Shaker, Job Centres, Firefighters, Tube, Lambeth – On Wednesday twenty fifth February I photographed various protests in London, beginning in Westminster with the Free Shaker Aamer marketing campaign, hanging firefighters and welfare rights activists, then with tube employees at Edgware Street and eventually exterior Lambeth City Corridor in Brixton.
Free Shaker Aamer – Parliament Sq.
A protest reverse Parliament referred to as for the pressing launch of London resident Shaker Aamer from Guantanamo, the place he has been held and repeatedly abused for 13 years with out cost or trial.
The Free Shaker Aamer Marketing campaign had been holding weekly protests reverse Parliament each time it was in session to remind authorities of the necessity for act over his launch. He had lengthy been cleared for launch however was nonetheless held within the unlawful jail camp with each US and UK governments dragging their toes as his testimony can be embarrassing to their safety companies, making clear their involvement in torture.
The protest was longer than regular as a global occasion was going down on the close by QEII centre they usually needed to remind delegates there of Shaker’s torture and imprisonment. Ultimately the lengthy marketing campaign of protests by this and different teams led the UK authorities they wanted to again his launch in apply and he was lastly launched on thirtieth October 2015.
Extra footage: Free Shaker Aamer at Parliament
Putting Firefighters block visitors – Westminster
Firefighters in England held a 24 hour strike on twenty fifth Feb 2015 towards the unworkable pension scheme the federal government supposed to implement. They are saying that the devolved governments had recognised the issues within the scheme and made enhancements however in England authorities ministers had been refusing to speak with the union, merely ignoring requests for conferences. They accused the federal government of lies concerning the union, saying they had been being labelled as militants regardless of them being prepared and keen to enter into negotiations at any time.
After a rally in Westminster Central Corridor, a number of thousand hanging firefighters protested on the road exterior Parliament earlier than marching to Downing St. Their protest introduced all visitors within the space to a standstill till they marched away.
They stopped exterior Downing Avenue and refused to maneuver, saying they’d wait there till somebody got here out to speak to them. A senior police officer come to speak with Matt Wrack and the opposite FBU leaders there and was extrememly politie, taking Wrack’s cellular quantity earlier than going away to see if anybody could possibly be persuaded to come back out from Downing St to satisfy the protesters.
I left them leaning on the limitations and looking out into Downing Avenue ready for somebody to come back and see them, although I doubted if anybody would ever emerge.
The Fireplace Service has additionally suffered like different public providers from authorities cuts; in London these led to Mayor Boris Johnson making harmful reductions, closing some fireplace stations and decreasing gear and staffing, which left the London Fireplace Brigade ill-equipped to take care of main disasters such because the Grenfell fireplace.
The FBU union later gained various authorized circumstances towards the federal government over the adjustments that had been made to the pensions scheme, resulting in important compensation for some members.
Extra at Putting Firefighters block visitors.
Welfare Advocacy not a Crime – DWP, Westminster
Welfare activists protested exterior the Dept of Work & Pensions in Caxton Avenue as part of the nationwide day of motion over the arrest of welfare rights activist Tony Cox. He had been arrested when he tried to accompany a weak claimant to her job centre interview to argue for a fairer claimant settlement.
In addition to a number of banners, one man was gagged in protest. By legislation claimants are allowed to have and adviser current with them on the interview, however when a claimant turned up with Cox, his interview was cancelled.
Cox and the claimant then left the job centre, however later within the day police arrived at his him and arrested him, charging him with threatening behaviour.
RMT protest Underground Job Cuts – Edgware Street Station (Bakerloo)
Round 20 RMT members handed out fliers on the busy Edgware Street Bakerloo Line station towards the proposed 50% lower in station staffing and the closure of the ticket places of work which they are saying will endanger the security of each passengers and workers.
They bought a really constructive reception from lots of the public going out and in of the station or strolling previous, though a PCSO got here to harass and attempt to cease their picketing. Many of the public appeared to understand that workers do way over promote tickets and provide service and safety to the travelling public.
Many guarantees had been made to Underground workers and the general public about how they’d be protected when cuts had been made, however most had been later damaged.
RMT protest Underground Job Cuts
Lambeth towards £90m cuts – Lambeth City Corridor, Brixton
After taking some pictures of the protesting RMT workers I bought on the Underground there, altering at Oxford Circus to take me to the tip of the Victoria Line at Brixton.
There I walked all the way down to Lambeth City Corridor on the nook of Acre Land to hitch round 100 commerce unionists, pensioners, library and different council workers, social housing tenants and different residents who had been gathering for a full of life rally exterior Lambeth City Corridor.
A full of life rally occurred urging councillors who had been arriving for the council assembly to reject library closures and different £90 millon cuts which had been being handed there by the massive Labour majority on the council. Labour then held 59 of the 63 council seats. Among the many audio system on the rally was the one Inexperienced Social gathering councillor, Scott Ainslie, who was to vote towards the cuts. The Inexperienced Social gathering gained 4 extra seats within the 2018 council elections however misplaced three of those in 2022. Proper-wing Labour councillors nonetheless have an overwheming majority and the council continues its insurance policies which fail the group.
Lambeth’s funds had been stretched by the event of a brand new City Corridor or Civic Centre the price of which roughly doubled from the unique contract of £55 million ot £104 million. Insurance policies such because the closure of libraries and the demolition and sale of well-liked and well-built council estates like Cressingham Gardens had already produced an excessive amount of protest within the borough.
The £90 million cuts handed on the council assembly later that night have had a disproportionate impression on kids, previous individuals and the disabled who at all times depend on native providers greater than the common individual. Council workers on the rally opposed the cuts not solely as a result of they feared for their very own jobs, however as a result of they knew those who stay in put up won’t be able to supply the general public the identical high quality of service that they do at current.
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Tags: Brixton, kids, council workers, Cressingham Gardens, cuts, disabled, downing st, DWP, aged, FBU, firefighters, authorities cuts, Guantanamo, human rights, Job Centres, Labour majority, Lambeth, Lambeth Council, Lambeth City Corridor, leaseholders, library closures, library workers, native providers, London, London Transport, march, Matt Wrack, previous individuals, parliament sq., pension scheme, pensioners, pensions, peter Marshall, police, protest, public providers, rally, refusal to speak, RMT, security, Shaker, Shaker Aamer, social housing tenants, Putting Firefighters, TfL, ticket places of work, Tony Cox, torture, commerce unionists, Tube, Underground Job Cuts, Unison, Welfare Advocacy, welfare rights activist, Westminster, £90m cuts
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