Ajitha's Last Count

Picture is from last night just before midnight at Newham Dockside. We were just about to go out and take part in the bi-monthly Rough Sleeping Count. It was also the "Last Count" to be organised by Newham "Population Manager", Ajitha Sajeev, who had been awarded the BEM in 2020 for services to the homeless. 

Ajitha has worked for Newham Council for 33 years and will be sadly missed. 

Homeless outreach workers, volunteers and local Councillors are split up into teams of 2 or 3 to tour Newham in the early hours to count the number of Rough Sleepers. 

I went again with Newham Officer, Aidan and we came across and spoke to one rough sleeper bedding down on freezing concrete paving, with only a thin blanket. Aidan took his details and discussed help and support. We did come across a tent pitched on a green area but were unable to establish whether anyone was in it and did not want to disturb anyone who might have been. So we took location details and also passed them back to Ajitha when we returned to Newham Dockside. 

In the early morning a follow up visit of outreach workers go to the Rough sleepers found by the count teams to try and assist them 

The information gained during the count is also used by the Council and the Government to assess the effectiveness of the various homeless initiatives taking place in Newham to support Rough Sleepers and help them get off the streets. 

Thanking Branches for UNISON NEC Nominations

Tonight my UNISON branch (Greater London Housing Associations) nominated Denise and I to be a candidate for the Community NEC seats (representing 80,000 UNISON Charity and Housing Association members)

That makes 10 branch nominations that I am aware of so far. We will be writing to branches to thank them for their support. Branch nominations close on February 14. 

Below is a list of other recommended candidates standing in London and for national seats. I will post recommendations from colleagues on other regional/nation candidates. 

Greater London General	Eddie Brand
Great London Female	Sonya Howard
Greater London Female	Clara Mason
Greater London Low Pay Reserved	Abiola Kusuro

 

 

 

Black Members Female	Manjula Kumari
Black Members Female	Tansaim Hussain Gul
Black Members Male	Ash Silverstone
Black Members Low Pay Reserved	Maria Albert
Disabled Members Female	Lady Lola
Young Members General	Cameron Thompson
Young Members Female	Micaela Tracey-Ramos

UNISON Living Webinar - 15 May 12.30 or 5.15pm

 

UNISON Living Webinar

Calling all UNISON activists and branch officers - Make your UNISON membership work for you! Thursday 15 May 2025 12.15pm for a 12.30pm start OR 5pm for a 5.15pm start (each session approx 1hr) Online, via Microsoft Teams There is no limit to the number of branch members who can attend, please encourage as many of your branch committee and activists as possible to attend.   You will know that apart from the provision of representation and collective bargaining rights, there are many other benefits to being a UNISON member.  With the current cost of living crisis many members will be considering ways to save money and so there is no better time to ensure all our members and potential members are aware of how to make the most of their membership. As activists and branch officers you are at the front-line of supporting members and encouraging fellow workers to join UNISON.  The aim of this webinar is to provide you with information on as many of the products and services that are available from our trusted UNISON Living providers.  The power of our 1.3 million members has secured the best deals exclusively for our members. Come along and hear from UNISON service providers on many of the benefits available, how to access them and how to make contact with service providers and what they can provide to you as activists and your branch.  The seminar will run for a maximum of 1.5 hours. https://msg.unison.org.uk/c/12QNTWV9JgZA3McY8

West Ham Ward Street Surgery - 25.1.25

 

Yesterday, I took part in a Street Surgery and canvass with my Councillor colleagues, John & Charlene, and local Labour Party activists in West Ham ward. We knocked on doors and spoke to residents, in and around Arthingworth Road, E15 about whether they had any issues regarding Newham Council services. 

I picked up case work about fly tips and outstanding disrepair issues (see hole in toilet ceiling bottom left of collage). I had an exchange of views with one rather grumpy resident who objected to the Labour Government "raising taxes". I pointed out that they had actually not raised taxes for working people and if they were to increase taxes for more doctors, nurses and teachers what would be wrong with that? He was not convinced. 

Most residents were pleased to see us and even if they had no issues to raise were happy to take leaflets with our contact details and to hear that we held a local surgery every Saturday Morning 10-11am (apart from Bank Holiday weekends).

We paid our respects to the Police memorial in Arthingworth Street to PC Nina Mackay who was tragically killed in the line of duty at this spot in 1997. 

Newham Labour Group Social

 

Yesterday evening there was an enjoyable social event organised by Newham Labour Group at a local Turkish restaurant, "Kohinoor Grill And Thrill" in Barking Road. 

As well as speeches by local MPs James Asser and Stephen Timms, there was guest speaker Rupa Huq MP, as well as contributions from The Mayor, Rokhsana Fiaz, GMB Dean Gilligan and myself (London UNISON Labour Link had helped sponsor).

I was lucky (yet again) with the traditional Labour Party raffle and won a bottle of single malt Scotch donated by Cllr Neil Wilson. There was a number of other prizes including GMB Bird Boxes! 

Many thanks to my colleagues Cllr Simon Rush and Cllr Shantu Ferdous for organising this event. 

Sunset over Leyton Flats

 

Walking back home this evening with Gill along Leyton Flats, Epping Forest. The weather forecast for tomorrow is pretty dire, so not sure about "shepherd's delight". 

#HeartUnions week 10-16 February 2025

 

#HeartUnions week 10-16 February 2025 - Join in and let’s grow our movement

Can you run a recruitment stall in your local area? Run your event any time during #HeartUnions week, 10 - 16 February, or later if you need to. Sign up here to receive a pack of campaign materials, resources and guidance. There is a map of events on the Megaphone website here - make sure to add your event! The number one reason that people give for not joining a union is that they've never been asked. Can you be the person to ask? In #HeartUnions week people around the country will take to the streets to spread the word about why unions are vital for everyone at work, and they will encourage others to join a union. To grow our movement, we need more union members, more reps, more organisers, and more people to know about the power of being in a union. Can you run a recruitment stall or leafleting activity in your workplace or local area? We'll post you a bundle of resources and leaflets, and support you along the way. Sign up today Any queries, get in touch with campaigns@megaphone.org.uk (I am planning a stall during this week at work)

A better life at work: how UNISON’s making it happen

 

Hat tip UNISON Eastern region Labour Link

"The Employment Rights Bill is a game-changer for working people. It’s going through Parliament thanks to @unisontheunion members and other trade unionists.

Come along to one of our webinars to find out more and how you can get involved.

👉 https://eastern.unison.org.uk/events/tag/employment-rights-bill/"

UNISON NEC Elections: Team London & Members Together Recommendations

 

I am supporting my London colleagues Eddie, Clara, Sonya and Abiola for the above London seats and making recommendations regarding the the other national seats below.  Scan the QR code below to keep up with the campaign and receive updates. 

1st Labour Canvass in Forest Gate North 2025

 

This morning I joined Labour colleagues for my first canvass of 2025. It was led by local Councillor Rachel Tripp and we were joined by local activists and later by Newham Mayor, Rokhsana Fiaz. 

I live near by and know this area fairly well. While there was real problems over parking control and Anti-social behaviour, most residents I spoke to were fairly satisfied with Council services and the social housing stock (nearly all Housing Associations) appeared to be managed effectively. Rachel was recognised by a number of residents as their long standing and active local Councillor. 

There was complaints about Council parking enforcement being too lax but other complaints about them being too strict. Perhaps then the balance is about right? One of the canvassers, despite wearing a bright red "Labour & Co-op Party" hat, was asked by a resident if he was a Jehovah witness. I had an interesting conversation with one resident, who admitted that she had never voted but she would consider doing so in the future. I gave my view that the powers to be had never wanted working class people to have the vote in the first place and if we did not use it then they will try and take it away. 

The cost of living crisis is still hitting residents and they are genuinely worried about the economy and public services. I share their worries but asked them to judge the Labour Government on what it does in the next 4-5 years and not in its first 6 months. 

Afterwards we went to the "Wild Goose" Bakery for feedback, coffee and gossip. It had been a good session.   

Next week we will be out and about in West Ham ward. 

Investor briefing on Private Credit and ‘fire and rehire’ - The Oscar Mayer dispute and Pemberton Asset Management (Thursday 16 Jan)

 

Tomorrow (Thursday 16 Jan) I will be moderating an online investor briefing on Private Credit and ‘fire and rehire’ - The Oscar Mayer dispute and Pemberton Asset Management. 

"Oscar Mayer is a food production business that makes ready meals sold in supermarkets across Britain. It is majority owned and controlled by Pemberton Asset Management, a private credit manager which took over the company in 2023.

550 Unite members working in Oscar Mayer’s Wrexham factory are taking strike action against a fire and rehire scheme imposed by management. Oscar Mayer management have already sacked 30 Unite members to force through savage cuts to terms and conditions.
  
Management is forcing through new contracts that reduce workers’ time off the production line to just two short breaks a day. Under the new contacts, workers won’t be paid for this time.  Overtime for working on bank holidays is also being taken away. All told, the changes will cost workers up to £3,000 a year each. 

Given its ownership, it is clear Pemberton has the capacity to intervene. Unite is calling on pension funds and other asset owners to make no further allocations to Pemberton until the dispute is resolved. Already Clwyd Pension Fund has confirmed it will be making no further allocations.

Unite has additionally submitted a complaint against Pemberton under the PRI’s Serious Violations Policy asking that it be removed as a signatory.

Please join us to hear more about the dispute this Thursday at 4pm UK. The meeting will be moderated by John Gray, trade union representative on London CIV, and include a contribution from Councillor Anthony Wedlake from Wrexham who is a member of the Clwyd pension committee".

Topic: Oscar Mayer dispute and Pemberton Asset Management
Time: Jan 16, 2025 04:00 PM London

Join Zoom Meeting 

https://unitetheunion-org.zoom.us/j/92892080496  

 

Meeting ID: 928 9208 0496 

Password: 798521 

One tap mobile 

+442034815240,,92892080496#,,,,0#,,798521# United Kingdom 

+442039017895,,92892080496#,,,,0#,,798521# United Kingdom 

 

Standing for re-election UNISON National Executive Council (NEC) 25-27 - Members Together

 

Yesterday, Denise and I opened our re-election campaign to stand for the UNISON Community Service Group NEC seats to represent 80,000 members, who work in Charities and Housing Associations. We emailed 548 branches to provide information about ourselves and to ask for their nomination. 

There are number of other NEC candidates, who we are supporting, who I will post upon later. Please see below our covering email to branches. 

"Dear Branch Secretary,

 

We are writing to ask you to nominate us for the Community seats on the National Executive Council (NEC), by Friday 14 February. We also ask you to support all Members Together Candidates.

 

Both of us are experienced NEC members seeking re-election, we pledge to:

 

• Prioritise Branches
• Support our Community Activists
• Deliver for Community Members
• Restore Unity
• Fight Discrimination and put Equalities at the heart of UNISON

Please find attached our nomination request letter with more details on our pledges, who we are and what we stand for, we ask that this is please circulated to your branch committee and reps.

 

Members Together

We are part of Members Together - a group of like-minded members who put members first. We believe in our union and know the power it has to improve our lives at work. We also recognise the challenges that branches face and are determined to address them. We do not think this has happened over recent years because of political infighting.

  

What you need to do

 

The steps you need to take are:

 

1. Set a date between 13 January and 14 February for the branch nominating committee or branch executive to meet
2. Decide who to nominate, please read our full letter
3. If you have community members but are not a community branch, please ask them to support our nomination and ratify their decision at your committee meeting. We appreciate this is time consuming, but we know how important it is that they also have a voice in our union.

3. Fill in the online nomination submission in the email from CES you should have received as soon as possible and before 14 February 2025. 

 Please consider nominating us and other candidates in the Members Together group.

 

You can find more information about nominating on page 5 of the 2025 NEC Election - Procedures document - NEC election procedures

 

If you’d like to discuss anything mentioned in this letter, feel free to get in touch by emailing or calling us. We are more than happy to discuss Members Together, our platform and what we’re doing for your branch.

 

Yours faithfully,

 

Denise Thomas

John Gray

New UNIONREPS site

 

The TUC last year relaunched its UNISONREPS website which you can apply for a log in here TUC - UNIONREPS

It is an excellent resource where you can ask (and answer) questions of reps from other trade unions on various issues :-

• Equality
• Health & Safety
• Law & Representation
• Learning & Skills
• Organising & Recruiting
• Pensions

While it is not designed to replace your traditional sources of advice and support from your branch or region it is a really useful and informative resource for all trade union reps. 

A-Z of UNISON learning resources

 

Hat tip Fife Health Branch. 

Did you know there is a whole page of UNISON learning resources and resources created by other organisations, which may be helpful to you? See full detail below: learning.unison.org.uk/a-z-of-uniso...

National Executive Council elections 2025-2027

(It is that time again...and yes I will be standing for re-election. More to follow).

"On this page you can find out everything you need to know about the vote to elect UNISON’s new National Executive Council (NEC). NEC Election 2025 | UNISON National

What is the NEC?

The NEC is made up of representatives elected from all of UNISON’s regions and service groups, as well as seats for four Black members, two young members and two disabled members. It has the power to act on behalf of the union and is responsible for implementing UNISON policy and delivering on the union’s objectives and priorities.

UNISON’s rule book says we have to elect our NEC every two years.

When is the ballot?

The ballot opens on 21 April 2025 and runs until 21 May 2025. The results will be announced on 11 June 2025.

Who are the candidates in this election?

Candidate applications are welcomed from members who have held full membership of UNISON since 11 September 2024. If you wish to run as a candidate, please fill out the candidate form found online here from 13 January 2025

Candidate applications must be received by 5pm 14 February 2025".

"FTSE 100 bosses make more money in less than three days than the average worker does in a year"

The High Pay Centre estimates that FTSE 100 CEOs’ earnings for 2025 will surpass the median UK worker’s full time annual salary today, just before midday on Monday 6 January

FTSE 100 bosses’ will have to work two hours more to overtake UK median worker than they did in 2024

Calculations based on most recent available figures for CEOs and other top professions, plus Government data on UK workers’ pay.

The median FTSE 100 CEO’s earnings for 2025 will surpass the median annual salary for a full-time worker in the UK by around midday on Monday 6 January, according to HPC calculations.

The calculations are based on HPC’s  analysis of the most recent CEO pay disclosures published in companies’ annual reports, combined with government statistics showing pay levels across the UK economy.

As with last year, the executive pay data suggests that CEOs will have to work less than three days of 2025 to surpass the annual pay of the median worker.

Median FTSE 100 CEO pay (excluding pension) currently stands at £4.22 million, 113 times the median full time worker’s pay of £37,430. This represents a 2.5% increase on median CEO pay levels in the past year, while the median worker’s pay has increased by 7%.

In October, the new Government introduced an Employment Rights Bill, including measures promising to give trade unions reasonable access to workplaces to speak to workers and requiring employers to inform new employees of their right to join a union. The decline in trade union membership is widely recognised to have been a key factor in rising CEO to worker pay gaps and widening inequality that has occurred in the UK and across other Western countries since the 1980s.

HPC’s Charter for Fair Pay, published last Autumn called for effective implementation of the Employment Rights Bill as well as further measures giving workers more of a voice in the running of companies.

FTSE 100 bosses make more money in less than three days than the average worker does in a year • High Pay Centre