Today sees the Newcastle launch of a national trade union campaign for public services. Somehow the political discourse around our economic conditions has allowed the focus to shift from the morally bankrupt, greed-fuelled actions of a few reckless bankers to blaming public sector workers for being ‘too highly paid’ and enjoying ‘unrealistic pensions’. Myths, such as these, which are constantly disseminated by right wing neo -Thatcherite ideologues, could not be further from the truth. These politically motivated attacks on public spending and public sector workers risk further, irreparable damage to the economy, harm to social progress and could not only jeopardise the recovery but increase the likelihood of a double-dip recession. It is the fact that the private sector relies heavily on public spending. In the North East there is more than £3.4bn spent by the public sector, much of which is spent locally, supporting well over 35,000 jobs.

Public spending has kept both the private and the public sector going during the downturn; it is not just public sector employment that is threatened by spending cuts. Not just employment is at risk, either. Investing in public services happens for a reason, it contributes to better social and economic outcomes. It is the case that the region’s health and wellbeing and educational attainment have all benefited from additional public spending, with the region’s health trusts and Local Education Authorities all performing well.

New figures published in the National Audit Office (NAO) report on pay-as-you-go public sector pensions show that they are affordable, sustainable and far from gold-plated.The National Audit Office audits central government accounts and reports to Parliament on the value for money achieved by government projects and programmes. This report by such an august body delivers a slap in the face to such organisations as the neo- Thatcherite Tax Payers' Alliance which disseminates anti-public sector propaganda on a daily basis.

Figures in the NAO report show that:

Employee contributions to these schemes have increased faster (56 per cent) than pension payments (38 per cent) since 2000.

There has only been a two per cent real terms increase in the average pension in payment since 2000 - the average teachers' pension has fallen by four per cent over that period and the average NHS pension is unchanged.

BIRMINGHAM Labour candidate and union boss Jack Dromey has accused Kraft chief executive Irene Rosenfeld of “snubbing” Britain – and renewed calls for a Cadbury Law to prevent hostile takeovers. Mr Dromey, who has been selected to fight Erdington at the forthcoming General Election, is to appear at next Tuesday’s Business, Innovation and Skills select committee parliamentary hearing into Kraft’s £11.7 billion takeover of Cadbury. But Ms Rosenfeld, the boss in charge of 135,000 employees, will not attend, with Kraft being represented by its top legal adviser Marc Firestone at the March 16 London hearing.

Mr Dromey, Unite deputy general secretary, said: “Irene Rosenfeld has snubbed Britain and Parliament. But Kraft will not escape public scrutiny by Parliament – it’s right that they are being called to account. “It was wrong that a debt-laden American multi-national took over a successful British company. It was wrong that Kraft misled Cadbury workers and the public, only to break their promises within seven days. “Kraft must now give cast-iron guarantees for the future and Parliament must introduce a Cadbury’s Law preventing hostile takeovers which are neither in the public interest nor in the best long-term interests of household name British companies.”

Staff at British Gas will be asked to vote in a strike ballot over alleged bullying by management, and on changes to staff terms and conditions. The GMB trade union said its membership among gas engineers and other staff would be taking part in the ballot in the next few weeks. The union accused the company of having a "culture of bullying, customer exploitation and profits at all costs". British Gas has not yet issued a comment.

GMB general secretary Paul Kenny said: "This change of culture is very much the result of recent management changes." The ballot started last Friday and involves 8,000 union members who work as gas engineers, central heating boiler engineers, and who work at distribution depots. The result will be published on 23 March. The union said it had documentary evidence, from an email signed by the company's new head Phil Bentley, that it was planning to cut its support staff by 25%.

GMB Gas leak Website