UNISON National Delegate Conference 25: Day two

I had another relatively early start to get to the NEC conference pre meeting for 8.30am. I had a day off running but did some HIIT instead. 

The NEC pre meeting went well and I was in the conference hall for the 9.30am start (Tuesday start is 10am). I am sitting on the front row on the far left (in joke) on the NEC platform (facing) next to my UNISON Community colleague, Denise Thomas. 

Thankfully, Conference was today also chaired by the super competent, former President Maureen le Marinel. 

The Standing Orders report went through quickly and there was only a little of the time wasting we experienced yesterday. 

Unfortunately, the miserabilists continued to promote, in my view, anti-Labour, pro Tory and pro Reform propaganda at every opportunity in debates but such is life. I genuinely don't think it did them any favours. 

Our General Secretary, Christina McAnea, gave a great and well received GS speech to conference which resulted in a standing ovation. Under Christina, for example, we have seen an increase in our membership, successful strikes, £162 million in back pay for members being upgraded and also (in my world) a fantastic victory for LIVV Housing Association strikers.  They won a 8% pay rise, an improvement in terms and conditions and a wider commitment to look into banning the absolutely disgraceful anti- trade union human rights abuses that LIVV carried out. 

During lunch I attended a fringe on organising and supporting workers in social care. Two Cymru/Wales Region care workers described the dreadful problems that migrant workers experience from employers and unfair visa rules. 

Before conference restarted after lunch, I handed out leaflets for the UNISON Labour Link Rally that evening. I had a really good response and it was so nice to get so much positive feedback from delegates, 

Our keynote international conference speaker was Lee Saunders, the President of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME). Our sister union across the pond. He gave a lively, passionate and barn storming speech which got everyone also on their feet. 

Motion 12 was the last to be debated today "All we ask is to be treated with Dignity and Respect". I have lost count of number of UNISON Conferences I have attended and while I have sometime thought that some of the speeches I have heard are "inappropriate" I never thought I would hear delegates at our conference (last year) being allowed to suggest that up to 40,000 UNISON members in our Police Civilian staff are all violent racists and bigots, as well as being useless and should be sacked!  

Wow. Union members being allowed to openly call for other union members to be sacked? 

The debate will continue tomorrow morning.

This evening I went to the Labour Link Rally and listened to Christina, Maggi, and Employment Rights Minister, Justin Madders, explain exactly what is really happening with the Employment Rights Bill.  

Please ignore the Tory/Reform miserabilists untruths. 

Solidarity from London UNISON to New York AFSCME

This letter was sent to our sisters and brothers in New York who are members of the public service union, AFSCME, from Greater London UNISON, signed by our elected lay Convenor, Yvonne Green and our Regional Secretary, Maggi Ferncombe (with support of all Regional Council Officers). 

"Henry Garrido

Executive Director, District Council 37

AFSCME

125 Barclay Street

New York

NY10001

  

8^th June 2020

RE - Solidarity Message from UNISON Greater London

Dear Henry

We wanted to write to you on behalf of all UNISON members in London to pass on our solidarity to you and your members in AFSCME DC 37 during these difficult times. We too are the largest union in our city and as the public services union, have borne the brunt of dealing with Covid 19. The heroic efforts of your members in either battling Covid 19 on the frontline or ensuring the necessary infrastructure of New York continues running for its residents is remarkable. 

Like us, you will have lost too many members to this wretched virus and we ask that you please accept our condolences on behalf of their friends, union comrades and of course their families. 

Like you, we are still struggling to deal, day to day, with the virus under a government either too inept, too ignorant or simply incapable of recognising the daily struggle our members and city residents face. All while restrictions are being lifted too soon and like you we live in the very real fear of a second wave and the pressure this would put on already overburdened and historically underfunded public services.   

Please know that if there is any support we can provide, even if it is just friendship and solidarity, you only have to ask.

Similarly, we stand shoulder to shoulder with you on challenging systemic racism ingrained in our societies. We have been inspired by the level of activism that your city has shown and we too will encourage our members to get involved in the movement to eradicate racism. 

We believe that now is the time for long due change and whilst we, in our respective unions, have been fighting against racism, discrimination and racist values for some time, it now feels that, finally, society is ready to listen. The next few months will be difficult and painful however we believe there is finally hope.

We look forward to a time when we can correspond in better circumstances

Yours in friendship

                                               

Yvonne Greene                                                               Maggi Ferncombe

Regional Convenor                                                        Regional Secretary

UNISON - Greater London                                           UNISON - Greater London

The ******* union that works for you (if you are a New Yorker)

      Love this video. Saw it on Facebook again last week. Not sure if language and speech would be in accordance with UNISON rule book?

 :)

(BTW this is a spoof)

A CEO earns the UK average salary in just three days

Inequality Briefing have worked out that the average FTSE 100 Chief Executive earns the equivalent of the average UK salary in just 3 days.

"Explaining the data:
CEO pay of £4.25 million is take from the Manifest survey of CEO pay, while workers’ pay of £27,000 is taken from the Office of National Statistics Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. To calculate hourly pay, we have (generously) assumed that CEOs take just 10 days annual leave and work an average 12 hours a day, 6 days a week".

Hat tip picture from twitter of US trade union @AFSCME

The New Internationalist Capitalists

Back this morning from annual meeting of the “Committee on Workers Capital” (CWC) held in the International Labour Organisation’s headquarters (ILO) in Geneva. A superb one

day conference for international labour movement activists, who are involved on workers capital issues.

The chair of CWC is Ken Georgetti, who is President of the Canadian Labour Congress. Canada seems to be taking the lead on worker’s capital. John Maitland, from the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) chaired the actual meeting.

There were nearly 40 participants from all round the world. Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, Netherlands, Iceland (who was also an MP), UK and USA. I went to the meeting in London in 2005 and there was probably nearly twice as many people present this year as then. From UNISON there was also national officer for Capital Stewardship, Colin Meech, and from the TUC senior Policy Officer, Janet Williamson. Janet gave two presentations on the TUC response to Private Equity in the UK. Also present was David Russell from the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) and Donald McDonald who is a BT pension scheme trustee (and Chair of PRI).

Some of the pension schemes represented even dwarfed the £125 billion invested (collectively) in the British local government pension scheme (LGPS).

Check out the CWC link for the full picture on the Labour movement and investments (I’ll do a further post on this issue later). The themes for this year meeting were a “Trustees approach to the UN Principles for Responsible Investment “ (PRI - we must get all British schemes to sign up to this campaign). There was than a lot of good stuff on trade union approaches and initiatives on Private Equity (PE); assessing its risk and market distortions, making PE work for us, and PE “due diligence”. There was a very wide ranging discussion. Finishing off with debate on common problems and issues.

Potentially one of the most significant things that the CWC does is to operate a “clearing house” for international trade unions to post requests for assistance or information about international companies who are operating in their country. Recently we had a fairly successful campaign in the UK by the T&G and the Teamsters to try and persuade First Group not to practice anti-trade union activities in the US.

It was good to meet Mike Musuraca from the New York City Employees Retirement System (NYCERS). He is also an official with the American Public sector union (AFSCME). They appear to be far more proactive with their pension fund than we are in London with the LGPS. It would be good to keep in contact so we can get share some ideas.