Usdaw says hands off our pensions!

DELEGATES at Usdaw's Annual Delegate Meeting in Blackpool have pledged their support for Usdaw member Barbara Bates, who has launched an online petition to fight against the Tory led Coalition's plan to speed up the equalisation of the state pension age.  The Government proposal, which is contained in the Pensions Bill currently going through Parliament, will leave 500,000 women waiting an extra year before they reach state pension age (SPA) and 33,000 women waiting a full 2 years before they can retire.  The previous Labour Government planned to raise the SPA for women to 65 by 2020, but despite promising otherwise in the Coalition Agreement, the government now plans to increase the SPA for women to 65 by 2018 and then raise it to 66 for both men and women by 2020.  

Barbara's campaign is also backed by several other unions and by Rachel Reeves MP, Labour's Shadow Minister for Pensions.  Speaking at a packed fringe meeting, Barbara, who is 57 and from County Durham said:- "From the age of 15, I have worked every day of my life, apart from a few years when I stayed at home to care for my disabled husband until his death in 2003.  Since 1995, I have thought that I would retire in 2018, when I will be 64 and I have based all my plans for the future on this.  Last November, I discovered that the Government have moved the goalposts, so that people like me face waiting an extra two years before I can retire. I feel robbed, robbed of 2 years of freedom and robbed of more than £10,000 that I would have received as my state pension. Reaching retirement feels like a mirage, always on the horizon but never getting any nearer.  But we don't have to accept this proposal. If you face working longer, or if you want to support me and other women like me, then please get angry and make a fuss. Please sign my petition and then go and protest to your MP. Ask them to oppose the change and to sign Early Day Motion (EDM) 1402 or EDM 1524 on the pension age for women."

John Hannett, Usdaw General Secretary said:- "Usdaw accept the need to equalise pension ages but this broken promise is
unfair, unnecessary and unacceptable and could lead to many women facing severe financial hardship. Women aged 56 and 57 have already seen their pension age increase yet now see it slipping even further into the future with nowhere near enough time to prepare.  This generation of women are already disadvantaged as they have tended to earn far less during their working careers, were often prohibited from joining a private pension scheme when they started work and have had interrupted careers, meaning less chance to build up a pension outside the state system.  I urge people to support Barbara's campaign to stop these changes happening."

Rachel Reeves MP, Labour's Shadow Minister for Pensions said:- "The government are going back on the promise they only made last May, leaving women in their 50s very little time to prepare. These changes won't save the government any money in this Parliament and disproportionately hit women approaching retirement who have earned less and taken time out during their working lives to bring up families. The changes are rushed and unfair and the Government must think again."

Bumper celebrations and special visitors over royal wedding weekend at St Luke’s Formby

ST Luke’s Church in Formby is organising a range of events over the royal wedding weekend, including welcoming 3 special visitors from Rwanda.  The 4 days from, 29 April 29 to 2 May 2011, have been given the title ‘A weekend of new beginnings.’ The title reflects the start of the marriage between William and Kate, the re-opening of the church’s Lifeboat tea room for the summer season and a special event that encourages members of the public to play their part in a new beginning for the people of Shyira in Rwanda.

The celebrations begin on Friday, 29 April 2011, with a traditional family street party in the grounds of St Luke’s church from 2pm to 4pm to coincide with the royal wedding. Admission is by ticket only. Also included is live music by the Formby Mafia. There will also be a display of wedding photos (old and new) of church members and St Luke’s School staff in the church.

On Saturday, 30 April 2011, the church will celebrate the seasonal opening of the Lifeboat tea room, which will be open each Friday, Saturday and bank holiday from 10am to 4pm until the end of September at St Luke’s Church meeting room. Tea, coffee, soft drinks, sandwiches, soup and cakes will all be on offer.

On Monday, 2 May 2011, St Luke’s will welcome three very important visitors from Rwanda for a special open day focussing on the work of its charity, the Shyira Trust. St Luke’s has strong links with the parish of St Mark’s in Shyira and more than £173,000 has been sent to help reduce poverty by replacing a maternity hospital, renovating schools, rebuilding homes for child-headed families, sponsoring children, and much more. The visitors include Bishop Augustin Ahimana from Kivu Diocese in Rwanda, a midwife whose training was sponsored by St Luke’s Shyira Trust and a community nurse. The visitors are coming with funding provided by a grant from Global Community Links, funded by UKaid from the Department for International Development and will be telling why achieving the millennium development goals is important in their community

During the open day from 10am to 4pm, members of the public can speak to all three visitors and learn about the work being done, view a special exhibition of photographs and artefacts from Rwanda, learn about maternal and child health, the coffee project and try tea and coffee from Rwanda.

Beryl Farrington, who has helped organise the events at St Luke’s said:- “This is going to be a fantastic weekend for both the local and wider community of St Luke’s. We hope that the royal wedding street party and the tea room opening will really bring local people together. We also hope that the Shyira open day will give people a chance to learn about the wider community of St Luke’s which, through our links, now stretches right to Rwanda! We are delighted to be welcoming the Bishop of Kivu Diocese and medical staff from Shyira, and seeing the positive results of our strong relationship.”

For information on the events taking place at St Luke's please call Beryl on:- 01704 870 310.