RMT Bus and Rail Update
At our March meeting our guest speaker was an RMT activist who spoke about the transfer of Cornwall's bus services to GoBus after the withdrawal of First Bus. Not all services have been maintained but the company has had to call in vehicles from elsewhere in the country and will need time to establish which type of bus is optimal for various routes, especially around villages where double deckers are impractical. In time it is hoped that the services can be improved upon to better serve local needs. We also heard that GWR are consulting on removing one member of ticket office staff at some key locations, requiring them to be available on the concourse to sell tickets electronically "on the move". This raises the issue of staff having to be on their feet all day and, crucially, of having no protection from the potential for attacks. If this proposal is pursued the 27 jobs likely to be affected will be lost on a "no replacement" basis.
Together Alliance March in London, March 28th
Our Vice President and members of Unite Community attended this significant event protesting the far right and their divisive views. As pointed out by our VP at the March meeting, recent election results show that Reform and others have little popular support; the key issue now is to rally those who do not support them to get out and vote.
NEEDS BUDGET CAMPAIGN
Last night’s CTUC public meeting on our “Needs Budget for Cornwall” campaign had several notable pluses.
NEU Cornwall chair (?) Ian Williams turned up and gave a great exposition of how education in Cornwall has been utterly fragmented by academisation. While the academy bosses have been busy paying themselves bigger wages than government ministers and even creating jobs for their mates, the supportive, collaborative environment in which SEND support was delivered simply disappeared and schools became overwhelmed.
Two mothers who have SEND children turned up and gave witness to that chaos. One, Kirsty, was ill but drove to Truro from The Lizard to be there. Her statement on SEND education in Cornwall nailed the distorted thinking that budgeting for cuts rather than need produces. You’ll be hearing more from Kirsty.
Thirteen turned up, including a senior officer from Cornwall Council, who had heard about it on Facebook.
Overall, the campaign took a step or two forward. It was fanciful to think the meeting would produce the movement we need. We’re not there yet but we will be. The state of Cornwall’s education, housing, care services, roads, public transport and the milking of public funds by developers and so-called care providers demands it.
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At our February meeting our guest speaker was Rowan, representing UCU staff at Falmouth. He informed us about the potentially devastating consequences of the planning application to dredge Falmouth harbour in order to allow large cruise ships to visit.
This would result in huge amounts of waste (over 700,000 cubic metres), pollution from increased marine traffic and massive harm to marine wildlife. Cornwall Trades Council has lodged its objection with the Planning Portal.
Supporting UCU at Truro and Penwith College
President Rob Rooney stood on the picket line on Monday February 23rd
UCU STRIKE ACTION AT TRURO AND PENWITH COLLEGE
At our meeting on Monday January 26th a guest speaker from the UCU gave an informative talk about their recent 3 day strike action and the issues involved.
Unlike the primary and secondary education sectors, post-16 teaching staff have no national bargaining agreement and are on different pay rates across the country. Current salaries are below that of secondary teachers despite increases in class sizes and teaching time.
Cornwall Trades Council supports UCU staff in their campaign for improved salaries.
NEEDS BUDGET FOR CORNWALL!
On Wednesday December 17th we returned to Cornwall Council to hand
out our "Needs Budget for Cornwall" leaflets to Councillors arriving for
the Cabinet Meeting to vote on the proposed budget. They voted for it
but this is an ongoing campaign. We need the 2029 intake of councillors
to prioritise the needs of Cornwall residents and oppose austerity budgets.
On Tuesday September 16th we handed out our "Needs Budget for Cornwall" leaflets to Cornwall Councillors as they arrived for a full Council meeting. There were some meaningful conversations with several councillors. This was followed by an email sent to all Councillors by our President.
