News digest 23 September 2011
The digest opens with sharp falls in
stocks and the global economic outlook worsens. Labour heads of to
Liverpool while head teachers join the plans for ballots on strike
action over pensions. Claims over PFI are challenged, as are media
lies and changes to legal aid, but it seems government just wants
to listen to big business. Tesco offers savings, but is it really
giving with one hand and taking with the other, while there’s a
spot of bother for Unilever, HP’s chief is ousted, easyJet’s
Stelios is silenced and Southampton looks for potential strike
breakers while the real message is staring us all in the
face…
Twist and doubt – It’s back
to market mayhem as international stock markets crashed again
yesterday after a very gloomy warning about the world economic
outlook from the US central bank which had looked to raise
sentiment and support the market and economy. The US Federal
Reserve's ‘Operation Twist’ – this latest attempt to stimulate the
American economy – failed to calm financial markets with heavy
falls in European stocks (UK stocks fell by £64 billion) and
currencies as well as gold as investors rushed to the safety of the
US dollar. With the news that industrial orders in the eurozone
slid for the second month in a row in July Europe was also hit by
pressure for action from the European Central Bank after a
worsening in the services and manufacturing sectors sparked
warnings that the economic recovery was definitely over, at this
rate they’ll soon be a need for ‘Plan C’ (Mirror p1/4-5, Sun p4, Express p2, Mail p1/79, Times p1/10/49, Indie p2, Guardian p1/6-7, Telegraph p1/b1, FT p1)
Going down to Liverpool to do
something – And the economy will be one of the key items
on the agenda at next week’s Labour conference which is trailed in
a few of the papers. Unite will be pushing for action on the rules
governing media ownership and trade unions. There will be a call
for action to create an effective and accountable balance of power
in society in the wake of the News International scandal, including
examining the important role independent trade unions play in
society. Unite fringes will include debates on the economic
alternative and the right to strike and Unite speakers will
contribute to fringes on fighting the coalition's cuts, Palestine
and rebuilding Britain's railways. Ed Miliband is expected to
continue to make a pitch to the middle ground as well as look at
both internal party changes (Refounding Labour - creating
registered supporters) and ways to adjust the economy (a boost to
building and a VAT cut?), and the question will be whether Ed
Miliband throws of the caution and coolness and starts to challenge
the Con-Dem government and cuts agenda more stridently (Mail p2, Times p26/31, Guardian p24, FT p2, Morning Star p4, Unite
release).
Yes or no sir – Miliband is
however unlikely to support the moves towards strike action over
pensions in the public sector. School heads are to hold their first
ever strike ballot in the 144 year history of the National
Association of Head Teachers after talks with the Con-Dem
government and unions hit another stalemate yesterday, if teachers
vote yes they will join the coordinated day of action planned on 30
November (Mirror p24,
Sun p2, Express p7, Mail p8, Guardian p4, Telegraph p8, FT p4, Morning Star p2).
Pay cuts for all – The
Telegraph (p2) reports
that this year the vast majority of workers have been given pay
cuts after suffering below inflation pay rises or pay freezes
according to research undertaken by XpertHR, the report noted that
employers had not attempted to replace lost pay with alternative
benefits and that this all occurred while bosses continue to
receive record bonuses. The Morning Star (p2) also
reports on plans by the Scottish government to freeze pay for
public sector workers for another year to deal with government
cuts.
PFI claims challenged –
Health secretary Andrew Lansley’s claims that PFI puts 60 hospitals
at risk in yesterday’s Telegraph are taken to task by
many papers, the Mirror (p7)
notes that if the Con-Dem government was so concerned why did
Lansley sign off more than £1 billion of new PFI contracts since
being elected, the Morning Star (p1) notes
the Health and Social Care bill does nothing to tackle PFI while
the FT (p3) says that Lansley has
promised to ease the debts, who said that there was no money left?
Someone isn’t telling the truth… (Sun p2, Mail p28, Indie p1, Guardian p8, Telegraph p18)
Fight the media lies - The
Daily Mail’s poisonous lies must be fought by all trade unionists
argues Unite regional officer Rick Coyle on
Left Foot Forward. Coyle, who was misquoted by the paper last
week, outlines how a simple statement was distorted and then
replicated across the right wing press. For all those on twitter,
retweet the article with the hashtag #distortion.
Don’t deny justice – And the
Times (p28), Indie (p13) and Guardian (p15) report on fears
over changes to legal aid. The Dowler family has written to the
prime minister asking him if he really wants to be the one who will
go down in history for denying access to justice and turning the
law into a private plaything of the powerful. The family who relied
on legal aid in their action against the News of the World said:
"We are sure that you do not want to go down in history
as the prime minister who took rights away from ordinary people so
that large companies could print whatever they like and break the
law without [anyone] being able to challenge
them."
Business buddies – But it
looks like the government is instead focused on kowtowing to big
business as the Times
(p1/16-17) reports that Britain’s top 50 companies are to be given
unprecedented access to government ministers in an attempt to spark
life into the economy, bosses will be able to telephone top
Whitehall departments directly under the plan, no news on whether
other groups like smaller businesses, council chiefs or trade
unions will be able to follow suit, or are we not all in this
together?
Big Society blow – Perhaps
not as a survey reported in the Telegraph (p4) from the
Department for Communities and Local Government has shown that
volunteering and community participation has hit a 10 year low,
anything to do with the withdrawal of all the funding leading to
closures?
Regional growth funds can’t even spend
a penny – And the Indie (p16) reports that after
a freedom of information request from Liberal Conspiracy it has
been found that the government has yet to allocate any money from
the high profile billion pound fund it created just after the
general election.
Tesco wants to offer savings
– High street giant launches price offensive saying that it will
cut £500 million from prices giving customers savings of some 30
per cent on their weekly shop. The retailer claims the cuts are the
biggest by any in the last 25 years, but it does ask the question
of whether prices were too high in the first place and a couple of
the papers report that the Clubcards reward scheme points will be
cut by half, yet another smoke and mirrors exercise or a challenge
to the budget stores like Asda, Aldi and Lidl that are building
share in contrast to the more established, and expensive,
suppliers? (Mirror p1,
Sun p28, Express p1, Mail p2, Times p5, Indie p44, Guardian p35, Telegraph b3, FT p18)
Spot of bother – Still with
consumers and the Indie
(p45) follows up on coverage of a Unite
release on Unilever which shows the food and household goods
giant is not quite as squeaky clean as it likes to make out as it
plans to scrap its final salary pension scheme. Chairman Amanda
Sourry had been invited to give out gongs at an awards session for
Britain’s Most Admired Company, workers picketed the event to argue
the company should practice what it supposedly preaches.
HP chief ousted – The
Times (p53), Guardian (p38) and FT (p18) all report that Meg Whitman,
former eBay chief executive, has replaced Leo Apotheker as the head
of the computer giant Hewlett Packard.
E.On cuts – Energy giant
slashes 500 jobs in Coventry and Nottingham even as it made double
digit hikes in gas and electricity prices this month (Sun p54, Guardian p35, Morning Star p5).
easyProfits – Budget airline
is forecasting its highest profits in its 15 year history expecting
to make close to £250 million for the year after gaining from
‘flexi-fare’ business flyers. That should stop Stelios complaining
about the airline’s strategy as he is in line for a payout of more
than £50 million (Mirror
p56, Sun p54, Express p67, Mail p81, Indie p44, Guardian p37, Telegraph b3, FT p20).
Air wars – And the Times (p57) reports Irish
airline Aer Lingus is once again at odds with Ryanair which owns a
sizeable share of the airline and is demanding dividends be paid
now rather than delayed; Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary continues to
threaten to sell his company’s stake.
Car sales rise – Good news on
the ground as the (Mirror
p56) and Times (p59)
report the latest SMMT figures on car production which increased by
11 per cent last month, but this is driven more by export sales
rather than a rise in the domestic economy where fears over jobs,
pay freezes and more have stalled sales.
Southampton council looks for strike
breaking binmen – The Mirror (p5) and Sun (p9) both report on an advert
for 16 jobs for refuse collectors in Southampton after repeated
strike action left the council with a million bag backlog. The
backlog has been cleared but the council expects more strikes as it
neglects trying to come to a solution to the dispute which has seen
forced pay cuts for workers…
The real message – Then again
Paul Routledge in the Mirror
(p35) stresses what should be the real message as he praises the
2,000 strong march against the cuts in Birmingham highlighting one
placard in particular: “Never have so many been ignored
by so few.” Too right.
Edited by Mik
Sabiers
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