Newham Council Cabinet Meeting 2 July 2018

A busy agenda but great news that we agreed at the cabinet meeting that the Champions Statute should remain in East Ham and also a programme to oppose further school academies in Newham.

Check out Facebook Live is you want to watch the actual meeting (a great cure for insomnia I understand).

After the meeting finished I had to travel to Birmingham for the Local Government Conference. 

Know Your Newham Politicians

"A short documentary introducing the new Mayor of Newham, Rokhsana Fiaz OBE and her councillors as they win their seats and highlighting their plans for Newham".

Hat tip CV TV

I declare an interest and love that there is a video record of this historic day (and my joy at being elected - 10 mins 45 seconds into the video) and also of my quietly spoken Labour Councillor ward colleague, John Whitworth, being raised on the shoulders of excited supporters.

"Cllr Rokhsana Fiaz promises council transparency and affordable housing if elected as Newham mayor"

Newham Councillor Rokhsana Fiaz was selected last night by a Labour Party interview panel comprising West and East Ham CLP Executive Officers and London Labour Board members as the only candidate to take on long time incumbent, Robin Wales, to be our next  Newham Directly elected Mayor.

This is great news. Rokhsana will make a fantastic change and unity candidate.

After work I was out delivering #NewhamRokhs leaflets and door knocking members with supporters.

All the members I spoke to were delighted that Robin Wales was being challenged after seeking almost 3 decades in charge.  They want a new face, a collaborative approach and fresh ideas from a Labour Mayor of Newham.

Hat tip Newham Recorder

"Cllr Rokhsana Fiaz has outlined her plans for Newham if she becomes mayor after being shortlisted
as a Labour candidate this morning.

She named housing as her priority, but also pledged for greater council transparency and opposition to the Silvertown tunnel scheme.

She is one of just two candidates in contention to be Labour’s mayoral hopeful, with the other being Sir Robin Wales.

“In Newham, we have some 20 to 24,000 families on our house waiting lists and huge numbers of homeless people, which will invariably increase once the homeless treaty comes into force,” Cllr Fiaz said.

“We have a situation where people are struggling to survive here because of the cost of living, with an average Newham income of around £25,000.

“The important issue will be the need to start building council owned homes, meaning genuinely affordable homes at social rent levels. My target will be 1,000 built by the end of my first term.”

Cllr Fiaz also promised to double the number of youth hubs in the borough from four to eight and pledged to oppose academisation.

Improving council transparency is another focus point.

She said: “I know that there’s an issue around the way we as a council involve the residents in our decision making.

“We need to become more open and transparent, and Newham residents need to be at the heart of what we do.

“I will be looking at introducing measures improving accountability of the council and of councillors to our residents.”

She pledged to oppose the Silvertown tunnel scheme, claiming it will contribute to congestion levels, and promised to commit the council to London’s transport strategy.

As a lifelong resident of Newham, she said her candidacy was supported by a vested interest in the borough.

“I’ve been pleased with Newham’s progress but I want more,” she said.

“This is the place that I call home, and I can see its potential.

“I’ve got a very distinctive and different idea of what I want our council to be. We’re a very insular and closed council and we seem almost scared to be engaging with our residents. Ultimately we have to become much more open.”

The vote to select Labour’s mayoral candidate will open to eligible party members on Thursday, March 1. The mayoral elections will be on May 3".

A London Living Wage for all in Newham Schools

I am a school governor in Newham and I am planning to go to the borough Governors' Forum on Tuesday evening at the town hall. As a governor I have raised the following question :-

London Living Wage

How many Schools are London Living Wage employers (as defined by the GLA including agency and contractors)?

A reply was published in the agenda from a Newham Council officer explaining that all directly employed staff should be paid above the London Living Wage (currently £10.20 per hour).  However, it was admitted that some staff may be paid less and that a letter will be sent out to all Chairs and Headteachers requesting them to ensure that all directly employed staff are paid at least £10.20 per hour.

This is well and good but does not answer my question about how many schools are London Living Wage employers (which they can only get this accredication if you include agency and in-house contractors).

I know for a fact that some schools in Newham have agency staff working there who are earning the minimum wage of £7.50 per hour. Of course these staff are also on zero hour contracts, receive no sick pay or pensions and have to opt out of the 48 hour working time restrictions. These are overwhelmingly female and Newham residents.

This must be challenged and the case for a London Living Wage for all school staff (and all within Newham Council) must be made.  I will see what happens on Tuesday.

I think that this can be part of a wider argument in Newham against academisation and supporting schools who want to remain part of the Newham family of schools. Much of the opposition from school staff to academisation is driven by the well founded fear that it will lead to a race to the bottom in terms and conditions. Especially for low paid manual and administration staff.

All workers in Newham should be paid a real living wage and receive other decent terms and conditions. I wonder how many workers in Westfield Shopping Centre are on minimum wage? I will ask London Citizens. I recently heard some horror stories of young people being forced to work unpaid hours during the night at Westfields as part of a "job interview" process and then being told the next day they had not been successful. 

"Staff and parents protest against academy plans"

From Newham Recorder page 2 December 2017 see my previous post on the protest here. Apologises for the mangled english in my quote. Hopefully a typo. 

Anti Academies Protest Hallsville School

Photo college from protest outside Hallsville Primary School on Wednesday evening against the Academisation of our schools. The protest followed strike action in Avenue and Royal Docks School. 

I spoke at the protest as did other Councillors such as Cllr Rokhsana Fiaz, unions, retired teachers and parents. 

I made it clear that Academisation is privatisation and will result in the pursuit of profit not excellence. Low paid school staff will have their terms and conditions slashed while top managers get massive pay increases. Children will treated as commodities not pupils.

Nearly all schools in Newham have been transformed and are achieving excellent results. We do not need privatisation. If it is not broke don't fix it.

Newham Council must raise its game and do everything it can to support its education establishments to remain in the Newham family of schools. 

Update: Check out report in Newham Recorder