My ward Councillor colleague, John Whitworth and I (both of us UNISON members) did a double morning and afternoon canvass and street surgery in our ward, West Ham.
The weather was wet in the beginning so we canvassed some of our low rise blocks, which meant lots of up and down communal stairs. Great exercise, who needs to join a gym if you are a Labour Party activist? In the later part of the afternoon the rain stopped and the sun came out which was lovely. The blossom may have largely gone but the greenery is very lush in the sunshine after rain.
We had full English breakfasts for lunch at the Olympic cafe in West Ham Lane (we sneaked into Stratford ward).
Highlights of the day was a long discussion with an elderly resident, who was originally from Latvia and by coincidence, I had watched last night a film called "The Rifleman", which was about the dreadful first world war (and aftermath) experiences of a Latvia soldier. The resident was an ethnic Russian, whose father had been a prisoner of war during world war 2. It was unclear due to language difficulties who his father was taken prisoner by.
I took a wrong turn and got locked into a rear communal garden, where you needed a key to get out (which is a risk in these blocks) and had to be rescued by John W.
We had 161 contacts and I had some very good political discussions on local and national issues. While I did not win everyone over to Labour, the response overall was very good. The depth of support and loyalty to the Labour Party by so many residents is simply humbling.
The venue was beside the "Clasping Hands" statue in Three Mills Park in Stratford, East London. Over a 100 years ago, 4 workers died at this site in a notorious health and safety incident. 3 of them died trying to pull out of danger, a worker who had collapsed due to poisonous fumes at a bottom of a ventilation shaft next to a local Gin factory.
Even by the standards of the time, basic health and safety rules had been ignored, which resulted in these deaths.
We had speeches and wreaths laid by representatives of UNISON, Clarion Housing Group and L&Q Group. Many thanks to the professional safety advisors from Clarion and L&Q for attending.
As well as trade union and Labour movement activists from UNISON and GMB, there was also local Labour Councillors, including Cllr James Beckles, who is standing in the Greater London Assembly Elections and Cllr Anntoinette Bramble, the Deputy Mayor of Hackney Council (both UNISON members).
Ballot papers are being sent out to members homes from today. If you are a UNISON member and work in London HE please consider voting for
Janet has been a Labour supporter for many years but she recently joined the Party, because she wants to to do something to get rid of this appalling Conservative Government. Janet had never been canvassing before and she didn't feel confident knocking on doors, so she was here today to see what it was like and she would deliver leaflets.
The canvass went really well with 68 contacts, the majority of which were solid Labour. There was one or two grumpy & negative respondents but Janet was surprised how little confrontation there was on the doorstep and that there was so many very positive responses.
The only worrying thing was that some residents said they were Labour supporters but thought we were going to win, so nothing to worry about! I had to explain about the requirement for photo ID and the Tory scrapping of proportional voting in Mayoral elections could mean trouble and every single vote will count.
Now, UNISON is the largest union in the UK, with around 1.3 million members in thousands of different public service employers, so our democratic processes are going to be just a little complex.
But at the risk of oversimplifying things, I will describe the Service Group Elections (SGE) starting next week, as all about UNISON members being given the opportunity to decide, who do they want running their part of UNISON?
Who do they want negotiating over pay, pensions, health and safety, equalities and other vital terms and conditions? Who do they want to lead their bit of UNISON?
Grass roots activists who are fighters but also experienced, principled and pragmatic. Who are not dependent on the support of far left extremists. Who will put the interests of ordinary UNISON members, first and foremost.
I will be supporting candidates who are not members of the far left "tfrc" faction, who are supported by the extremist Socialist Workers Party and the like, who will be no doubt interfering yet again in our elections, while hiding their affiliations.
But regardless about who you support, please take part in these important elections and encourage your work mates and family to do so as well. I will be posting more on this.
In meanwhile congratulations to my branch comrades Lola Oyewusi and Joseph Ogundemuren for being elected unopposed as the London reps for the Community SGE.
Hat tip UNISON, Pension Age and BBC
Amazing and massive payout. Well done to everyone involved. I understand that the £385 million settlement is not just for the Norfolk Fund but not sure what they will get?
I have 30 years of pensionable service in the Norfolk Scheme as an admitted body member (long story why). While members of the Norfolk scheme should not expect a pay out (also I do not know if Apple or anyone else are contesting this payment? It would appear not).
The Norfolk scheme is a near £5 billion fund with over 100,000 members. However, the money should help with funding for present and future pensions. I will try and find out more.
Hopefully, this payment will help break down the "mistrust" of such USA Class actions amongst Council Pension funds. It is such a very alien concept to risk adverse local authorities, which I do get but what is the downside?
BBC report 15.3.24 :-
"Apple has agreed to pay $490m (£385m) to settle a lawsuit led by Norfolk County Council.
The class action alleged the tech giant's boss, Tim Cook, defrauded shareholders by covering up lower demand for iPhones in China.
The council said a pension fund it administered lost money as a result of Mr Cook's actions.
In a statement, the Norfolk Pension Fund said it was "very proud of this recovery for investors".
The statement continued: "We are mindful that we are stewards of pensions relied upon by thousands of families and individuals.
"When and where it's warranted, we will take decisive action to recover losses when our participants' investments are harmed by fraud."
The BBC has approached Apple for comment.
The class action lawsuit - meaning it is on behalf of a group of claimants - centred around comments made by Apple's chief executive Tim Cook.
He told investors on 1 November 2018 that there was "sales pressure" in some countries but he "would not put China in that category".
However, two months later, on 2 January 2019, Apple downgraded its quarterly revenue forecast, citing tensions between China and the US - leading to a sharp drop in Apple's share price.
Within that two-month window, reports emerged that Apple had told its top smartphone assemblers to "halt plans for additional production lines" for the recently released iPhone XR.
The claimants in this case were all investors who had bought shares between November 2018 and January 2019.
They said they lost money because they had been falsely reassured by Mr Cook's comments in November.
The case was originally brought against Apple and Mr Cook by the US city of Roseville. Norfolk County Council, which administers the £4.9bn Norfolk Pension Fund, took over the lawsuit as lead plaintiff in 2020.
Apple had fought the litigation, and a trial was scheduled for later this year. This preliminary settlement - filed on Friday with the U.S. District Court in Oakland, California - should mean that will no longer happen, however it still requires approval by a judge.
It is not known what portion of the settlement Norfolk County Council will receive.
Apple posted $97 billion of net income in the last fiscal year. The pay-out equals a little under two days of profit for what is one of the world's wealthiest companies".
JG This is great news for all trade unionists and civil liberties. This morning I was at a meeting of the UNISON NEC in our head office in London. Our General Secretary, Christina McAnea had just started her report to us when she announced she had just been handed a note about this mornings Supreme Court Judgement. Well done to Community member, Fiona Mercer (centre) as well as the UNISON members, staff and legal officers who had spent the last 5 years fighting this injustice.
"Judges have told employers they’ll no longer be able to discipline their staff for taking part in legal strike action in a UK Supreme Court ruling today (Wednesday), says UNISON.
The union, which took the case on behalf of care worker Fiona Mercer, says the government must now act quickly to change the law and ensure no other employees are treated unfairly.
Today’s judgment follows a two-day hearing in December. UNISON took the case to the Supreme Court to overturn an earlier Court of Appeal decision. The union had argued this had left the UK in breach of international law and striking employees without proper protection.
The Supreme Court judges were scathing of the government’s failure to provide the minimum protection UK workers should have been granted, says UNISON.
UK law prevents employers from sacking employees who take legal strike action, but until today, it offered no protection to anyone subsequently picked upon for walking out in a dispute.
Fiona had originally taken a case against her then employer, Alternative Futures Group (AFG), a charity based in the north west of England, to an employment tribunal in 2020.
She had been involved in a dispute over AFG’s plans to cut payments to care staff who did sleep-in shifts. Fiona’s employer wasn’t happy, singled her out, suspended her and barred her from going into work or contacting colleagues during the action.
Fiona’s case wound up at an employment appeal tribunal (EAT) in 2021, which found in her favour. It said UK law must protect her from being victimised for going on strike.
That should have been it, says UNISON, as the charity had then decided it wasn’t prepared to proceed any further.
But the then business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng intervened and took the case to the Court of Appeal, which subsequently decided to reverse the EAT decision in March 2022.
Back to where it started, UNISON sought permission on behalf of Fiona to take the case to the highest court in the land, and this led to the judgment handed down today.
UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea said: “This is the most important industrial action case for decades. It’s a victory for every employee who might one day want to challenge something bad or unfair their employer has done.
“Rogue bosses won’t like it one bit. They’ll no longer be able to punish or ill-treat anyone who dares to take strike action to try to solve any problems at work.
“No one strikes on a whim. There are many legal hoops to be jumped through first. But when a worker decides to walk out, they should be able to do so, safe in the knowledge they won’t be victimised by a spiteful boss.
“The government must now close this loophole promptly. It won’t cost any money and isn’t difficult to do. Today is a day to celebrate.”
Fiona Mercer said: “I’m delighted at today’s outcome. Although it won’t change the way I was treated, it means irresponsible employers will now think twice before behaving badly towards their unhappy staff. If they single strikers out for ill-treatment, they’ll now be breaking the law.”
Started at Bedford Park with coffee (and hot sausage roll with brown sauce) at the modern cafe/visitor centre.
Weather wasn't great, a bit wet and muddy but rain had stopped. Saw a large herd of wild deer outside park.
Highlight of walk was the massive "Wellingtonia Redwood" trees (see above) in the former Royal hunting ground now called Havering Country Park.
There is a deer park in Bedford Park where people fed the deer carrots (contrary to signs) through the fence. Walled garden was closed which was a shame.
Since it was St Patricks Day we stopped off for a drink (and a pint of guinness for me) at the Orange Tree pub beer garden.
Check out "Walking in Essex" by Peter Aylmer and Facebook link other photos. See map of route below.
We were calling at all Labour supporters who are postal voters to remind them to fill out their 3 votes for:-
It was a lovely warm, spring day day so many residents were out and the contact rate was not great but Labour support was pretty solid.
In the afternoon, Lyn and I joined Plaistow West & Canning East ward Councillors John Morris & Simon Rush with local activist Veronica. We were later joined by my UNISON colleague and Hackney Wick Councillor, Joseph Ogundemuren.
Again, many residents were out but very firm support for Sadiq and Labour from those who were in.
Register to vote online if you you are not registered by 11.59pm 16 April 2024 https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote . It usually takes only 5 minutes.
Applications to have a postal vote have to be by this Wednesday 17/4/24 by 5pm https://www.newham.gov.uk/council/vote-post
I did enjoy his book "How Different Governments Have Weakened Local Government and Democracy"
A true public servant.
"On behalf of everyone at Newham Council, Mayor Rokhsana Fiaz OBE has offered deepest condolences to the widow, family and friends of former councillor Graham Lane who died on Thursday 25 March 2024.
Hat tip London Nurse
Update: Facebook have come back saying these figures are unfair and the house income chart is wrong. https://fullfact.org/online/house-prices-1990-2020/... . However, this pretty much mirrors our experience buying a home in London in 1989 which we could now not buy if had same job in 2020
We started at Crystal Palace station and thankfully this was a short route (4.1 miles) since it rained and rained nearly all the way. Not so heavy that you had to give up but we were pretty soggy but it was not cold o windy for March.
South London is surprisingly hilly in parts (by London standards). There was nothing too steep and some great views. This route was mostly suburban but lots of parks, commons and remnants of ancient forests (such as the Great North Wood). There was even a 19th Century mansion in Norwood Grove where we stopped for coffee (flasks) and treats under a tree while sheltering from the rain.
When we came towards Streatham Common we were amazed at the wonderful "Rockery Gardens" which are well worth a visit. There used to be famous mineral water wells here which are now sadly unused (and reminded me not unkindly of another more modern, South London mineral water site, called "Peckham Springs")
Streatham Common is a real London "Green Lung" and it must be a fantastic community asset. We finished with a beer at the local Spoons (which now may be closed for a refurbishment so check).
Today we met up with Cllr James Beckles in West Ham Ward (Newham, London) who is standing as a "Labour List" candidate in next months London Assembly Elections. He was with the East London & City candidate, Unmesh Desai and we had a special guest turn up - our London Labour Mayoral candidate, Sadiq Khan.
As well as East Ham MP, Stephen Timms, Newham Mayor Rokhsana Fiaz, councillors and many local Party activists from across the borough (including the one and only John Saunders). Footballers in the Park also stopped to join us and listen.
After short speeches from James, Unmesh and Sadiq, we split up into canvass teams. Two teams went to canvass West Ham while the others left for Forest Gate South.I led one team of 4 canvassers and was pleased that we had 46 contacts, the overwhelming majority being solid Labour. I was also really pleased when a local resident came up to us and explained she was a new Labour Party member and wanted to volunteer to deliver leaflets. She explained that she had been a Labour supporter for many years but had only just joined the Party in order to help get rid of this "rotten Tory Government".
After coffee in the Sawmill, I stopped off to deliver leaflets to volunteers and took some photos of trip hazards that had been brought to my attention as case work. A good day.
/ labourparty
Follow us on Twitter – 
/ uklabour 
