Motion – Cambridge Congestion Charge
1. This Committee supports the objectives behind the proposed congestion charge of clean air in
Cambridge and the huge improvement to the public transport network
2. This Committee cannot support the congestion charge in its current format and as a Unite the
Union trades union Committee representing members employed in the city of Cambridge cannot
accept this additional charge levied against our members who must drive to work
3. This Committee believes that the cost of environmental improvements in the city should fall on
employers and not the workers
4. This Committee notes that the Greater Cambridge Partnership/Cambridgeshire County Council
consultation process has been designed around employers and that workers and their trades unions
have not been meaningfully engaged with
5. This Committee calls for the labour party to suspend all congestion charge proposals and call a
conference of workers groups and climate change activists in Cambridgeshire to discuss
modifications to these proposals
6. This Committee agrees to send this motion to the Cambridge and District trades council, the
Cambridge labour party, the South Cambridgeshire labour party and Unite London and Eastern
region
Marshall Aerospace JSSC
Motion – Cambridge Congestion Charge
1. This Branch supports the objectives behind the proposed congestion charge of clean air in
Cambridge and the huge improvement to the public transport network
2. This Branch cannot support the congestion charge in its current format and as a Unite the Union
trades union Committee representing members employed in the city of Cambridge cannot accept
this additional charge levied against our members who must drive to work
3. This Branch believes that the cost of environmental improvements in the city should fall on
employers and not the workers
4. This Branch notes that the Greater Cambridge Partnership/Cambridgeshire County Council
consultation process has been designed around employers and that workers and their trades unions
have not been meaningfully engaged with
5. This Branch calls for the labour party to suspend all congestion charge proposals and call a
conference of workers groups and climate change activists in Cambridgeshire to discuss
modifications to these proposals
6. This Committee agrees to send this motion to the Cambridge and District trades council, the
Cambridge labour party, the South Cambridgeshire labour party and Unite London and Eastern
region
Marshall Aerospace Branch LE/7129E
Solidarity With the Greek Transport Workers – Our Dead, their Profits
At our meeting of 15th March 2023, The Trades Council agreed the following motion:
On the 28th of February in Tempi, Greece, a fatal train collision left 57 dead, most of them university students, and many more injured. The privatised Greek Railway have been operating passenger services for many years with NO SIGNALLING SYSTEM, with systems being inoperable due to cost cutting.
We, the members of the South Cambs EMS Sector Unite Branch representing workers and staff in our sector in Cambridge, express our solidarity to the people of Greece, the railway workers, the trade and student unions and the youth who mobilise and participate to the General Strike (across Greece and in all sectors) on 16th March against this prescribed crime. We express our deepest condolences to the families of the victims.
We would like to bring the motion to TUC Cambridge to consider a vote for solidarity to the Greek Unions participating in the marches and strikes.
Background to the motion.
Our dead, their profits
The accident took place 5 years after the privatization of Greek Railways following successive governments of different, stated “political orientation” (social democrats, right wing and so-call “progressive”), all sharing the same “vision” for a privatised rail network. The Italian operator “Ferrovie dello Stato” took over the entire national network for a mere 45 million euros, being subsidised by 50 million every year.
Constant press releases, warnings and appeals by the railway unionists have been ignored by management, successive governments and the media, while courts have been declaring many rail strikes illegal, forcing staff to get back to work amidst the crumbling infrastructure. Union members of DESK (a front that is supported by PAME, the militant class-orientated trade union front in Greece) had warned about an upcoming major accident on the 7th of February this year, once again being ignored by both the government and the train company management.
The majority of the British media make no mention that a private operator has been happily operating trains without a signalling system, because it had been more profitable not to maintain it, pocketing the savings with one hand, grabbing subsidies with the other. They are well aware that merely stating these facts, would lead to conclusions regarding privatisation in Britain being equally dangerous, as we have seen time and again on the British railways, the NHS and elsewhere. It would reveal that the governments prioritise the profits of the monopolies against our needs and lives; that governments and privatised sectors see public and workers’ safety as a cost, all over the world.
We express our solidarity with our striking Greek colleagues and students. Justice for the victims’ families, is fighting against the deadly privatisation policies everywhere.
Cambridge and District Trades Council AGM – Solidarity With the Striking Workers
The Cambridge & District Trades Council held their Annual General Meeting on Wednesday 15th February. Delegates present both in the room and online were from Unite the Union, UNISON, UCU, GMB, CWU and Artist’s Union England.
The guest speakers was Anne Alexander of the UCU, who spoke about the catastrophic attack on pensions and how we could link the various industrial struggles together
The following officers were elected:
Chair: James Youd
Vice Chair: Sylvia Carter
Secretary: Dave O’Brien
Treasurer: Pam Stacey
Equalities: Alice Midori and Anand Pillai
Cultural and Events Officer: Jill Eastland
Pete Monaghan and Liz Brennan were also elected to the Executive Committee
The meeting passed a Peace motion to go to the Trades Council Annual Conference
The Council also agreed on continuing to support strikers and linking this in with Universal Credit, the cost of living crisis and unionising and recruitment. We would also continue to support housing campaigns and continuing to support opposition to all forms of discrimination.
The closing speaker was the former Trades Council Secretary and outgoing Treasurer Ian Beeby talking about his 45 years as a trade unionist. The Council gave a vote of thanks to Ian for his years of service to the Trades Council and the trade union movement.
At the end of the meeting, those present in the meeting room showed our support striking workers by sending this message of solidarity
UCU Heart Unions Lunchtime Meeting
At our AGM on Wednesday 15th February, we heard an inspiring speech from Anne Alexander of Cambridge UCU regarding the strike action they are taking and how we can all work together to better co-ordinate links between the various unions. A link to this video will be posted soon.
On Thursday there was a lunchtime Heart Unions meeting in which other unions were also invited.
Below is information regarding how it went, by the Trades Council’s Cultural Officer.
“Great event organised by Anne Alexander, UCU and CUSU for Heart Unions with a Solidarity lunch and speakers live from the strikes and protests in Sudan and France. We now need to organise for March 1st” Jill Eastland Cultural Officer Cambridge & District Trades Council
2000 March and Rally for Cambridge 1st Feb Action Day
Open letter on Cambridge Strike Action
Open letter supporting the right to strike and the 1st Feb strikes and the march and rally in Cambridge.
Over half a million workers are due to be on strike on the 1st of February, including teachers in the National Education Union on the first of seven days of action. Schools, the NHS and other public services are haemorrhaging staff as a result of falling pay. The staff shortages are adding to an increased workload and this vicious circle is continuing to drive our key public services into a deeper crisis.
The increasing frequency of strike action is an unsurprising response to over 12 years of austerity, crumbling infrastructure and rising inequality. Millions of Britons cannot afford basic goods and millions more have seen their standard of living and access to services dismantled.
Strikes are disruptive, that is the point, but it is not strikes that are causing the day-to-day difficulties: in accessing a doctor; finding a qualified teacher to teach a class; travelling on a reliable bus route; or an affordable train. These things are a result of the way our economy is run and of spiralling inequality.
The UK already has among the most draconian laws on the right to strike in Europe and now the government is proposing further restrictions that in some sectors will make it illegal to strike due to minimum service requirements. Workers’ rights to withdraw our labour are a fundamental human right and are a vital condition of any democratic society.
We support the strikes on the 1st of February and the protest march starting at 11am on Parkers Piece in Cambridge. We call on the Government to address: the funding crisis in education, the crisis in health and other public services, pay and the cost of living, and to uphold the democratic right to strike.
Yours
Cllr Anna Smith, Leader Cambridge City Council
Cllr Alex Collis, Deputy Leader Cambridge City Council
Cllr Elisa Meschini, Leader of the Labour Group, Cambridgeshire County Council
Cllr Richard Howitt, Deputy Leader of the Labour Group, Cambridgeshire County Council
Paul Moffat, CWU Eastern Region Secretary
Sylvia Carter, LESE TUC executive member – Unite
James Youd, Chair Cambridge & District Trades Council – Unite
Dave O’Brian, Secretary Cambridge & District Trades Council – Unite
Liz Brennan, Branch Secretary Unison Cambridge City Council
Rob Turner – Branch Secretary Unison Cambridgeshire County
Pete Monaghan, Secretary UCU Cambridge Regional College
Paul Turnbull, Unison Community Service Group Executive Member
Stacey Davies, Steward Unison Cambridge City Council
Cllr Dave Baigent – Unite
Jennifer Runham – Unite
Andy Kennedy – Unite
David Plank – Unite
Wench Orstavik Unite
Claire Andrews, Unison Cambridgeshire County
Michael Abberton, Cambridge University UCU
Professor Sarah Brown, Anglia Ruskin University UCU
Philippe Harari, NEU Cambridgeshire
Anand Pillai, TSSA
Ian Beeby, Treasurer Cambridge & District Trades Council
Matt Wells, Secretary PCS Branch 001151
Spyros Roumaneas, Unite
Kathy Hamilton, Unite
Lorraine Andison, Secretary Unison Anglia Ruskin University
Averil Parkinson, Unite
Cathy Dunbar, Unite
Hooda Abdullah, Chair of Cambs Keep Our NHS Public
Hilary Price, Cambridge People’s Assembly
Nicki Myers, Chair DPAC, Cambs and Essex
Cllr Gerri Bird
Cllr Jenny Wood
Cllr Alice Gilderdale
Cllr Cameron Holloway
Cllr Jocelynne A. Scutt
Cllr Dinah Pounds
Cllr Katie Thornburrow
County Cllr Alex Bulat
County Cllr Nick Gay
County Cllr Hilary Cox Condron
Daniel Ratcliff (former Cllr)
Cllr Rob Dryden
Cllr Mairead Healy
Cllr Mike Todd-Jones
Cllr Sam Carling
Cllr Mike Davey
Cllr Baiju Thittala – Unite