After two fantastic days of strike action in July there appears to be a worrying twist in the fight for decent pay for local government workers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Campaigners against the privatisation of the NHS in north west England were celebrating last week as Preston council backed a motion that opposed plans to build a polyclinic in the city.
"British economy grinds to a halt" cried the headlines last weekend. Charles Bean, the deputy governor of the Bank of England, said the current economic downturn could "drag on for some considerable time" – especially since there always seemed to be "another grenade" waiting to explode in the financial markets.
"Increases in food and energy bills will intensify the squeeze on real take-home pay which, for many households, is unlikely to grow this year."Mervyn King, governor of the Bank of England on current economic prospects
Tim Besley, a member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee, claimed last week that inflation will fall next year if workers keep their wages down.
Health workers in the south west of England were celebrating last week after government plans for further health service privatisation were dealt a blow.
$90bn – amount injected into the money markets by the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank on 9 August last year as interbank lending dries up – signalling the start of the "credit crunch"£314m – funds borrowed at a penalty rate by Barclays Bank from the Bank of England on 21 August last year. Barclays borrowed a further £1.6 billion just nine days later$47bn – money pumped into the banking system by the Federal Reserve in November as the crunch bites£100bn – the amount added to the national debt when stricken bank Northern Rock was brought into public owner
Almost a third of 14 years olds taking their Sats tests in English at school will have their results delayed this year thanks to bungling by the private company ETS Europe, which was hired to process their exam papers.
The strike by the people who keep local services going every day continued into its second day in every town and city in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Classroom assistants, refuse collectors, admin workers, street sweepers, and other grades stopped work again.
Around 50,000 people attended this year’s Durham Miners’ Gala – the premier labour movement event in the north east of England – last Saturday. Many there were angry with the government.
