We are pleased to announce that the Peoples Budget conference that was due to take place in June has now been rescheduled to 24th September at the Christ Church, Jubilee Square, Woking. To register for a place please click here. Trade unions, Community Groups and Political Parties can ask for a stall (free, but dependent upon available space). We still want submissions to the Peoples Budget, which should be sent to us at saveourservicessurrey@gmail.com. You can use the form below or just email us your thoughts.

Due to several apologies and the planned rail strikes, we have had to take the decision to postpone the Peoples Budget Conference which was due to take place on Saturday 25 June. Whilst we fully support our brothers and sisters in the RMT (and would urge SOSiS supporters to visit their local RMT picket lines) many people who were intending to come to the conference will now be unable to make it. 

We therefore think it advisable to rearrange.

We have had a number of excellent submissions towards our planned People's Budget - from the NEU and schools reps, from union reps in social care and those working with children, from reps in libraries and from parents of children with Special Educational Needs. If you want to send in your thoughts please do so.

We fully intend to go ahead with a conference (but probably now in the autumn) and the steering group will do some work on the submissions in the meantime - possibly producing a draft budget for circulation and discussion at the event when it happens.

see above notes of the planning meeting on 1st February. Contact us if you want to help organise the People's Budget campaign and conference or would like to stand as an anti-cuts candidate in your local council.

This meeting will now be entirely on zoom. See events page.

We held a small but determined meeting on Monday evening 22 Nov in Woking. Our first in-person meeting for around two years. We had a number of apologies as some people are still isolating and we had a solidarity message from the Fire Brigades Union who were unable to attend in person.

Following on from the decision at our virtual meeting a few months ago, we endorsed the decision to work towards a Peoples' Assembly in Surrey in the Summer of 2022 - with the aim of developing a People's Budget for Surrey. This would be a needs-led budget, based on input from the various trade unions and community groups. It will be an anti-austerity and anti-cuts, anti-privatisation budget and we will use it as a manifesto to encourage any active trade unionists and community campaigners to consider standing as candidates in the Surrey County Council elections in 2025 and the various Borough and District Council elections over the next few years.

As a first step towards this goal, we want to hold a planning meeting in January 2022 to start the ball rolling - to look at dates and venues for the People's Assembly, how we can build for it, how we can use social media and also reach out to all the trade unions and community groups who support Save Our Services in Surrey.

We really need your help in this endeavour. Please click now on the link below and let us know what dates you may be able to make an evening planning meeting in Woking in January:

https://doodle.com/poll/7s7fmifk5xweqeqb?utm_source=poll&utm_medium=link
When we have received a reasonable number of responses we will go for the most popular date and let you all know.

I look forward to hearing from you.
-- 
Kind regards 


Paul Couchman
Secretary, Save Our Services in Surrey

First of all, thank you to those union branches, organisations and individuals who responded to our recent appeal for affiliation donations for 2021. There is still time to donate, just email saveourservicessurrey@gmail.com for details of how you can do this.

SOSiS has not been particularly active as a group during the pandemic for obvious reasons but I know many of us have been working hard on the front line defending workers and service users, ensuring access to relevant PPE and safe working conditions. Those like me who have been working from home for nearly 18 months have also found things difficult. Hopefully we will be able to get back to some sort of normal activity, physical meetings etc. soon.

What we have agreed to do is to support the national day of action on July 3rd in support of the NHS's birthday, opposing further privatisation and outsourcing, opposing the pay freeze and demanding a fair pay rise for NHS and other public sector employees. SOSiS also want to see full pay and fair pay rises for all workers affected by Covid.

There is a full (and growing) list of currently organised (Covid safe) demonstrations here: https://keepournhspublic.com/event/nhs-anniversary-protests-2021/

Our nearest one is probably in Reading (unless you are nearer to London). SOSiS will have a small contingent on the Reading demonstration with our banner. Please do join us if you want to. Let me know by reply so we can arrange to meet up.

We have been quiet for some time due to the pandemic and lockdowns - though we are all fighting our own battles, both personally and at work. Those of you currently active in your trade unions will know just how difficult this last year has been - and a decade of drastic government cuts to public services has not made life any easier.

We felt it was time that we got back together, see where we are at and what we can do (mainly online of course) to flag the issue of public sector cuts, the need for extra resources in health & social care, the drastic situation within our fire services etc.

We also have the County Council elections this year (if they go ahead) where we may be able to make some kind of impact regarding council funding, cuts and privatisation etc. as well as the ongoing current crisis in health and social care exacerbated by years of under-funding.

We have called an online meeting (via Zoom) to discuss all of this and see if we can come up with a few actions we can all take to continue the fight against the cuts. We have invited Surrey Fire Brigades Union (FBU) reps to give us an update on the situation in the Surrey Fire and Rescue Service and we will also have Hugo Pierre from TUSC (The Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition) speaking on how they are proposing to take up the fight against cuts in local councils. Hugo is also a UNISON NEC rep but will be speaking in a personal capacity.

Save Our Services in Surrey
Open Meeting
Fighting back against cuts in Surrey
Guest Speaker; Hugo Pierre (TUSC)
Invited speakers from Surrey Fire Brigades Union (FBU)
Monday 15th February at 7.30pm

The link to attend the meeting can be requested via our 'contact us' page

A month ago, no one could have guessed that we would be looking at a new pandemic which would close down whole countries and threaten millions of people's lives and livelihoods. But here we are.
Our government is intent on defending 'the economy' and their big business friends whilst workers on the front line are left to fend for themselves.
In the immediate term, SOSiS is accepting scientific advice and avoiding social contact in the medium term - so the planned meeting on 1st April is cancelled.
Public services will come under unprecedented strain in the next few weeks and many of you are proven fighters for communities and for those public services. We may be called upon to assist in emergency food, aid, caring responsibilities etc. and we hope we can be up to the task.
Our trade unions will be advising members working in those public services and who will be in the front line of dealing with the pandemic and its effects. Please get involved and make yourselves available - solidarity!