these volunteers are currently absolutely flat out dealing with job evaluation, enormous cuts and single status negotiations.

The statements above are not accusations but facts supported by the public sector unions; the very same unions who not only give money to Labour but also are calling on Council workers to vote for them.

What you have to ask yourself, is do you want to vote for a party that takes your cash with one hand and stabs you in the back with the other?

I don't, so I'm not voting for them. Are you?

Apologies for Not Attending London

As a trade unionist in Local Government, I wanted to attend the rally in London this Saturday but it did clash with our conference in Cardiff. However, I wish all the marchers well and hope (rather than expect) that the LibCons realise that the cuts are actually damaging the economy and not saving it.

However, any thoughts I mighty have had about skipping conference were soon forgotten after receiving a mailing from my union this week from my Wales union boss, inviting me to join the Labour party. Not only was this rather annoying, but the rest of the literature then linked directly the march this weekend to supporting Labour. Hang on a minute I asked myself, but wasn't it this lot in charge when the economy got in such a mess in the first place?

Well, not according to the junk mail in front of me. They also neglected to mention that if they had won the British election last year, that their cuts on Wales would have been almost identical to what the LibCons are foisting on us. You better get used to this nonsense, as Labour will repeat it again and again over the coming weeks, in the hope that you actually believe it.

I for one have no intention of attending a rally hijacked by Labour as a recruitment campaign, courtesy of my own union.

Still No Mood to Protest

Undeb at Last Saturday's anti-Cuts Rally

The current cuts that the UK public sector are facing, are the biggest for generations and are having a massive effect on public services. The size and speed of the cuts are way beyond any justification based on the deficit and in nations like Wales, there is a clear double dip localised recession taking place-particularly in the areas most reliant on public sector jobs.

Yet, where are the protests?

The fact is that most public sector workers have been brainwashed into believing that what is coming their way, is the only way. The irony of course is that the very party who are riding on the anti-Tory backlash, not only helped to create the current mess, but also planned savage cuts of their own - if they has won last May. Labour preached the cuts agenda prior to the last British election with such effect, that even their core support while despising the LibCons for the cuts' severity, still believe in their heart of hearts that much of it is necessary.

Then you have people like me out side the Labour party, who are disgusted by the hypocrisy of a party who would have forced through cuts almost as severe in many areas and whose attacks on public sector pensions would be no different from today's announcement. Lord Hutton is after all Labour and not a Tory.

So, my union wants me to take a day travelling to London on the 26th March, to listen to predominately Labour supporting trade union speakers slagging off the Tories and creating a platform for 'their party' to rebuild-very much like what happened in Cardiff last Saturday. I have yet to make up my mind if I will go on this march, as I am not at all clear if I want to take part in a campaigning day for a party that created this mess in the first place.

A Frantic Time for Union Reps

Trade union activity within the union movement has never been so busy -  and I speak from personal expereince. The combination of cuts, re-organisation linked to the cuts, single status, job evaluation and welfare issues for poorly paid staff has produced a 'perfect storm' of casework.

Obviously, no-one is happy about the cuts but as reps, we have to put political stance aside and ensure our members stay in a job; preferably on or about their current salary. This is going to prove a real challenge for many. Without wanting to be too party political in such trying times, it speaks volumes that the two stand-out Welsh Councils for treating their staff particularly badly, are the two Labour controlled Councils.

This fact has caused no end of problems for both Labour and their friends in many of the leader's post within the unions. The wall of silence from many of these leaders has not gone un-noticed by the membership, despite Labour's best efforts. Perhaps the leaders should ask whether there maybe a link between some of their blind support for Labour despite their member's other priorities and their inability to recruit young people into unions?

As England Splits, Wales Unites

The recent agreement between the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) and the public sector unions in relation to managing cuts, is a historic event.

This opinion is certainly not based on the actual substance of the document, which in all honesty is mostly agreeing not to agree. However, it is a national agreement between employer and employee that is something England is no longer capable of. The Local Government Association is supposed to represent both England and Wales, but is effectively an English organisation that 'allows' the WLGA to be part of it. It is Tory run and in the process of breaking up any meaningful national voice within England, of a Local Government employer. The LGA is gradually unravelling and it is not a case of if the WLGA will leave the LGA, but when.

This is why this weeks agreement is so important, because it shows that the 22 Local Authorities in Wales are prepared to maintain a single voice and work where they can with the public sector unions. One of the consequences of the split from the LGA will be the likelihood of separate pay negotiations in Wales. This is going to be a big challenge for all, especially with the continuing underfunding of Wales on a needs based formula and the temptation of politicians to shave off  salary increases to cover gaps in the budget. However, with further powers comes further responsibility and I believe that we have the ability as a nation to manage such responsibilities with common sense; particularly as the Tories will NEVER have a Welsh First Minister-well not in my lifetime anyway.

Unions Need to Show Members Respect

Many are unduly cynical about the trade union movement, jumping to the immediate assumption that unions are nothing more than a campaigning arm of the Labour party, yet there is so much more to the work of trade unions. Of course, the Labour party was born from the movement and that link should be understood and respected. Neither should we ignore the many policy principles that the trade unions have made part of our everyday lives, including several Plaid policies.

You would expect me to say all these things as the Secretary of the party's trade union section Undeb and an active trade unionist for over 20 years, yet there is a dark side. It has been seen in the last few months in Wales, when two Councils chose to serve notice on all their staff, as a crude and unjustified tool to put pressure on trade union negotiators during bargaining on cuts. These two Councils have two things in common: -

• They are both Labour controlled
• Neither has been publicly criticised by the trade unions (apart from the GMB branch in RCT)

If a Plaid Cymru controlled Council had taken this action, there would justifiably be wall to wall criticism from the union leaders and I would join in that criticism but for Labour-absolute silence. The unions themselves are indeed affiliated to Labour but this is an issue for the affiliated sections and not the unions as a whole, yet where is the differentiation between the two?

This appalling example of double standards has made me seriously question my future involvement in the trade union movement, as why should I support an organisation that not only acts partially, but appears not to even care about being seen doing so. There are individuals within the trade union movement who see their role as nothing more than a stooge for Labour, whatever the needs of their union members and until such time as the unions refuse to appoint such dinosaurs, their position will always be compromised.

For Job Insurance, Join a Union

Yesterday's announcement about the proposed change to Legal Aid, was probably one of the best recruiting tools for the trade union movement in recent years. The decision to remove legal aid for almost all Employment Tribunal cases will yet again, drive home the importance of being in a trade union.

What is probably not known by many employees, is that employment law is actually stacked against the individual, even if your workplace has an active trade union. On top of this, there even scumbags out there who are employed at great expense, to advise employers on how to sack workers quickly and cheaply. Consequently, the free legal support that all legitimate trade unions offer is a vital service.

So if you thought that you could get away with not joining a union to save a few pounds, then think again after this Tory proposal. The unions may not be perfect, but they are the best job insurance money can buy!

Unions & a Yes Vote

At a packed Undeb fringe meeting at conference last Thursday, the issue of the role of the trade union movement and a yes vote was discussed. Cynog Dafis and myself looked at the likely scenarios and the requirements of the campaign and almost all in the room appeared to agree with two main arguments: -

• The trade union movement is crucial in delivering a yes vote
• They must be allowed to campaign away from any Tory 'yes' campaign

Of course, this was not a problem in 97, as there were about 3 Tories in Wales working for the yes vote, but not this time. Almost all their Assembly group support a yes vote as do several Welsh Tory MPs and they will be sharing platforms with other parties as part of a generic yes campaign. The fact that the unions would rather drink cyanide than work with the Tories is not necessarily a problem, as long as they campaign separately yet still communicate. There were several parallel campaigns in 97 and they largely worked in harmony.

The difficult part will be to motivate the trade unions into motivating their members and that has to be linked to the cuts. Even though a yes vote will not stop the cuts, it will allow new legislation without London interference and also enable a more progressive left wing agenda, at least if you vote Plaid anyway!

Which Labour Candidate has Your Vote?

vote for R.O.N.

On Wednesday of next week, the ballot papers for choosing the new Labour leader will commence their distribution across the UK and by the end of September, the new leader will be chosen. If you are reading this as someone who is not a Labour supporter then you may think that this has nothing to do with you, but think again! If you are a member of a trade union, you could well have a surprise in the post.

When you join a union that permits Labour party affiliation, there are usually two tick boxes on the form, one for a general campaigning fund and another for a Labour affiliated fund-the latter funding and supporting the Labour party. Ahhh you say, but I cannot possibly be affiliated as I did not tick the Labour box. Well guess again, because some unions (all probably do it) have the right in their rules to tick a box for you if you choose to tick neither.

Your union has the right to affiliate you to Labour without your knowledge or consent, using a proportion of your membership fee to fund them.

This will not show up on your payslip nor will they inform you in writing. The only sure way of knowing is when Labour has an internal election, when you get a ballot paper. This is one piece of trade union legislation that I have no problem at all with the ConDems changing, as can you imagine the fuss if Plaid pulled a stunt like this to fund themselves?

In terms of advising you who to vote for, well RON (re-open nominations) would get my vote every time when faced with a bunch of New Labourites, who between them managed to avoid any suggestion of progressive socialism during 13 years of Government.

The Pride of Wales Get Nothing

The 86 former Friction Dynamics workers have finally given up any chance of compensation, after being wrongfully dismissed in the longest and one of the most bitter industrial disputes in the history of the Welsh trade union movement.

They were sacked at the Caernarfon factory in 2001 by the owner Craig Smith and despite winning a wrongful dismissal case in 2003, they have never received a penny of compensation from Smith-who now runs a firm back in his native USA. The TGWU members manned a picket line for an incredible 2 1/2 years and have used all avenues through their union (now UNITE) to take Smith to task, but to no avail.

The vindictive law that allowed their dismissal was based on the fact that a lawful industrial dispute was lawful after 7 weeks, but not after eight weeks. It was a grossly unfair law that New Labour did little to change other than extend it and Smith through his lawyers managed to dance around the current employment law to ensure that he avoided compensation payments, even when he lost the court case proving wrongful dismissal. Labour had 13 years to sort out some of the more odious anti-trade union/employee legislation that had built up over the decades; law that still leaves a far from level playing field for workers - but they did next to nothing.

Now, with a Tory/Lib Dem Government looking to tighten further the already tough legislation, how sickeningly hypocritical it is for the recently deposed Labour Ministers to claim a new zeal for workers rights.

Of course, the real losers here have been the 86 former TGWU members; workers who I was proud to support and march with during the dispute, along with all the local Plaid politicians who did all they could in the face of New Labour's disinterest in the proceedings. How ironic it is that UNITE, the very union that fought so hard for these members who were discarded by New Labour, are now Labour's biggest funder.

'Bullying' Labour council denounced by Unison

Plaid Cymru councillor Alun Llewelyn has today released an internal Unison document that denounces Labour councillors in Neath Port Talbot as bullies. The notice is a report from Unison’s UK-wide National Labour Link forum on July 2. In it the forum, which is responsible for the links between the Labour party and Unison, accuses the Labour-run council of bullying and calls on all Labour elected members to condemn the actions of Neath Port Talbot CBC.

Unison is one of the Labour party’s strongest supporters within the union movement and has donated over £1.75m to the Labour party since January 2009. The reason that the Labour-supporting faction within Unison is so irate is that Neath Port Talbot council has unilaterally decided to “dismiss over 7,000 employees and re-employ them on lower terms, conditions and wages as well as out sourcing 750 to 1,000 job with further cuts to come later.”

The motion is scathing in its criticism of the Labour-run council’s actions, saying:

 “This forum deplores such bullying tactics and calls on al Labour councillors, Labour members of Parliament, Welsh Labour AMs and Labour SMPs to condemn the action of Neath Prot Talbot CBC.”

Plaid Cymru’s Deputy Leader of the Opposition on Neath Port Talbot Council Alun Llewelyn condemned the way that the Labour council has acted:

“Because of the way that the Labour Party and Gordon Brown acted over the last 13 years there is a massive national debt and councils, like everyone else, are going to have to make cuts. I accept that difficult decisions are going to have to be made. But we should work together to make these decisions with politicians, unions and management cooperating to provide the best possible service and to keep redundancies down to a bare minimum.

“The Labour group in the council seems to take pride in the way they are taking on the Union. When the new budget first came to council Plaid proposed that all possible efforts be made to avoid compulsory redundancies. This was refused by the Labour group. Since then they have publicly threatened all staff with dismissal and reemployment on poorer terms and condition.

“I call on the council to come to its senses now and negotiate properly with the union. If they don’t there are serious risks that council staff morale will fall even further and that relations between staff and the council will be destroyed, that would be a disaster for the people of Neath Port Talbot.”

Here is the motion in full:

Friday 2nd July the following motion was passed by the National Labour Link Forum:

This Forum notes the situation at Neath Port Talbot County BC which is a Labour controlled council. As a result of the budget crisis, the Council has served notice on 25th June and received on the 28th June 2010 to UNISON and other Trade Unions that they intend unilaterally to dismiss over 7,000 employees and re-employ them on lower terms, conditions and wages as well as out sourcing 750 to 1,000 job with further cuts to come later.

This forum deplores such bullying tactics and calls on al Labour councillors, Labour members of Parliament, Welsh Labour AMs and Labour SMPs to condemn the action of Neath Prot Talbot CBC.

Further this Forum calls on all Labour councillors, particularly those who are also UNISON members to oppose similar future moves in all local authorities.

Please lobby your AMs MPs and councillors to deplore this terrible action.

Unions Struggle with Devolution

After 11 years of devolved Government in Wales, the trade union movement is I'm afraid falling well short of understanding what it's all about.

What has not been grasped by most unions is that as a result of having a Welsh Government, their Welsh members need and deserve additional recourses in order to have an effective voice in the Senedd. Some unions (particularly the teaching unions) have responded in a more constructive manner and in doing so, are having a lot of success in influencing policy. However, let's look at the 3 big unions to see what difference they have made.

GMB

The GMB do not even recognise Wales as a 'region', yet alone a nation-they put Wales in with South West England and call in the 'South West Region'. Their approach to consultation with the Assembly is to talk to the Labour group and no-one else, whoever is in power. Many of their members work in the public sector where most areas are devolved. Consequently, many issues relating to SW England are irrelevant to Wales. Their commitment to the Welsh language is errrrrrrrr.

UNITE

In fairness to Unite, they do have a 'Wales Region' and a more recognised Welsh structure. As the largest union in the UK, they should be the most influential in Cardiff Bay but again, they appear to believe that just consulting the Labour group is sufficient. Their commitment to the Welsh language is errrrrrrrr.

UNISON

Unison has the biggest set-up as a 'Welsh region' and does actually lobby beyond the Labour Assembly group, although not with any consistency. They are again in a position of significant influence as the largest public sector union in Wales, but are still to significantly tap into this potential. Their commitment to the Welsh language is improving and they are the only non-teaching union to consistently support the Eisteddfod and produce bilingual literature. However, as with all UK unions, they do not see it as an equality issue and so bilingual services to members do not really exist.


These three unions make up the vast majority of the Welsh trade union membership and so their attitude to devolution matters. It is very worrying that at a time when we face a ConDem British Government determined to shrink the size of the state, that a devolved Government prepared to stand up for the public sector has to work with trade unions who have yet to grasp their true potential in a devolved Wales. After 11 years of opportunities to change, there are no excuses for the mail trade unions to be so sceptical about having a stronger Welsh voice.

North Wales Against Cuts campaign launched

In anticipation of the ConDem cuts being imposed on the public services, a new campaign has been launched by trade unionists and community campaigners in the north.

North Wales Against Cuts looks to unite everyone - whether public sector workers or those who use those public services - against the cutbacks that Cameron and Clegg are promising to deliver for Wales.

They have already produced a tabloid-style news-sheet with hard-hitting arguments as well as planning a large public meeting on September 27 in Wrecsam's Lager Club. Leanne Wood AM has already confirmed her attendance and we're awaiting confirmation from Mark Serwotka of the PCS and Bob Crow (RMT). Local campaigners will also be speaking.

Join their Facebook group and keep in touch with the campaign.

Here's some of their mission statement:

THE PUBLIC SECTOR AND YOU 

You may be employed in local government, healthcare, emergency services, or one of the many hundreds of jobs covered by term 'public sector'. You may be unemployed and on benefits; self employed; in receipt of state pension or facing redundancy. No one is safe and everyone will be affected if public sector jobs are cut. Private contractors rely on the public sector for work. 

We all hate paying taxes but it is our weekly or monthly contributions that provide those services we all need. Schools for our children; healthcare; care for our parents and grandparents; police, fire and rescue services; local council services etc. Public sector workers are employed to provide all these services and more. 

They live and work in our communities, contribute to the local economy and face the same problems as their neighbours. We are all victims of the economic crisis and will suffer equally if these cuts are allowed to go ahead. It is not a matter of well-paid civil servants or local government officers raking in cash while everyone else pays the price. 

The only people in this position are those high up in Whitehall and their friends in the banks who have repeatedly used and abused the ordinary man or woman in the street. They have taken us for fools and we are paying for the privilege by losing our jobs, our houses and our self respect. 

We say enough is enough. In this country we have £123 billion of uncollected tax through tax avoidance or tax evasion by the rich and super rich (including those in the Cabinet). It is economic suicide to reduce the number of people responsible for collecting these outstanding taxes. 

Those of us who have lost our jobs will face long delays before we receive benefits if there aren't enough staff in the Benefit Offices to process the claims or enough money in the budget to pay them. 

If you are able to look beyond the lies of the ConDem government (and remember that Labour also wanted to make drastic cuts) and want to do something to save our public services then please join North Wales Against Cuts. 

UNITED WE CAN BEAT THE CUTS 

The budget showed the ConDem Government’s plans to deal with the recession the banks and big business caused, by attacking ordinary working-class people. The cuts announced will devastate public services, with 60,000 jobs to go in Wales alone. This will affect us all as people are thrown out of work, have no money to spend, affecting demand and therefore putting private sector workers in manufacturing and shops out of work. 

Pay freezes, cuts in benefits and an increase in VAT means all workers are worse off. Some extremists will blame immigration, it isn’t immigrants that are doing in this but the usual suspects - bosses, bankers and MPs. Let’s put the blame squarely where it belongs. We have more in common with a Polish worker than we do with multi-millionaire public schoolboy David Cameron. 

These cuts doesn’t affect the millionaire toffs in Parliament: THEY evade tax (which we have to pay) THEY claim fraudulent expenses and get away with it, pay themselves massive bonuses , their greed knows no bounds… Now THEY want US to pay for it all. 

We say enough is enough, time to resist and fight back. We need a massive demonstration soon of all union members, community groups, all who are hit by the cuts. We need strike action to protect our pay and conditions, local action to defend communities. 

What can you do? 

• Join a fighting campaigning union 

• Get active in a community group against local cuts 

• Set up an unemployed workers’ group 

• Make your AM and MP know how you feel, make them uncomfortable 

• Same with your boss - strike, go slow, work to rule. 

We have to unite and fight, history shows that we win when we stick together as a class. This shower in London is a coalition of millionaires and hangers-on, it is vulnerable and can be defeated. 

SOLIDARITY WILL WIN OVER GREED 

Don’t make the victims pay for this economic crisis 

If you were burgled, how would you feel about having to pay the thief? That’s what’s happening to ordinary people after the bankers robbed us blind in their money-making spree of the last decade. We’ve had to bail them out and now we’re expected to pay with pay freezes, tax rises, cuts in services and job losses. That’s not on! 

North Wales Against Cuts is an independent group of trade unionists and campaigners that want to unite everyone locally against the coming cuts. Get in touch: nwagainstcuts@gmail.com or 07747 792 441 or join our Facebook group NORTH WALES AGAINST CUTS. 

Come to our public meeting

All welcome: 

Monday, September 27 @ 7.30pm 

Wrexham Lager Social Club 

Why are Wales NUM Members Missing Out?

There is a current legal case being fought for 'Miner's Knee', effectively Osteoarthritis brought on by the necessary methods of work required for the job. Every other NUM area within England and Scotland are supporting their members in their legal claims, but not Wales who claim that they cannot afford it.

Legal challenges are indeed very expensive but why are the North and South Wales NUM areas singularly incapable of representing their members? Why is their financial position so much worse than the other areas?

This is a very important claim and at least 1000 retired NUM members want to claim in Wales, but will not be able to because their union will not back them. There better be a very good reason for this decision, as these former miners deserve every opportunity to get compensation.

Have You Ever Been on Strike?

ConDems - an anti-union alliance?

As predicted by Plaid weeks ago, The new ConDem coalition is looking to tighten the already tightest trade union legislation in any Western democracy, in order to push through their devastating public sector cuts with greater ease. The CBI (Conservative Brothers Inc.) have called for the Government to act, in a not so subtle media build-up coordinated by their Tory friends. They are painting a picture that all of the UK is about to go on strike like in the 1970's.

As you read this blog, can I ask you two questions: -

Are you in a trade union? (If you are in the public sector, I would join fast, if I were you)
Have you ever been on strike?

I for one have always been in a union and am a senior branch officer in Unison. I am also a member of a branch that is prepared to take industrial action, if all other options have been exhausted. Contrary to what the Tories/CBI think, going on strike is extremely rare, very difficult to do within the current laws, does not make you Mr Popular with your employer and costs you serious money. So in almost all circumstances, people who take lawful strike action do so in desperation and not as part of some political game.

How ironic it is that at a time when the ConDems talk about peeling back laws that have infringed civil liberties, they are at the same time pondering new laws that will effectively make it almost impossible to take industrial action, in the very nations where the trade union movement was created in the first place.

Mr Clegg. Such draconian actions do not sound very Liberal to me.

Protect Frontline Services? Who are You Kidding?

There appears to be some assumption within ConDem Government circles, that massive and very sudden cuts can be made to the public sector without having a detrimental effect on 'frontline' services. Isn't it scary when politicians are either woefully out of touch or are blatantly lying to you?

The cuts we face in Wales will decimate all non-statutory services within Local Government, so maybe they mean these areas of spending? These include parts of Adult Services, Leisure Centres, Transportation Services, Parks and a multitude of others. Maybe, they also mean reducing spend on Children's Services, Education and Housing, all through 'efficiency savings' with no effect on standards.

Mr Cameron also talks of protection to the NHS but how can Wales manage this with massive reductions in the block grant and one third of the WAG budget going on Health? Today, a WLGA sponsored report has started to expose the realities of cuts and how they will affect every single one of us, on an increasing level the lower down you are on the economic indexes. Yet still, the British Government thinks that Trident is a good deal and that we can afford not to tax the super rich, as they will leave our shores for cheaper tax havens.

I will be particularly interested in seeing which MPs vote to slash public sector pensions, when they have voted themselves one of the best pension deals in Western Europe. I can only describe the current situation in Welsh Councils as 'battening down the hatches' and waiting for the storm to hit. The Con Dems know that the cuts will cause a double dip recession but they don't care. These cuts are no longer just about saving the economy but about using this opportunity to dismantle as many public services as they can, knowing that any future Government is unlikely to have backing from an English electorate to re-build them.

You get what you vote for.