PCS HQ has supplied the following information:
Fair Trade Fortnight: 22 February - 7 March
This annual event in the awareness raising and positive action calendar has come round again, with the theme this year of "swopping" your "unfair" trade products for fair ones, by lobbying your local retailer. For more information visit the Fair Trade Foundation website here
Taxing International Financial Transfers to Eradicate Poverty In Developing Countries - The Robin Hood Tax
This idea has been going the rounds as "the Tobin Tax" for some time, but recently received a shot in the arm through its appealing "rebranding" as the Robin Hood Tax. This is a particularly appropriate initiative for PCS to get behind given the number of its members working on tax issues, and the union's ongoing demands for 'tax justice'. To find out more visit the Robin Hood Tax website here.
On Tuesday 10 March there is also a talk about the Robin Hood Tax at the Royal Society of Arts in London; there are currently still seats available for this, but the event will also be viewable as a live webstream. For more information visit the RSA website here
PCS Development Awareness Raising Work
It is very much a case of "watch this space" at the moment, as the union awaits the outcome of its Development Awareness Fund bid to the Department for International Development. A decision is expected before the end of March. The project will focus on how to eradicate poverty and achieve the UN Millennium Development Goals through international tax justice, social protection and Decent Work.
TUC Playfair 2012
On Saturday 27 February the Olympic torch was handed on from this year's Winter Olympics in Vancouver to London, and the Playfair 2012 coalition, coordinated by the TUC, launched its union-wide campaign for an ethical London Games. Funding permitting (see above), the campaign will be a central feature of the Decent Work element of PCS' development awareness work in the coming years. For more information about the new campaign, see the TUC website .
PCS Support Benefits Palestinian Workers
In 2008 PCS supported a TUC Aid Appeal for Palestine, Zimbabwe and Swaziland, and last year ran a members' appeal in its 'International Insights' magazine. The funds destined for Palestine have been used by the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU) to run workshops for Palestinian workers to make them aware of their rights. To see what this means at an individual level, see Nedaa AL Zaher's personal testimony on the TUC website here.
