People and services first

Bromley residents are being urged to take a stand against the mass privatisation of their local council services at the People and Services First march on Saturday (June 13), assembling at noon at Norman Park.

WHEN: 12pm Saturday 13 June 2015
WHERE: Norman Park, Bromley Common BR2 9EL

The Conservative-run council’s mission to farm out most of its services to private companies, reducing the number of council employees from 4,000 to 300 is also being challenged by Unite members with a third wave of strikes.

With 14 of the council’s libraries among the services earmarked for privatisation, Bromley-based children’s author, Sam Gayton said: “Libraries have given me so much – my imagination, my love of books, and my future career.

“I am so grateful to them, and so angry that they might be taken away from future generations. That is why I will be marching on Saturday 13th June. That is why I am standing up for Bromley public services.”

Unite regional officer Onay Kasab, said: “Bromley council’s mission to shrink local services to vanishing point will be challenged every step of the way. We will not stand by and let Bromley council’s blinkered right-wing ideology destroy the services that generations of Bromley residents have depended on.

“We are urging Bromley residents to join the march on Saturday to support striking staff in their fight to stop the wholesale outsourcing of their services – the very future of their local services depends on it.”

In addition to the march, Unite members will be striking from June 10-20 in a series of selective strikes. Unite members at adult services and transport workers will strike from June 10-15. Library staff will be on strike from June 13-20. Council workers will strike on June 16.

Unite members voted by 87 per cent to take strike action in protest over the mass privatisation programme, cuts to pay and conditions and the withdrawal of facility time from the Unite trade union representative.