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

 

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 

 

Cambridge Trades Council, along with Cambridgeshire NEU, Cambridge University UCU, PCS, ASLEF, Unison, Unite the Union, Cambridge Students Union and other Unions is calling a rally and march from 11am at Parkers Piece on Wednesday February 1st. This will be followed by a march through the city to the Guildhall where we will have an indoor rally.

Our open letter on the issues that matter: