£1 PROUDLY OWNED BY OUR READERS Morning Star Monday January 29 2018 For peace & socialism Incorporating the Daily Worker Foreign policy on the fl y Ian Sinclair on the dangers CRACKDOWN of short-term thinking: P8 CARILLION CHIEFSGerman police repress Kurdish solidarityHID demo: P6 £1bn PENSIONS HOLE AS MONEY ROLLED IN by Lamiat Sabin pile, a £590m pension defi cit which was already in the public The Labour MP went on: Parliamentary reporter reported by the fi rm and hundreds domain until May 2017. “Once again the regulator has of millions of pounds’ worth of The trustees “negotiated away” questions to answer. CARILLION was accused of unfi nished public contracts. pension defi cit contributions in “They have been sniffi ng hiding pension defi cits of nearly But Mr Ellison — who will be the autumn in an effort to keep around Carillion — at the trus- £1 billion yesterday — nearly questioned by the committee Carillion afl oat by enabling more tees’ behest — since at least double the fi gure it had origi- tomorrow — suggests the pen- borrowing, the MPs said. 2008, though it is not apparent nally claimed. sion defi cit could be even higher In a damning assessment to what effect. The collapsed outsourcing at £990m, the MPs said. committee chair Frank Field “When 10 years later the com- and construction fi rm has also Carillion has been “falling said: “It’s clear that Carillion pany collapses with £29m in the been accused of trying to “wrig- short” of what trustees expected has been trying to wriggle out bank and £2bn in pension liabili- gle out” of its pension obliga- it to contribute to pension of its obligations to its pension- ties it doesn’t look good for them.” tions for a decade while paying schemes since 2008, the MPs ers for the last 10 years. Shadow work and pensions out tens of millions in dividends added after analysing his letter. “The purported cashfl ow secretary Debbie Abrahams for shareholders and “handsome The company cited cashfl ow problems did of course not pre- said a Labour government would pay packets” for bosses. problems as a reason for not vent them shelling out dividends strengthen companies’ pension The massive cash hole was making higher pensions contri- and handsome pay packets for obligations to their workers by revealed in a letter sent to the butions in 2011 and 2013, but those at the top. fi ning bosses who raid the funds Commons work and pensions paid more than £70m in divi- “This culminated in negotiat- for their own interest. select committee by Robin Elli- dends in both those years. ing defi cit contributions away She said: “It is completely son, chairman of trustees of Trustees were also “kept in entirely last autumn to enable unacceptable that Carillion has Carillion’s pension scheme. the dark” about the state of the more borrowing. Remarkably, failed in its duty to meet its pen- Carillion’s liquidation earlier company’s fi nances, “largely” this was endorsed by the trustees sions obligations. this month left a £900 million debt being restricted to information and the Pensions Regulator.” Turn to page 2 Corbyn: we’ll buy On new Nafta Wonderful wizard 8,000 homes negotiations Wozniacki is No 1 NEWS: P3 FEATURE: P13 TENNIS: P15 Morning Star 2 NEWS HOME Monday January 29 2018 EDUCATION ‘Blue-collar’ kids spurn A-levels to enter university by Our News Desk administrative and profes- sional roles. The study also found that 47 ALMOST half of teenagers per cent of undergraduates liv- whose parents have blue-collar ing in the most disadvantaged jobs get into university after areas of Britain — classed as studying for alternative qual- the neighbourhoods with the ifi cations to A-levels, research lowest numbers going to univer- has found. sity — held at least one BTEC, The study suggests that compared with 19 per cent of these students are more than those from the areas with high- twice as likely to study courses est university participation. such as BTECs compared with Almost half (48 per cent) of their peers whose parents are black students accepted to in managerial and professional study at university hold at roles. least one BTEC, according to Researchers from the Social the report. Market Foundation (SMF) SMF director James Kirkup examined offi cial data on stu- said vocational qualifi cations REVOLUTIONARY JUSTICE: dents in England who were were “the ladder that lets Members of the English accepted onto degree courses many people who don’t come Civil War Society take part in 2016, and whether they had from privileged homes get into in the King’s Army Annual gained A-levels or BTECs. university.” March and Parade in London BTECs are the most common He warned that vocational yesterday. type of vocational qualifi cation routes have traditionally been The event follows the for sixth-formers, the report ignored in favour of academic route taken by Charles I on says, and they are becoming qualifi cations like A-levels. the day of his execution — increasingly popular. “To make Britain’s world- from St James’s Palace on The SMF fi ndings show that class university system truly the Mall to the Banqueting 45 per cent of students whose fair and open to all, higher edu- House in Whitehall, where parents are in routine or manual cation leaders, ministers and the he was publicly beheaded as professions studied for BTECs Offi ce for Students must work a traitor for having pursued only, or for a mix of these qual- together to remove the barriers his personal interest rather ifi cations and A-levels. that keep many poor and ethnic than the good of the country. This is compared to 22 per minority people out of higher cent of those whose parents education,” Mr Kirkup said. worked in higher managerial, [email protected] FRONT PAGE AUTOMATION CARILLION CHIEFS HID £1bn STAFF PENSION HOLE FROM P1: “The pensions reg- improvements in pensions gov- failures of corporate bosses Robots coming for ulator’s failure to identify and ernance, new mandatory clear- and government ministers. challenge such irresponsible ance powers and greater trans- “Thousands of Carillion work- and unacceptable behaviour parency as well as powers to ers still don’t know what will over several years raises seri- fi ne bosses who benefi t at the happen to them as their pay, ous questions about this Tory expense of pension members, terms and conditions hang in the 20% of urban jobs government’s failure to reform to ensure that such devastating balance — and worse, the pros- the pensions regulatory frame- mismanagement can never pect of pensions being raided. work in spite of warnings happen again.” “The system that has Metallic menace will hit northerners hardest going back to 2013. GMB national secretary for allowed this to happen is bro- “A Labour government public services Rehana Azam ken and it must change. The by Peter Lazenby jobs are under the greatest businesses £3.2 billion a year. would bring forward urgent said: “The more we see, the government needs to get on Northern reporter threat. Union spokesman Dave Wil- measures to regulate the pen- more it appears that the work- with it.” The think-tank said already liams told the Star: “These inno- sions sector including ers are paying the price for the [email protected] THE march of the robots could struggling cities in the north vations don’t suit every shopper threaten 20 per cent of jobs in and Midlands were more vul- and we know that many custom- Britain’s cities, with most of nerable to job losses than ers really value the one-to-one the brunt being borne by wealthier cities in the south personal interaction they northern England and the Mid- because of a predominance of receive at staffed tills. lands, a new report warns low-skilled, easily automated “There have been various today. occupations. pieces of research that show The alarming estimate of Cities, including Mansfi eld, quite often it’s quicker to go James Connolly the effect of automation on Sunderland and Wakefi eld, through a staffed checkout and employment comes from inde- could see two out of fi ve jobs that supermarket queues have & The Re-Conquest of Ireland pendent think-tank the Centre lost, while Oxford and Cam- lengthened since self-service for Cities, which works with bridge face losing 13 per cent, tills were introduced. local authorities, business and the study found. “Also, recent reports sug- Author John Callow provides the fi rst critical the government to “understand Centre for Cities chief exec- gest that there is signifi cant reappraisal of Connolly’s last major work using a and improve” the economic utive Andrew Carter warned customer theft through the use performance of Britain’s that there was “a real risk that of self-service tills amounting wealth of original documents and photographs. urban areas. many people and places will to £3.2 billion a year with In Connolly’s 1915 work the great revolutionary Retail workers’ union Usdaw lose out.” around one in four customers said that employers are Usdaw said that no machine admitting to stealing an item grapples with questions of nationhood, women’s already cashing in on the could ever match the “fi rst- while using self-scan check- rights and political and economic democracy in replacement of humans with class customer service and outs.” a way that resonates today. machines at supermarkets assistance” that human beings He said retailers “should across the country, with auto- can provide. think very carefully about the Includes forewords by Bob Crow and Paul Kenny.