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Sheffield Labour Left 

A bulletin for Labour Party Members who supported the direction the party moved towards under Jeremy Corbyn & John McDonnell.
For Socialism. Opposing racism, antisemitism and Zionism.
Opposing all expulsions/exclusions targeting the left.
E-Bulletin #26 May 15 2020

Don’t Open The Schools!
 
Solidarity with the teachers & support workers!
 
NEU must stand firm!


With the bosses worrying about their profits the pressure is on to get workers back to work.  And this is regardless of the consequences for workers.  Workers know this puts their lives and the lives of their families and friends at risk.
 
As part of this push to get profits flowing again the Government want schools to start to reopen from 1 June.  This must be resisted.
Their concern over the education of children is nonsense.  This is all about getting the parents back to work, as teachers become educators and child minders.
If the teachers stand firm this will be a message to all other workers - people before profit.
The National Education Union (NEU), representing over 450,000 teachers, has put five simple tests for the Government before they advise their members to return to work:

Test 1 : Much lower numbers of Covid-19 cases
The new case count must be much lower than it is now, with a sustained downward trend and confidence that new cases are known and counted promptly. And the Government must have extensive arrangements for testing and contact tracing to keep it that way.
 
Test 2 : A national plan for social distancing
The Government must have a national plan including parameters for both appropriate physical distancing and levels of social mixing in schools, as well as for appropriate PPE, which will be locally negotiated at school-by-school and local authority level.
 
Test 3 : Testing, testing, testing!
Comprehensive access to regular testing for children and staff to ensure our schools and colleges don’t become hot spots for Covid-19.
 
Test 4 : Whole school strategy
Protocols to be put in place to test a whole school or college when a case occurs and for isolation to be strictly followed.
 
Test 5 : Protection for the vulnerable
Vulnerable staff, and staff who live with vulnerable people, must work from home, fulfilling their professional duties to the extent that is possible. Plans must be specifically address the protection of vulnerable parents, grandparents and carers.
Events & Meetings

1. Sunday 17th May - 5.00pm to 6.30pm
'Fighting for safety at work, resisting job cuts and austerity'
An organising meeting for rank and file trade unionists to discuss the health and safety issues of this crisis and the economic fallout.
Co-hosted by Hazards Campaign and Shut The Sites.
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/fighting-for-safety-at-work-resisting-job-cuts-austerity-tickets-104821738642?utm-medium=discovery&utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&aff=esfb&utm-source=fb&utm-term=listing&fbclid=IwAR3yij1qa2ImVNKpQ5WAAcl_SNFJHafeCiyLWSLd9kUjoHs3EZJN7rlGhP0

2. Monday 18th May - 'How Organised Labour is Rebuilding the Red Wall'. 7.00pm to 8.30pm.
Join John McDonnell MP, Ian Lavery MP and Olivia Blake MP - along with Sheffield workers and organisers - to discuss how to rebuild the “Red Wall” with Labour. Hosted by Sheffield Needs a Pay Rise.
https://facebook.com/events/s/rebuilding-the-red-wall-sheffi/621183905137293/?ti=cl

3. Tuesday 19th May
TUC CV-19 Council of Action hosts public zoom "mass meeting" - Let's Stop the Schools Reopening will be from 7.00pm until 8.30pm.

Join the meeting via this link:
https://zoom.us/j/97228574917

Sheffield Trade Union Council has led a call for trades unions, health professionals, campaign groups and others to come together in collaboration to form the Sheffield COVID-19 Action Committee, which was initiated at an inaugural meeting by zoom conference on Tuesday 31st March 2020. 

By bringing together existing groups and networks collaborating across Sheffield, we can coordinate political and practical demands for all residents of the city in response to the COVID-19 crisis, and so better defend the livelihoods and health of workers, their families and the community.

4. Friday 22 May 6.00pm to 7.30pm. - 'Why Palestine is Still the Issue'.

Speakers include:

- Ilan Pappé - Acclaimed Israeli historian and currently a professor at the University of Exeter, Ilan has published numerous books on Palestine. They include The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine (2006), Ten Myths about Israel (2017), and On Palestine - co-authored with Noam Chomsky (2015).

- Baha Hilo - Baha is from Beit Sahour in the West Bank, and has worked with various education and advocacy groups including UNRWA, FFIPP, and the famous Olive Tree Campaign. He currently works with To Be There, a political tourism initiative which provides educational programmes that seek to bring justice, equality, and freedom for all Palestinians.

- Rob Ferguson - An activist in the UK and a member of Free Speech on Israel , Rob is the author of Antisemitism: The Far Right, Zionism and the Left.

It is free but you will need to book.
See Facebook link here:
https://www.facebook.com/events/827463571116428
Sheffield Labour Left is a network to help co-ordinate the genuine left across the six CLPs covered by Sheffield. 

We have a page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/SheffieldLabourLeft) and our own website (http://www.sheffieldlabourleft.org), where you can find an archive of our previous bulletins.

We are connected to no other group, but work alongside others whose aims we share to see elected a socialist-led government.

In July 2019 we affiliated to the Labour Left Alliance:  https://labourleft.org

Want to get involved with SLL or become a member? Contact us at the email address below.
Our mailing address is:
info@sheffieldlabourleft.org
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Sheffield Campaigning · 38 Headland Road · Sheffield, South Yorkshie S10 · United Kingdom

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