Browsing Tag wigan

Staff at Rollins Bulldog Tools in Ince downed tools last week in reaction to management’s decision to freeze their pay for a further four years behind the rate of inflation.

Workers at the Darlington Street East plant had agreed to defer pay increases from 2007 and take a reduction in their working week from 37 hours to 24 hours in order to help the company through the recession. However, at its latest pay negotiations management refused to budge on a pay increase for this year.

On Friday of last week, members of Unite the Union were joined by Wigan MP Lisa Nandy who spoke to members of the picket line and offered shop stewards and reps her support in negotiating with management.

Lisa said:

“I was deeply concerned by what the workers told me. I met people who had given 25 years service to the company and clearly had not taken this decision lightly.

I have offered them my support to bring this dispute to a swift and satisfactory resolution.”

Mesnes Park in the centre of Wigan, is to receive £1.9m in funding from the Lottery Heritage Fund to invest in the running and improvement of the green space.

The park, which was once meadow land and then home to two collieries before being opened to the public in 1878 will see the bowls pavilion and the lodge building restored, providing a community hub and a place where education workshops and gardening sessions can be run.

MP Lisa Nandy said:

“I’m delighted that the Lottery has chosen Mesnes Park for this award. It’s an area loved and much used by local people in Wigan, and the size of the grant will make a significant difference to one of our best loved green spaces.”

Following a statement by the Home Secretary, Theresa May, Lisa Nandy MP has warned that the Coalition’s cuts to public spending could mean literally hundreds of police officers will be taken off Wigan’s streets.

The Home Office has asked each police force to establish plans to make 25% cuts to their budgets. In Greater Manchester, this equates to 2,037 frontline police officers.

The Police Federation has already warned that the cuts will leave the streets less safe for law abiding citizens and that it will be ‘Christmas for criminals’ but it is yet unclear exactly where the cuts will have to come as details will not be announced until the October spending review. However, it has already meant a number of redundancies across the Service and a freeze on recruitment of new officers and will undoubtedly mean further losses in frontline and support staff.

Lisa Nandy said:

Theresa May claims that crime can be reduced at the same time as cutting the number of police officers. The last Government increased the number of police officers on our streets by over 1,000 and crime correspondingly fell by 32%. Not only is the Home Secretary’s statement illogical but it belittles the work of our police officers and flies in the face of the evidence of the past 13 years.

The coalition’s cuts to public spending will not only have an immediate and real impact in our communities but it will also harm any potential economic recovery by cutting jobs and taking demand out of the economy. I will continue to fight these regressive measures both in Parliament and on a local level in Wigan.

In a written ministerial statement released today, the Government has announced that it will kickstart the process for selling off the Wigan-based company, the Tote. The Minister announced that they will be inviting private companies to make proposals and expect to have completed the process by the New Year in order to secure ‘value for the taxpayer’.

Wigan MP Lisa Nandy said:

“Yet again there is no mention of staff in the statement. The government’s top priority at the moment must be protecting jobs, with 1 in 14 people in Wigan unemployed. This process gives no certainties to the Tote and the 540 people it employs in its HQ office alone; it’s about time the vital support to racing given by the Tote was recognised and a solution that maintains that support and guarantees the long term future of the Tote was found.”

Not only do these plans fail to protect vital local jobs but I am at a loss to see how selling off an asset that is currently in profit can be considered value for the taxpayer in this tough economic climate. Last year, the Tote’s gross profit was a massive £155m. It’s clear that the Coalition is simply trying to balance the books in the short-term, without looking at the long-term consequences for Wigan.

Makerfield MP, Yvonne Fovargue and I have met with Tote board members and trades unions and will be working together to secure the best deal for staff and we will resist any attempt to sell the Tote to an overseas company. Rather than farming out work, we should be doing everything we can to ensure that profits are kept in Britain and local jobs are protected.”

Lisa Nandy has already tabled an Early Day Motion in Parliament on the following lines and will continue to raise the issue with Government and on the floor of the House.

That this House is concerned that any decision involving the future of The Tote should, at the very least, encompass the principle of its assets being used to guarantee the future of horse racing in the UK and those who work within it or are dependent upon its activities and should not involve the closure or running down of its headquarters at Wigan.

As banks reveal vast profits 100 leading figures call for caps on the cost of credit Broad coalition calls on government to end ‘legal loan sharking’

Today a broad coalition of citizens groups, campaigners, MPs and celebrities have called on the government to end legal loan sharking. Currently lenders can charge any price for credit which means some loan and credit companies charge £82 for every £100 lent. Annual interest rate charges of over 2500% are also now common (despite the Bank of England base rate being just 0.5%). Borrowing at these rates repeatedly tips customers into inescapable cycles of debt and poverty. According to the OFT £16,000 of excess profit is made every hour in this sector.These calls come in the same week that banks reveal vast profits. The campaigners have highlighted that a low Bank of England base rate has not meant cheap credit for customers and further steps must be taken to ensure citizens have access to low cost, short term, affordable credit.

Co-ordinated by the Compass pressure group, this new campaign coalition have called on the government to ban excessive prices for credit and provide alternative sources of credit through CDFIs, credit unions and a post bank. The government has pledged to clampdown on interest rates for credit and store cards and the campaign believes it should do the same for the high cost credit market.Thousands of people across Britain are expected to sign an online petition on a brand new interactive website at http://www.endleagalloansharks.org.uk/. The campaign will be targeting millions of people across Britain through using social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/aug/02/make-banks-more-user-friendly

Local Wigan MP Lisa Nandy celebrated 50 years of HJ Heinz in Wigan by paying a visit to Wigan’s largest private employer.

Lisa met with Nigel Dickie, Director Corporate & Government Affairs, Andy Henderson, UK&I Logistics Director and Jaap Wilbers, VP Supply Chain, who extolled the virtues of being based in Wigan – skilled workforce, motorway accessibility, closeness to Liverpool docks and importantly access to clean water from the Lake District.

Heinz is a vital economic hub in the town providing jobs directly and indirectly as a result of its business activities. Heinz works closely with Unite the Union in developing employee skills through its learning centre, providing employees the opportunity to develop their career within the company.

Lisa said: “Heinz is a vital part of our town’s structure. The company has been here for 50yrs and has a long term view of the future in Wigan. Their activities provide jobs investment and opportunities for employees to develop. In the challenging economic times that lie ahead they are even more vital to the town’s future. The company ethos of listening and learning with their employees is a model for others to follow.

Speaking with Nigel and his team was a real eye-opener in the logistics of pulling this operation together. But the best thing the absolutely best thing is it’s all done here in our town Wigan.”

Platt Lane residents recently organised a fun day on the fields near the multi use games area and invited along local MP Lisa Nandy.

The event attracted various organisations such as police, the guide dogs association and the groundwork trust to name but a few. The event was to be the final event organised by community activist Pat Riley and tribute was paid by both local MP Lisa Nandy and Cllr. Chris Ready to Pat’s outstanding contribution to the community over many years.

Commenting on the event Cllrs Chris Ready and Ron Conway said the fun day was a credit to the community who had put a lot of hard work into the day; it was great to see young and old mingling together.

Lisa said: “This is a great way of bringing our community together, having fun and building cohesion and understanding.”

Following complaints from resident’s on Cale Lane about the operation of a company on the Industrial Estate, Lisa visited the site with constituent Vince McCarthy and local Councillor Chris Ready.

Lisa said: “My visit today confirms why residents are concerned. The company have allowed a mountain of waste to accumulate, blighting the landscape and causing a significant health and safety risk.” Lisa added, “They also allow open backed Lorries in and out of their base, creating dust, disruption and strewn debris on the road, severely hampering the daily lives of my constituents.”

As a result Lisa has taken the matter up directly with the Secretary of State. Lisa said, “This company have already been fined for their activities yet matters have got worse. It is clear that further action is needed. I want the Secretary of State to finally deal with this issue.”

In her second appearance in the House of Commons, new MP for Wigan, Lisa Nandy contributed to a debate on poverty and raised the issue of cuts that are to be brought to Wigan by the Conservative/Lib Dem coalition.

Cuts announced this week by the Department for Communities and Local Government amount to a staggering £2.92m in Wigan alone. Of this, by far the biggest cut will be to education, which comes to just short of £2m and is a clear reflection of the new Government’s attitude to education and social mobility in one of the UK’s most deprived constituencies.

Lisa made a strong case for preserving the SureStart centres in Wigan – Beech Hill and Ince – as this has been a major concern raised by many of her constituents. She also drew the House’s attention to the axing of the Future Jobs Fund and other measures which are likely to cripple the constituency:

“By taking away a scheme that guarantees a real and lasting paid job for young people who would otherwise not have one, we store up trouble for future generations. If we are not careful, we will leave a legacy every bit as devastating for future generations as the one that continues to blight so many children’s lives now. We must not repeat the legacy that was created in the 1980s and 1990s. I urge the Minister to think again.”

You can read the full speech from the debate by clicking here.

Lisa was officially sworn in as the MP for Wigan today.

Even though the votes have been counted, MPs must swear in to officially hold office.

Once they have sworn in MPs are eligible to vote and speak in the House.

Lisa said: “I was keen to affirm as soon as possible, so I could get involved in debates and speak up for Wigan”.