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National strikes row continues

November 24, 2011 By gabeneil Leave a Comment

On November 30, the largest series of strikes in UK history are set to take place.

They will involve over 25 different unions around the country including UNISON, Unite, NUS and EIS. The Trades Union Congress’(TUC) website states that their Day of Action could potentially attract up to 3 million workers in the walkout.

The unions have come out in anger about the government’s plans to renegotiate pensions. Under the new proposals, public sector workers will pay more towards their pensions, work longer, and receive less when they retire.

This strike action has attracted unions historically unwilling to walk out, including the Association of Headteachers and Deputies in Scotland. The National Association of Probation Officers are also on the list and they have only gone on strike twice in the past 100 years.

The government has warned that the strikes on Wednesday could cost the country £500m and lead to job losses. The unions responded to these claims by accusing the government of “fantasy economics.” The general secretary of the TUC, Brendan Barber, has said that the government is using public sector workers as scapegoats for the country’s economic problems.

The strikes were announced shortly after the government stated they were making concessions to the Unions, exempting public sector workers within 10 years of retirement, from these changes. The unions are unhappy with the government’s lack of flexibility.

Student walkouts, encouraged by the National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts, are also planned for next Wednesday. The collective protests mean the number of people on the streets is likely to be more than 3 million.

These demonstrations are likely to cause school closures, disrupt NHS services, border agencies, waste collection and universities.

Filed Under: All Politics

Action Against Violence Towards Women

November 24, 2011 By gabeneil Leave a Comment

The City of Edinburgh Council and other local authorities
will be taking part in 16 Days of Action.

This event starts tomorrow and opposes violence against women. The event, which has the support of the UN, will take place from November 25 until December 10. This event comes after two sexual assaults were reported in The Meadows over the past week, bringing violence against women into the spotlight.

A “Reclaim the Night” event is set to occur tonight leaving from Bristo Square at 7.30pm in response to the recent sexual assaults and in anticipation of the 16 Days of Action, which starts tomorrow.

The event, which will be run by the Edinburgh Violence Against Women Partnership (EVAWP), aims to bring together a number of local services and charities in order to raise awareness and help the prevention of violence against women.

According to White Ribbon Scotland, a domestic violence incident is recorded every 10 minutes, and reports of domestic violence have risen by 8% since 2007. Domestic violence affects women disproportionately, with 84% of recorded incidents having a female victim and a male perpetrator. It is believed that 1 in 5 women in Scotland will experience domestic violence in their lifetime.

Rape conviction rates in Scotland are currently at an all time low of 3.7%. Added to this, in 2007, 26% of Scots surveyed believed that a woman is at least partially responsible for being raped if she wears revealing clothing.

Superintendent David Carradice of Lothian and Borders Police has stated that the police are “committed to tackling violence against women and work alongside our partner agencies to bring those responsible for violent crimes to justice, while at the same time offering all the necessary support and advice to victims.”

Filed Under: Activism, Charity, Women

Government Makes Loss in Northern Rock Sale

November 17, 2011 By gabeneil Leave a Comment

by Gabriel Neil

The Edinburgh branch of Nothern Rock on Castle Street.

It has been confirmed that the trading half of Northern Rock will be sold to Richard Branson’s Virgin Money
for the sum of £747 million, at a £373 million loss to the taxpayer.

Northern Rock was nationalised in 2008 by the Labour government at the start of the international financial crisis, as it was unable to repay its government loans of £24 billion.

Richard Branson was opposed to nationalisation in 2008 stating that “a commercial solution would have been the best way forward”. It is estimated that £1.4 billion of government money has been invested in the bank, and commentators are expecting an overall loss of between £400-£650 million from the sale.

If a proposed £280 million extra is paid in full to the government, then the taxpayer will make a minimum loss of £373 million.

Virgin Money’s takeover of Northern Rock Plc. may mean there will be changes in interest rates for savers, as the bank was originally offering an tax-free ISA for 2.65%, whereas Virgin Money has been offering a very similar product for only 0.1%.

The side of the bank which owns 90% of its mortgages, Northern Rock Asset Management, remains under state control.

This loss will eradicate the savings that cuts to the BBC, announced in the Delivering Quality First report in October, were due to provide. In last year’s spending review George Osborne said that the BBC would make yearly savings of £340 million a year.

However, if the sale of Northern Rock makes the maximum expected losses , then nearly 2 years of BBC savings will have been cancelled out.

These cuts, amounting to 20% of BBC funding have meant that the broadcaster has had to lose 2000 jobs over 5 years, sell buildings and impose cuts to funding for BBC 1 and 2 of over £62 million. The BBC website has warned that these will result “in more repeats, a reduction in entertainment programming and less money spent on original British drama programs.’

The National Union of Journalists have been quoted as saying that these losses mean that “strike action is inevitable”.

Filed Under: Economy and Business

Scottish Scientists Make Cancer Breakthrough

September 22, 2011 By gabeneil Leave a Comment

By Gabriel Neil

It was announced last week that scientists from the University of Dundee have made a discovery which could lead to a deeper understanding of how cancer occurs. The research team, led by Dr Joost Zomerdijk discovered a “previously hidden link” within the ways in which human cells make the structures they need to function, a process called “transcription” – specifically the way in which genes regulate ribosomes which produce proteins vital for growth. Understanding transcription is important in cancer research as when the genes controlling it fail, cells can grow out of control, creating cancers.

Dr Joost Zomerdijk led the study.

This breakthrough was hailed by Dr Zomerdijk, claiming that it “advances our understanding of how normal transcription is maintained in human cells” adding that this may help to discover how to reverse the damaging “deregulation” of transcription.

Dr David Wright a biologist from the University, who was not involved in the research, cautioned that this finding is “a tiny crucial cog in a complicated machine… it is not particularly important on its own” but it “ties the information that we already have about the ways in which cancer cells go wrong to our understanding of how normal cells do their jobs” which could possibly lead to new kinds of cancer therapies.

Dundee University’s College of Life Sciencesreceives over £40million of research funding annually is renowned for research into cell Biology, having recently been ranked 1^st in the UK for Biological Sciences.