HOME | IMC UK | Editorial Guidelines | Mission Statement | About Us | Contact | Help | Support Us

SouthCoast Indymedia

Big protests planned at Southampton City Council’s upcoming budget-setting

Snorky MacDolphin | 13.02.2011 14:16 | Public sector cuts | South Coast

Wednesday the 16th will see an ad-hoc collection of activists and workers converging on Southampton City Council’s annual budget setting meeting to protest many of the decisions the Council is likely to make on the day.

The rally last month at the Civic Centre
The rally last month at the Civic Centre

Union members vote (again) to oppose the Council's plans
Union members vote (again) to oppose the Council's plans


The meeting is where the Council decides their budget for the next financial year, and so many of the changes and cuts in services will be put to vote during this meeting. With a Tory majority in the Council it is likely that these measures will pass, including the changes to Council worker’s employment, cuts to allotment funding, libraries and other services like the Women’s Refuge Centre (more on this last one soon from The Blowhole…).

Southampton United for Public Services (SUPS), Unite the Union and UNISON Southampton have called for a lobby of the meeting in protest against the Council’s proposed lay-offs and pay cuts for Council workers, as well as against a reduction in public services in Southampton and around the country.

The Council maintain that they have to make cuts to meet the reductions in their budget from the government, as part of the ConDem’s drive to reduce the national defecit and transfer Public Services to the ‘Big Society’. However, they’ve faced growing criticism for a lack of consultation over the plans and for an apparent overwillingness to implement the central government’s agenda.

The Council has also been criticised for planning to force all staff to accept the new condtions by stopping all contracts and re-employing only staff who agree to the new conditions on new contracts, a move that unions say is designed to make workers panic and scared into accepting them. There’s also been rumblings over an apparent breach of data protection a couple of years ago when the Council accessed private information on union membership, which hasn’t exactly helped soothe their staff’s feathers…

Meanwhile, the Council worker’s union are holding a secret ballot on whether to reject and resist the Council’s plan following a third mass meeting of 900 Unite and UNISON members on February 3rd which again rejected the Council’s offer, with the possibility of strike action in future on the cards. This follows on from protests last month where around 1000 Council workers marched on the Civic Centre.

Also likely to be voicing their discontent will be allotment plotholders, who are angry at a lack of consultation over Council plans announced only a couple of weeks ago to cut all funding for maintenance to the cities allotments.

Local groups including the Southampton Allotment and Gardens Association (SAGA) have asked for more time to discuss these proposals in order to make sure allotment sites remained maintained and universally accessible, but it’s likely the change will be steamrollered through on the 16th despite a popular petition with over 500 signatures.

Other services likely to be affected by the meeting include libraries, day centres and a woman’s refuge centre, each likely to attract protesters on the day.

The Lobby will be taking place from 1 til 2pm outside the front of the Civic Centre. We’ll be bringing you a report on what happens on the day.

Snorky MacDolphin
- e-mail: thedolphinsblowhole@riseup.net
- Homepage: http://www.thedolphinsblowhole.wordpress.com

Publish

Publish your news

Do you need help with publishing?

-->

Kollektives

Birmingham
Cambridge
Liverpool
London
Oxford
Sheffield
South Coast
Wales
World

Other UK IMCs
Bristol/South West
London
Northern Indymedia
Scotland

South Coast [navigation.actions2016]

South Coast [navigation.actions2015]

South Coast [navigation.actions2014]

NATO 2014

South Coast Actions 2013

G8 2013

South Coast Actions 2012

Workfare

South Coast Actions 2011

2011 Census Resistance
August Riots
Dale Farm
J30 Strike
Occupy Everywhere

South Coast Actions 2010

Flotilla to Gaza
Mayday 2010
Tar Sands

South Coast Actions 2009

COP15 Climate Summit 2009
G20 London Summit
Guantánamo
Indymedia Server Seizure
University Occupations for Gaza

South Coast Actions 2008

2008 Days Of Action For Autonomous Spaces
Campaign against Carmel-Agrexco
Climate Camp 2008
G8 Japan 2008
SHAC
Smash EDO
Stop Sequani Animal Testing
Stop the BNP's Red White and Blue festival

South Coast Actions 2007

Climate Camp 2007
DSEi 2007
G8 Germany 2007
Mayday 2007
No Border Camp 2007

South Coast Actions 2006

April 2006 No Borders Days of Action
Art and Activism Caravan 2006
Climate Camp 2006
Faslane
French CPE uprising 2006
G8 Russia 2006
Lebanon War 2006
March 18 Anti War Protest
Mayday 2006
Oaxaca Uprising
Refugee Week 2006
Rossport Solidarity
SOCPA
Transnational Day of Action Against Migration Controls
WSF 2006

South Coast Actions 2005

DSEi 2005
G8 2005
WTO Hong Kong 2005

South Coast Actions 2004

European Social Forum
FBI Server Seizure
May Day 2004
Venezuela

South Coast Actions 2003

Bush 2003
DSEi 2003
Evian G8
May Day 2003
No War F15
Saloniki Prisoner Support
Thessaloniki EU
WSIS 2003

IMCs


www.indymedia.org

Projects
print
radio
satellite tv
video

Africa

Europe
antwerpen
armenia
athens
austria
barcelona
belarus
belgium
belgrade
brussels
bulgaria
calabria
croatia
cyprus
emilia-romagna
estrecho / madiaq
galiza
germany
grenoble
hungary
ireland
istanbul
italy
la plana
liege
liguria
lille
linksunten
lombardia
madrid
malta
marseille
nantes
napoli
netherlands
northern england
nottingham imc
paris/île-de-france
patras
piemonte
poland
portugal
roma
romania
russia
sardegna
scotland
sverige
switzerland
torun
toscana
ukraine
united kingdom
valencia

Latin America
argentina
bolivia
chiapas
chile
chile sur
cmi brasil
cmi sucre
colombia
ecuador
mexico
peru
puerto rico
qollasuyu
rosario
santiago
tijuana
uruguay
valparaiso
venezuela

Oceania
aotearoa
brisbane
burma
darwin
jakarta
manila
melbourne
perth
qc
sydney

South Asia
india


United States
arizona
arkansas
asheville
atlanta
Austin
binghamton
boston
buffalo
chicago
cleveland
colorado
columbus
dc
hawaii
houston
hudson mohawk
kansas city
la
madison
maine
miami
michigan
milwaukee
minneapolis/st. paul
new hampshire
new jersey
new mexico
new orleans
north carolina
north texas
nyc
oklahoma
philadelphia
pittsburgh
portland
richmond
rochester
rogue valley
saint louis
san diego
san francisco
san francisco bay area
santa barbara
santa cruz, ca
sarasota
seattle
tampa bay
united states
urbana-champaign
vermont
western mass
worcester

West Asia
Armenia
Beirut
Israel
Palestine

Topics
biotech

Process
fbi/legal updates
mailing lists
process & imc docs
tech