Newham March and Rally

Pics of the rally, Z PCS NEC and Jon Rogers unison NEC speaking to the rally outside the town hall.

Good turnout of just under 200 people marching to Newham town hall to protest against the cuts.

Sir Robin Wales on his way into the cabinet stood there jeering at the protesters and was greeted with chants of don't make tory cuts.

I had to leave early and bumped into Cllr John Gray on my way out and lobbied him to at least abstain unfortunately he said he would vote for the budget and was under some delusions that Robin Wales was a socialist!

Anyway the fight continues.
MarshaJane

Newham Stop the Cuts Campaign - March on Feb 28th

I'll be marching in Newham against the cuts this Monday 5pm starting at Queens Market (Upton Park tube) and marching to the Town Hall.

I hope to see you there!

Below is the text from UNITE's flyer.
Please circulate around your contacts.

Mj

NEWHAM STOP THE CUTS CAMPAIGN
Will be Marching on Feb 28th: March To Defend Jobs & Services!

UNITE the union is hitting back against Newham Council's plans to axe hundreds of jobs and slash the terms and conditions of 5,000 Council workers. Town Hall bosses say they're just passing on the cuts imposed by the Tory led coalition government. But Newham is going much further than the Tories. The government has cut £75 million from the Town Hall's budget over the next 4 years but Council chiefs are planning even bigger cuts of £116 million.

UNITE is not going to stand by and let jobs and services be decimated or have our terms and conditions destroyed. If the Council wants to save money then why not start by getting rid of their lavishly paid 200 consultants? Many are paid up to £2,000 a day!

In fact, Newham Council wastes over £20 million a year on private consultants! And instead of borrowing £40 million to subsidise West Ham's bid for the Olympic Stadium why doesn't the Council use every penny it can to protect vital services?

This government has no mandate for cuts. The Tories didn't win a majority in the election and they always denied they would cut front-line services. Newham Council should not be colluding with these cuts - nor making them worse.

Now it's time the Council listened to Newham workers and residents and joined forces with UNITE, the other trade unions and community and voluntary sector organisations to resist the Government's cuts. Council bosses should stop plotting to issue an ultimatum - accept pay cuts or be sacked - to over 5,000 of its own employees. . If they won't speak up for vital services then UNITE the union certainly will.

To make sure the Council gets this message we've called a march on the 28th of February - starting at Queens Market (two minutes from Upton Park tube) at 5.00pm and marching to East Ham Town Hall. Joining us will be workers from all of Newham's trade unions and the boroughs many community and voluntary organisations which are now facing the axe. The 28th of Feb is the day the Council is going to set its budget for 2011/12 and hundreds of marchers will lobbying Councillors. We'll be telling them: no cuts to jobs, services or pay. March with us on the 28th of Feb - and at the TUC national demo on the 26th of March.

MarshaJane

Lambeth Council Chamber people take over

I've attached a few pictures I took from a vibrant and passionate take over of Lambeths council chamber last night.

The public gallery was full seconds after doors opened and the private security that the council had hired were heavy handed in the corridors until a unison steward jumped in the middle saying this is a peaceful protest no one is pushing or shoving we just want to be heard and they backed off.

Inside the public gallery members of the public were chanting no ifs no buts no public sector cuts. As soon as the public realised the vast majority of people were left outside they were chanting "let them in" and "this is what democracy looks like" the cllr's refused the sensible request that at least some of the public waiting outside could sit in the almost empty members gallery where there was at least 35 seats vacant - but the cllrs refused. As the chants of let them in continued - the cllrs picked up the mace and shut down the meeting - preferring to go and agree the budget in private and refusing to even listen to the deputation speakers.

Well done on Lambeth unison for leading the fight back against the cuts and also for getting some much needed publicity for the anti cuts cause - including itv and bbc - who had a reporter live on the scene.

The guardian today also carries this piece -http://gu.com/p/2nb7g/tf which includes this quote :)

""We don't accept the argument that councillors have to make these cuts," said Marsha-Jane Thompson, a member of the Unison trade union who took part in the occupation.

"If all the Labour-controlled councils up and down the country united together and refused to do [make the cuts] then it would send a very strong message that we don't have to be paying back the deficit in the way that we are."

She claimed that the council had behaved undemocratically and wanted to exclude the voices of locals campaigning to preserve services and funding"

I took a lot more photos and posted tweets so have a look there if you want more info - hat tip to Jon who already has a report over on his blog http://jonrogers1963.blogspot.com/2011/02/lambeth-council-chamber-occupied-as.html

And also a report is on urban 75 :)

Well done Jon and all involved
MarshaJane

Lobby and protest against the cuts tonight

I'm hoping to attend the rally and protest at the Lambeth Council Cuts Budget Vote tonight!

Demonstrate, Protest and Lobby Wednesday 23rd February 20116:00pm to 9:00pm Lambeth Town Hall.

As well as being there to support Jon and the unison branch I'll be there to support Kingsley Abrahams who has disgracefully been suspended from the labour group for speaking out against the cuts.

For those of you elsewhere in london there is also:


 Mass Lobby and Protest at Tower Hamlets Council Budget Setting Meeting Wednesday 23rd February 20115:00pm to 7:30pm

Hammersmith Council - stop the cuts

Wednesday 23rd February 2011

6:30pm to 8:00pm


- Now is the time to stand up and fight for our public services so I hope to see lots of people out on the streets and in the council meetings protesting against the cuts as well as on the streets on March the 26th.

MarshaJane

Update to UNISON NEC Candidates

Ballot will open tomorow morning! So this is a call to all unison members to vote for the left slate in the UNISON elections.

Those who want publicity to hand out to members (in your own time not using union resources etc) please email me Marshajanethompson AT yahoo.co.uk

Why we are standing

We are angry at the Con Dem attacks on the Welfare State and public services. They are trying to make ordinary people like us pay for the economic crisis created by bankers’ greed.

While our jobs, pay and services are cut, millionaires dodge taxes and bankers get billions in bonuses. Thousands of us marched against cuts on the 26th of March – but what next? With fighting leadership UNISON can unite public secto...r unions and users and organise real resistance. The present leadership have failed to lead action to stop the Tory assault.

We stand for:

* Resistance to all cuts and privatisation
* United industrial action to defend our pensions & a coordinated fight against the Tory pay freeze
* Opposition to all attempts to divide us – like Cameron’s attack on multiculturalism
* Only funding and supporting politicians who will join us in the fight against cuts. Labour councils should refuse to carry out Tory cuts and set needs budgets.
* Ending the waste of members’ money on witchhunting of left wing activists

We are experienced activists from many backgrounds. Unlike the present leadership – who are quick with words but slow to lead action – we don’t just say it, we do it. Vote for us and build the fight against cuts and to protect jobs, pay, pensions and services. Elect a team for the battle
Click on the names for their nomination requests. For a fighting democratic union.

NEC CANDIDATES 2011

NATIONAL Black Members

Female seats April Ashley and Bola George Male seat Hugo Pierre

National young members

Kieran Grogan

REGIONAL SEATS

Eastern region Male seat Martin Booth Martin Booth

East Midlands region Female seat Jean Thorpe Sharon Vasselin

Male seat Richard Buckwell

Greater London region Female seats Marshajane Thompson and Helen Davies

Male seat Jon Rogers

Reserved seat Emilse Ocampo Medina

Northern region Female seat Hannah Walter

Male seat Dave Walkden

North West region General seat Tony Wilson

Female seats Bernie Gallagher and Karen Reissmann

Male seat Roger Bannister

Reserved seat Sophie Smith Rudge

Scotland region

Male seat Duncan Smith

South East region Female seats Diana Leach Emma Macbeth

Male seat Mike Tucker

South West region

Male seat Nigel Behan

West Midlands region General Seat Clive Shakespeare Female Seat. Vez Kirkpatric

Yorkshire & Humberside region General Mike Forster Female seats Angie Wallor Helen Jenner

Male seat Jim Board Reserved seat Victoria Perrin

SERVICE GROUP SEATS

Health Care service group Female seats Kate Ahrens and Shona Greig

Male seat Len Hockey

General seat John Malcolm

Higher Education service group

Female seat Carole Hanson

General seat Max Watson

Local Government service group

Female seats kathy Smith and Phoebe Watkins

Male seat Paul Couchman

General seat Paul Holmes

Water Enviroment Transport General Seat John Jones

Community

General seat Alec McFadden Energy

General seat Dave Kuivala

UNISON Womens conference 2

Onto the afternoon session of conference.

Cath Elliot opened this afternoons session and first up we heard from Rachel Reeves MP who said cuts are going to hit women 3x harder than men.

Rachel went on to say that public sector workers are paying for a recession that they did not cause. We did not vote for this and we will not stand for it.

Now back onto the group debate on effects of cuts on women.

Maddy Cooper from Camden local government gave a vibrant speech that we should be uniting with all women and families - we did not create this crisis and we will not pay for it. If we do not get up and fight then who will stand up for our sisters who are disabled, ill and unable to fight - we must not fight alone - we must prepare for coordinated strike action across our public sector unions.

Conference heard from branches up and down the country about the disproportionate effects of the cuts on women as well as the importance of women fighting back and coming on the march on the 26th March.

We also heard from Doncaster who today had the welcome news they have won the fight to keep their libraries.

In the lunch time I attended a quite useful briefing on using equality impact assessments to challenge cuts and I made an intervention to request that UNISON circulate successes like the Barnet branch had with challenging when employers haven't used EIA and successes from other branches so we can share best practise and this will now be done.

 

The late session had hustings for who will be Womens conference delegates to National Conference - If I was a voting delegate I would be voting for Cath Elliot and Rachel Voller :) but I'm not so have just recommended others vote for them :)

 

I then went onto the cuba solidarity campaign and venzuala solidarity campaign fringe.

 

After a meal with some comrades popped into the eastern region (Rad fems ;p) social but kids were not allowed so have come back to hotel for an early night!

 

Last session of conference is tomorrow with the only contentious motion on the agenda being Motion 26 from the eastern region on women's conference being a woman only (as far as is practically possible) space - this is being opposed by at everyone else so will look forward to that debate!

UNISON womens conference

Womens conference started yesterday but I havent had a chance to blog as yet ( I have been tweeting though!)

 

Conference was kicked off by a moving and passionate speech from current president Angela Lynes before moving onto the first few motions.

Motion 1 organising in the voluntary sector motion 2 sickness absence policies that penalise women unjustly and motion 3 Women and Pensions all passed swiftly with only 1 or 2 speakers and then conference broke up into seminars.

 

I attended the debt management seminar(as branch welfare officer) - at the moment with all the cuts and attacks on the welfare state we are going to need to be able to advise members on their options.  UNISON members who need help can use Telephone UNISON Welfare Debtline Freephone 0800 389 3302

we can also access an online version UNISON Welfare Debtclinic,  www.debtclinic.co.uk/unison

Conference then finished with regional meetings at 6.10pm and I attended the London (obviously ;p)

 

Today at conference picked up pace slightly   

Motion 4 why women should vote and its amendment was passed with some passionate speakers explaining why women do politics and calling on unison NWC to produce information and with the "use your vote campaign" to focus on issues that effect women so that unison can highlight the importance of why women should vote.

Motion 5 was on flexible working and calls on the NWC to provide a factsheet and guidance to branches to provide information on how to deal with flexible working requests in the workplace.

Motion 5 had by far the most speakers of the conference so far with. 8 speakers for the motion all of whom highlighted their experiences of flexibke working requests and the discrimination faced by low paid women under the "at managements discretion" clauses in flexible working policies.

Dave Prentis spoke about his discussion yesterday with the government on Pensions - "if they try to take away our pensions we will do everything in our power to stop them and if that means gearing up for industrial action then that's what we'll do"

Some other snippets from Daves speech -
Cuts hit services valuable to woman. Dave also criticised bankers bonus

The money paid out in bonus to the top 10 bankers  would be enough to save all 400 libraries that are threatened with closure.

Money that could be raised with the robin hood tax would reverse all of the cuts in our NHS.

Dave went on to talk about the big society with even Camerons own newspapers calling it a con and his Tory MPs referring to it as BS.

He (cameron) just doesn't get it - BS doesn't make sense.

Any one of our members has more in their little finger than the whole cabinet put together.

Government is destroying jobs, racking up redundancies by the thousands and ploughing our recovery into reverse.

We face greatest test in a generation - this government with no democratic mandate are attacking us - an attack the like of which we have never seen before.

They are taking a chain saw to our public services.

If there is money to bail out banks if there's money for war there is money for public services.

Its the spivs not our members should be asked to do more for less - more for their country and less for themselves.

Next time we will only put politicians in power that stand up for our values and our society.

Dave also spoke about unity across the unions and also rather inappropriatly spoke about unite "claiming their membership is bigger than ours - but all of our membership are alive"  (firstly a mine is bigger than yours joke at womens conference? secondly as a comrade on twittre said it aint how big your membership is dave its what you do with it)

 

Next up the group debate on equalities cuts and women - in a good move for womens participation the same delegate moved 3 motions in a row!v

The debate had only had the movers of all the motions when conference was halted to hear from guest speakers (in the middle of a grouped debate! Not that I like to be critical but that's a bit poor)

Saying that the guest speaker - Baroness Blood gave a fascinating speech and received the first standing ovation of the conference.

We then run out of time for the morning session so will resume the group debate after lunch!

During the lunch break I attended the workshop on equality impact assesment.

It is the employers duty to carry out EIA's but they should have union involvement all throughout not just consult us once eia completed.

These should be in cuts proposals as well as service delivery.

75% of workforce in LG women and half of these work part time.

Freezing increments as some authorities are doing affects women disproportionately as does having spot points and removing increments - which has relations on single status

Its "easier" according to some employers to cut part time workers hours than full time employees - again  disproportionately affecting women.

Unison can and will take direct/indirect discrimination cased as well as single status claims.

Under Unisons equalities duty protocol we can refer to ehrc.

Results of EIA's can and should also be used as campaiging tools.

Protest against cuts at Homerton Hospital - Saturday 5th Feb

Protest against cuts

at Homerton Hospital

Saturday 5^th February 2011

12.00pm

Meet in front of the hospital in the park that runs between Brooksby's Walk and Wardle Street

£15 million of cuts have been announced at the hospital. UNISON opposes these cuts and believes that they will negatively impact on the quality of care in many areas.

First hit are Advocacy (who provide face-to-face interpreting and support services to patients who do not speak English), Midwifery, IT and Workforce (Human Resources).

Despite claims that the NHS is largely protected from the cuts, the Government has cut the amount of money the hospital will receive to provide services to the people of Hackney.

We need more not less spending on health in Hackney and a fairer taxation system would provide sufficient funding for our community's needs.

Join the protest to defend our services

and support staff who face job losses.

Kieran Grogan - request for nomination for UNISON NEC

Young Members NEC Seat   Dear Friends,   I am writing to you to ask for your nomination for the Young Members seat on our National Executive Council. I am standing for the Young Members seat because I believe I can effectively campaign on the issues affecting our young members most: Against pay structures which discriminate against young workers For a living wage for all workers, including young apprentices Against the rise in tuition fees and the scrapping of the EMA college students' grant For free and fully funded education For young members to be as involved as possible in our union Questioning why we continue to give money to New Labour, which even in opposition cannot bring itself to stand up for our members and the issues which matter to them   These are just some of the issues that are important to me and the young members in our union. I hope you will decide to nominate me. Should you have any questions, I would be happy to speak at your meeting/committee. I look forward to your response. Yours sincerely,   Kieran Grogan (9395795) Bolton UNISON (6540) Young Members Officer Mob: 07776031406   Flat 22 Spinners Hall, 77 St Georges Rd Bolton, Greater Manchester BL1 2BS Kieran81@msn.com Kieran.grogan@msn.co.uk