Here is an article by Sam Dimmer and Tina Junday for the
Coventry Telegraph covering the public sector strike in Coventry over pension reforms and the police protest over cuts:
MORE than 300 Coventry police officers joined a huge protest in London against government cuts.
Six coachloads of staff were joined by family, friends and retired former colleagues for the march in the capital.
West Midlands Police is being forced to save £126million over four years – with some senior officers claiming that the public will not be affected by the cuts.
But people taking part in the protest yesterday said that simply wasn’t true with one officer claiming that the force has been unable to respond to 999 calls because of staff shortages.
Pc Mick Ball, from Coventry, who represents constables for West Midlands Police Federation, said the cuts were like “body blows” to the force.
“We keep getting hit and eventually we’re going to get floored,” he said. “These cuts are having a massive effect on everybody.
“We want to do our best but these changes are creating a huge amount of stress.
“Morale is at rock bottom.
“Good officers are being forced to retire and we are not recruiting so they are not being replaced.
“Not only does it affect your professional life, it affects your family life.
“We’re so overworked that we end up taking the stress home with us.
“I work on response and it’s fair to say we are definitely feeling the pinch.
“We are doing a lot more work for the same pay.
“All we want to do is our best for the public.”
One officer told the Telegraph that budget cutbacks and forced redundancies – under regulation a19 that allows police to be forced out after 30 years service – had left them struggling to cope in the evenings and at weekends.
Another, who declined to be named, said many of the cuts were being made ‘by stealth’ and staff had been unable to find out what was happening.
One response officer in Coventry said: “We are routinely struggling to get to jobs at night, there just are not the crews to cope with the demand.
“We all fear it is only a matter of time before someone is seriously hurt, or worse, as a result.”
Police from Coventry met at 7am at Broad Street RFC before travelling to London in convoy with other coaches from the West Midlands.
Coventry Police Commander Andy Nicholson waved off the marchers in person.
Pc Ball added: “It meant a lot to have him there. I know everyone genuinely appreciated it. And without the help of the rugby club it would have been extremely difficult to arrange, so thanks to them.
“In the long run, when these cuts really dig in, it’s going to get an awful lot worse.
“It will have a massive impact on how we serve the public and it was important we showed that today.”
Police are unable to strike and everyone involved yesterday had either booked holiday or was on a rest day.
All 43 forces were represented on the march, with 3,000 taking part from West Midlands Police.
As well as the 300 Coventry police officers, organisers estimate that another 100 officers were unable to attend because of work or family commitments.
Some 16,000 police – the number expected to lose their jobs nationally as a result of cuts – were expected to attend but other estimates suggest that nearly twice as many took part.
Officers were also protesting against changes to pensions, pay and conditions.
West Midlands Police declined to comment but president of the Association of Chief Police Officers, Sir Hugh Orde said: “Chief officers fully appreciate how strongly staff feel about the budget cuts to policing and the changes to their pay and pensions.
“Forces have had to make painful decisions to reduce the number of staff and make major changes to produce the required savings.”
Public sector workers on the picket line in pensions dispute
FED-UP workers in Coventry and Warwickshire joined a national strike yesterday in a bitter row over pension reforms.
Civil servants, lecturers and NHS staff took strike action at customs and revenue offices, courts, job centres and Coventry University.
Staff at Nuneaton’s George Eliot Hospital also took action. The hospital provided an emergency service while clinics, operations and blood tests operated as normal.
Unions say their members will be working longer and paying more for a smaller pension rather than the current arrangement based on their final salary.
Among the strikers were 300 PCS union members who held a picket line outside HM Revenue and Customs, at Sherbourne House, Manor House Drive, Coventry city centre.
The office remained open with skeleton staff, as pickets stood out in protest.
One admin worker, Pat Cowling, aged 44, who has worked at the city office for 10 years, said: “I will have to work until I’m 68 – that’s eight years longer than I
expected. Not only that we will receive less of our pension – it’s what we have worked hard for. It’s for our future.
“My partner works for DWP and has the same issues. We have to pick up the burden to save money for our failed economy. I’m still on the same wage I was three years ago while the cost of living goes up – it’s getting worse. It’s upsetting the public sector and damaging services.”
Ian Hough, aged 50, who works as a compliance officer, said: “It’s not just our work pension, it’s our state pension age.
“We’re short of staff with bigger workloads and will have to work when we’re a lot older.”
The walkout follows last November’s huge stoppage by more than one and a half million public sector workers across the UK in protest at the changes to their pensions.
More than 400 PCS members also walked out from Job Centre Plus, in Cofa Court, Cheylesmore.
Customer service officers John Ainslie and Carol Dunne were among a dozen workers who stood outside the office.
Carol, aged 53, said: “Taking most of our pension away is robbery.
“It’s effectively a pay cut for us. When I started working, the retirement age was 60 – now I will be spending many more years at work and my pension has been reduced.
“We’re having to do more for much less.
She added: “I would hope we can make a difference – we’ve got to keep up the fight.”
Matt Price, PCS regional branch secretary, said: “There has no constructive negotiations at all – we’re not having it.”
400,000 took part in action, say unions
NATIONALLY around 400,000 workers were estimated by unions to have taken part in yesterday’s action.
They included members of the Prison Officers Association, who were instructed to provide only minimum cover “to preserve health and safety” within jails in England and Wales from 7am. Staff returned to work by mid afternoon.
Work on Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships in port in Birkenhead and Portland halted, according to the Rail Maritime and Transport union, while pickets were outside the headquarters of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency in Southampton.
Seven national museums were affected by the action, with the Tate Gallery in Liverpool and the National Museum for Wales closed completely, according to the Public and Commercial Services Union, the largest civil service trade union.
Unions taking part were the PCS; Unite, representing NHS workers, Ministry of Defence firefighters and others; the University and College Union; the Immigration Services Union; Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union members in the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, and the Northern Ireland Public Services Alliance.
