Photocall: Tories sell Britain short as greedy city pigs fund party
DATE:
Wednesday, 1st October 2008
VENUE: Conservative Party Conference, The ICC, Broad Street,
Birmingham, B1 2EA.
TIME: Noon
Finance workers dressed in pig masks and bowler hats, holding
the Tory coffer, will stage a demonstration at the Conservative
Party conference this Wednesday (1st October) over revelations that
the party is funded by the culprits of the credit crunch.
Starting tomorrow, the union will also launch an advertising campaign in national
and regional newspapers, accusing David Cameron of
being 'cheesy and sleazy' and that his 'cronies are cashing in on
the credit crunch'.
Angry finance workers from banks, insurance companies and
building societies face deep insecurity in the wake of the credit
crunch. But the Tories are funding their party and maybe even their
election campaign on the misery of thousands of British families,
who could lose their homes and jobs because of the spivs and
speculators.
Unite joint general secretary, Derek Simpson, says:"Thousands of
staff at banks like HBOS and LTSB fear for their jobs, but the
Tories seem more interested in taking money from the culprits of
the credit crunch than helping the victims.
"George Osborne's words cannot be trusted. He is a dangerous
right winger who is inextricably linked to the city. The culture of
the city is the culture of the Tories. They went to school with the
city, they dine with the city and many of them married into the
city. You can't rely on them to regulate the city.
"The Tories have remained mainly silent when almost everybody
else in the country - including Labour - are calling for city
excesses to be reigned in. Now the country knows why. They are the
same old Tories. They can not be allowed to win the next
election."
Media reports have revealed that hedge funds and investment
firms and their founders have given £millions in donations to the
Tory party. HBOS and B&B have been crippled by 'short selling'
which the Labour government was forced to ban.
Unite is Britain's biggest union with 180 000 members working in
the financial services. The union has members at LTSB, HBOS and
Northern Rock. As mergers and take-overs intensify, the staff
working in the financial services must be protected. Most people
working in the financial services survive on modest incomes. They
are not the big city bankers who caused the credit crunch, they are
the victims. The starting salary for many workers in the financial
services is as little as £12,000 a year.
ENDS
Contact: Ciaran Naidoo on 07768 931 315 or Saba Mozakka on 07768
693 953
