[imc-oxford-features] Oxford March against mass lay-offs; national march to demand G20 acts for jobs, justice and climate.

[Put People First]

Hi,

Sorry I didn't post direct but both my browsers threw a wobbly at your 
site's certificates urging me not to trust it as possibility the server 
might harvest details!  you might want to look into this.  Anyway the 
report...

The trades council called the mass leafleting of BMW on the Monday 
morning the factory re-opened after announcing the job losses to show 
support for the workers inside waiting to hear the news of the sackings 
and to build for a public meeting the next day called to focus 
resistance to all job cuts and build the national march.  (The event, 
while very well supported, was not actually a mass picket called by 
sacked BMW workers referred to in previous posts  - only one sacked 
worker was there, the other was a retired member who turned up to show 
his support.)

The public meeting, which was supported by some BMW workers, called a 
local march for a defence of jobs in the economic crisis on Saturday 
March 7th, assembling at Manzil way, East Oxford at mid-day.  We will be 
marching to a rally at Bonn Square.  As well as focusing opposition to 
the recent wave of sackings (BMW, Woolies, Zavi etc) in Oxfordshire 
recently we are also building the "Put People First" "Jobs, Justice and 
Climate" march against the G20 on March 28th in London.  All trade 
unions, NGO's and campaign groups are invited to support and build the 
local and national protests.  The national march is backed by TUC, a 
number of large trade unions and over 40 NGO's.  the potential for mass 
turn-out as at previous G8 summits is a real possibility.

The publicity for the local march reads:

WE WON'T PAY FOR THEIR CRISIS
The world is facing the worst economic crisis for 100 years and no-one 
knows how bad it is going to get. While billions of pounds of public 
money is being used to rescue banks, workers are being thrown on the 
dole in ever increasing numbers. Plans are in place to reduce public 
service spending at a time it is needed most.

Already hundreds of thousands of jobs have been lost with more than a 
million further losses predicted in the coming year. House repossessions 
are soaring with another 75,000 expected this year.

Oxford is not immune from the crisis. BMW has cut over 1000 jobs;  
Woolworths, MFI and Zavi workers in Oxford all lost their jobs. Other 
workforces across Oxfordshire have been hit, and no end is in sight.

We need action now to protect jobs in the crisis - if rich bankers' 
bonuses can be rescued so can working people. We cannot afford or allow 
for us to be made to pay the price of a crisis we did not make. 

MARCH ALONGSIDE
SACKED BMW WORKERS
STOP ALL
JOB CUTS DEFEND PUBLIC SERVICES

Assemble noon Saturday 7th March
Manzil Way, Cowley Road
March to rally in Bonn Square, Oxford city centre

Called by Oxford & District Trades Council

While the Oxford protest has been called primarily over job losses and 
public services we would welcome other issues on global poverty and 
climate change being raised at the same time on the Oxford protest.  We 
urge all local activists to build this march and the national 
demonstration on 28th March.

A coach has been booked to London on the 28th by Oxfordshire UNISON 
Health Branch and tickets can be booked online 
http://web.bethere.co.uk/PutpeopleFirst/  at a cost of £10 waged/ £8 
unwaged  and £1 (refundable) to Oxfordshire UNISON Health Branch 
members.  We are urging groups to block book seats and subsidise them to 
their members to make it easy for as many people to go on the march as 
possible.

 From Put People First website for your info: 
http://www.putpeoplefirst.org.uk
 
The platform is united by three linked calls: Decent jobs and public 
services for all, end poverty and inequality, build a green economy.
More specific demands on the UK government are to:

    * Create a 'Green New Deal' to create jobs in the environmental sector
    * Invest in essential services including social housing
    * Provide emergency funding to countries that need it to protect
      jobs and provide social protection
    * Tackle tax havens - especially those linked to the UK
    * Insist on democratic reform of the World Bank and IMF
    * Make all financial institutions and multinational corporations
      transparent and accountable
    * Ensure that poorer states are allowed to take responsibility for
      managing their own economies rather than having liberalisation
      measures forced upon them
    * Introduce robust regulatory requirements and financial incentives
      at national level and push for them at international level to stop
      climate chaos
    * Commit to substantial new resource transfer from North to South to
      support low carbon development

Please use attached files to promote the above events.



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