Pension Justice, Ethiopian Tyrant & Rioters United – 2010

Pension Justice, Ethiopian Tyrant & Rioters United: Three very completely different protests on Wednesday thirty first March 2010.

Ford/Visteon Staff March For Pension Justice

Former Ford staff who had been transferred to elements manufactuer Visteon, ‘An Enterprise of Ford Motor Firm‘, in 2000 and had misplaced as much as half of their pensions when Visteon went into administration and its UK crops had been closed in 2009 marched by way of London from the Unite workplaces in Holborn to a rally outdoors Parliament.

Many who got here had labored at Swansea and there have been others from the Belfast plant in addition to from the North London manufacturing facility in Enfield the place I had gone in April 2009 to {photograph} the manufacturing facility occupation and its finish following a court docket order.

The occupation by the employees had failed of their efforts to maintain the manufacturing facility open and stop directors KPMG from gutting the manufacturing facility and promoting its high-tech equipment to China. However the battle to get again their stolen pensions continued,

When the employees had been transferred from Ford to Visteon they got a ‘cast-iron’ assure by Ford and Visteon that their working situations and pensions can be protected – and the one change within the ebook governing these was within the color and brand of the quilt – from blue to tangerine.

However when Visteon went into administration the factories and the three,000 workers misplaced their jobs, adminstrators KPMG had no real interest in the employees and Ford reneged on their guarantees. The previous workers needed to depend on the a lot much less beneficiant phrases of the federal government Pensions Safety Fund. Their union, Unite, supported them within the lengthy battle for justice that ensued – together with this rally – as did others from the commerce union motion and an extended listing of MPs. They demanded Ford meet its pension obligations of £350 thousands and thousands to its former workers.

The battle by Unite continued and even received some help from the coalition governments Minister for Pensions Steve Webb (Lib-Dem). It took till April 2014 earlier than Ford ultimately got here to a settlement with Unite masking round 1,200 ex-Ford staff. Even PM David Cameron praised “all those that performed a job” within the battle.

Far more in regards to the occasion and extra footage on My London Diary
Ford/Visteon March For Pension Justice

Ethiopians Protest Bloodthirsty Tyrant

Ethiopians protested reverse Downing Road the place Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi was co-chairing the UN local weather finance group.

He was the chief of the coalition of insurgent teams, the Ethiopian Individuals’s Revolutionary Democratic Entrance (EPRDF) which it took energy in 1991, and has been Prime Minister since 1995, imposing what has change into a one-party state, with many opposition politicians being imprisoned and press freedom being extremely restricted with main journalists being jailed for criticising Zenawi.

Human rights violations and corruption are rife in Ethiopia, and meals support, schooling and jobs all depend upon membership of the ruling get together. His opponents regard Zenawi as a bloodthirsty tyrant and name for him to be delivered to trial on the ICC at The Hague on prices of genocide.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) have accused his regime of struggle crimes within the Somali areas of Ethiopia and in opposition to the Anauk communities in Gambella in 2003-4. Regardless of this, the Ethiopian authorities was the biggest recipient of UK price range help in Africa, and the protesters referred to as on the federal government to assume once more and withdraw help from the regime.

Ethiopians Protest Bloodthirsty Tyrant

Rioters United! 20 Years Because the Ballot Tax Riots

‘Rioters Re-United!’ returned to Trafalgar Sq. on the twentieth anniversary of the Ballot Tax Riots saying it was the London mob who introduced Thatcher down and asserting an Anti-Election marketing campaign to maintain the mob in enterprise and pronounce sentence on politicians.

Chris Knight, one of many main figures behind final 12 months’s April 1 demonstrations at Financial institution introduced that the 4 Horseman of the Apocalypse who led the marches there would this 12 months on Might Day be dragging our political leaders (in effigy at the least) from their numerous HQs to face trial at a folks’s meeting in Parliament Sq.. Because the occasion is named ‘Carnival of Loss of life’ I feel we are able to take it that the sentence has already been handed, and as Knight reminded us, the one good politician, the one sincere politician is a lifeless politician.

As I commented “no get together chief will really be hanged, and the police mustn’t make the error they made final 12 months at Financial institution of complicated the rhetoric with actuality, which led to their ridiculous over-reaction, with squads of riot police psyched as much as batter largely harmless and joyful protesters – and the demise of a bystander. “

A PSCO was referred to as on by the Heritage Wardens to inform the 30 or so former rioters that they weren’t allowed to carry protests or different occasions in Trafalgar Sq. with out permission. In fact they merely laughed at him, and continued even after a dozen law enforcement officials he had phoned for help arrived and stood round watching. “Fortuitously that they had sufficient sense to not attempt to cease the commemoration, which ended after round half-hour when the organisers determined it was time to go down the pub.”

In fact politics and parliament carried on regardless. The turnout at our basic elections is low, with the Institute for Public Coverage Analysis discovering that solely 52% of the UK grownup inhabitants bothered to vote in 2024, significantly lower than the official turnout of 60% which solely counts those that have registered as voters. Starmer was delivered to energy in a landslide by roughly a 3rd of a half of us – if the PPR is appropriate, round 17%. The true winners within the 2024 vote had been those that didn’t trouble at 48%,

The Tories had introduced within the voter ID regulation within the hope that this may lead to extra Labour voters being unable to register their votes. It in all probability did – however this was not sufficient to avoid wasting them after their apparent and dramatic failures in authorities below Might, Johnson, the temporary however disatrous Truss and Sunak. Labour have did not repeal this regulation, and are presently emulating the Tories in shedding help. In the event that they proceed their present insurance policies it appears doubtless that even fewer will trouble to vote on the subsequent basic election – and the subsequent election will see the landslide proceed to place Labour on the sidelines with the Tories.

Rioters United! have a good time Ballot Tax Riots

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Tags: 20 years, administration, anniversary, bloodthirsty tyrant, damaged guarantees, Chris Knight, Ethiopia, Ford, basic elections, genocide, heritage wardens, human rights, Ian Bone, ICC, KPMG, London, low aturnout, march, Meles Zenawi, PCSO, pensions, pensions scandal, peter Marshall, police, Ballot Tax, Ballot Tax Riots, prime minister, protest, Rioters United, stolen pensions, Unite, Visteon, voter ID

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