UK unions to lobby Tory conference over economic cuts

Britain's trade unions are staging a march and rally at the opening of the Conservative's annual conference in Manchester, north west England, to protest against the government's austerity measures. This Sunday's lobby is “to show opposition to the Coalition Government's disastrous policies of pay freezes, cuts and attacks on public services that are producing rising unemployment, cuts in living standards and stagnation,” the Trades Union Congress said. “The march will also show the support for The Alternative. We need jobs, growth and justice for a sustainable future and this event will send that message loud and clear,” it said in a statement obtained by IRNA. Unions are also planning to coordinate national strikes in protest against pension cuts after teachers joined public sector workers in a mass walk-out in June. The four-day Tory conference is the last in the annual season held by Britain's political parties before MPs return for a new parliamentary year.