NO CUTS IN COUNCIL SERVICES! SAVE THE BROADWAY THEATRE!
Thursday 16 February, 7:30pm
SPOTTED DOG public house, by Barking tube station
Speakers:
Councillor George Barratt
Karena Johnson, Director Broadway Theatre
Paul Mackney, UCU former General Secretary
And speakers from the arts and local unions
Even before the recession, Barking and Dagenham had been identified as one of the four most deprived London boroughs for:
· Number of working-age benefit recipients
· Low pay for those living and working in the borough
· Working-age people with limiting long-standing illness
· Under age pregnancies
The Conservative-Liberal Democrat government coalition has reduced by 28% the funding to Barking and Dagenham. And the Labour council is passing this onto to local residents. This will mean:
· Up to 200 council staff to be sacked
· Slashing redundancy pay for sacked workers by more than half
· One-stop shop services to be reduced
· Loss of post-school educational facilities in facilities in the Adult College
· Closure of the Broadway theatre
This economic crisis is not of our making. The banks were bailed out with public funds four years ago, creating a massive debt. We are now being forced to pay for this debt with cuts in our public services, jobs, pay, benefits and pensions. But there is no cap on the earnings of the directors of banks, and the rich continue to avoid and evade their taxes.
This is not our crisis! We should not pay for it!