Trade Union Congress 2024: Monday

(better late than never) Day 2 of TUC started for me with a session in the hotel's gym followed by a jog along a damp and windy Brighton prom. Congress started at 9.30am. First item again was a short general video celebrating "Union wins"  including UNISON pay and conditions victories for workers.

Motions to be debated this morning where themed around "Winning a better future for working people" with debates on wider schools, education, health & safety, prisons, teachers pensions, transport, merchant navy & "The future of football and the need for player engagement" (moved by the PFA - the most highly paid trade unionists in the UK). 

Next the TUC General Secretary address by Paul Nowak. He spoke passionately about his joy at the end of 14 years of Tory rule. He welcomed the increase in trade union membership by 90,000 in the last year and the repeal of anti-strike legislation by the new Labour government. He said it shows the difference, unity and solidarity makes. "Keir Starmer and this government has the interests of workers at heart in a way that the Tories never had". 

He spoke about a recent visit to Ukraine. He visited destroyed factories, blocks of flats and children hospitals. He attacked the far right such as the Putin apologist, Farage, as as not being patriots, they are frauds. He reminded Congress of his speech last year that his grandfather Joe, was a migrant who served in the Polish Air Force in the second world war. 

He welcomed that that there was positive relationships with good employers and we will use new rights to hold bad bosses to account. To put Amazon and every other anti union, anti worker employer on notice, "our movement is coming for you". 

Next debates themed "Protecting the right to strike and winning the New Deal". A number of interesting points about the need to control those employers who may pay lip service but do not believe in social dialogue and must be brought to heal. End the current "Wild West" in UK employment law.  

Congress finished slightly late for lunch to finish business. I went to the "COVID19 Enquiry - the story so far" fringe and listened to speakers from Thompsons solicitors, UNISON (Gloria Mills), TUC, NASUWT and bereaved families. 

Congress reopened at 2.15pm. Theme was "Building a Fairer Economy". More motions on the economy, fair tax, pay, North sea, Industrial strategy, union recognition, climate, Europe, UK steel, Royal mail  and public interest.  Some of  them motions have been composited (merged to save time). 

UNISON spoke against Composite 5 moved by Unite regarding the use of fossil fuels since it was felt that it went against our conference policies over climate change. Other Public sector unions also spoke against. The Unite right to reply stated that we had to retain a variable fossil fuel industry until transition takes place or we will simply run out of fuel to cook our food and heat our homes. It went to a card vote. UNISON had 1,187,000 votes (the biggest affiliate). In Favour 2,712,000 v 2 457,000 for Against. Composite was  carried. 

Motion 20 "Relations with Europe" moved by Prospect was another controversial one. The TUC General Council read out a statement on the motion (written in classical TUC speak). The RMT opposed on grounds that if we were in EU (or had "dynamic alignment" to their social legislation) the anti-privatisation laws currently being passed by the UK would be illegal. Motion was carried overwhelmingly. 

At end of conference I went to the Labour Unions fringe which was packed. Unfortunately the main speaker, Angela Rayner MP could not attend but we had a number of excellent speakers at the fringe. 

COVID-19 (again)

 

I been feeling under the weather lately and felt that I had a "lergie" (winter cold) coming on. This afternoon I was supposed to be carrying some joint visits with Police to see some tenants. So I thought that I better do a COVID test but felt pretty sure I didn't have it. I had brought some tests a while ago from Boots. I think they cost £8 for a pack of 4 tests. 

It was the "nose only" one which is much better than the throat swabs. To my astonishment it showed positive very quickly. I am double vaccinated with Oxford/AstraZeneca, then had Pfizer booster in 2021 and Moderna in 2022.  

I had COVID during Christmas 2021, which was pretty unpleasant due to a very painful sore throat but so far, the symptoms this time are mild and just like a common cold - tiredness, blocked nose, sneezing, slight cough, slight temperature etc. The vaccinations don't stop you from catching COVID but they are very effective at protecting people from being caused serious harm. Effective does not mean 100% protection.

While I am fed up at being stuck indoors until Tuesday, according to the NHS COVID app (I believe it is okay to go outside for fresh air in the open as long as you avoid people but take a mask) I am pleased that I did the test because of possible contact with vulnerable people who have an underlying health condition. 

Many thanks to my ward colleague, John Whitworth, for agreeing to cover my Councillor surgery tomorrow morning but it seems that I will miss Full Council meeting on Monday. 

Covid Booster and Flu Jabs

 

Today I had my Covid vaccination booster (my 4th jab) in my right arm and a flu jab in my left. This was following a text to my phone asking me to book an appointment. 

So far, no side effects. 

This was at my local GP practice and I did question why I was being offered a Covid booster so soon (age 59 and no underlying health conditions) but was told "we have the vaccines so lets use them". Which seems fair enough. 

While in the very short queue for the jab. I did notice the plaque on the wall of the practice, remembering my GP, Doctor Yusuf Patel, who had looked after me since 1993. 

He sadly died of Covid related ill health in 2020. 

Maybe this is one reason why the practice is being so pro active about booster vaccinations. 

Triple Jabbed but I have still caught Covid - be careful out there (But still get Jabbed)

Yesterday (Friday) I got "pinged" on my NHS Covid-19 "Track & Trace App". As did a colleague who I had lunch with last Saturday. I felt fine except I hadn't been sleeping that well since Wednesday. I had taken a Lateral Flow test on Thursday which was negative and I happily cycled to Ilford for a PCR test as recommended. When I got back I took another LFT which was also negative. So I was feeling fairly confidant that I would be in the clear. 

Anyway, I woke up this morning feeling like I have rather unpleasant "Man Flu"" and the PCR came back this afternoon as positive. I did a LFT as well, which this time was positive (which shows they work when you are infectious). 

This is a blow since I have had to cancel going over to see my Mum in North Wales for Christmas (for obviously the 2nd year running). 

While I had hoped that I would avoid getting Covid after being triple jabbed (my booster was on Nov 21) it is clear that vaccines do not offer 100% protection against infection but hopefully will prevent me from hospitalisation (or worse). 

"Track & Trace" only want my "contacts" details since Monday, so I suspect that I caught Covid at work on Monday when I represented someone in person as a trade union rep at a formal meeting. For various reasons it could not be held virtually. I had been super careful since.

So the message is - don't take anything for granted just because you are fully vaccinated but still encourage everyone to get jabbed. Being infected is one thing but if the hospitals get clogged up with cases then this could turn very serious. 

Check out the Newham Council list of vaccination sites for next week (above) and Sunday https://www.newham.gov.uk/downloads/file/3444/vaccine-schedule-12-7-21  

"Reboot furlough to save jobs in sectors hit by Plan B" says TUC

"The TUC has called for Treasury support to protect jobs, and for the sick pay system to be fixed to reduce spread of Omicron, in response to today’s announcement of ‘plan B’ restrictions.

The union body highlights that when a work from home instruction was last in place in June 2021, nearly two million jobs were protected by furlough, including nearly half of in the jobs in hospitality that were eligible for furlough. [see table below for full data].

TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said:

“Requiring people to work from home over the busy Christmas period will hit jobs – unless ministers bring back furlough. Cleaners, receptionists, conference and banqueting staff and hospitality and retail workers will be short of work if people don’t come into offices.

“Ministers must reassure workers in hard-hit sectors like hospitality, leisure and travel that their livelihoods are secure.

“Furlough was the great success in the first response to the pandemic. The rise of the Omicron variant shows why the UK needs a permanent short-time working scheme – ready to go when a new crisis hits.

“If we’re serious about stopping Omicron, ministers must fix our broken sick pay system, so every worker gets a decent amount to live off if they are sick or have to self-isolate. That’s how we make sure people can follow the rules and stop the spread.”

https://www.tuc.org.uk/news/reboot-furlough-save-jobs-sectors-hit-plan-b

rs hit by Plan B

Newham Weekly Covid-19 Statistics (get vaccinated!)

Hat tip my ward Councillor, Rachel Trip, "Finally, a reminder of why getting vaccinated is more important than ever: rates are rising, as per this week’s infographic. The sun may be out but Covid is still with us. Wear a mask, socially distance and get the jab. #wearevaccinated"

Got my appointments for Covid Vaccine Jabs!

Good news. I was able to book my Covid vaccine jabs today on NHS site in 10 minutes. 1st dose next Sunday.

https://www.itv.com/news/2021-03-06/covid-people-aged-56-and-over-can-now-book-a-coronavirus-vaccine-online

Book via link below

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/coronavirus-vaccination/coronavirus-vaccine/

Westfield is just 15 minutes cycle away from my home.

I only needed my NHS number, (you probably have a card or letter with the number somewhere) date of birth and postcode. 

We still live in very difficult times but hopefully this is to me light at the end of the tunnel. 

 

I do get it that some are very suspicious of the vaccinations and considering the conduct of our national government over the course of the pandemic and the various scandals, I am not surprised this is so. 

I failed my O level biology twice so I am in no position to lecture people but personally I trust our scientists (not Boris) to make the right call on this. 

Please go and get yourself vaccinated as soon as possible. 

DARKNESS AT SUNRISE: UK CARE HOMES SHIFTING PROFITS OFFSHORE?

Following on from this report on the high risk to investors (and their staff and residents) of exposure to care homes, we get this daming exposure of UK companies offshoring their profits owned by a Canadian public sector pension fund. 

See UNISON response

Well done to CICTAR for exposing this. 

"COVID-19 deaths in UK care homes, estimated at over 30,000, have exposed underlying and systemic problems in the care sector. Placing the profit motive at the heart of the social care system in the UK has undoubtedly contributed to increased infection rates and raised the death toll. 

Under-staffing and low pay are one side of profit maximisation. 

The other side, largely unseen, is aggressive tax avoidance in a sector heavily reliant on a public funding. 

This report outlines how three UK care home operators, with more than 60 homes, collect hundreds of millions of pounds in resident fees, while shifting profits offshore through complex corporate structures and tax haven subsidiaries. 

These three operators reflect a broader pattern across the UK care sector now dominated by private equity investors seeking to extract and offshore profits. The three UK care home companies – Sunrise, Gracewell and Signature Senior Living – are owned by Revera, the second largest care home operator in Canada. Revera, facing scrutiny for COVID-19 deaths, is 100% owned by the pension fund for Canadian federal government workers, a Canadian Crown corporation. 

Aggressive tax avoidance on UK care homes appears to violate the pension fund’s own responsible investment principles. In the UK, and globally, there is an urgent need to end the use of tax havens and contrived corporate structures specifically designed to reduce or eliminate tax liabilities where profits are generated. Aggressive tax avoidance schemes should not be tolerated anywhere, but are particularly egregious in the UK’s publicly supported but deeply troubled care sector. 

KEY POINTS: 

• The three UK care home operating companies, despite charging residents more than £225 million in fees in 2019, report little or no profit in the UK and even claimed multiple tax credits. 

• Tax haven subsidiaries – in Jersey, Guernsey and Luxembourg – own UK care homes as part of complex corporate structures apparently designed to extract and offshore profits. 

• Reports to the shareholders of the joint venture partner in the three UK care home companies, a large US listed real estate company, indicate US$84.8 million in net operating income from these care homes in 2019. In stark contrast, the three private UK care home companies reported combined losses of US$12.6 million in the most recent year. 

• The use of tax havens, complex related party transactions and other artificial arrangements, including Scottish Limited Partnerships, allow foreign investors to avoid UK income tax on profits extracted from UK care homes, which have been hard hit by COVID-19 and are heavily reliant on tax-payer funding. 

Residents and family members, as well as predominately female care workers, suffer the direct consequences of profit extraction from the UK care sector. However, when global investors avoid tax by shifting profits offshore everyone in the UK suffers. 

While private payments by residents drive profits, they are underwritten by government spending on public health. Aggressive tax avoidance is unacceptable by any corporation, but particularly egregious in the care sector. This case study of tax avoidance by care homes – controlled by a public sector pension fund – is a clear demonstration that the UK care sector needs urgent reform to ensure high quality care and greater transparency and accountability on public spending"

Martin Lewis: Working from home due to coronavirus, even for a day? Claim a year's worth of tax relief

 

I have finally got around to submitting a claim to the Inland revenue for tax relief for working from home. It took about 5 minutes (but I did have an existing Government Gateway account) 

There is a valid argument that the employer should be making a payment for extra heating and electricity but in the meanwhile claim here https://www.gov.uk/tax-relief-for-employees/working-at-home. £60 quid is £60 quid! 

How the Vaccine Process Works in Newham

 Hat tip Newham health champions. 

Standing for UNISON NEC Community Seats

 

Really pleased to announce that Denise and I are standing again to be re-elected to be UNISON National Executive Council members (UNISON's Parliament for our 1.3 million members outside our annual conference) for the two Community Service Group seats (the 80,000 UNISON members who work in Housing Associations and the Volunteer Sector). 

I work as a UNISON Convenor for a large Housing Association and Denise is a Senior UNISON activist for a National Charity. It has been an honour for both of us to serve as NEC members for the last 2 years. 

We are so proud of our Community UNISON members, who have been on the front line providing care, support and housing services during the Covid-19 epidemic. 

We shall be publishing our joint manifesto soon but are conscious that our members and branches will have other things on their minds during the next few weeks. 

UNISON COVID-19 response fund - there for you

 (A reminder during these dreadful times)

Members experiencing financial and emotional difficulties can contact our welfare charity, There for You, which provides a confidential advice and support service for members and their dependants.

COVID-19 support

Are you suffering financially as a result of coronavirus?

Apply to our COVID-19 response fund for a grant to help you during this difficult time. We have received generous grants from UNISON and the CHSA (COVID-19 Healthcare Support Appeal) which enable us to support members who are struggling.

Financial assistance

If you are a member and you are experiencing financial difficulties, whatever the circumstances, There for You can offer you support.

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Check your benefits

Make sure you’re getting everything you’re entitled to with the UNISON Benefits Calculator, and see what help is available from benefits if you’re affected by coronavirus.

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Wellbeing breaks

Wellbeing breaks can provide welcome relief from stress and respite from difficult circumstances. We can help you towards the costs of a break, depending on your financial situation.

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General advice

There for You provides a confidential service for members over the phone or in person if you are experiencing personal difficulties.

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Help with debt

Peace of mind is closer than you might think. Turn to UNISON Debtline, a debt advice service for UNISON members offering free and confidential advice to help you clear your debts and manage your money for the future.

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Support There for You

There for You relies on the help and support of volunteers like you to give vital assistance to people in need in the form of debt advice, listening and support, financial assistance, breaks and holidays, and personal advice.

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Credit unions

There for You Credit Union Service offers UNISON members access to low interest loans and a range of savings products through our UK network of partner credit unions.

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Newham Covid Dashboard 16.12.20 & Get tested to keep your loved ones safe (even if you don't have symptoms)

This is not good news Newham. Please get tested even if you don't have symptoms. My wife Gill had common cold symptoms on Sunday and wanted to get checked. We booked on line a drive thru appointment for the same day in East Ham. It took around 20 minutes and she got the results 6am Tuesday (negative). 

"Why you should get a seasonal flu vaccine this year" it's even Vegan!

 

Following this advice from Public Access Gill and I went for a free seasonal flu injection at our local Pharmacy. 

"Last month Public Health England warned that people who had been infected with both flu and COVID-19 faced serious consequences.

Their analysis of cases from January to April 2020 found people with both viruses are more than twice as likely to die as someone with coronavirus alone.

But Dr Tomar said more evidence is still needed. "The evidence comes from a study with small numbers, just 58 people, carried out in the UK at the start of the pandemic," he explains.

"Again, more evidence is needed before we really know how things pan out if you contract both viruses at once. But from what we do know, your symptoms will be more severe, and it may take you longer to get better".

It is now free for everyone (in England?) if over 50 but if younger check here. If you are not eligible I understand that Chemists will charge around £15 per jab. 

Gill did not feel the injection at all and I had only very mild discomfort. The team at Shermans in Forest Gate were very professional and Covid Safe. You need to make an appointment beforehand. 

Update: after a friend on Facebook said she could not have the jab since it was not veitarian I found out that this Flu jab called Flucelvax Tetra is actually Vegan!

Petition: Fully fund schools for Covid-19 costs and provide relief for loss of income

 

Please share and support this campaign by a local Newham head teacher. https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/555718/signatures/new 

Hat tip my Labour Councillor & trade union comrade Sasha Das Gupta. 

BHP mine workers tell investors about their reality (and the "Shift of Death")

As a Pension trustee I took part in this virtual round table. It is shocking how badly supposedly "blue chip" responsible international mining companies treat their workers (and the environment!). Setting up "dummy" companies to outsource staff in order to avoid paying them proper wages and protecting their health and safety is just unacceptable and a massive financial risk to investors. 

"18 November, 2020IndustriALL Global Union and PIRC (Pensions & Investment Research Consultants Ltd.) hosted a virtual round table, bringing together BHP worker representatives with investors in the company to raise concerns over violations and mishandling of Covid-19.

The objective was to give voice to the concerns of workers at BHP operations in South America and to allow investors to engage in direct conversation with the workers. Major investors from the UK, France, Sweden and the Netherlands, as well as a number of key responsible investment service providers, participated.

Igor Díaz, president of IndustriALL affiliate SINTRACARBON, spoke about the situation at the Cerrejón coal mine in Colombia, jointly owned by BHP, AngloAmerican and Glencore, where workers have been on strike since late August.

Cerrejón has unilaterally – and illegally – imposed a schedule change that workers call the “shift of death”. It will lead to 12-hour workdays, increased working time, the elimination of benefits, the sacking of over 1,000 workers and serious impacts on workers’ health and family life. Far from driving productivity, the move threatens the well-being of miners and their communities.

Marcelo Franco, president of the workers’ union at BHP’s Cerro Colorado mine in Chile and head of the Coordinating Committee bringing together six BHP unions, discussed conditions at the company’s three owned assets in that country. Marcelo spoke of the mishandling of Covid-19 by BHP, with workers in many cases left to fend for themselves, isolated in squalid accommodations with insufficient food and medical attention or simply sent back to their families to be cared for.

The company took advantage of the government’s discrimination against workers with pre-existing conditions, leading to mass firings of these workers and their inability to find work elsewhere.

Marcelo Franco also underlined the company’s weakness in handling gender mainstreaming, including pushing male miners out to make room for female counterparts, and the lack of necessary adjustments made for women workers, such as adapted PPE for mining and appropriate health and safety conditions to protect women in the workplace.

Conditions for women workers at Cerrejón mine are also poor, with no childcare or breastfeeding facilities.

IndustriALL mining director Glen Mpufane said:

“BHP – along with AngloAmerican and Glencore – continues to claim that it cannot control what happens at Cerrejón, as it is only a part-owner. But they cannot reap the profits without taking any of the responsibility: as companies that have endorsed the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, they know that claims of “minority ownership” are no longer acceptable excuses for avoiding accountability. And while the other two MNCs have at least agreed to a dialogue with IndustriALL, BHP will not do even that.”

The round table touched on corporate governance and human rights-related risks to which BHP is exposing itself: namely, the disjuncture between its handling of Covid-19 in the global North versus the global South, and its extensive use of contract workers.

These workers have been particularly vulnerable during the pandemic, as they often cannot access sick leave or medical insurance, nor are they likely to speak up about health and safety at worksites due to the fear of losing their jobs.

The Australian Fair Work Commission recently threw out an appeal by BHP regarding its outsourcing model, Operations Services, and agreed with the CFMEU and several other IndustriALL affiliate unions that genuine agreement with the workforce had not been demonstrated and that the agreements may not pass the “better off overall test” compared with the industry award, as it is based on lower pay for the same work by contracted workers.
While the Australian unions had recourse because of a strong regulatory framework and judiciary, unions in the global South generally do not have access to remedy in the face of human rights abuses by foreign multinational corporations.

The main “ask” of investors at the round table was that they engage BHP on the concerns raised.

As Kemal Özkan, IndustriALL assistant general secretary said:

“The company must face the risks to which it is exposing its workforce, and address poor labour, environmental and governance practices at the South American assets that it either owns or co-owns. BHP has repeatedly refused to enter into direct dialogue with IndustriALL, thus closing off a major route to resolving problems locally.

“The question arises as to why the company is so willfully avoiding sitting down with workers and their representatives.”

Photo 1: Igor Díaz, president SINTRACARBON, Colombia, on the virtual round table.

Photo 2: Marcelo Franco, president of the workers’ union at BHP’s Cerro Colorado mine in Chile and head of the Coordinating Committee bringing together six BHP unions.

Greater London UNISON Labour Link AGM 2020 - Re-elected!

 

I was really pleased this morning that both myself and Yvonne Green were re-elected unopposed as the respective Chair & Vice Chair of Greater London Labour Link committee for the next 2 years. The last two years have been very difficult for all of us in the Labour movement and it was good to have the trust and confidence of a newly elected committee for the next term. 

The meeting started on a sad note as we held a minutes silence for former long serving committee member, Ann Jefferson, who has recently passed away. A letter of condolence and offer to pay into a charitable cause has been sent to her son. 

UNISON Labour Link works directly within Labour to take UNISON's policies into the heart of the party. In London we affiliate to the Labour Party Region and all 32 Constituency Labour Parties. We have representation on the London Labour regional board and have a network of branch Labour Link officers and CLP delegates. We work closely with other affiliated trade unions.

The committee has a budget which supports a wide range of training and mobilisation events, campaigning and importantly, UNISON members who seek elected office.

It is comprised of directly elected London UNISON members (such as myself and Yvonne) and representatives of our regional self organised groups. All of us are UNISON and Labour Party activists.

At the AGM we had a fantastic and detailed Parliamentary report followed by a Q&A with former London Labour Link activist, now MP for Erith and Thamesmead, Abena Oppong-Asare, who has been recently promoted as Shadow Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury

London Assembly member and leader of the Labour Group, Len Duvall, also gave his report and submitted a 14 page update on the great work that has been done to protect our capital city during the pandemic. 

I gave a commitment on behalf of the committee that we are united to do everything possible to re-elect Sadiq Khan as our London Labour Mayor and Labour Assembly members in the election in May 2021.

Once the other business of the meeting had finished in my closing remarks as Chair, I also spoke about how in our workplan we ought to consider in light of Covid-19, how we can prioritise the promotion of the UNISON Ethical Care charter in London in recognition of the personal sacrifice by so many of our most important but vulnerable members.

(Picture of Yvonne and I in collage was obviously after the last AGM in 2018)

Give Newham the dosh you promised us Chancellor!

Later today the Chancellor will announce the details of the Comprehensive Spending Review, which sets out the government’s departmental spending plans for the next financial year.

Let us not forget the financial impact COVID-19 has had on local government and Rishi Sunak’s broken promise to do ‘whatever it takes’ to support councils to get through this.

Covid has cost Newham £59.5 million so far. Newham needs the support it was promised. Hat tip to LGA

UPDATE after the announcement

Unions stand up to BHP and exploitative mining companies

 

Today I took part in a pension trustee in an online asset owner briefing by PIRC and Global trade unions (IndustriALL Global Union) who organise workers in Columbia, Chile and Australia who are employed (directly or indirectly) by the multinational mining giant BHP. 

There were a number of investment fund managers and advisors who also took part and asked questions. 

I was very disturbed to hear about the failure of BHP to engage with its trade unions across the different continents and also its failure to protect workers against Covid-19 infections. 

It was incredible to learn that BHP has set up so called "joint venture" dummy companies to employ staff at their sites at reduced wages and benefits, while at the same time washing their hands over their health and safety. 

I asked the local union organisers, what can pension fund trustees in the UK do to help them and was told in no uncertain terms that they want us to push for meaningful dialogue with their employer. They want senior managers, who have the authority to take decisions and make things happen to negotiate with them and not just ignore or dictate to them. 

Many UK pension funds have have huge investments in mining companies and are they are liable to potential massive risks if these investments go wrong. If companies fail to engage with their trade unions and fail to mitigate these risks, then investors must question if these companies are really suitable to put pensioners money into them. 

(picture of trade unions protesting outside the BHP AGM in London 2018. Check out protests at last months virtual BHP meeting)

Covid-19 "Lockdown" Food Bank

 

On Saturday I was invited with my colleague, Cllr John Whitworth, by a local charity based in West Ham ward to attend the opening of a nearby Covid-19 lockdown food bank. 

During this latest "lockdown" the food bank will be open every Sunday from 2-3pm at Sylvia's Corner in Stratford (please register beforehand - see poster)

We helped out activists filling bags of food and handing them to local residents. All credit to local self help and mutual aid groups, who have done such a brilliant job during this crisis.