Unison General Secretary Dave Prentis will be speaking at the Put People First G20 rally in Hyde Park on Saturday. Here he explains why he and many of his union’s members will be taking part in the march.
March 24th, 2009
The MegaMouth wants London to turn out in force for the Put People First rally on 28 March. Every day from 23-28 March, The MegaMouth will be traipsing the streets of London with a megaphone, shouting slogans to get people to come to the G20 Put People First rally… but the best bit is you control what he says!
Simply go to ActionAid’s website, or text ‘SHOUT’ to 80010 (standard network rates – no nasty charges), followed by your suggested slogan. Then, wait for your shout to appear in Megamouth’s video stream! (Do you Tweet? Try replying to @TheMegaMouth for an alternative way to submit a shout!)
March 23rd, 2009
Students from Manchester are coming to the G20 for all sorts of reasons. Students will be the future, and the G20 is playing with ours and everyones futures, in an unsatisfactory way. Many student groups are coming down, from those involved in Oxfam and Fair Trade, to political groups, from people usually out of the activist limelight, to committed campaigners.
The G20 are playing with everyone’s lives, so we’re coming down to make sure they behave. Ultimately, with governments of the world wasting money on bailing out the bankers and all sorts of other ridiculous enterprises, students are pissed off that their futures are ignored, in that education funding is paltry, and nobody is adequately responding to climate change, which will effect the youth of today but not the bankers of today. We’re coming down to make this message clear, and we recommend as many other students do too!
- University of Manchester Students Union
March 23rd, 2009
International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) press release – 23 March 2009
In a worldwide push for action by G20 governments to pull the global economy out of recession and chart a new course for job creation, financial regulation and global governance, trade unions across the world are today delivering a common set of demands to their national governments. The five-point union plan, which includes detailed policy proposals, sets out the actions needed to tackle the crisis and build a fairer and more sustainable world economy for the future. It calls for:
March 23rd, 2009
TUC press release – 23 March 2009
Brendan Barber said: “This is a truly global crisis and the first recession to flow from a collapse in the financial system since the 1930s. Individual states can make a difference, but in a global crisis we need a global response.
“But there are worrying signs that the G20 leaders will not rise to the occasion. While there does seem to be a consensus to do something about tax havens, reports suggest that European leaders are resistant to a fiscal stimulus while the USA is opposed to more global regulation.
“We need both – as today’s global union statement makes clear. Without a big co-ordinated fiscal stimulus this could be a deep and dangerous recession that may easily turn into a prolonged slump. Read more…
March 23rd, 2009
The SOAS G20 activist forum invites students and staff from the University of London and beyond to meet at 1030am, outside the the Brunei Gallery at SOAS on 28 March to go to the Put People First demonstration.
For more information email SOAS union co-President Ben Sellers on bs27@soas.ac.uk
March 20th, 2009
Trades Union Congress General Secretary Brendan Barber will be marching on 28 March in London, and addressing the Put People First G20 rally in Hyde Park. Here he explains what the TUC and UK unions will be looking for from the G20 leaders in response to the financial crisis.
March 20th, 2009
Joint Church press release: 19 March 2009
The Bishop of London, Dr Richard Chartres, Father Joe Komakoma of the Episcopal Conference of Zambia, and Joel Edwards of Micah Challenge International will also be taking part in an ecumenical service at Central Hall, Westminster on Saturday 28 March.
The Rt Revd Dr Richard Chartres said: “As global leaders gather in London, it is crucial that the world’s poorest communities are not forgotten. Read more…
March 19th, 2009
WILPF (Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom) is co-ordinating a women’s contingent for the march and asks any woman who wants to march behind the slogan PUT PEOPLE FIRST – BUT DON’T PUT WOMEN SECOND to assemble in Embankment Gardens at 10.30 am (near the coffee kiosk) ready to join the march leaving around 12pm.
Getting ready: Calling any interested women to come to 52-54 Featherstone Street (near Old Street) on Saturday 21st March 1-4pm to prepare placards and banners and meet like minded women.
Why women first? “We need to make both our fellow marchers and decision makers aware that the economic crisis affects women most acutely, after all 70% of the poorest people in the world are women.” said Sheila Triggs from WILPF.
“We need to emphasise that cuts in social and welfare services whether in the UK or in the developing world mean women carry the extra burden as carers. In Africa women produce 60-80% of the food consumption but own hardly any land. They are the hardest hit by climate change, as they cope with pollution, flooding and drought. You only have to look at the D. R. Congo to see how women are most affected by the conflicts that are resulting from the scramble for resources“
March 19th, 2009
It’s always a bit surprising to be in at the beginning. A regional meeting of Put People First in Bristol last Tuesday, 17 March, was no exception.
The first surprise was that each of us imagined the meeting was being organized by the others. So we should really have been surprised to meet anyone else at all.
The second surprise was that NGOs, trade unions and environmental groups were there in more or less equal force – and seemed to agree on most things.
We were lucky to have excellent initial contributions from Joanne Kaye-Smith from the local region of Unison; Nick Dearden, Director of the Jubilee Debt Campaign; John Hilary, Director of War on Want; and Jane Laurie from Stop Climate Chaos coalition and Climate Friendly Bradford-on-Avon.
The third surprise was that we got very useful analysis and discussion, not least of the plentiful positive options on offer – and, of course, about how to get ourselves halfway decently organized for the future. The local BBC were there filming us, and other film-makers will shortly be posting edited excerpts on the New Internationalist website and elsewhere.
Coaches are being organised (and filling up) for the 28th demo. We exchanged email addresses with the intention of setting up an informal group that will stay in touch.
At least one message coming out of Bristol is that almost anyone could do just as well as, and probably a lot better than, we did. Others are meeting in Edinburgh and maybe Leeds next week – my colleague Chris Brazier will be there.
David Ransom is a Co-Editor of New Internationalist Magazine. The April issue featuring Put People First is now out and already available online on the NI website. Copies are also being distributed free with the Big Issue in London next week.
March 19th, 2009
