PCS news digest 6 July, 2012

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6 July 2012

This weekly news digest is a summary of news, campaign articles, media releases and reports from the past week

6 July

Unions warn of post-recession rise in deaths at work – Union-News

Unions have warned that Britain could face a sharp rise in fatal accidents at work as the country emerges from the recession, reported the Union-News website.

Children’s charities warn number of trouble families will soar – Guardian

Poorest and most vulnerable households will bear the burden of austerity measures, research reveals, reported the Guardian.

5 July

Merseyside dad whose son died six weeks after wrongly being stripped of benefits wins tribunal appeal – Liverpool Echo

A dad whose son died just six weeks after wrongly being stripped of his incapacity benefits today said he blamed the government for his death, reported the Liverpool Echo.

Disabled workers to stage strikes – MSN

Disabled workers are to stage two 24-hour strikes in protest at plans to close their factories, reported MSN News.

Campaign continues to defeat pensions cuts - PCS

The joint union campaign against the government's unfair and unnecessary cuts to public sectorpensions continues despite plans to force through legislation.

4 July

Birmingham dad dies of heart condition after being ruled ‘fit for work’ – Birmingham Mail

A Birmingham dad died from a serious heart condition – weeks after government assessors stopped his benefits and ruled he was fit for work.

DVLA offices to close despite widespread opposition – PCS

The government's confirmation that the popular and effective network of DVLA offices around the country will close by the end of next year is a further blow to communities where jobs and face-to-face services will be lost.

3 July

Ministers must sit down with union to resolve long-standing issues – PCS

PCS has called on Home Office ministers to hold genuine talks to settle long-standing issues including thousands of job cuts that have caused chaos at our borders.

Ministers backpedal over paternity leave extension – Financial Times

Ministers are considering watering down plans to give fathers more paternity leave amid coalition tensions over the impact the move would have on businesses, reported the Financial Times.

2 July

Reading the Riots study reveals police fears over further unrest – Guardian

Research finds considerable concern that police ability to deal with any future riots may be affected by scale of budget cuts, reported the Guardian.

Mark Serwotka: Why the PCS union could run its own election candidates – New Statesman

"The choice between Tory and Labour cuts is no choice at all," says the union leader, who wants to challenge the "austerity consensus," in a blog for the New Statesman.

1 July

Poverty pay is no alternative to workfare: Why we’re telling Sainsbury’s to pay up – Red Pepper

Ewa Jasiewicz writes for Red Pepper magazine on the campaign to win supermarket workers a living wage

Millions wasted as taxpayers taken for a ride by rail privatisation, says think tank – Unite

A major report for the UK’s four leading rail unions has found that £1.2 billion of taxpayers’ money is lost every year because of privatisation and fragmentation in the railway industry – enough to fund an 18 per cent fares cut, according to Unite.

30 June

RMT pushes for strike ballot in Olympic pay row – Morning Star

Transport union RMT said that its members on South West Trains (SWT) will start voting this week on whether to take industrial action over an Olympic Games bonus row, reported the Morning Star.

Budget crisis wrecks gay festival – Independent

The Independent reported that cutbacks threaten to turn London World Pride event into a 'shambles', warned the LGBT community.

Public and Commercial Services Union