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As Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS) announce quarterly profits of £772 million this week, cleaning workers and their supporters will be demonstrating at their London offices on Friday 12th February.

The demonstration is in protest at attacks on workers’ pay and the dismissal of Alberto Durango, the cleaners’ now former shop-steward.

Alberto and his supporters believe his sacking is directly related to his workplace union organising and campaigning work.

Many of the cleaners – who are members of the Unite trade union and are predominately migrants from West Africa, Latin America and some European countries – were involved in a campaign in 2008 to win the “London Living Wage” at UBS, currently £7.60 per hour.

Despite this victory, most workers still have to work multiple shifts in order to make ends meet. UBS has encouraged a race to the bottom resulting in their cleaning contractors cutting cleaning staff hours – therefore pay – or make redundancies.

This in contrast to UBS’ announcement on 9th February reporting a 34% increase in their bonus pool to £1.72 billion and their decision last year to increase their London banking staff wages by 15% – 20%.

“Maria” has been cleaning desks and toilets at the UBS Lombard Street offices for over 3 years.

She said:

The Company has broken their promise that they would not change our hours or conditions after we won the ‘Justice for Cleaners’ campaign. A year after getting an agreement on the living wage, we are still fighting. I just want to earn enough to be able to spend time with my family during the weekend.

Unite the Union representative Chris Ford said

The public are outraged by the continued and undeserved bankers’ bonuses since banks like UBS, Goldman Sachs and Royal Bank of Scotland have been bailed out by public money across the world.

What’s the bankers’ excuse for attacking the subsistence wages of the people who wipe their computer screens and clean their toilets?

Friday 12th February’s “Defend Living Wage – Justice for UBS Cleaners” demonstration is at 1pm outside UBS Capital, 100 Liverpool Street, London EC2M 2RH.

Hat/tip: Liberal Conspiracy

After a long search, we have found a new editor for TMP.

Justin Baidoo is a dynamic grass roots campaigner of the new political generation. He is a former President of Epping Forest College Student Union and a former teacher. In his present day job, he is an IT professional. Commenting on the state of the world today, Justin said “I don’t think social justice can be achieved without abandoning neo-liberal economic policies and embracing democratic socialism”. A committed trade unionist and one not afraid to engage in radical thinking and thought provoking debate, he was the obvious candidate to take over TMP.

Justin has assumed full editorial control of TMP. The advisory board will of course be on hand to provide advice and guidance to Justin as needed but from hereon in, it is very much his “baby” (so to speak).

TMP was founded to provide a vehicle through which multicultural progressives can come together and explore how we can build a more fair, free, equal and democratic world. We are delighted that Justin will now be taking this project forward.

TMP

Dawn Butler, the MP for Brent South, has become the first ever elected, female, Black minister in the UK. Prime Minister Gordon Brown appointed her as an Assistant Government Whip in the House of Commons yesterday, replacing Siobhain McDonagh MP who was sacked by Brown after publicly calling for a leadership contest.

Butler, pictured here in July with US Democratic Presidential Candidate Sen. Barack Obama, has won many plaudits and seconded the Queen’s Speech in November last year. Speaking in the Commons about the need to stop demonising young people and to celebrate their achievements, she appealed to young people to become active in politics and said:

“if anybody hearing our speeches today or reading about them tomorrow questions whether politics works, whether it matters, I say to them: cynicism didn’t create the welfare state. Indifference didn’t introduce the minimum wage or bring peace to Northern Ireland. Apathy didn’t end debt slavery for world’s poorest people or give pensioners dignity in their retirement…that is the difference politics can make.”

Commenting on Labour’s relationship with the Black community on the Guardian’s website in the same month, Chuka Umunna, editor of TMP, said:
“There has been much talk of politicians lacking authenticity and – automaton-like – being unable to talk in a way that connects with the person on the street. Step forward Dawn Butler, one of Labour’s two black female MPs, who won many plaudits for doing precisely the opposite when given the chance to second the Queen’s speech in the Commons the other week. Lets see more of that.”

Before taking up her appointment, Butler was the Labour Party’s Vice Chair for Youth.

Barack Obama’s historic acceptance speech to 84,000 of the Democratic Party faithful in Denver, Colorado last night can be viewed below. 

Skills Minister, MP for Tottenham and Britain’s most senior elected ethnic minority politician, David Lammy, has written an article for the New Statesman in which he argues we are failing miserably to provide Britain’s teenage boys with meaningful occupations, worthy role models or hope for the future.

Lammy, pictured above last month with US Democratic Presidential nominee, Sen. Barack Obama, Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Dawn Butler MP, says:

“In society, the fetishisation of money and the growth of consumerism add new pressures. In a “bling” culture, criminality easily becomes a short cut to symbols of wealth and power that will otherwise take years of hard work to achieve. Inequality plays its part, as young men from poor backgrounds feel they have the least to lose. Why, one boy asked me, was I worried about his grades at school, when he might not live long enough to get a job? This is the world of “get rich or die trying”.

You can read Lammy’s article, published today, in full here.

His comments are reported here:
BBC News Online – “Boy’s harmed by “get rich” culture”;
The Guardian – “Bling culture turns youths to crime, says minister”;
The Daily Mail – “Senior MP in impassioned lament of self-image ‘crisis’ among young men seduced by ‘bling’ and crime”.

US Democratic Presidential nominee, Senator Barack Obama, touches down in London for a whistle stop tour on Saturday.  He will be meeting with former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, Prime Minister Gordon Brown MP and Leader of the Opposition, David Cameron MP.

The visit of the successful Democratic presidential candidate has prompted much debate as to the lessons to be learnt from Obama for the British centre-Left.  Skills Minister David Lammy MP, a personal friend of Obama, gave a speech to the Fabian Society on Monday 30 June on the topic which you can watch here.