Richard the Turd at the TUC

Personally I like a good speech and it seems that this week's TUC has been sorely lacking, so here's one that Shakespeare wrote earlier...

Now is the winter of our discontent
Made glorious by these sons of Marx;
And all the clouds that lour'd on Congress House
In the deep bosom of the ocean buried.
Now are our brows furrowed with rebellious thoughts;
Our bruised arms holding up the placards;
Our braziers warm the merry pickets,
Our dreadful marches seek to change their measures.
Grim-visag'd war doth come to save our pensions;
And now,--instead of mounting barbed steeds
To fright the souls of fearful adversaries,--
We carry banners and chant before their House
To the endless barracking of marchers.
But we that are shaped for cunning tricks
Are made to court the lustings of power
We that are rudely stamped upon, and court our members
And strut before the wanton media
We are curtail'd of fair proportion,
And cheat and lieth by our very nature
Are deform'd, unfinish'd, sent upon this time
To spread these stories scarce half made up,
And those so lamely and unfashionable
That dogs would piss on us as we march by.
No power we in this weak piping time of peace,
Unless we strike to pass away the time,
And flex our muscles before the camera's eye
Reflecting on our paltry cause
And therefore,--since we cannot prove our case,
To entertain these fair well-spoken days,--
We are determined to find a villain,
On whom to blame the evil measures now proposed.
Plots have we laid, inductions dangerous,
By drunken prophecies, libels, and dreams,
To set our masters and their opposition
In deadly hate the one against the other:
And if their measures are proved as true and just
Then we must false, and treacherous, be
Our days of protest closely be mew'd up,--
About a prophecy which says that we
Our country's prospects the murderer shall be.
Dive, thoughts, down to my soul...

Years ahead of his time, that boy...

Richard the Turd at the TUC

Personally I like a good speech and it seems that this week's TUC has been sorely lacking, so here's one that Shakespeare wrote earlier...

Now is the winter of our discontent
Made glorious by these sons of Marx;
And all the clouds that lour'd on Congress House
In the deep bosom of the ocean buried.
Now are our brows furrowed with rebellious thoughts;
Our bruised arms holding up the placards;
Our braziers warm the merry pickets,
Our dreadful marches seek to change their measures.
Grim-visag'd war doth come to save our pensions;
And now,--instead of mounting barbed steeds
To fright the souls of fearful adversaries,--
We carry banners and chant before their House
To the endless barracking of marchers.
But we that are shaped for cunning tricks
Are made to court the lustings of power
We that are rudely stamped upon, and court our members
And strut before the wanton media
We are curtail'd of fair proportion,
And cheat and lieth by our very nature
Are deform'd, unfinish'd, sent upon this time
To spread these stories scarce half made up,
And those so lamely and unfashionable
That dogs would piss on us as we march by.
No power we in this weak piping time of peace,
Unless we strike to pass away the time,
And flex our muscles before the camera's eye
Reflecting on our paltry cause
And therefore,--since we cannot prove our case,
To entertain these fair well-spoken days,--
We are determined to find a villain,
On whom to blame the evil measures now proposed.
Plots have we laid, inductions dangerous,
By drunken prophecies, libels, and dreams,
To set our masters and their opposition
In deadly hate the one against the other:
And if their measures are proved as true and just
Then we must false, and treacherous, be
Our days of protest closely be mew'd up,--
About a prophecy which says that we
Our country's prospects the murderer shall be.
Dive, thoughts, down to my soul...

Years ahead of his time, that boy...

Scrounging bastards!

Personally, it came as no great surprise to me to find that 75% of people claiming sickness benefits are fit for work or drop their claim before facing strict new tests. This country has become a haven for people who stick out their hands, sit on their arses and are too bloody lazy to earn a living.

According to DWP figures, of the 2.6million people on incapacity benefit, a total of 1.9million could work. A further 17 per cent were found to be able to work at some point with the right support. Nine out of 10 were capable of employment.

The government has implemented its plan to test claimants to ensure that the claims they are making are genuine. 39% of the people it tested were deemed fit for work, so they stopped their benefit. Unfortunately, this now means that these scrounging bastards now get Jobseekers Allowance instead - but at least that's not opened ended!

More disturbingly, a further 39% withdrew their claims before starting or completing the evaluation process. You can draw your own conclusions from that one...

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: “The new incapacity benefit assessment is a much tougher test and is designed to save the Government money. It is therefore unsurprising that more disabled people have been declared fit for work. These figures certainly don’t suggest that thousands of disabled people are suddenly ‘trying it on’.”

You're quite Mr Barber. There's no 'suddenly' about it!

And the thing that makes me maddest about these scroungers is that there are people out there with genuine problems who need and deserve to be helped - and they are going to be tarred with the same brush and find it harder to get that help. The welfare state is fine in principal, but abuse like this just makes a mockery of it.

(You can read more about this subject in the Express by clicking here)

Scrounging bastards!

Personally, it came as no great surprise to me to find that 75% of people claiming sickness benefits are fit for work or drop their claim before facing strict new tests. This country has become a haven for people who stick out their hands, sit on their arses and are too bloody lazy to earn a living.

According to DWP figures, of the 2.6million people on incapacity benefit, a total of 1.9million could work. A further 17 per cent were found to be able to work at some point with the right support. Nine out of 10 were capable of employment.

The government has implemented its plan to test claimants to ensure that the claims they are making are genuine. 39% of the people it tested were deemed fit for work, so they stopped their benefit. Unfortunately, this now means that these scrounging bastards now get Jobseekers Allowance instead - but at least that's not opened ended!

More disturbingly, a further 39% withdrew their claims before starting or completing the evaluation process. You can draw your own conclusions from that one...

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: “The new incapacity benefit assessment is a much tougher test and is designed to save the Government money. It is therefore unsurprising that more disabled people have been declared fit for work. These figures certainly don’t suggest that thousands of disabled people are suddenly ‘trying it on’.”

You're quite Mr Barber. There's no 'suddenly' about it!

And the thing that makes me maddest about these scroungers is that there are people out there with genuine problems who need and deserve to be helped - and they are going to be tarred with the same brush and find it harder to get that help. The welfare state is fine in principal, but abuse like this just makes a mockery of it.

(You can read more about this subject in the Express by clicking here)

RMT's Bob Crow loses the plot

It's good to know that when the going gets tough......some people lose a grip on reality!

It seems that one of those people is none other than union boss Bob Crow. Bob doesn't seem to realise that the finances of this country are deep in the crapper and has come up with a great plan to drop us even further in it - except of course for his members who are, naturally, a special case.

The backgound to this is that Network Rail have announced plans to axe 800 signal boxes and replace them with 14 mammoth signalling centres. Bob reckons that this means as many as 4000 of his members could be made redundant, although this figure is unconfirmed. Now I have a degree of sympathy for the staff who will be redeployed or made redundant, but Bob's hopping mad and has come up with a master plan...

He says he is "not opposed" to new technology but adds the changes should be accommodated through "a shorter working week, additional leave and the right to retire at 55 on full pension".

Signallers currently work 36 hours a week and get 36 days annual leave - 28 days plus public holidays. The average salary is £47,000 and staff get gold-plated final salary pensions at 60.

And this at a time when we ordinary non-RMT scum are being told we need to work to 68 and take a pension cut...

Well, a 30 hour week for 47 grand and a full pension at 55 works for me, Bob. When can I start?

Oh, and is this a good time to mention that the gesture in the poster is, in some places, taken to mean 'Fuck you!'?

RMT's Bob Crow loses the plot

It's good to know that when the going gets tough......some people lose a grip on reality!

It seems that one of those people is none other than union boss Bob Crow. Bob doesn't seem to realise that the finances of this country are deep in the crapper and has come up with a great plan to drop us even further in it - except of course for his members who are, naturally, a special case.

The backgound to this is that Network Rail have announced plans to axe 800 signal boxes and replace them with 14 mammoth signalling centres. Bob reckons that this means as many as 4000 of his members could be made redundant, although this figure is unconfirmed. Now I have a degree of sympathy for the staff who will be redeployed or made redundant, but Bob's hopping mad and has come up with a master plan...

He says he is "not opposed" to new technology but adds the changes should be accommodated through "a shorter working week, additional leave and the right to retire at 55 on full pension".

Signallers currently work 36 hours a week and get 36 days annual leave - 28 days plus public holidays. The average salary is £47,000 and staff get gold-plated final salary pensions at 60.

And this at a time when we ordinary non-RMT scum are being told we need to work to 68 and take a pension cut...

Well, a 30 hour week for 47 grand and a full pension at 55 works for me, Bob. When can I start?

Oh, and is this a good time to mention that the gesture in the poster is, in some places, taken to mean 'Fuck you!'?

Rotten boroughs : Norwich City Council

The UCATT construction union is pursuing employment tribunal cases for unfair dismissal, failure to transfer and failure to inform and consult on behalf of it's 125 members who worked on social housing maintenance contracts in Norwich.

Connaught went bust in September 2010. The company's £125m five-year deal with Norwich – which covered waste and recycling, street cleaning and council house repairs – was only announced in December but sparked controversy at the time. Morrison, the previous holder, won an injunction against the council awarding the contract after claiming Connaught had agreed to do the work at an "abnormally low" price. Morrison eventually settled out of court.

The Norwich contract employed 500 people but 200 jobs were set to be saved by the council and KPMG, the administrators, moving the waste collection and cleaning services from Connaught Partnerships to Connaught Environmental, which is not in administration. An interesting manoeuvre!

Last September, Councillor Steve Morphew, leader of Norwich council, said he would be "moving urgently to let emergency and temporary" social housing contracts. Morgan Sindall, which is paying £28m for all but 13 of Connaught's social housing contracts, will deliver emergency repairs in the meantime.

Now this transfer is complete, it is alledged that the company and council took advantage of the situation to dump staff and re-employ some of them on reduced terms. If this true, then it is scandalous and the union has a fair case.
 
It will be interesting to see what happens in court and what precedents will be set.

Rotten boroughs : Norwich City Council

The UCATT construction union is pursuing employment tribunal cases for unfair dismissal, failure to transfer and failure to inform and consult on behalf of it's 125 members who worked on social housing maintenance contracts in Norwich.

Connaught went bust in September 2010. The company's £125m five-year deal with Norwich – which covered waste and recycling, street cleaning and council house repairs – was only announced in December but sparked controversy at the time. Morrison, the previous holder, won an injunction against the council awarding the contract after claiming Connaught had agreed to do the work at an "abnormally low" price. Morrison eventually settled out of court.

The Norwich contract employed 500 people but 200 jobs were set to be saved by the council and KPMG, the administrators, moving the waste collection and cleaning services from Connaught Partnerships to Connaught Environmental, which is not in administration. An interesting manoeuvre!

Last September, Councillor Steve Morphew, leader of Norwich council, said he would be "moving urgently to let emergency and temporary" social housing contracts. Morgan Sindall, which is paying £28m for all but 13 of Connaught's social housing contracts, will deliver emergency repairs in the meantime.

Now this transfer is complete, it is alledged that the company and council took advantage of the situation to dump staff and re-employ some of them on reduced terms. If this true, then it is scandalous and the union has a fair case.
 
It will be interesting to see what happens in court and what precedents will be set.

Get ready for the winter of discontent

Apparently, Ed Miliband thinks it is OK for his party to support strikes to defend against the forthcoming budget cuts and privatisations.

Well that's fine, Ed. Except that it's easy to talk bollocks when you're in opposition.

Let's look at the one inalienable fact that no-one seems to be able to understand in your new Old Labour party : It is cheaper to outsource services than it is for local councils to do it themselves. Otherwise, they would not be doing it.

On the face of it, this is patent nonsense. How can it be cheaper to employ companies who build in profit margins? Surely, if the council uses it's own resources on a non profit making basis then it must be cheaper? But it isn't...

So why is this? Well, the simple fact is that council services are very inefficient because they are tied down by the restrictive practices that your marvellous Trade Union movement has saddled on local government.

So when you are standing out on the picket line protesting, remember - you brought it on yourselves...

Get ready for the winter of discontent

Apparently, Ed Miliband thinks it is OK for his party to support strikes to defend against the forthcoming budget cuts and privatisations.

Well that's fine, Ed. Except that it's easy to talk bollocks when you're in opposition.

Let's look at the one inalienable fact that no-one seems to be able to understand in your new Old Labour party : It is cheaper to outsource services than it is for local councils to do it themselves. Otherwise, they would not be doing it.

On the face of it, this is patent nonsense. How can it be cheaper to employ companies who build in profit margins? Surely, if the council uses it's own resources on a non profit making basis then it must be cheaper? But it isn't...

So why is this? Well, the simple fact is that council services are very inefficient because they are tied down by the restrictive practices that your marvellous Trade Union movement has saddled on local government.

So when you are standing out on the picket line protesting, remember - you brought it on yourselves...