Thursday 1st August. Sheffield rally and protest v Universal Credit
5pm till 6pm outside Town Hall, Pinstone Street, Sheffield
Sheffield Stop and Scrap Universal Credit is supporting UNITE’s National Action Day against Universal Credit. We will be handing out leaflets, asking passers-by to sign the petition and collecting for the Food Banks. N.B. Please bring the following items for Food Bank: tins of meat, tins of fish, tins of soup, sauces for pasta etc), toiletries. Please NO PASTA!
Unite Community’s head Liane Groves said: “Universal Credit is causing misery and suffering as the survey results clearly show. Hundreds of thousands of children in the UK are not being fed properly because their parents don’t have the money to make ends meet.
“This situation becomes even more critical during school holidays when children can’t rely on school dinners – which for too many is the only meal they will get in a day.
“Unite is demanding that social security payments are sufficient to provide families with enough money to buy healthy food for their children.
“Despite knowing how Universal Credit is forcing claimants into poverty, the government is still intent on ploughing ahead regardless, pushing families to the brink of survival.
“Evidence from voluntary and community organisations as well as unions and local authorities seems to be ignored as the government presses on with the implementation of Universal Credit.”
Bring your banners!
Saturday 10th August Sylvia Pankhurst Memorial Lecture
7pm Wortley Hall. The Red Clyde given by Jennifer McCarey, chair of Glasgow Trades Council and UNISON full-time official. Glasgow Trades Council, along with the Joint Shop Stewards Committee, and the Scottish TUC, were the three organisations that called for the General Strike of 1919. That year began with coordinated strike action across industries in Scotland, Ireland and internationally. In Glasgow the events of 1919, the general strike, particularly the riot that took place on 31 January which became known as ‘Bloody Friday’ or ‘the battle of George Square’ are part of Glasgow’s historical DNA. Often under-examined is the role of women as workers and as political activists alongside young people and children in participating in the general strike and the role that community organising had played in establish an infrastructure that brought another layer to the workers’ organisation during that strike and beyond.
Sunday 11th August South Yorkshire Festival at Wortley Hall
11am until 5pm FREE ENTRY Car parking £2 per car with all proceeds going to charity
Wortley Halls Annual Summer event, providing FREE fun for all the family!
The Hall opens its doors to provide gift, craft and garden stalls to browse plus BBQ, Fish & Chip shop, marquee outdoor bar & refreshments will all be available. There is also a program of FREE entertainment for all the family including live music, dancers, donkey rides, bouncy castle, kids rides, face painting, climbing wall and much more!
Please visit Sheffield TUC’s stall and say hello!
Wednesday 14th August Stop and Scrap Universal Credit Community Stall
11am till 1pm Manor Top shops. Please help us hand out leaflets, listen to real experiences of living on Universal Credit, offer sign posting advice etc. Organised by Sheffield Stop and Scrap Universal Credit campaign
Sunday 18th August Peterloo 200th Anniversary march and rally
Assemble 1130hrs Whitworth Park, Oxford Road, Manchester. In 1819,
16 August 2019 marks the 200-year anniversary of the Peterloo Massacre – when 60,000 women, children and men gathered at St. Peter’s Field in Manchester to peacefully campaign for parliamentary representation and were charged upon by the cavalry, resulting in 18 deaths and around 700 injured.
Sunday 18 August Annual Protest Moorland Walk
Meet 10.30am, Redmires Reservoir Car Park.
* to reclaim our moorlands;
* against grouse mono-culture
* for a land fund to promote responsible public sector land ownership.
The event is sponsored by Unite Community, Sheffield Trades Council, Moorland Monitors and the Labour Party in Fulwood ward and Hallam constituency. It is inspired by campaigning by Moorland Monitors, the Wildlife Trust and others.
Saturday 31st August Democracy and Revolution in Sudan
5pm Victoria Hall Sheffield. Speaker: Nama’a al-Mahdi, Sudanese opposition activist
Incredible things are happening in Sudan. In early June, the Transitional Military Council, which took power after the downfall of the Sudanese tyrant Bashir after 30 years of brutal oppression, itself turned brutally on the Sudanese rebels who had maintained a sit-in outside their military headquarters in Khartoum.
The Sudanese revolution had united those across ethnicities who had been oppressed by the Bashir regime. Prominent amongst them had been new unions formed in most industries and services and brought together in the Sudanese Professional Association (SPA).
Friday 20th September YouthStrike4Climate
Sheffield TUC is giving its support to the School Students who are striking for the climate on Friday 20th September – and we think trade union branches and their members should do the same!
There IS a Climate Emergency and many more people now agree that this is one of the most pressing issues facing all of us. Following recent YouthStrike4Climate school strikes and Extinction Rebellion protests in London, Jeremy Corbyn led a debate in Parliament which declared a Climate Emergency for the UK. If we don’t reduce carbon emissions – and get global temperature rises to below +1.5C – then irreversible climate damage will affect life as we know it on our planet.
Trade Unions have a direct interest in climate action. As Sharon Burrow (then Gen Sec of the ITUC) said “There are no Jobs on a Dead Planet!”. Trade unions need to be at the heart of the debate about the greening of our economy, so that no-one is left behind as we transform to a carbon-free future. That means a “Just Transition” so that workers in “dirty” energy and manufacturing are transferred to “clean” jobs in the new green industries. Trade unions also know that the change won’t come about by relying on “market forces” and the profit motive. We need to take back control of energy production and we’ll need public investment in new green infrastructure and job creation to meet the challenges ahead. So climate action also becomes an opportunity to transform society into a fairer, better world based more on public need than private greed – for the Many not the Few! Many trade unions have adopted positive policies on this and the 2018 TUC Congress agreed that energy production needs to be taken back into public control if we are to transform to a carbon-free energy industry.
Wednesday 28th August Stop and Scrap Universal Credit Community Stall
11am till 1pm Firth Park shops. Please help us hand out leaflets, listen to real experiences of living on Universal Credit, offer sign posting advice etc. Organised by Sheffield Stop and Scrap Universal Credit campaign
Friday 4th October Launch of the Black Members Regional Network
1030am till 4pm Leeds. Join us for the launch of the TUC’s regional Black Members Network. The TUC in Yorkshire and the Humber have launched a network for black trade union members across the region. The Black Members Network is an opportunity for you to connect, communicate and interact with black members across the region. The network welcomes all who identify themselves as black as well as those interested in supporting its growth. You may already be a member of a black members’ network in your own union, but this is an opportunity for connections across the various trade unions in the region. If you want to know more, register for this event and sign up to our Black Members mailing list below https://tuc.us7.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=ebd004a8047907dc47d269fd1&id=43c21dd82d
Friday 25th October Asbestos Conference
1000am till 3pm Sheffield Showroom, Paternoster Way
SARAG, in conjunction with Derbyshire Asbestos Support Group, are holding a conference to mark the 20th anniversary of the UK ban on asbestos. Since 1999, it has been illegal to use or import asbestos, to the benefit of everyone’s long term health.
This victory, of great importance to millions of trade union members, must be marked. Although there are no new imports and uses of asbestos here, there are still thousands of tonnes present in our national infrastructure. We must continue to highlight this ongoing risk. We should also take this opportunity to remind people why this ban is vitally important. In these times of political instability, the repeal of the asbestos ban is not beyond the realms of possibility. The anniversary is a wonderful opportunity to promote these issues.
Conference
9.30 till 10.00 – Registration
10.00 till 10.15 – Introduction
10.15 till 11.30 – Breathless (film)
11.30 till 12.15 – Asbestos in Schools
12.15 till 1.00 – Lunch
1.00 till 1.45 – Managing asbestos in Social Housing and Public Buildings
1.45 till 2.30 – Campaigning on Asbestos
2.30 till 3.00 – The work of the Forum and Asbestos Support Groups.
3.00 – Close of Conference