THE PEOPLE’S CHARTER FOR CHANGE

Britain is in the grip of an economic crisis. So is the world. Every time there is a slump the politicians and financiers seem mystified as to how the system has failed. But boom and bust is the way it works. It’s not stable. When the economy grows, banks, corporations and speculators, driven only by greed, gamble other people’s money in their global casino. When they lose confidence in their profit making schemes and panic, the bubble bursts and we pay the price. Redundancies throw hundreds of thousands on to the dole. Savings are lost. Homes are repossessed. Pensions lose value. Workers are put on short time. Wages and conditions are cut. Public services are slashed. The Government is spending billions of pounds of taxpayers’ money bailing the banks and big business out of their crisis. The People’s Charter says that it’s not right. It sets out what must be done to get out of this crisis and put the people first, before the interests of bankers and speculators. The aims of the Charter are to create a movement with over one million people in Britain signing up to 6 key principles: A Fairer Economy for a Fairer Britain; More and better Jobs; Decent Homes for All; Save and Improve Public Services; For a Fair and Just Britain; For a Future Without War. Other key elements of the People's Charter include a commitment to justice and fairness, a demand to the end of the wars that has seen billions of pounds wasted and hundreds of thousands of lives lost. The People's Charter is also clear that public sector services should remain in the public sector and that public services that have in the past been hived off to the highest bidder should be brought back into public ownership. The Charter was launched with the support of 12 trade unions, MPs and high profile people in the public eye, or in their own fields, including Doreen Lawrence, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Professor Keith Ewing, Saffron Burrows, Peter Tatchell, John Hendy QC, Imran Khan (solicitor), Tony Benn, Ken Loach, Max Stafford-Clark and Mark Steel. Early Day Motion 942 welcoming the forthcoming launch of the People's Charter has been tabled in the House of Commons by Charter co-founder John McDonnell MP. Mr McDonnell said: "The office is already being inundated with calls and requests. People want to see a real alternative RMT helpline 0800 3763706 :: march 2009 :: RMTnews 8 A PEOPLE’S CHARTER FOR CHANGE Campaign to build one million signatures RMT-supported initiative calling for Britain’s economy to be brought under democratic control Picture by Stefano Cagnoni