Browse content similar to 26/06/2011. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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Here, the workers are dusting of the placards for the strikes on | :00:47. | :00:54. | |
Thursday. Will be talking to union bosses. Does the West really need | :00:54. | :00:58. | |
four new police commissioners on �20,000 each? Join us for the | :00:58. | :01:08. | |
:01:08. | :01:08. | ||
Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2512 seconds | :01:08. | :43:01. | |
Good morning. And welcome to the Politics Show here in the West. | :43:01. | :43:05. | |
Four days to go before the great public sector walkout. The | :43:05. | :43:08. | |
Government and the Union Square up for a possible summer of industrial | :43:08. | :43:15. | |
action. Our ballot provides us with a right to strike action. That | :43:15. | :43:19. | |
means we can legally continue with legal action in September if the | :43:20. | :43:24. | |
June action is not successful. why are we paying to elect more of | :43:24. | :43:34. | |
her public officials when the money has run out? | :43:34. | :43:38. | |
Everybody out! That is the cry that will go up this Thursday in the | :43:38. | :43:42. | |
biggest day of plan strikes and many years. The walkouts will | :43:42. | :43:46. | |
affect the public sector, teachers included, in protest at | :43:46. | :43:51. | |
redundancies and cuts to pensions. But it is it time for militancy or | :43:51. | :43:58. | |
are we in this to go whether -- together? And will West Country | :43:58. | :44:01. | |
workers struggling in the private sector have much sympathy in -- | :44:01. | :44:05. | |
with those fighting for gold plated pensions? First here is Paul | :44:06. | :44:09. | |
Barltrop. There have been campaigns and | :44:09. | :44:14. | |
protests. Now the unions fighting the coalition's policies are | :44:14. | :44:18. | |
escalating the conflict. In the West, some schools are to shut and | :44:18. | :44:22. | |
pickets will be outside Government offices. They say it is about all | :44:22. | :44:26. | |
of those who are suffering, like Lucy Johnson, Geoff Collard and | :44:26. | :44:31. | |
Linda Phillips - a teacher, a civil servant facing redundancy and a | :44:31. | :44:36. | |
woman unemployed for seven months. When she got her first job in a | :44:36. | :44:39. | |
Welsh a secondary school last year, Lucy Johnson never expected to go | :44:39. | :44:44. | |
on strike. In terms of taking industrial action, it is not | :44:44. | :44:48. | |
something I have been involved in before. This is the first time that | :44:48. | :44:54. | |
ATL has long balloted far strike action. So the fact that ATL as the | :44:54. | :45:02. | |
union has chosen to ask teachers to do this, it is taken as an attack | :45:02. | :45:06. | |
on their profession. She did not going to it for money, but | :45:06. | :45:11. | |
frustration has turned into anger for putting more into pensions. | :45:11. | :45:19. | |
there is no erosion in teachers' pay and in -- and contributions, a | :45:19. | :45:23. | |
decrease in teacher's monthly pay packet, then good graduates, people | :45:23. | :45:26. | |
who would want to teach children in this country, will not be attracted | :45:27. | :45:36. | |
:45:37. | :45:37. | ||
to the tradition -- to the job. will be saying goodbye to his | :45:37. | :45:43. | |
colleagues. June 30th is the day he becomes redundant. I will be here | :45:43. | :45:47. | |
in sympathy anyway because it is just about the end of my time here. | :45:47. | :45:52. | |
I will be saying goodbye to people. I will be around. Had it been a | :45:52. | :45:57. | |
normal day for me, I would definitely be on strike. Temple | :45:58. | :46:02. | |
Quay is home to 11 Government departments. More than 200 jobs | :46:02. | :46:08. | |
have already gone. So far all one tally. That does not make it easy. | :46:08. | :46:14. | |
It is scary. I have got to find some money to pay the bills. I will | :46:14. | :46:18. | |
get some redundancy from here but it will not be much. It will we | :46:18. | :46:23. | |
keep me going for less than one year. This is where he may end up. | :46:23. | :46:26. | |
Linda Phillips from North Dorset has to make weekly visits to the | :46:26. | :46:31. | |
JobCentre. She has been out of work for more than six months. It can be | :46:31. | :46:39. | |
very demoralising at times and disheartening. But me being me, I | :46:39. | :46:44. | |
tried to keep myself busy. I tried to do things so that I am not | :46:44. | :46:53. | |
always just sat at home. But yes it can be very demoralising to come to | :46:53. | :46:58. | |
the JobCentre and to get jobs. You know very well that the majority of | :46:58. | :47:03. | |
the time you will not get an interview, you're application is | :47:03. | :47:08. | |
not acknowledged, nothing. So week after week you come and you have | :47:08. | :47:12. | |
the same thing. A former care worker, to improve her chances she | :47:12. | :47:18. | |
is getting training in IT. Harp local area has their proportion of | :47:18. | :47:22. | |
people who work in the public sector. There is not a huge range | :47:22. | :47:30. | |
of jobs in the North Dorset area. If a job comes along, it is quite | :47:30. | :47:35. | |
good. Everyone goes for it. coming days will put much pressure | :47:35. | :47:38. | |
on the Government. The Prime Minister has criticised the strike | :47:38. | :47:44. | |
and the role of Labour. Everyone in this country, the trade unions | :47:44. | :47:47. | |
included, no we have to cut public spending, we have to get the | :47:47. | :47:52. | |
deficit down, we have to keep interest rates noun. It is the | :47:52. | :47:59. | |
height of irresponsibility for a shadow officers -- shadow Ministers | :47:59. | :48:04. | |
officers -- opposite to say it is all right to go on strike. | :48:04. | :48:08. | |
except pension reform is needed. It is one of their former Ministers | :48:08. | :48:13. | |
John Hutton who has been advising the Government. I do not pass the | :48:13. | :48:16. | |
believe Ministers want to provoke a confrontation with the trade unions. | :48:17. | :48:21. | |
They want to find an agreement. coming clash will make that harder. | :48:21. | :48:26. | |
And with more industrial action plan, the wall between unions and | :48:26. | :48:31. | |
Government may only worsen. With me is the Devizes MP Claire | :48:31. | :48:37. | |
Perry who used to work with the Chancellor and one of the co- | :48:37. | :48:43. | |
organiser of Thursday's strike, John McAnally. John, is this | :48:43. | :48:49. | |
completely irresponsible? People only take strike action when they | :48:49. | :48:55. | |
have no alternative. We have mainly low-paid workers who will be asked | :48:55. | :49:00. | |
to pay more or contributions. They have been asked to work till they | :49:01. | :49:04. | |
are 68 and the value of their pensions, if the Government wishes | :49:04. | :49:09. | |
to the model they have at the present time, will be devalued by | :49:09. | :49:18. | |
20 or 30%. If you take-away the per portion of Hyde earners, it is an | :49:18. | :49:26. | |
increased. How well you know if you have one on Thursday? I do not | :49:26. | :49:31. | |
expect that. On Thursday, we believe it will be the first stage | :49:31. | :49:35. | |
in a major campaign, which of the Government is not prepared to | :49:35. | :49:40. | |
undergo say it, could lead to between 5 million public sectors | :49:40. | :49:46. | |
taking strike action. How seriously are you taking this threat? | :49:46. | :49:52. | |
membership voted for strike action. I think many public sector workers, | :49:52. | :49:57. | |
the majority of the country, no we have a problem. John Hutton was a | :49:57. | :50:02. | |
Minister in the last Government. We have a problem that in the 1930s | :50:02. | :50:06. | |
when public sector pensions were set up, people may claim for 20 | :50:06. | :50:10. | |
years. Now they are paying for 30 years. His members did not cause | :50:10. | :50:18. | |
the problem. We have a completely unsustainable pension system. | :50:18. | :50:22. | |
crisis has been caused by the flankers. We had the financial | :50:22. | :50:26. | |
crisis but we had a Government that spent more money than the two can | :50:26. | :50:30. | |
taxes for the last 10 years. We have a problem now where we have a | :50:30. | :50:34. | |
very unsustainable and unfair pension system. The lowest-paid | :50:34. | :50:38. | |
workers in the public sector have had the babies and they will not be | :50:38. | :50:45. | |
asked to pay an increase in pay contributions. But public sector | :50:45. | :50:51. | |
pensions will be more generous than the private sector. This is unfair | :50:51. | :51:01. | |
:51:01. | :51:01. | ||
and an sustainable. A country which is the 6th richest in the world, | :51:01. | :51:06. | |
today in terms of pensions, we have to 0.5 million pensioners living | :51:06. | :51:11. | |
below the poverty line. 3.5 million pensioners are living in poverty. | :51:12. | :51:18. | |
That has got to be wrong. There has got to be a better way. Can we | :51:18. | :51:25. | |
afford it? There is an alternative. MPs will be retaining their | :51:25. | :51:35. | |
:51:35. | :51:38. | ||
pensions. The bankers will have a pension far in excess of the public | :51:38. | :51:43. | |
sector workers. If we want to look at the problems caused by the banks | :51:43. | :51:50. | |
and the bankers, not by private or public sector workers... People | :51:50. | :51:54. | |
think that if it was some low-paid public sector workers who showed | :51:54. | :51:59. | |
the negligence that the Param -- bankers showed, they would be | :51:59. | :52:06. | |
jailed. White you not understand the issue. We have had the | :52:06. | :52:10. | |
financial crisis but we have had a massive roll out in Government | :52:10. | :52:16. | |
spending. It is unsustainable. It is not fair to have a public sector, | :52:16. | :52:21. | |
that on average, earn more than the private sector and have better | :52:22. | :52:26. | |
pension deals. We have to pay for that. Even after these changes, the | :52:26. | :52:31. | |
average worker will have a bad -- better pension pot than the private | :52:31. | :52:38. | |
sector workers. That is not there are sustainable. I am the taxpayer | :52:38. | :52:45. | |
and a public sector worker. The rate of tax relief for the richest | :52:45. | :52:51. | |
1% in society is double the cost of the public sector pensions. Would | :52:51. | :52:57. | |
she raised such taxes? What is the plan? Let me give you a few | :52:57. | :53:07. | |
:53:07. | :53:10. | ||
examples. I pay my taxes, you pay your taxes. Tax evasion, tax | :53:10. | :53:18. | |
avoidance is not being addressed. Between 122 at �130 billion a year | :53:18. | :53:27. | |
is a faded or uncollected. -- �120 billion a year. John's own members | :53:27. | :53:31. | |
do not believe this. One in five of his union voted for strike action. | :53:31. | :53:36. | |
I think it is incredibly irresponsible when there is a | :53:36. | :53:40. | |
negotiation in place, a do you think you might backfire? There is | :53:40. | :53:48. | |
a very serious negotiation process in place. There is a huge amount to | :53:48. | :53:53. | |
negotiation going on. To have this kind of strike Wycherley | :53:53. | :53:57. | |
conveniences -- inconveniences people, is the height of | :53:57. | :54:03. | |
irresponsibility when only 20% of your voters voted for it. What will | :54:03. | :54:09. | |
the cost of this be if these changes go through? Most people | :54:09. | :54:14. | |
only earn �20,000 a year. They will have to pay an additional �60 a | :54:14. | :54:18. | |
more in terms of contributions. That might not be a lot of money to | :54:18. | :54:28. | |
you. But to people... That is unbelievably insulting. It means | :54:28. | :54:37. | |
the difference between... He is making the point there. We are not | :54:37. | :54:43. | |
on the cricket lines. She is constantly interrupting me. | :54:43. | :54:46. | |
lowest paid workers will pay nothing in terms of additional | :54:46. | :54:49. | |
contribution. They have been excluded from the public sector pay | :54:49. | :54:55. | |
fees. What we have now is unfair and unsustainable. 80% of your | :54:55. | :55:02. | |
members know that. Let's talk about that later in the programme. | :55:02. | :55:07. | |
If you're looking for a job, how about standing for election as a | :55:07. | :55:11. | |
new police commissioner? You will receive around �120,000 a year plus | :55:11. | :55:15. | |
perks. The idea is to elect a single person to oversee each | :55:15. | :55:21. | |
constabulary. We will need one for Avon and Somerset, Gloucestershire, | :55:21. | :55:29. | |
Wiltshire and Somerset. It is about handing power back to the people. | :55:29. | :55:33. | |
But at what cost? Dickon Hooper reports. | :55:33. | :55:38. | |
Policing is a difficult business. Managing the police, more so. But | :55:38. | :55:44. | |
the Government has a plan. It wants you, me and everybody to elect | :55:44. | :55:48. | |
police commissioners. They will have powers over budgets to be able | :55:48. | :55:52. | |
to set the policing plan and crucially here in the West Country, | :55:52. | :55:57. | |
they will be to hire and fire and chief constables. We could go to | :55:57. | :56:04. | |
the ballot box next May. But to introduce these commissioners could | :56:04. | :56:08. | |
cost more than �106 million over 10 years. And in Somerset, they are | :56:08. | :56:12. | |
very worried about this cost. One of the reasons we are and pausing | :56:12. | :56:17. | |
yet because it will cost �1 million offer in excess of that to have an | :56:17. | :56:23. | |
election. That is �1 million being wasted as we would see on an | :56:23. | :56:28. | |
election when we could be spending on frontline services. This is not | :56:28. | :56:32. | |
broke, don't fix it. The police a authority would go of commissioners | :56:32. | :56:37. | |
come in. So they are happy the Lords of block the plans. But the | :56:37. | :56:41. | |
Government is fighting on. It sells Commissioners will reconnect the | :56:41. | :56:46. | |
public with policing and make them more accountable. But it may offer | :56:46. | :56:49. | |
pilot schemes first. Whatever happens with police commissioners, | :56:49. | :56:53. | |
this is part of something bigger. The Government wants to hand power | :56:53. | :56:59. | |
back to us, the people, to have her say. It is a noble idea but do we | :56:59. | :57:04. | |
want it? The council here -- house here is packed with councillors | :57:04. | :57:09. | |
elected here. Turnout was not great for our last referendum on moving | :57:09. | :57:15. | |
to the Alternative Vote. So, it is perhaps ironic that some who fought | :57:15. | :57:19. | |
against even having that referendum on cost grounds now support | :57:19. | :57:24. | |
spending money on it more balance. If we do end up going to the polls | :57:25. | :57:29. | |
next May to elect a police commissioners, here in Bristol, we | :57:29. | :57:34. | |
will also be asked whether or not we want an elected mayor. At a cost | :57:34. | :57:40. | |
of course. To hold a referendum and subsequent election, it would cost | :57:40. | :57:48. | |
the council here almost �650,000. The issue is whether we think it is | :57:48. | :57:52. | |
a good thing or not. Obviously, I would not want to criticise the | :57:52. | :57:59. | |
idea of a referendum, asking people is always a good thing, but whether | :57:59. | :58:03. | |
in the low light of interest in the past, it is justified to spend this | :58:03. | :58:07. | |
amount of money. I think people will be concerned about it. We are | :58:07. | :58:12. | |
having to find huge saving tax, having to cut services to the bone. | :58:12. | :58:16. | |
Unless you can demonstrate they will be huge rents its for Bristol, | :58:17. | :58:20. | |
people will be right and asking why we are spending this meant of money. | :58:20. | :58:26. | |
-- huge benefits. In the south of the city, one man who may stand for | :58:26. | :58:30. | |
mayor bought me a cup of tea and explain the financial benefits. | :58:30. | :58:35. | |
There will be millions in real savings arm millions that could | :58:35. | :58:39. | |
going to direct services instead of being wasted on some of the | :58:39. | :58:43. | |
administration. We have a crazy system where we have local | :58:43. | :58:48. | |
elections annually. That is absolutely bonkers. It has two | :58:48. | :58:52. | |
costs, one it is the physical cost and the other is the cost of the | :58:52. | :58:56. | |
politicians looking over their shoulders every time. You cannot | :58:56. | :59:01. | |
get on running a place like that. It seems then the voting is not a | :59:01. | :59:08. | |
problem for the coalition. We will not be going to the ballot box in | :59:08. | :59:13. | |
future just to choose our councillors and there MPs, but | :59:13. | :59:18. | |
someone still has got to pick up the tab. | :59:18. | :59:24. | |
It is round to two. Still here is Claire Perry and John McInally from | :59:24. | :59:33. | |
the PCAS. -- PCS Union. It was David Cameron's pet project from | :59:33. | :59:37. | |
the very start but lots of people are saying what is the boy? I think | :59:37. | :59:41. | |
the point is that people do not feel they have a lot of influence | :59:41. | :59:46. | |
over local matters and policing. Only a third of people feel their | :59:46. | :59:50. | |
voices heard a local levels. There were lots of examples from around | :59:50. | :59:56. | |
the World's where people having elected police commissioners, like | :59:56. | :00:01. | |
we have in London, made people feel they had a voice that was being | :00:01. | :00:06. | |
heard at the Tom line of the policing service. John? I think it | :00:06. | :00:11. | |
is an irrelevancy. When you consider the justice system, �2 | :00:11. | :00:17. | |
million will be cut over the next couple of years. 142 courts will | :00:17. | :00:23. | |
shut which means people will be denied to justice and their legal - | :00:23. | :00:30. | |
- in the local area. There is quite fearless. It does undermine your | :00:30. | :00:38. | |
argument. The problems we have with the police force are managed by 41 | :00:38. | :00:43. | |
separate quangos. Policemen and women only spent 12% of the time | :00:43. | :00:48. | |
out on the beat engaging with crime. There is a mountain of bureaucracy | :00:48. | :00:51. | |
and micro-management. I do not think politicians should set and | :00:51. | :00:59. | |
white top saying what people should beat -- police should be doing. | :00:59. | :01:08. | |
What about the police authority? Can you not pick up the phone and | :01:08. | :01:14. | |
they say this? He would say, Clare, I would look at that. Why should I | :01:14. | :01:20. | |
be the gatekeeper for that? Why do not -- Weddle we have a directly- | :01:20. | :01:24. | |
elected police commissioner who is directly accountable to the people. | :01:25. | :01:32. | |
It is just another layer of baroque receive. There should be local | :01:32. | :01:36. | |
accountability in terms of the police and my ears. The reality is | :01:36. | :01:41. | |
that local accountability is being torn away. Local access to services | :01:41. | :01:46. | |
has been torn away. Because of the changes made to the Ministry of | :01:46. | :01:55. | |
Justice, legal aid is affected. Privatisation makes things more | :01:55. | :02:05. | |
:02:05. | :02:06. | ||
expensive. In terms of local accountability, local police | :02:06. | :02:16. | |
:02:16. | :02:20. | ||
commissioners are fine. There is a wholly -- a backlog of cases. It is | :02:20. | :02:23. | |
being brought in house to the Ministry of Justice so they can | :02:23. | :02:27. | |
sorted out. We agree and that. found something to agree on at the | :02:28. | :02:33. | |
end. I kibbled for coming in. It is good to have you. That is just | :02:33. | :02:37. | |
about it from the Politics Show. We are off next Sunday because of | :02:37. | :02:42. |