Workers Memorial Day Monday 28 April - 1pm Clasping Hands Statute,Three Mills Green E15

 

This year's event will take place at 1pm next Monday 28 April 2025. All welcome. Remember the dead and fight for the living. 

UNISON NEC Elections: Start today 21 April 2025. Let's build a better union with Members Together.

 

From tomorrow onwards, 1.3 million UNISON members will receive ballot papers sent to their home addresses for the election of their NEC (National Executive Council) representatives for the next 2 years. 

This is a really important election for all UNISON members. The NEC is your "Parliament" and it decides upon really important bread and butter issues for the union and its members. 

Such as how the union plans to win better pay, pensions and terms and conditions for you. How it will protect your jobs and your health & safety. Ensure meaningful equality and effective representation when you have a  issue at work. Make sure you get value for money from your subs and that the Government listens and reacts to your concerns. 

I will post further on the problems we face in our union and how we need to change the current leadership, who hold on to power by tiny minority. Above is a photo of some of the Members Together campaign who are restanding with others for the NEC (your truly included). 

Below is a list of NEC candidates who support https://www.memberstogether.org.uk/. 

While there are other very good independent candidates also standing please consider voting for the list below. 

All members will have a vote for their region, service group, black and disabled candidates. Young members will also have a vote for their forum candidates. 

UNISON NEC ELECTIONS 2025
MEMBERS TOGETHER CANDIDATES

REGIONAL SEATS

Eastern General, Female, Low Pay Reserved

Glenn Carrington, Debbie Rowden, Sam Hemraj

East Midlands General, Female, Low Pay Reserved

James Minto, Debby Taylor, Leanne Weatherley

Greater London General, Female, Female Low Pay Reserved

Eddie Brand, Sonya Howard, Clara Mason, Ablola Kusoro

Northern General, Female, Low Pay Reserved

Linda Hobson, Janet Green, Helen Firman

Northern Ireland General, Female, Low Pay Reserved

Alastair-Long Margaret McKee Catherine McKenna 

Scotland General            

Willie Docherty 

SERVICE GROUP SEATS

South East General, Female, Female, Low Pay Reserved

Theo Michael, Kerry Stothart, Fatima Kamara, Sarah Barwick

South West General, Female, Low Pay Reserved

Nell Guild, Alison Evans, Wendy Walker

Cymru/Wales General, Female, Low Paid Reserved

Glerin Pappas, Tess Morris, Michelle Edwards

West Midlands General, Female, Female, Low Pay Reserved

Rob Birch, Julie Lawton, Nicola Moran, Deanne Wheeler

Yorkshire & Humberside General, female, Female, Low Pay Reserved

Rhlan Hawthorn, Kerri Tierney, Julie Marsland, Emma-Lee Baylls

Community General, Female

John Gray, Denise Thomas

Energy General              

Tracey Wainwright

Health General, General, Female, Female

James Anthony, Bryn Webster, Michelle England, Hetty Okonjl,

Higher Education General, Female

Dan Beard Amelia Rout

Local Government General, General, Female, Female

Justin Ashton, Andrew Coughlin, Maxine Young, Jenny Whittaker

Police, Probation and Cafcass General, Female

Phil Williams Karen Poole

Water, Environment & Transport General

Natalie Mladenovlc-Halgh

BLACK MEMBERS SEATS

Black Members Female, Female, Male, Low Pay Reserved 

Manjula Kumari, Tansalm Hussain Gill, Ash Silverstone, Marla Alberts

DISABLED MEMBERS SEATS

Disabled Members Female

Lady Lola Oyewusi

UNISON Members together - NEC Elections Start 21.4.25

Members Together - Putting You First

Members Together is a group of like-minded UNISON members who put members first. This has not happened over recent years because of political infighting. We believe in our union and know the power it has to improve our lives at work. We are determined to address the challenges faced by members.

We will place your job security and pay at the heart of everything the union does.

We will put members first.

About 1 — Members Together

West Ham Sunshine Street Surgery

This morning we took part in a Street Surgery knocking on doors of residents around Old Barrowfield and asking them if they had any problems or issues with the Council that they wished to discuss with their local Councillors. 

My colleague, John Whitworth and I picked up a case work on estate management, disrepair and housing waiting lists. On the whole, we were well received and although most residents did not have any complaints, they appreciated being asked and given information on our surgeries and how to contact us if they had. We had in total 37 contacts of which 2/3rd also said they supported Labour. 

Many thanks to our local Labour volunteer activists Varghese, Mushtaq and Janet for their support. We finished off with Coffee and gossip at a local café. 

CWC engage with fund manager Blackrock on Labour Rights

 

A little late in the evening UK time but pleased to attend and ask a question. 

🌎 Last week, over 20 global asset owner representatives – with a combined AUM of nearly USD 1.8 trillion – engaged collectively with BlackRock to articulate their expectations around the managers’ approach to labour rights stewardship. This was the 5th annual CWC-convened meeting with asset owner clients of BlackRock from North America, Europe, South Africa, and Australia – including representatives from CalPERS, London CIV, Cbus, and CCOO F.P. – whose actions seek to protect and enhance value for their beneficiaries.

📢 The asset owners acknowledged that despite the geopolitical environment and changes to its stewardship team, “company impacts on people” remains an engagement priority for BlackRock. However, the group voiced concerns around a narrow view of labour-related shareholder engagements as simply an exchange of information. If company engagements are not tied to specific objectives and outcomes, they risk becoming indefinite and inconsequential conversations, instead of critically assessing the success of programs that have been implemented by companies.

🎯 The group called on the world’s largest asset manager to explain how its company engagements evolve over time to deliver on its stewardship objectives and drive meaningful outcomes, particularly in relation to fundamental labour rights and the just transition.

The CWC’s Asset Manager Accountability Initiative aims to use the collective influence of asset owners to drive stewardship practices that protect workers and enhance long-term investor value.

hashtag#BlackRock hashtag#ResponsibleInvesting hashtag#WorkersRights 

Hat tip (1) Post | LinkedIn

TUC LESE Regional Council AGM 2025

 

Due to a clash I arrived a little late to our Regional TUC AGM as a UNISON delegate. This is possibly the last such AGM to take place at Congress House which is being reluctantly sold to be replaced with a more modern and practical building. A real shame but was inevitable I think. 

The AGM went well on the whole but some odd surprises. A deeply moving speech and presentation by the National Centre for Domestic Violence, following which our new (covering Jo Galloway while she is on maternity leave) UNISON Regional Secretary, Sara Gorton, thanked the speakers and all workers who support Domestic Abuse survivors. 

I spoke in support of a great motion by RMT and Unite on investing in public transport and made some gentle suggestions to improve it. 

Hat tip pictures to our UNISON London Regional Convenor, Yvonne Green and Eastern Region delegate, Debbie Sahadeo Rowden, who has published a lovely reel about her day on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/share/r/12JEzjJUB1S/. Who says TUC conferences cannot be fun and cheerful!

Greater London Authority UNISON AGM with Sadiq Khan Mayor of London

 

On Wednesday lunchtime I was invited to attend the UNISON GLA hybrid branch AGM in City Hall as a guest speaker. Before me the Mayor Sadiq Khan spoke to members about the importance of partnership working between employers and unions. He kindly name checked me for my support with some of his early housing policies. UNISON Director of Political Strategy, Maggi Ferncombe, spoke about the impact of the Employment Rights Bill while new GLA member James Small-Edwards gave a very personal speech about how important the Labour movement family is to his politics. 

I spoke to the meeting about the importance of voting in the forthcoming UNISON NEC elections which starts later this month on April 21st. I made it clear that while I am re-standing as a candidate for the NEC, it is as the representative of Housing Association and Charities UNISON members and no-one in the GLA can vote for me in this election. Instead I am just making a plea for members to vote, regardless of who they vote for, in these really important elections. 

The UNISON NEC is made up of  67 elected lay representatives and is our "Parliament" which runs the union in-between our annual conference.  It is hugely important and for many years the turnout in elections has been really poor (8% or so of our 1.3 million members). Everyone should agree that we need to improve these participation rates. 

I had to leave straight afterwards in order to go back to the TUC Conference on Pensions (which I will post about another time) but I was very impressed with the the GLA branch for the efficient and effective running of their AGM.