public and third sector

This section contains content related to the public and third, voluntary, or charity sectors. It includes housing, but does not include most nationalised industries like health, transport or communications, or military or law enforcement.

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Politics at stake: a note on stakeholder analysis

In what Partha Chatterjee calls 'most of the world' the state and capital have two defences against grassroots political society - the police and civil society (especially NGOs and the academy). The first protect oppression with violent repression, the second does the same by throwing up a spongy wall around it in which grassroots political society is absorbed via individualising technocratic 'public participation' processes and educated to accept domination via all kinds of workshops and training that teach people to know their place. This article is an important attempt to think with grassroots militancy against civil society.

Mark Butler and David Ntseng, July 2008

Half a million council workers strike

Local government workers across England, Northern Ireland and Wales struck for two days alongside civil servants against sub inflationary pay rises.

More than 500,000 workers were on strike on July 16 and 17, bringing disruption to schools, town halls, refuse collections and libraries throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

"This has been a fantastic response from our members," said UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis. "Local government workers have shown their anger and resentment towards this pay offer.

More workers set to join council strike

Up to 100,000 civil servants could join 600,000 local government workers on strike in July, as 40,000 more council workers in Unite pledge to strike too.

One of the biggest outbreaks of industrial unrest for years will see tens of thousands of job centre workers, coastguards, driving examiners and other Government employees join a strike next month by council employees.

More than half a million local authority workers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are staging a two-day walkout on July 16 and 17 after rejecting a 2.45% pay offer.

Catalyst #17

Solidarity Federation freesheet, produced June 08

Who cares for the carers?

Rob Ray investigates how privatisation is costing social care workers, following a damning verdict in a recent report, for Freedom Newspaper

The full impact of two decades of privatisating social care on the working conditions of carers has been revealed in recently published research.

Council workers to ballot for strike action

UNISON members working in local government in England, Wales and Northern Ireland have been given the green light for a ballot on industrial action after rejecting the pay offer from employers.

The offer is for a 2.45% increase, with an additional £100 flat rate increase on the very lowest three scale points.

Science museum in strike ballot

National Science Museum staff are being balloted on strike action after voting overwhelmingly to reject below inflation pay offers for 2007-2008 and 2008-2009.

The ballot for industrial action will open on Friday May 16 and close on June 2nd

Members of the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) working for the National Museum of Science and Industry (NMSI) are furious that a below inflation pay offer has been imposed on them at a successful time for the museum.

Nepal; a nice little earner for the Maoist ruling class - in Lenin's footsteps

Nepal's Maoist Party has won around 220 seats in the recent Constituent Assembly (CA) election, about one-third of the total. Though the largest party, they don't have an overall majority; they have stated their wish to lead a coalition government.

But as the result became clear Maoist leader Prachanda told journalists “I will be declared the acting President of this country very soon…which will be followed by occupying the post of the all powerful President of New Nepal…this is the peoples’ mandate…no force on earth can disobey this mandate”.

100,000 civil servants to strike on April 24

Workers in ten government departments and agencies will join thousands of other public and voluntary sector workers in a strike over pay.

The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) stated that over 100,000 members will be on strike at the same time as other public sector workers, including teachers and lecturers in a one day strike on 24 April in protest at the government's policy to cap public sector pay to below inflation, which will result in cuts to living standards across the civil service.

public and third sector