Star date: 13th September 2010 

TUC STATS SHOW SALFORD WILL SUFFER IN RICH v POOR

As the TUC Congress meets in Manchester this week, a new report by the TUC and UNISON shows that Salford will be hit hard by the forthcoming ConDem Coalition cuts.

The Report, Where The Money Goes, shows that the "poorest 10 per cent will be hit 13 times harder by spending cuts than the richest ten per cent". And Salford, the birthplace of the TUC and with its huge proportion of disadvantaged people, will lose out more than most.

Full story and details of TUC meetings and an important film premier tonight here…

THE TUC IN MANC-LAND

As trades unionists converge on Manchester this week a new report shows just how much Salford and similar areas will lose out as a result of cuts to be announced by the ConDem Coalition government.

The Where The Money Goes report, commissioned by the TUC and UNISON and using calculations based on official government figures shows that "the bottom 10 per cent of the population will suffer reductions in services equivalent to 20 per cent of their household income, while the richest 10 per cent will lose the equivalent of just 1.5 per cent from cuts that the Government plans to implement by 2013. Across the income distribution, the poorer the household, the more they will lose".

The study calculates the results of the planned £34billion worth of cuts, with the biggest losers being lone parents (11 per cent) and single pensioners (9 per cent) - the very people who need support the most. The report adds "A typical family with two young people on modest earnings will suffer cuts equivalent to 6.2 per cent of their income."

The TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said that "The poorest ten per cent are set to suffer from cuts equal to 20p for every pound of their income, while the richest ten per cent suffer from a cut of less than one and half pence in their standard of living. In other words the poorest ten per cent lose more than thirteen times as much as the richest ten per cent. Right across the income bands – the poorer you are, the more you lose."
 
He added that the "cuts will make the poll tax look as if it was dreamed up by Robin Hood…The only conclusion is that the Government is making a political choice, not following economic necessity. But voters last May did not vote for a radical and permanent cutback in the scale and scope of public services."

Calling for action to oppose the unfair cuts he said "The poll tax was defeated when the decent majority said that it offended the deep sense of fairness that we share in this country across party divides. The cuts have only just started to bite. When their full extent becomes clear, I know the country will join with us in saying no to policies of such eye-wateringly unfairness."

This week there are lots of fringe meetings around the TUC Congress – here's a list of some of the juciest…

Tonight 13th September 5:30pm
The Poor Can't Pay – National Unemployed Workers Centres Combine
Room 6 Manchester Central

Tonight 13th September 6:30-8:30pm
Film Premier of Blacklisted – documentary about the blacklisting of trade unionists by construction companies and their fight for justice – the film includes contributions by Ricky Tomlinson and there's speakers including John McDonnell MP and Prof Keith Ewing.

Tues 14th September 12:30
Con-Dem Cuts – the trade union response
Premier Inn, Bishopsgate (opp GMex) Lower Mosley St
Speakers include Derek Simpson and Tony Woodley UNITE joint gen secs; Bob Crow Gen Sec RMT and Mark Serwotka from PCS (this is a Morning Star Fringe meeting).

Wednesday 15th September 5:30pm
NSSN Fringe Meeting with Bob Crow RMT Gen Sec
Friends Meeting House (opp GMex and Central Library)
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• The full Where The Money Goes report is available at www.tuc.org.uk/extras/wherethemoneygoes.pdf