Paul Holmes blog

http://www.paulholmeskirklees.blogspot.com/

Here's yet another new blog from a unison member :)
MarshaJane
xx
www.unionfutures.blogspot.com

Sent with Instant Email from T-Mobile

Hands of People of Iran week of action

February 13th - 20th

Events are planned in:

London: Call 07792282830 or email ben@hopoi.info
Sheffield: Call 07525437155 or email jazz_tedford@yahoo.com
Glasgow: yassamine.m@googlemail.com
Wales: Boneshrink@aol.com
Ireland: Anne@hopoi.info, 086 23 43 238
Manchester: hopimanchester@googlemail.com, 07883924372

- Dayschool:انقلاب ایرانی،مبارزه با امپریالیسم و سرکوب
شنبه ۱۳ فوریه ۲۰۱۰ ،ساعت ۱ بعد از ظهر,University of Manchester Students' Union, Meeting Room 1.
نشست ۱:امپریالیسم و ایران،با سخنرانان از دانشگاه گلاسکو وHOPOI
HOPOIنشست ۲ :انقلاب ۱۹۷۹ ایران و امروز،با سخنرانان از جنبش سبز و
جشن و پذیرائی، ساعت ۶ بعد از ظهر
Whitworth Arms, 508 Moss Lane East, Rusholme, Manchester, M14 4PA.

شایان ذکر است که جهت جمع آوری کمک به مردمی که در ایران در ستیز هستند و همچنین پناهجویان ایرانی و کرد ساکن انگلستان،غذا و نوشیدنی نیز موجود میباشد.
**لطفا از آوردن هر گونه دوربین عکاسی و فیلمبرداری خودداری فرمائید.**
برای اطلاعات بیشتر و یا کمک برای برگزاری هر چه بهتر مراسم،لطفا به این آدرس ایمیل بزنید و یا با کریس تماس بگیرید.
برگزارکنندگان:کارزار دستها از مردم ایران کوتاه & دانشجویان ایرانی و دانشگاه منچستر.

THE IRANIAN REVOLUTION
Fighting Imperialism and Fighting Repression Day School

Saturday February 13 @ 1pm
University of Manchester Students' Union Meeting Room 1

Meeting 1: Imperialism and Iran
With speakers from Glasgow University and HOPI

Meeting 2: The Iranian Revolution 1979 and Today
With speakers from HOPI and the Green Party

FUNDRAISER
Starts at 6pm

Whitworth Arms
508 Moss Lane East, Rusholme, Manchester, M14 4PA

There will be drinks and food all night to help raise money for those in struggle.

**No Cameras will be permitted at this event**

If you want to help out or find out more please email hopimanchester@googlemail.com or call Chris on 07883924372

Organised by Hands Off the People of Iran & Iranian Students and University of Manchester

Ireland

- January 28, 7.30pm, Boole 3, Main Campus, University College Cork, College Road:
"Siahkal 1971 – Tehran 2010 the history of the new left in Iran".
Hosted by University College Cork Historical Society
Yassamine Mather, Iranian political activist and writer will trace the emergence of a movement of extraordinary significance in the struggle for democracy in Iran today.

- February 9
Hopi discussion and organising meeting Solidarity Books, Douglas Street, Cork
Come along and help to plan our week of action.

=============================

This will see fundraising events, protest actions and meetings. Comrades around the country are coming forward with ideas for activities that range from pickets and petitions, to benefit meals for a few comrades and friends. We want to mobilise every Hopi supporter to participate in the week, at whatever level their circumstances and time constraints allow. (And make sure you send us small reports and photos for our website!)

February is a key month in the Iranian political calendar. The Shah's regime imploded in February 1979. Every year since, the government has initiated official state-backed marches and rallies to celebrate the revolution and to bolster the myth that its social and political dynamic was simply 'Islamic'.

However this year, in the aftermath of the huge upsurges post the rigged presidential elections in June 2009, the regime will face stiff opposition. There will be counterdemonstrations organised by both the Green reformists such as the western media darling Mir-Hossein Moussavi and by more radical trends within the movement, forces that are subject to a media blackout.

In their different ways, both these reformists and the elements to their left will challenge the theocracy for the legacy of 1979. This difference is vital, however. The likes of Moussavi charge that the regime has lost its way and deserted the 'true' Islamic nature of the revolution. For the left, 1979 could have had a very different outcome. That is, a victory for the forces of popular democracy from below and fundamental social change.

Iran is in turmoil and the opposition is utilising every opportunity to protest and organise. These counterdemonstrations will also commemorate the 40th day since the death of the leading reformist cleric Ayatollah Montazeri and also the murder of protesters in the Ashura demonstration in late December.

This poses important tasks to the anti-war and solidarity movement in this country and beyond.

First and foremost, we have to dramatically step our work against any imperialist intervention against Iran. Military action would be a disaster for the burgeoning movement. It would disrupt and disperse the masses just at a time when we are beginning to see the potential for a new Iran, shaped by the democratic and militant action of millions of 'ordinary' Iranians themselves.

Sanctions – the so-called 'soft' option – have the same demobilising effect, if anything in a more insidiously poisonous way. When working people have to spend their time individually begging, bartering or borrowing their way round shortages of basic foodstuffs and amenities, their ability to collectively impose a progressive agenda on society as a whole suffers.

So, we have to see off the threats of imperialism. We have to give the 'red' strands within the Green movement in Iran the space to survive and thrive. In contrast to some mistaken comrades in the anti-war movement, Hopi knows that the real Iranian anti-imperialists are amongst the millions of protesters on the streets, not in the corrupt and deeply compromised echelons of the clerical bureaucracy.

In addition to our anti-war work, we must also supply these comrades with the oxygen of publicity.

The bulk of the mainstream English or Persian's media reporting of the upsurge since June 2009 has implied that the 'Green movement is a homogeneous bloc, where the masses are little more than 'walk-on/walk-off' bit-part players in a drama directed by Moussavi and the reformists.

In truth, these 'leaders' have struggled to keep up with the movement. Actions and slogans on the ground have gone far beyond even the maximum demands of the reformists. Since at least September '09, important elements amongst workers, students, women and youth have called for the overthrow of the entire regime. While the Green leaders repeated assert their loyalty to the existing order, militant slogans from the movement they purport to lead demand the overthrow of the supreme religious leader, Khamenei and the entire apparatus of Islamicist rule and oppression.

None of this finds reflection in the mainstream media. The BBC and the western news outlets are the propaganda wing of the imperialist campaign. Sanctions and the threat of military strikes serve the purpose of undermining the Ahmadinejad-led regime and preparing a 'colour revolution' a la Georgia or the Ukraine, headed by the likes of Moussavi. The BBC's selective silence about the evolving politics of the real movement beneath this 'hero' makes it the propaganda arm of that reactionary campaign.

We will target the BBC for protest during the week of action. Details of protests and activities are being finalised as this bulletin goes out. We will keep comrades posted, but check regularly on our website for updates.

MarshaJane
xx
www.unionfutures.blogspot.com

Sent with Instant Email from T-Mobile

Support John McDermott

A new blog has been set up to support John McDermott.

Please take a look http://supportjohnmcdermott.wordpress.com/
MarshaJane
xx
www.unionfutures.blogspot.com

Sent with Instant Email from T-Mobile

UNISON General Secretary Election - the official announcement

(20/01/10) There will be an election for the general secretary of UNISON this spring, the union's national executive council decided this morning.

The meeting voted to set the process in motion for a five-month election period, which will see nominations take place from 4 February to 1 April, with a ballot starting on 17 May and ending on 11 June, ahead of the union's national delegate conference later that month.

The result of the election will be announced on 22 June.

The NEC noted that current general secretary Dave Prentis was entitled to remain in office until May 2013, under trade union legislation, the union's rules and the contract of employment entered into at his last re-election in 2005.

However, Mr Prentis made it clear that he wished to submit himself for re-election this year, because "I have always believed that the democracy of our union is paramount" and because a new democratic mandate for the general secretary in "the difficult times we are now entering into" would help build "a strong united union capable of defending the interests of our members", which is needed now, more than ever.

In a letter to president Gerry Gallagher indicating his wish to seek re-election, Mr Prentis added that an early ballot would mean "we could then coalesce around an agenda on the issue which are so important to our members - fighting any cuts and defending our members".

The NEC agreed and adopted a timetable that will allow the election of a general secretary with a new mandate to meet the challenges of whichever new government is elected in the general election and take forward the policies decided at June's national delegate conference.

The meeting also voted to donate £10,000 to the Haiti earthquake appeal and called on branches to make donations via the TUC Aid appeal. Branches can donate online at www.tuc.org.uk/international/tuc-17424-f0.cfm

MarshaJane
xx
www.unionfutures.blogspot.com

Sent with Instant Email from T-Mobile

Local Government Pay Freeze

LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNIONS OUTRAGED AT PAY FREEZE This e-mail is sent on behalf of Heather Wakefield to local government branches in England, Northern and Wales (Scotland – for information).
 
Dear Colleague
 
The Local Government Employers have today told the unions that there will be a pay freeze in 2010/2011 for NJC staff and for other local government groups.  This was announced without any negotiations taking place.
 
The press release below has been issued and there will be a meeting of the full NJC Trade Union Side on the afternoon of 3 February, following the NJC UNISON Committee meeting earlier that day.  This is clearly a massive slap in the face for our hard-working members who have kept local services going through the crisis and in the face of widespread redundancies.
 
The NJC Committee and Trade Union Side will decide the next steps on 3 February.
 
Best wishes
 
Heather

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: WEDNESDAY 20 JANUARY, 2010 LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNIONS OUTRAGED AT PAY FREEZE Local government unions, UNISON, GMB and UNITE, representing 1.6 million workers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, have today been told that their members face a pay freeze in 2010/2011.  

The unions are calling on the local government employers to think again, saying that local government workers will struggle to afford basic essentials, with nearly 3% inflation rendering the pay freeze a real terms pay cut. The unions are calling for them to come to their senses and make a reasonable offer, saying that there is room in council budgets to give workers decent pay.     

UNISON Head of Local Government, Heather Wakefield, said:   "The employer's decision to cut our members' pay without negotiation is a slap in the face for hard working council employees who have kept local communities together through the crisis.   "Two thirds already earn less than £18k a year.

Last year George Osborne, Tory shadow chancellor said the Tories would not freeze pay for those earning in this pay bracket, now the Tory LGA is doing just that.  

"Our members are already covering posts left vacant by wide-spread redundancies. 75% of the workforce are women so this is an outright attack on women's pay.   "We know that councils can afford an increase. Council reserves have grown, while many have chosen to cut their own income by freezing council tax. Our members will be outraged by this threatened pay freeze.   "The trade unions will meet urgently to consider the next steps."  

Peter Allenson, National Officer for Unite the union, said: "There has been absolutely no negotiation with the employers. We have had a position put to us that will effectively reduce our members' living standards. There is no justification for what I would call a pay freeze, and our members would be angry and outraged to say the least.

"The employers should reconsider and come to negotiating table as soon as possible. In the mean time we will consult our members on the next steps."

Brian Strutton, GMB National Secretary, said: "Council workers will be absolutely furious about this and I'm personally appalled at the arrogance of the employers.
There has been no discussion, no negotiation - just a political decision by conservative controlled local government.   "David Cameron needs to reign in his right-wing mavericks who run councils and have the audacity to think that this 2.5 % real terms pay cut for staff is how to deliver local services.  
"We will now hold an urgent meeting of the trade union side to determine our plan of action. I guarantee the mood will be very angry."

Notes to editors:   UNISON, UNITE and GMB public service unions submitted a claim in October last year for 2.5% or £500.
The claim covers local government staff working as care assistants, cleaners, teaching assistants, librarians, social workers and refuse collectors among others, many of whom are at the bottom of the public sector pay league.  

ENDS   For more information about local government reserves, call UNISON press office on 0207 551 1555.

MarshaJane
xx
www.unionfutures.blogspot.com

Sent with Instant Email from T-Mobile

Unison Gen Secretary election - Game on

Looks like its Game On.

Prentis letter says he wants to stand for re election and prefers a snap election. Expect that will be nodded through when the special NEC meeting starts @ 9.30.

So we need a meeting ASAP to decide on the left candidate.

Nomination period opens 4th Feb so realistically that only leaves us 30 Jan to have a big meeting (Many people from outside London cannot get in on a Sunday because of Transport)

I'll circulate a time and venue later today.

Along with confirmation that NEC voted to go ahead.

Update @ 10.30am - Vote was overwhelmingly to support a snap election.

Nomination period will be between 4th Feb and 1st April.

Heather Wakefield for General Secretary?

http://renelavanchy.wordpress.com/ just posted this on facebook.

http://m.facebook.com/notes/rene-lavanchy/will-unison-election-overshadow-general-election/256421573875?rbaab65af

First one, now two union elections threaten to overshadow Labour's prospects in the general election. This week, Unison – the biggest public sector union and one of Labour's biggest donors, will decide whether to hold an election this summer for general secretary. And there may be a challenger in the wings, which would drag the union's loyal links to Labour into the spotlight.

Dave Prentis, Unison's current general secretary Prentis a Labour loyalist, was last elected in 2005, and by law union bosses have to be elected every five years. But here's the thing. Contrary to what Wikipedia says, Prentis was born in 1948, not 1950, and turns 62 this year. The law also states that a union leader within five years of retirement can stay on till they do retire – in 2013 in Prentis' case.

But the last union general secretary to try to stay in office past five years without an election was Derek Simpson – and he was forced to stand for election in the end. True, he'd have been over 65 by the end of his term. But Unison's national executive have been asked to rule on the issue at a meeting this week, suggesting that there's no great certainty. The meeting was unscheduled and announced with just two weeks' notice.

Will Prentis tell his executive he wants to stay on without a vote? Will he call an election and run? Or call an election and not run?I don't know.

But I have learned that one person is being encouraged to seek to replace Prentis. Heather Wakefield, Unison's head of local government, is the preferred candidate of a number of senior figures in the union, according to reliable accounts. Wakefieldis seen as somewhat to the left of Prentis, and several of her supporters expect her to hold a ballot on the union's affiliation to Labour and shake up the political fund. (Disclaimer: this blog in no way suggests that she will do that, or even that she'll stand, and has no desire to put words into Heather Wakefield's mouth!)

If an election is called and Wakefield wins, she could be in power by the end of June. So the direction of Britain's second biggest Labour-supporting union would be being argued over at the same time as Labour was trying to drum up support… including among Unison's 1.3 million members in local government and other public services. Core vote, anyone?

This is exciting stuff. If Prentis decides to soldier on, one of Unison's left-wing activists could well mount a legal challenge. Even if an election is called, it wouldn't necessarily please everyone. NEC member Jon Rogers (who incidentally challenged Prentis for the top job in 2005) has blogged about how he fears the union being forced to hold a snap election that would conclude just after the general election – an unecessary distraction from the issue of keeping Labour in power, he argues, when an election could be held on a longer timetable.

Unison head office will doubtless want to avoid the acrimony that accompanied the Unite Amicus election in 2008. Question is, can they avoid it? And when it's all over, will the union opt to tighten the financial screws on the party?

MarshaJane
xx
www.unionfutures.blogspot.com

Sent with Instant Email from T-Mobile

UNISON General Secretary election

You can read some more about the UNISON General Secretary election over on http://www.jonrogers1963.blogspot.com/

Of course I agree with Jon that we should be having an election.

If an election is called - the organised left in UNISON must unite behind a single candidate, we have done well on NEC and SGE campaigns the last few years having a united slate and of course have all been united defending activists against the witch hunts under the "reclaim the union" banner - we need to build on this unity.

As a starting point I thought I'd set out what sort of things the left should be looking for in a candidate.

1 a commitment to a single political fund and a ballot on affiliation to the LP

2 signing now the letter demanding an Independent Enquiry and if elected:
stopping all political witch-hunts,
allowing people excluded by political witch-hunts to reapply for membership,
Launching an enquiry into disciplinary procedures and how they have been used.

3 Election of Deputy General secretary and Regional secretaries

4 commitment to public sector unity, including commitment to launch a joint public sector union campaign including joint strike action to defend public sector pensions.

This week will be an interesting one in UNISON with candidates positioning themselves to try and get "the lefts" support over this weekend and the NEC making a decision (or rather Prentis telling them what he's decided) to extend the current General Secretary term of office or to have an election on Wednesday.

If a snap election is called the left will have to move pretty quick in deciding what we do - so a provisional date for a meeting is 31st Jan put it in your diary!
I'll keep you all posted!

Mj
MarshaJane
xx
www.unionfutures.blogspot.com

Sent with Instant Email from T-Mobile

Nominate Lorraine Mngadi UNISON London Local Government

 

UNISON Service Group Executive (SGE) Elections

Nominate Lorraine Mngadi for Low Paid Female Seat in the Greater London Region

UNISON membership number: 8914350

I am writing to seek the nomination of your branch for the seat on the Local Government Service Group Executive (SGE) reserved for low paid women members.

My name is Lorraine Mgandi and I am a low paid cleaner and school lunch worker in Newham.

I am standing to speak up on behalf of low paid workers in London —many of whom are, like me, black women. Our SGE should reflect the diversity of our membership – and in particular give a voice to low paid workers.

I know what it is like struggling to make ends meet as a low paid migrant worker. Like many black women, I work several jobs to make ends meet, but however hard we work we never seem to have enough to give our families all that they deserve.

I joined UNISON as an agency worker and have struggled to build a union among my workmates. I am proud to be a UNISON rep and of all we have achieved in winning dignity and better conditions. By organising our union we have stood up to racism and harassment and won better conditions at my workplace. I am standing for the SGE because I want my experience as a rank and file union organiser to make our Union stronger for local government workers.

I want our Union to do more for black women members who are deeply affected by the issues of racism, low pay, bullying, long hours, temporary work and work stress.

We need equal pay for women - paid for by the employers. People need to respect the jobs we do.

We need to keep up the fight against racism and take on bullying managers. We need to unite all of our members to make sure that we do not pay for the mess the bankers have made of our economy.

We need to put real pressure on the Government to protect our jobs, pay and pensions.

We need to step up our campaign for a higher minimum wage, a living wage for all workers, young and old.

If elected I would speak out for all low paid workers in UNISON.

I would also recommend that you nominate John McLoughlin for the Male Seat and Sonya Howard for the Female Seat in the Greater London Region.

People want changed policies and changed politics, not leadership coups’ says Labour MP

 John McDonnell MP Member of Parliament for Hayes & Harlington
 PRESS NOTICE: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

 'People want changed policies and changed politics, not leadership coups' says Labour MP

 In light of the statement circulated today, Labour MP, John McDonnell, said…

 "Rank and file Labour Party members will be aghast at the renewed factional infighting at the top of the Labour Party - just at a time when we are campaigning on people's doorsteps to save a Labour Government." 

"People want changed policies and changed politics, not leadership coups. They want ministers and MPs to put the interests of the Party and the country before their political careers."

-Ends-
MarshaJane
xx
www.unionfutures.blogspot.com

Sent with Instant Email from T-Mobile