News digest 1 December 2011
As millions of striking workers took to
the streets prime minister David Cameron proved he governs for the
elite by dismissing the action as a damp squib and ignoring the two
million strikers and the millions more that backed the action.
Elsewhere the countdown to either the end or the rescue of the euro
has begun, Iberia’s pilots threaten action, there’s a plea to save
a BAE plant and while green jobs are under threat there could be a
future in beans and more women on the board but it may be bye bye
Battersea Power Station…
Strike I: Largest action for a
generation – Public sector workers took to the streets
across the country as they protested over planned changes to their
pensions. A continued update of
events was posted on the Unite site throughout the day and Len
McCluskey, Unite general secretary, said the London rally and
events across the country showed the depth of anger among public
sector workers, adding: “The prime minister is
completely out of touch. I have been to 12 picket lines and there
has been a fantastic response both from workers and the general
public. The government can try to spin and tell lies, but it has
been found out.” With two million people
demonstrating some 25 per cent of civil servants walked out, 76 per
cent of schools were closed and workers rallied across all four
corners of the country. In terms of coverage the Mirror runs a two
page spread (p6-7) with
Damp squib? Cam off it while the Sun’s (p7-8) spread is titled
Was that it? as it parrots the government line. The Express (p4-5) follows suit as does
the Mail (p6-9) saying
Picket lines are quiet, but shopping centres packed neglecting
to mention that only six pickets are allowed on a line at a time.
The Times (p6-9) runs with Workers
warn: We’re in for the long haul (£) showing that Cameron may
have misjudged the mood of the strikers. The Indie (p1/6-7) says
that the government is trying to divide the unions:
Ministers try to split teachers from the crowd while there is
wall to wall coverage in the Guardian (p1/3-11) in particular
noting ‘A
lot of these people were strike rookies’ while the Telegraph
(p1/8-9) parrots the shopping line but has a handy
map of all the action across the country. The FT (p1/3) says
the unions will rely on public backing for victory while the
coverage in the Morning Star (p1-4) runs with the note that its
only the start of the action and says Strikers
show Tories who’s boss (see also Unite
release, BBC)…
Strike II: Cameron and Miliband
clash – Labour leader Ed Miliband took a tougher stance in
supporting the strikers, if not the strike, and it was daggers at
the despatch box as Miliband took on David Cameron over the strikes
in one of the strongest Commons performances for the Labour leader.
Although he did fluff his lines, Miliband said: “I am
not going to demonise the dinner lady, the cleaner or the nurse who
earn in a week [sic] what the chancellor pays for his annual skiing
holiday” (Miliband sources said he meant to say year
not week) (Mirror p7, Mail p20, Times p10, Indie p6,
Guardian p9, Telegraph p6, Morning Star p3).
Strike III: Whitehall may end time off
for union work - And the Times (p10) reports Cameron also
let slip at PMQs that he is looking at new restrictions on paid
time off for union reps working in the public sector saying he is
planning a consultation on the issue ‘very soon’, the Guardian (p9)
headline sums it up
Union fury as Cameron axes £113 million of workplace
funding.
Strike IV: Clarkson rant –
Top Gear host taken to task for telling BBC1’s the One Show that
“public
sector workers should be executed in front of their
families” but gets away with a mild rebuke from
hosts. It is notable that people have faced prison for sending joke
tweets about bombs and airports but the authorities repeatedly
ignore Clarkson’s offensive comments (Mirror p7, Express p5, Mail
p7, Indie p7).
Incomes squeezed as families lose
£2,500 - High inflation, cuts and the longest period of
wage stagnation on record will see the rich get richer and the poor
get poorer as the impact of Osborne’s cuts start to hit home. A
study from the Institute for Fiscal Studies said that ordinary
working people are facing the biggest
squeeze for more than half a century and will be no better off
in 2016 than they were in 2002. The IFS said the government’s plans
amounted to a 16.2 per cent cut in government spending, the largest
rolling back of the state since the second world war and the
Telegraph’s main headline sums it up:
Fears of a lost decade (Sun p2, Mail p12-13, Times p1, Indie
p8, Guardian p30, Telegraph p6-7, FT p4).
Social opt out challenge
dropped – The Telegraph (p1) also leads with a good news
story for workers saying the
Tories drop challenge to Brussels on work rules meaning demands
for the immediate repatriation of social and employment protections
from the EU have been put on hold…
10 days to save the euro? –
Crunch time for Europe’s leaders saw global central banks unite to
try to stave off a new credit crunch as confidence in the banking
system dwindled. Stock markets actually rise on the news as
politicians were finally seen to take action with the FT (p1)
leading with
Central banks’ move lifts markets although the Mirror (p1/4-5)
runs with
That’s eur lot, the clock is ticking (Sun p2, Express p2/77,
Mail p2/77, Times p1/4-5, Indie p58, Guardian p28-29, Telegraph
p1/b4-5, FT p1/6).
48 hours to go – And the countdown for Iranian
diplomats has started after Hague booted embassy staff following
the attacks on the UK embassy in Tehran (Mirror p21, Sun p8,
Express p21, Mail p10, Times p16-17, Indie p10, Guardian p34-35,
Telegraph p22, FT p10).
Iberia pilots
threaten strike before Christmas – From Iran to Spain and
the Times (p55) reports on a dispute at Air Iberia. Is Willie Walsh
trying the same trick at Iberia as at BA? Pilots threaten to walk
out over plans to launch a low-cost version of the Spanish carrier
with pilots who are paid less and have worse terms and
conditions.
American Airlines to offload pension
liabilities? – The FT (p24) reports that US companies face
the risk of picking up the bill for American Airlines bankruptcy if
the carrier chooses to drop its pension plans as part of its
shake-up to rescue the airline.
Plea to save Hawk plant – The Express (p7) reports
Labour MP Diana Johnson called on Cameron to save 900 jobs at the
plant that builds the Red Arrows’ Hawk jets saying that the
government should use the £100 million it would have to pay out in
redundancy to the 3,000 workers to instead pay for five new planes
to be built at the site.
Rolls Royce seals Petrobas deal – The Express (p78)
and Mail (p79) report that Rolls-Royce has secured a £414 million
deal to provide Brazil’s state oil firm Petrobas with gas powered
generators.
Green jobs under threat –
Weeks after energy secretary Chris Huhne slashed the subsidy for
solar panels the support services firm Carillion put its entire
Energy Services workforce on notice of redundancy, 4,500 workers
received notices and up to 3,000 could face the sack (Sun p60,
Guardian p39, Telegraph b5, FT p1).
Starbucks to add 200 sites –
Coffee chain plans massive expansion over next five years with aim
of creating 5,000 jobs (Mirror p62, Sun p4, Express p77, Times p55,
Indie p62, Guardian p20, FT p19).
Marston’s to open 25 new pubs
– Brewer looks to expansion, adding 1,000 new jobs, after posting
10 per cent rise in profits to £80.4 million, sales were up 4.8 per
cent to £682 million (Mirror p62, Sun p60, Express p77, Times p55,
Indie p62, FT p20).
Britvic looks for bigger US
share - From beer to tonic water and the Times (p53)
reports that Britvic has announced that it plans to double
distribution of its operations in the United States, targeting the
deep south with its Fruit Shoot brand.
High spirits for Walsh – On to the hard stuff and Alex
Brummer in the Mail (p78) interviews the head of drinks firm Diageo
who is in positive about company prospects in new markets.
McDonald’s boss interviewed –
UK McBoss of the fast food chain, actually called Jill McDonald, is
interviewed in the Indie (p78) about the future for the company in
the UK (it wants to shed the McJob image) and on the economy and
high street (thinks is looking gloomy).
Time for women on the board – And the Times (p49) and
Guardian (p38) report that one of the most powerful investors in
the stock market, Legal & General Investment Management which
manages £347 billion in funds - has served notice on company bosses
to recruit more bosses or face being voted out of office.
Harman fury over sports short list – And the Mirror
(p4) reports the deputy Labour leader, Harriet Harman, has
waded into the row over the BBC’s Sports Personality year award
which failed to shortlist a single women for the title after noting
that lads’ mags Zoo and Nuts were on the shortlisting panel, she
asked whether the panel was all male too?
Female journalist arrested in hackgate – As Blair’s
former spin doctor Alistair Campbell gave evidence to the Leveson
inquiry, dismissing much of the UK press as ‘putrid’ it also
emerged that former News of the World journalist Bethany Usher
became the seventeenth person to be arrested as part of the police
investigation (Mirror p17, Sun p5, Mail p20, Times p25, Indie p12,
Guardian p18, Telegraph p19, FT p4).
Administrators poised to take over Battersea Power
Station - And finally the Guardian (p38), Telegraph
(b3) and FT (p19) all report that Lloyds has lined up
administrators to take control of Battersea Power Station after
seeking to recover debts from owners of the site. The site going
into administration is bad news for chancellor George Osborne who
cited funding from the developers of the site as the backing for a
key infrastructure project in his autumn statement, the £600
million Northern Line project, another plan busted…
Edited by Mik Sabiers
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