"Your Money and how they spend it"

This is the title of the program in which the SACC will be featured for BBC 2 and it will be presented by Nick Robinson, if we make the cut!

I think filming went reasonably well. Like always I thought of loads of things I could have said better after they all went home and it was an absolutely surreal experience. Thanks so much to Laurence Rankin from sefton green party and especially to Celia Watson who came out on her birthday to help!


Last Thursday I also attended a lobbying of Andy Burnham with the Anti-Acadmies campaign. I took some pictures and a video. There is a link to the video here: http://www.youtube.com/user/curiositykilledkat1#p/a/u/0/Zre_2D0X_yY

I'll put the pictures up later but they are on the facebook page here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Southport-Anti-Cuts-Coalition/180280585320389?sk=photos

It was covered by the Echo here: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2011/06/17/merseyside-parents-battle-academy-plans-with-protest-100252-28893451/

Mr Burnham listened very intently to all that was said and spoke very nicely to those that had come, here is hoping he backs that up with some support for the campaign!

I harangued him about the lack of credible opposition from the Labour Party, his answer was that the press don't like to report what Labour are doing. I put it to him that their policies now and of nulabour, do not really represent an opposition to the policies of this government or the major government before, and that meant they could not provide a credible opposition because they would be doing the same if in power and in fact did do the same when in power. Also that it is a real risk for democracy if the left are not represented anymore now labour are implementing ed milliband's blue labour policies. He said that was a small minority of labour's supporters and I said "but influential ones, don't you think?"

Filming with the BBC and Chris Chope's Employment Private Members Bill

The BBC are going to film our family for a program with Nick Robinson about tax. As part of it they want to look at the things that the SACC does. They want to see me going out collecting testimonies for the welfare reform survey on monday between 4pm and around 5pm. Anyone who would like to be involved with this please get in contact.

I have also written a letter to Chris Chope about his second reading in Parliament today:

Dear sir,

I am watching with dismay your live debate in the commons. 

Firstly, I would like to say that just because a person might approach you, out of desperation, stating that they would work for less than minimum wage does not mean that it is right for them to be "freed from the constraints of the minimum wage".

Introducing a low pay commission would introduce the expense and bureaucracy that is spoken about with such contempt in the very program I am watching.

There is already a "training wage" accommodated within the minimum wage rules which is why there is a separate rate for 18-21 year olds. The reason the minimum wage rates exist is to ensure that people are not providing labour in return for less than can sustain them. 

If you were to remove the national minimum wage all those competing for positions currently typically attracting the national minimum wage would be at risk of severe and lifelong poverty which would also destroy the economy. The current tax avoidance incentives promoted by the Conservatives, Labour and now the Coalition mean that the wealthiest do not pay their share of taxes. The tax burden has increasingly fallen mostly on poorer and poorer people. If the minimum wage was removed and current tax laws retained this would cause an absolute crisis in the income this country makes from taxation.

It was stated that "this is about freedom, liberty and the right to work". I put it to you that this bill is indeed about freedom and liberty - freedom and liberty for the exploitative wealthy business owner to profit from the desperation of the UK worker as they currently do from the desperation of the overseas worker. The right to work is nothing without the right to fair pay and currently even the minimum wage fails to address this - the runaway wealth of the richest is holding back the productivity of the economy. In order to solve the wage crisis it is necessary to introduce, in addition to the minimum wage, a maximum wage which is linked to the minimum wage and includes those at the top who profit from shares, dividends and bonuses as income and those at the bottom who's services are contracted.

This would build a strong economy based on fair pay for work and fair taxation. Cutting the minimum wage requirement is one easy way to massively increase state subsidies for those employed in low paid work. As Government, you cannot extricate your responsibilities to public health or keeping citizens from destitution. 

The assertion that workplace victimisation does not already exist and that the removal of the minimum wage would not attract victimisation is entirely ridiculous. As a person who has been employed on minimum wage for employers with varying levels of scruples from big reputable multinational companies to low level tax avoiding gangsters employing people in the black market I can say I have experienced workplace victimisation in every job I have had. My husband has also been victimised in his workplace and his employers often require him to work intermittently through the night (sometimes up to 3 or four hours for each call) every night for 1 week once a month whilst still driving 22 miles to and from work and working a 9-5 daytime shift. Common triggers for victimisation are taking entitled breaks and holidays - common reasons are that employers in a capitalist economy need people to work as long and for as little as they can get them to. One job I had would not allow me to go to midwife appointments whilst pregnant or take my required holiday entitlement. They also put me on a salary that, when taking into consideration the numbers of hours I worked, was below minimum wage. I firmly believe removal of the minimum wage requirement would become a similar target for the victimisation of workers.

Mr Chope mentions that he "like most" members, fills his office with "unpaid volunteers" he states that "One of the reasons for this is because there is no flexibility on the minimum wage". I put it to him that it is absolutely immoral for him to fill his office with unpaid volunteers, that he has a responsibility to pay the people who work for him. His assessment is looking at the problem from the wrong direction, he should be asking why employers are not willing to pay a living wage? If he wants to drive down unemployment he needs to curtail tax avoidance, stop exploitation of third world workers and prevent institutions such as the one he works for relying on unpaid interns.

I have heard it asserted that asylum seekers should be able to work for less than the minimum wage - this is overtly racist and offensive and should attract no further comment.

I have also heard it asserted that the opposition to the bill are trying to portray all employers as evil. This misses the point. Without doubt most employers want to retain a good employee but they also are incentivised to retain that employee at the lowest possible rate. The point is not that all employers are "evil" but that there are factors in the nature of the market which incentivise low pay and that the existence of the probability that there are employers out there who are motivated to exploit their employees and that these employers are most likely to be the ones who pay the lowest wages, needs to be considered and planned into any legislation on employment. To deny this fact is ludicrous. It needs to be understood that this bill directly incentivises and rewards those employers who are unscrupulous.

Yours sincerely,

K M Sumner

Southport Anti-Cuts Coalition.

Update

Apologies for the lack of attention I have given the blog and the group lately! I was not well and have been a little swamped trying to catch up with my degree work, housework and with birthdays and half term!

At the last meeting John suggested we have a summer recess and re-convene in September when the council start planning their budget. This has obvious advantages for me as it will enable me to get on with my degree work. For this reason I propose we operate by e-mail and telephone until september, calling meetings as and when we might need them if there is a need. This means there won't be a meeting on Monday night but please contact me if you need to.

There are no minutes from the last meeting because Nina couldn't make it but we decided to collect testimonies about how people feel about welfare reform in a broad sense. Anything from winter fuel payments, disability benefits, jobseekers allowance, child benefit, tax credits e.t.c. Steve Jowett and I headed out into Southport Town Centre that weekend and collected testimonies. It was interesting listening to what people had to say. I haven't been out since because of not being so well but we need to push for some more testimonies now. The questions are here:

There have been a number of national and local changes made (and proposed) to various aspects of financial support, which have worried people in combination with; each other, wage freezes, job losses, changes to the NHS and social care and a rising cost of living. These include but are not limited to

1. Reforming housing benefit entitlement so that you are only entitled to housing costing a maximum of 30% the market rate without any attempt to provide social housing or control private rent. This risks increases in homelessness, concentrations of families living in poor housing, disruption of schooling and the “cleansing” of the poor from wealthy or urban areas where housing is expensive.

2. Reform of the Employment Support Allowance (ESA) being criticised by a group of six charities, including Parkinson’s UK and Arthritis Care (on the BBC) for problems with the new Work Capability Assessment, which they say does not reasonably provide for people who for example, have chronic illnesses like MS, which have variable and unpredictable effects on health.

3. The new Personal Independence payment, which potentially classes a wheelchair as a “tool which makes life normal” according to a commenter on the Hardest Hit website.

4. Changes to tax credits boundaries and a reduction in the amount of childcare fees families can claim - affecting the ability of parents to maintain employment as well as the proposed withdrawal of child benefit from households with one earner paying high rate tax which has been criticised as penalising stay at home mothers in a tax system which already discriminates against single earner families (including single parents).

5. A proposed cap of £26,000 per year on total benefits claimed which has been criticised for penalising large families and causing potential increases in child poverty.

6. New sanctions for people who fail to maintain their benefit claim and for families using the Child Support Agency to collect maintenance.

7. Cuts to the winter fuel allowance of £50 for the over 60’s and £100 for the over 80’s which have been been criticised as being made in a time when “fuel bills are rising and winter deaths amongst older people are a national scandal” (taken from the BBC).

8. The ending of the EMA scheme which has been independently evaluated as cost effective because it successfully manages to both keep children in education, and improve their achievement, which means they gain better employment and pay more tax as adults, which in turn more than pays for the initial outlay.

9. In Sefton specifically, the removal of the Uniform Grant for the poorest children.

These are a few examples and you may be being affected by different changes being made locally and/or nationally. Please tell us who you are and what you are worried about:

How are these changes or the worry about the changes affecting you and your family?

Have you tried to seek help or advice from your MP, Citizens Advice Bureau or anybody else? If you have, have they been helpful?

The questions are short and simple because the aim is to find out what people are feeling and to take the ones who are worried and lobby Sefton MPs. This was meant to be done by now but because of my illness I am moving the end date to the end of June. Any help collecting testimonies would be great - maybe ask your friends and families? It would be helpful to ask these questions just to cover us:

You can speak to us anonymously and you can share as much or as little information as you like. We may publish quotes from your testimony and any pictures you give us on our blog – http://southportanticutscoalition.blogspot.com, with your MP or the local press but we will not publish your contact details or your full name; on the internet, in the press or in any other way without permission.  You can give permission separately to allow your full name and/or contact details to be given to your MP.

(Please complete and sign)

[  ]     I understand and agree to the conditions outlined above.

[  ]    I would like to be put on the SACC mailing list to receive e-mail updates about SACC my e-mail address is _________________________________________________.

[  ]    I would like to be involved in the lobbying meeting with my MP - _______________________, my contact details are________________________________________.

[  ]   I would like my full name and contact details to be shared with my MP in case they wish to contact me in response______________________________ (contact details).

The second thing mentioned at the meeting was about journalist's enquiries. I have a couple of updates in that respect. The BBC have been in contact about the program they are making about tax with Nick Robinson. Geography willing they will be coming to film me sometime possibly next week. Tony Wood has also written his article for Le Monde Diplomatique featuring a quote from me. You can read the full article in english here - "Britain's Freelance Protestors". It is a great article actually and he says talking to me helped inform the article in addition to the quote and direct reference to the group, which is great!

Finally, I regularly go to the Sefton Democracy Club (http://seftondemocracyclub.blogspot.com). Their next meeting is on 28th June 2011 at 7pm in Maghull Town Hall. The subject is welfare reform and the NHS. I am going to be speaking a little at it before we have the discussion. I would recommend the democracy club to anyone, we have had very interesting and informative discussions and they have all been very well conducted and productive. Please come along.

I hope you all have a great summer, don't forget about us! I will try and make sure I update you all at least monthly over the recess and please get anyone that can to fill in the welfare survey!