{"id":13512,"date":"2017-09-24T16:29:44","date_gmt":"2017-09-24T15:29:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=13512"},"modified":"2017-09-25T10:03:37","modified_gmt":"2017-09-25T09:03:37","slug":"what-our-country-needs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=13512","title":{"rendered":"\u00e2\u20ac\u0098What our country needs\u00e2\u20ac\u2122"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In the first of Unite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s contributions to this year\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Labour Party conference in Brighton, Unite delegate Mike Hedges intervened in the discussions around transport.<\/p>\n

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He said that, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bgetting our transport services right is vital for jobs, for families, communities, for the economy, the environment and for social justice too.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He welcomed Labour\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s manifesto commitment to invest in a modern, integrated, accessible and sustainable transport system that is reliable and affordable.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bTory policies on transport have failed,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bRelentless deregulation, privatisation and fragmentation is no way to run a transport system.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe need a major shift away from further privatisation and deregulation and towards more public ownership and accountability,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he added.<\/p>\n

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He quoted research by \u00e2\u20ac\u0098Transport for Quality of Life\u00e2\u20ac\u2122, and said the government\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s plans for rail pursue private profit at the expense of passengers and rail workers.<\/p>\n

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Hedges stated Unite welcomed Labour\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s commitment to bring private rail companies back into public ownership.<\/p>\n

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Moving on, the black cab driver told conference, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bI\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m a taxi driver, and every day we face moves to deregulate and weaken our employment standards. Just look at Uber.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe praise the Mayor of London and TfL. Putting the safety of Londoners ahead of big corporate interests by not to renewing Uber\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s licence to operate in London.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe condemn those employers who shamelessly dodge their responsibilities by classifying workers as self-employed.<\/p>\n

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Landmark <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bSo we welcome the landmark employment tribunal judgement that Uber drivers are workers rather than self-employed. Drivers are entitled to holiday pay, paid rest breaks, and the national minimum wage.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Hedges believed Labour\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s manifesto commitment to reform the law on taxi and private hire services \u00e2\u20ac\u015bwill introduce national standards to guarantee safety and access, keeping pace with technology,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 adding, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bthat\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what we need.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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Summing up Hedges called for \u00e2\u20ac\u015ba properly integrated transport system.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bBus networks need to interlink with rail networks or park and ride systems.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bPublic transport requires transferrable ticketing and access to properly regulated taxis. Ports and airports need good road and rail links.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The cycling and walking investment strategy needs to be delivered.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He urged conference to back a \u00e2\u20ac\u015bproperly accountable, integrated and accessible public transport system.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what our movement wants and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what our country needs.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Watch Mike’s speech here<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the first of Unite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s contributions to this year\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Labour Party conference in Brighton, Unite delegate Mike Hedges intervened in the discussions around transport.   He said that, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bgetting our transport services right is vital for jobs, for families, communities, for the economy, the environment and for social justice too.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165   He welcomed Labour\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s manifesto […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13515,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[806,523,44],"wps_subtitle":"Proper public transport plea","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13512"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13512"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13512\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13517,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13512\/revisions\/13517"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13515"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13512"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13512"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13512"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}