UNISON WALES LOCAL GOVERNMENT SERVICE GROUP EXECUTIVE ELECTIONS (MALE SEAT)

RE-ELECT MARK EVANS

ark Evans is Branch Secretary of Carmarthenshire County Unison. It is the only local authority union branch in Wales to have produced a No Cuts Budget. They presented this to their councils Labour leadership to show there is an alternative to making Con-Dem cuts. Marks branch has called on the Labour-led council to implement a No Cuts Budget, based on prudent use of reserves. This would then give time for them to link up with the 10 other Labour councils in Wales and the Labour Welsh Government in organising resistance to the cuts. Local Government cuts were back loaded in Wales, due to the different electoral cycle. However, during the next three years, 520 million will be cut from Local Authority budgets. As a result 25,000 jobs will go if these cuts are implemented. Thats without the projected thousands of job losses if the Welsh Government presses ahead with local authority reorganisation and mergers. We say whats the point in New Labour if by voting for them we get Con-Dem cuts? We support Carmarthenshire County Unison branchs demand that Local Government branches in Wales take strike action on the same day, when inevitably compulsory redundancies are announced. We also support the call for a conference of Local Government activists to be convened to organise and prepare for this action. The Socialist Party calls for the TUC to name the day for a 24 hour general strike against Con-Dem austerity as part of the strategy to defeat the cuts. We think that the Unison leadership should organise a serious campaign over pay. Unison members desperately need a signicant pay rise to start to claw back all that we have lost. Only a seriously-organised programme of strike action can achieve this. We need a leadership who we know will lead this campaign until we are successful. Mark Evans has a proven record of providing resolute leadership that is uncompromising in representing members interests and ghting cuts to jobs, terms, conditions and services. As a result of the opposition of Carmarthenshire County branch to the Council implementing Con-Dem cuts, Labour councillors have revoked all trade union secondments. The branch has launched a campaign to put pressure on the council to immediately overturn this decision. http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/carmarthenshire-council-labour-leader-kevinmadge-reinstate-trade-union-secondments