Across the Red Line - Can going on strike any longer be justified?

I really enjoyed this defence of the right to strike by former General Secretary of the CWU (Royal Mail union) and Labour Home Secretary, Alan Johnson. He was in a Radio 4 debate with a right wing economist who believed that workers should not be allowed to break their employment contracts by going on strike (but confusingly he believed they could in periods of rapid inflation? Such as now?). 

You can hear the podcast here https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001b40r

Alan, was as always, a great communicator and articulated non sectarian powerful arguments in favour of the right to strike. 

Today I have been in touch with comrades in the CWU about supporting the Royal Mail strikes later this week. 

You can get copies of Alan's autobiographies here 

Wedding of Anika with Naim

I was honoured to be a guest this evening at the wedding of the eldest daughter Anika of my Newham colleague, Cllr Abul Bashar Syed (also a fellow Union activist with the CWU) and Mrs Niheli Syeda (Shemoli). 

It was a lovely meal and great to meet up with so many friends and colleagues to celebrate Anika and Naim's wedding. 

On my table there was a number of interesting guests such as Billy Hayes, former General Secretary of the CWU with whom I had a conversation about the religious origins of Everton FC (he is not a supporter but put to right a theory that a Uncle had once told me).

I will be asking Syed about how we can in Newham offer solidary support for the forthcoming CWU strikes. 

Many thanks to the staff of the City Pavilion for looking after us so well. 

"Royal Mail CDC pensions ‘could outperform DB as well as DC"

 

Recently I completed a research project into Pension Provision for Housing Association staff. In the project I mentioned the pros and cons on the new CDC (Collective Defined Contribution) schemes that have very recently been allowed to operate in the UK.  I came across this video and article by CWU union who are very supportive of CDC for Royal Mail. 

"Latest actuarial modelling suggests the new Royal Mail CDC/DB pensions scheme could provide returns some 70 per cent higher than current Defined Contribution schemes and CDC schemes could even outperform Defined Benefit, says our DGSP Terry Pullinger in his video update to members today (7/10/20).

Work done by Wills Towers Watson Actuaries suggests “that the CDC scheme, on average, would produce 70 per cent more for an individual than a DC scheme and 40 per cent more, currently, than a DB scheme,” Terry explains, adding: “Now that is massive news and will certainly shake up the pension world.”

Defined benefit pensions schemes are, he reminds us, still considered “the ‘gold standard with guaranteed outcomes,” but adds that Wills Towers Watson’s performance modelling, “which has gone on ever since we created this scheme, even through the Covid period” suggests that CDC schemes “would on average actually produce a better benefit.”

Today sees the Pension Schemes Bill return to the House of Commons for its Second Reading, after which it moves into its final Stages and, providing it progresses, will then receive Royal Assent and pass into law.

Opposition to the Bill is not expected, although MPs will, no doubt, be looking carefully at the legislation and ensuring that it meets all of the usual stringent tests for new legislation.

If the progress of the Bill continues as currently scheduled – and it will become the Pension Schemes Act once it has received Her Majesty’s formal approval – Terry anticipates that the Royal Mail CDC Scheme would likely be introduced into the company “at some point next year” and “bring all our members into one ‘wage in retirement scheme.”

CWU members are warmly praised by our DGSP, who thanks them for the tremendous support” they gave to the union’s 2017 Four Pillars campaign, which was so powerful that it forced Royal Mail and the CWU into designing a new and unique on-going agreement on pensions that still offered a wage in retirement, and that led to this ground-breaking development.

Back in 2017, Royal Mail workers in the company’s DB scheme were faced with the prospect of being transferred into the DC scheme. DC schemes were once seen as the answer to reducing DB provision, but time had suggested that the outcomes for DC members would be insufficient to sustain dignity in retirement.

“So we were insistent that there must be another way,” explains Terry, “and we refused to accept that the only answer was a lump sum paid out when you retire, which wasn’t producing the best results and was insufficient to sustain people through their old age.”

Eventually, as a key aspect of the Four Pillars agreement, both the CWU and the business agreed to find a better solution, he continues: “We both got on the same page to develop the art of the possible.

“How to create such a pension scheme.”

With help and expert assistance from First Actuarial, who have aways been a great support to the CWU, and other unions, as well as Wills Towers Watson and others who support Royal Mail, the principle of a CDC scheme – a collective, shared-risk scheme – was agreed and a specific, Royal Mail CDC scheme was designed – and robustly modelled.

The scheme would replicate the old DB scheme in design, producing a wage in retirement generated via CDC and a guaranteed lump sum.

Although CDC in different forms is used in other countries, such as Canada, Denmark and the Netherlands, no scheme of its type has previously existed in the UK and so legislation was required.

“I know that it’s through the collective strength of CWU members that we’ve managed to achieve that,” insists Terry, who makes the further point that, as well as being beneficial to Royal Mail workers, the precedent set could also be “a game changer for many working people.”

For workers in other companies, “this could make a massive difference to their lives and certainly to what their retirement might look like,” he suggests, adding: “Hopefully it will encourage other employers to move away from DC and into this type of scheme, CDC, so that people can get back to having a Wage in Retirement and dignity in retirement.”

The CWU does not support any sense that CDC should replace DB schemes and believes that DB schemes are the ‘gold standard’ and will remain so until time suggests otherwise.

However, for CWU members, the modelling is excellent news that supports our view that we have found a way to give our members a genuine pensions that produces a wage in retirement.

After describing the current situation as “a big moment, a massive moment,” Terry gave a “massive thank you to all of our members who backed this union unanimously,” and that this is clear evidence that we only get what we deserve if we negotiate from a position of strength.

“It’s been a long time waiting, but we’re getting closer and closer,” he added.

TUC Pensions Conference 2021: Fair pensions for all

 The TUC pensions conference brings together representatives from trade unions and the pension sector to debate the latest policy issues.

The full programme and sign up can be found here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/tuc-pensions-conference-fair-pensions-for-all-tickets-141667161293

About this Event

This year's conference will be held online and will explore four key themes in a series of short webinars across four days:

• Investing in a just transition to a low carbon economy
• Extending workplace pensions coverage to those workers currently excluded
• Ensuring more workers can benefit from collective pension schemes
• Rethinking the balance between state and workplace pensions

Day 1: Monday 15th March, 13:00-14:40

Investing in a just transition

As investors, pension funds have a major role in the move to a low-carbon economy. So how can we make sure they use this position to ensure we have a just transition, with the workers and communities most affected at its heart?

Opening keynote

- Guy Opperman, minister for pensions and financial inclusion

Panel debate

- Paul Nowak, deputy general secretary, TUC

- Diandra Soobiah, head of responsible investment, NEST

- Tom Harrington, assistant director (investments), Greater Manchester Pension Fund

- Katarzyna Szwarc, policy fellow, LSE Grantham Research Institute

- Richard Hardy, national secretary for Scotland and Ireland, Prospect/Just Transition Commissioner Scotland

Day 2: Tuesday 16th March, 13:00-14:00

Fixing the holes in auto-enrolment

Auto enrolment has brought millions of people into workplace pensions. But millions more are still excluded, and too many of those who are auto-enrolled are not building up enough pension to maintain living standards in retirement. This session will explore who's falling through the gaps, what impact Covid-19 has had, and how we can make sure auto-enrolment delivers decent pensions for all.

- Josephine Cumbo, global pensions correspondent, Financial Times

- Chris Curry, director, Pensions Policy Institute

- Joe Anderton, pension officer, Prospect

- Cara Pacitti, economist, Resolution Foundation

Day 3 Wednesday 17th March 13:00-14:00

Making a success of collective DC

Thanks to the hard work of the Communication Workers Union, the Royal Mail is preparing to introduce the UK's first collective defined contribution pension scheme. By pooling investments and sharing risk, these arrangements can deliver more generous and stable retirement incomes than individual DC. So how can more employers be encouraged to offer CDC, and what can we learn from Canada, where unions have been involved in running this kind of scheme for decades?

- Terry Pullinger, deputy general secretary (postal) CWU

- Chris Roberts, director of social and economic policy, Canadian Labour Congress

- Shriti Jadav, director, Willis Towers Watson

Day 4: Rethinking the role of the state pension

The UK provides a significantly lower state pension than most comparable countries, and relies more heavily on occupational pensions to provide retirement incomes for its citizens. Our system is deeply ingrained and has its merits, but is it time to rethink this balance? Would a bigger role for the state pension reduce pensioner poverty and inequality?

Panel debate

- Dr Bernhard Ebbinghaus, professor of social policy, University of Oxford

- Nathalie Diesbecq, ACV-CSC (Christian Federation of Trade Unions, Belgium)

Closing keynote

- Jonathan Reynolds, shadow secretary of state for work and pensions

CWU Supporter Network #WeRiseAgain

I have just signed up to the Royal Mail trade union CWU Supporters Network. Hat tip Syed.

"The fight against exploitative employers, dodgy contracts and insecure work requires the support of every single community across the country.

Our recent vote for strike action in Royal Mail Group was secured by connecting with our membership in every corner of the UK – both online and on the ground.

Now we need your help to take our message to the public. By joining CWU Supporters you will be contacted with campaign materials and resources that will help us win this battle – and the others we are fighting

Be one of the first to join us by signing up below. Once you have joined us, don’t forget to hit share so that you can alert your social media networks to our new network".

Join Here

Margaret Greer for Enfield North 2019

"Hi, honoured to have been shortlisted for Enfield North Parliamentary Seat today. Here is a short video that I would like to share with you on some of my values and priorities.

More details about the hustings and campaign to follow" 

(Margaret has been nominated by Greater London UNISON Labour Link and CWU)

"Sir Robin Wales calls for contested mayoral ‘trigger ballot’ outcome to be cancelled"

Hat tip Dave Hill's On London blog 

"Sir Robin Wales has asked the Labour Party to cancel the outcome of the internal selection process that saw him endorsed to seek a fifth term as Mayor of Newham following a campaign by local members for an investigation into its conduct.

An affirmative nomination or “trigger ballot” held in the autumn of 2016, saw Sir Robin prevail by 20 votes to 17, and Labour’s governing National Executive Committee (NEC) has resisted calls by party members in Newham, including ten councillors, to look into what they described as “many failures of process/propriety and procedural irregularities”.

But now Sir Robin has told the Newham Recorder that although the trigger ballot outcome was confirmed by the NEC, legal action against it by some of the complainants had prompted him ask for it to be quashed because “the costs of a court case would be significant and Labour Party members’ money should not be used in this way”.

Sir Robin’s initiative came after those pursuing the legal action secured the funds they required to move to the “statement of claim” stage, setting out the grounds for their case that their party has “behaved improperly” over the trigger ballot, both locally and nationally.

A letter to the NEC sent in January signed by 47 Labour members, including 10 councillors, argued that seven of the votes cast in favour of Sir Robin going forward automatically as Labour candidate for next year’s mayoral election rather than facing potential challenges from other hopefuls had been dubious and that there had been inconsistencies in the way unions affiliated to the party locally had been enfranchised.

Each of Newham’s 20 ward branches had a single vote in an electoral college, which also included 11 affiliates, seven of which were trade unions. The branches voted by 11 to nine against Sir Robin progressing without a further contest, but the balance of affiliates’ votes gave the incumbent the majority he needed.

A review by the Fabian Society of the approach taken by its Newham branch to deciding which way to vote found that it had “breached the society’s rules” in coming to its decision to back Sir Robin’s automatic candidacy.

It has been established by On London that the headquarters of Bectu, one of the unions with a local affiliated branch at the time of the ballot, cannot confirm that an affiliation fee was paid for the relevant year. (For unrelated reasons, Bectu is no longer affiliated to Labour).

On London has also learned that the ballot paper for an affiliated branch of the TSSA union was conveyed directly to an officer of that branch by a councillor who is a member of Sir Robin’s mayoral team rather than being sent initially to a more senior figure in the organisation, as appears to have been the case with other unions. The TSSA vote was eventually cast in favour of Sir Robin.

One key point of the dispute has been whether Labour party rules entitle each affiliated union branch to vote separately in mayoral trigger ballots or whether just a single vote per union should be accepted, regardless of how many different branches are affiliated locally.

Not all the unions involved interpreted the rules in the same way, resulting in Unison casting just one vote – against Sir Robin going forward automatically – despite having six branches affiliated, whereas the GMB – which supported Sir Robin – cast four votes, the CWU cast three and Unite cast two.

It is understood that an audio recording, heard by On London, which those who have been seeking an investigation believe reveal an ally of Sir Robin disclosing questionable conduct concerning the trigger ballot process, has been sent to a senior Labour Party official.

In his comments to the Newham Recorder Sir Robin says he is “supporting a new process to be undertaken under the auspices of the national or regional Labour Party”. The complainants have criticised the involvement of at least one member of Sir Robin’s mayoral team in the running of the process.

Any decision by the party to instigate a fresh trigger ballot or to hold an open selection contest will entail settling on a “freeze date” in advance of which members and affiliates will have to had have had their documentation in order to be eligible to vote.

Since the completion of the original ballot, the GMB has affiliated 26 branches to West Ham constituency Labour Party in Newham, each of which would have a separate vote if a freeze date subsequent to their affiliation were set and multiple votes per union again accepted.

Read all of On London’s coverage of the Newham mayor trigger ballot dispute via here.

McDonalds strike; Policing cuts; Royal Mail dispute; PFI; Venezuela; Thank You Megan & Welcome Sam: SERTUC Council 21.10.17

On Saturday I went to Congress House for a meeting of the South Eastern Trade Union Council (SERTUC) as an UNISON delegate. I haven't been a delegate to this body for some years and was pleased to be there again but sad to note that this was the last meeting for Megan Dobney who is retiring as SERTUC Regional Secretary.

While relatively few people actually enthuse about giving up their Saturday mornings to attend trade union meetings, I have usually (not always) enjoyed SERTUC meetings in the past. This meeting was very good and well worth attending.

The notoriously shy and retiring Chair, Tony Lennon, kept the meeting well in order and moved business on.

Following a video made by UNISON Police Service Group, UNISON delegate, Mark Task, spoke eloquently about the cuts in Policing budget and how in particular we must defeat the recent proposal to get rid of all PCSO officers in Norfolk or else this will happen next everywhere. 

There was a marvellous presentation on the complete and utter PFI rip off, by Helen Mercer and what a future Labour Government should do about it (nationalise the debt).

An inspiring presentation by a young McDonald's worker who had helped organise their first ever strike in the UK last month against poverty pay and bullying. A very brave and inspirational young man, who gives us all not only hope for the future trade union movement but also a kick in the pants that we must organise young people and not just right write them off as being in the "too difficult" box.  Well done to the Bakers Union for taking such a lead. 

The CWU spoke about their dispute with Royal Mail and that despite the legal action taken against them to suspend strike action, they are confident that unless mediation works, then there will be massive and subtained strike action. We were all interested in how they won a 89% Yes vote with a 74% turnout. Fantastic result.

My former Tower Hamlets trade union colleague, Alex Kenny, from the NEU encouraged delegates to support the lobby at Westminster on 24 October against School Cuts. 

Dr Francisco Dominguez from Venezuela Solidarity Campaign gave an update on the terrible attacks they face and how we support the legitimate government against Trump attacks.

The new Regional Secretary, Sam Gurney, (must check with him if there is a Newham Gurney connection?) spoke and thanked Megan for all her work and that she is "Going to be a very tough act to follow!". 

West Ham TULO: Living wage update; Royal Mail, Bangladesh Accord, Equalities & Save NHS

On Tuesday we had had our 2nd meeting of West Ham Labour Party TULO. Chaired by our TULO officer, Kim Silver. Kim is also an UNISON London NEC member and Convenor in Newham Local Government branch.

Royal Mail CWU activist (and Labour Party Councillor candidate 2014) Idris Ibrahim gave us an update on the dispute in Royal Mail following privatisation. The strike has been postponed pending talks (which are still ongoing this weekend).

Idris thanked us for our offer of support if there is a dispute (Solidarity actions on strike days, stalls, petitions and leafleting). 

Kim gave an update on our campaign for Fair Pay for all in Newham. Our motion from West Ham CLP has been sent to Newham Local Campaign Committee for support. If it is passed at the LCF then it will be sent for consideration to Newham Council Labour Group.

I raised the issue of the TUC backed campaign in support of UK retailers who source clothing from Bangladesh to sign the international Accord on Fire and Building Safety. This Accord is trying to stop the slaughter of textile workers that we have seen in the Tazreen factory fire and the Rana Plaza collapse. There will be independent funded professional safety inspections, training of Union safety reps with the right to stop work if there is an imminent danger without loss of pay.

Only a few British based Companies are refusing to sign the Accord. The TUC are organising a protest on Saturday 23rd November and are calling on supporters to download and deliver a letter of protest to all Edinburgh Woollen Mills stores (EWM - Parent company of Peacocks, the high street retail chain).

We agreed to  send a West Ham TULO delegation to deliver the letter of protest to the Newham Green Street and Stratford Mall Peacocks stores on Saturday.This will coincide with local Labour Canvassing campaigns.

Next BECTU member (and Labour Party candidate 2014) Sue Masters briefed us on the Save Our NHS campaign in Newham. There is a heavy Labour Party presence on this campaign which is led by patient representatives and independent clinicians. It is a non party political organisation and all West Ham TULO activists are encouraged to support.

Winston Vaughan (local Cllr and retired CWU activist) is also the West Ham CLP Equalities officer and he raised with us how Union activists feel he could promote the issue of equalities in the CLP.

Reminder that at next West Ham General Committee  Phil Wilson MP will be the Guest speaker and that we will be discussing the trade union link with the Labour Party. All CLP members can attend the GC as visitors. There is also a motion from West Ham Ward on retaining the link. The special Labour Party Spring conference on the link will take place at Newham Excel on Saturday 1 March 2014.

Under AOB we agreed to add the important issue of the public ownership of the railways to our  objectives.

Next meeting will be 7.30pm on Tuesday 21 January 2014 at West Ham Labour HQ, 306 High Street, E15.

UPDATE: success - EWM have signed the Bangladesh Accord!!! the action on 23rd has been called off (for now)

West Ham Labour Party GC and "a lot of love" for Royal Mail Strike 4 November

At our monthly West Ham Labour Party General Committee meeting last Thursday evening, we had Ryan Ward as our guest speaker. Ryan is a steward for the union CWU and has been a postal worker for the last 25 years. He had been up since 4.30am that morning.

Ryan spoke about the privatisation of Royal Mail and the strike to defend pay and conditions on Monday 4 November.

He criticised the luke warm support & private briefings against the CWU from some senior Labour figures compared with the grass root support shown at the Party conference last month.

The Sun (which Ryan regrets is read by some postal workers) has reported that Royal mail staff will pocket £3,000 in shares then go on strike. The truth is that they will not get any shares for at least 3 years! They will also lose the shares if they strike.

Royal Mail has not had a national strike for 3 years and the average pay is around £300 per week with little chance of overtime.  His partner also works for Royal Mail for similar money. Most of his wage is taken up with rent to a private landlord and on the rest they have to bring up 3 children.

He asked Party members to go to the picket line on November 4th to show support. Following this West Ham CLP TULO officer (and UNISON NEC member), Kim Silver, thanked Ryan for explaining about the dispute and offering the support of local members and trade unions. Party activists are also planning to hold stalls in Stratford High Street to support the dispute. Ryan was pleased with Kim's statement and said it was not often you got such support nowadays for this sort of action. 

In the Q&A that followed Ryan criticised Chuka Umunna MP for ducking out of a question on TV  whether Labour would re-nationalise Royal Mail if they won office. He thought that a commitment would have helped put off investors. He answered a question about what the CWU realistically expected from strike action by pointing out that the strike was about pay and conditions and that privitisation is not inevitable. Railtrack is now publicly owned again.

I made the same point to Ryan that I made to Andy Burnham MP the night before (see link) that we need to make the case for public ownership and the public sector ethos. Private companies are good at making things such as cars or smart phones but they are rubbish at running natural monopolies such as Royal Mail or health services such as hospitals.

After Ryan spoke we later had our MP Lyn Brown give her Parliamentary report (this is private and confidential). Lyn  was congratulated at the meeting for her recent appointment as a Shadow Minister for Communities and Local Government. 

Later I noticed this tweet from West Ham ward member and 2014 Forest Gate North Labour Candidate, Seyi Akiwowo, ‏"A lot of love in this room tonight for Ryan and his colleagues at Royal Mail @ WestHamLabour GC". 

West Ham Trade Unions for Labour

Picture is from last weeks relaunch of West Ham CLP Trade unions for Labour. This meeting was organised by West Ham TULO officer (and UNISON NEC member) Kim Silver.

Kim chaired the meeting and apologised for the lack of notice but emphasised that this was a planning meeting on how we can organise as trade unionists and build links between the Party and the Unions. All Party members who live or work in West Ham can participate (you do not have to belong to a union that is affiliated to the Party). We had 2 union members from East Ham present and apologies from others. Hopefully we can meet up as a Newham TULO in the future.

We discussed a number of possible trade union campaigns that we could support and work towards :-

Opposing the Royal Mail privatisation; Living wage; Employment rights; Blacklisting;  zero hour contracts; Collins Report, unpaid internship, saving the NHS, Welfare reform and housing.

I suggested that we should consider modelling ourselves on the socialist societies such as Fabians and Co-op. To not only campaign and build links with the Party but also have guest speakers, debates and even social events.

It was agreed that our first campaign should be to support the CWU and their likely strike action over the privatisation of Royal Mail. The CWU is currently balloting members which will end on 16 October 2013. If the strike goes ahead we can run stalls, hand leaflets and take petitions in Stratford High Street and  give practical help and assistance to local picket lines etc.

We also agreed to campaign for a Fair wage (Living wage, sickness benefits and pensions) for all workers in Newham - private and public sector.  To start this we will ask West Ham CLP to take forward its existing policy for Newham Council to be an accredited Living Wage employer by contacting the Labour Group and Campaign Forum about implementation.We will also ask for information regarding Zero hour contracts in Newham Council.

The meeting ended on a really positive and constructive note. While we are not in anyway part of the formal regional or national TULO structure nor a substitute for a trade council, I think that by organising in this way, we will help reconnect the unions with Labour at a local level.

The date of next meeting Tuesday 19 November.

Save Our Royal Mail

Check out website here to help save Royal Mail from privatisation. This is one of the campaigns that Newham TULO will be supporting.  Spread the word #SaveOurRoyalMail @SaveOurRM and sign petition https://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/vince-cable-save-our-royal-mail/sponsors/new

Unions 21 Technology Seminar 2013

This post is a little late but the seminar was excellent. Held in the headquarters of the CWU, the room was packed with national union officers and lay activists.

Simon Sapper from the CWU kicked off by posing the question what do unions want to achieve online? Is it a organising or servicing tool or is it both?

Paul Hilder (Global VP Change.org & 38 Degrees co-founder and Director) John Coventry spoke passionately about the idea that "anyone can do it" by e-petitions and online campaigning. They gave examples of the individuals who have taken on loan sharks, Amazon tax avoidance and even BBC Newsnight bullying.

I asked a question to them over something which has long been a niggle of mine. "I am a great fan of new social media, but what is the end game of on line campaigning and how will it translate into greater union membership and changing politics since at the end of the day you will have to rely on traditional Party politics to bring about change"? Paul gave a good answer that on line campaigning could justify itself by attracting people to start a journey that they otherwise would not be attracted by. I'm still not 100% sure.

Gregor Poynton (Blue State Digital) gave a slick presentation (of course) on how unions can do better with online campaigns. A ladder of engagement starting off with getting members to spend 15 minutes a day online supporting causes rather than being expected to commit to hours and hours of boring committees and meetings.

Ed Mustill (Labourstart) plugged their new guide on online campaigning (which I bought off him for £3) and compared (rightly in my view) online support for trade unions fights with being on a freezing cold picket line and a passerby comes up out of the blue with hot coffee and biscuits.

Gavin Hayes (Policy Review TV) gave a convincing pitch on why we should consider not spending say £40k on venue and transport costs for 100 people to attend a national meeting and instead £3-4k on setting up an on-line TV video facility.  This could attract a much, much wider participation for potentially peanuts. Makes perfect sense to me.

TUC (Social Media Guru) John Woods (see picture with Unions 21 Chair Sue Ferns) gave a typically lively and informative punt on Unions and Blogging. I loved his analysis that all media works best when it’s from the horse’s mouth. But you can take the horse to Word Press but you can't make the horse blog! (but they can make them appear in Tesco burgers! someone behind me said).

Simon Parry (infobo - right of picture) spoke on which unions perform best online, and the power of the search engine. He had looked at on-line joining union websites and found some sites did not offer full online joining, only accepted Internet Explorer browsers and had poor security. The UNISON website however scored highly. 65% of new members in my branch now join on-line.

Solicitor Binder Bansel (Pattinson Brewer) spoke last about Data Privacy and staying within the law online (I had to declare an interest in this matter)

So Great seminar. Thanks to Dan Whittle, Unions 21 and CWU for organising it.

(you can check out on my twitter feed on the seminar https://twitter.com/grayee for 24 Jan)

Union busting & disgusting Virgin Media

The odious and disgusting Virgin Media empire has indulged in yet more bullying of its employees by ripping up agreements and derecognising the Communication Workers Union (CWU).

Virgin boss Richard Branson has personally fronted videos in the US attacking workers who want fairness at work.

Trade Union recognition is a basic human right and any decent employer should welcome unions with open arms.

Virgin Media is a monopoly utility in many parts of the Country and is obviously not to be trusted with this power. I hope (and expect) the next Labour Government to break up this serfdom.

Virgin must despise ordinary working people, so I hope the 6 million or so trade union members (and the millions more in non TUC affiliated unions) in this country will remember this when they decide what broadband media they have in their home. Or where they save, travel, bank or holiday.

Hat tip TUC Unionreps e-newsletter. 

Lab12: TULO reception (and the move to the right)

While waiting for Ed Miliband to come and speak to the packed out fringe organised by TULO (trade union liaison organisation). General Secretary of the CWU, Billy Hayes, made a request for the Labour Movement present to move to the right (and stop blocking the doorway to people trying to get in)

Harriet Harman spoke first about the need to get the Tories out and how the unions can help especially in areas such as East of England where we are still strong but the Labour Party are weak. She also made it clear that she wanted Labour MPs to be as representative and diverse as our voters.

Which was a theme taken up by Billy and GMB General Secretary, Paul Kenny. Who both made it clear that there must be more working class and trade unionists MPs. Paul said "People who know what its like to be shouted at by their bosses".

Ed talked about taking the fight to the Tories, need for self discipline, build more homes and make Banks serve the public, not the other way round.

Highlight was a rousing passionate speech by Laura Pidcock (see picture - sorry about quality) who reminded us that if MPs don't understand, talk, look or sound like working class people then they will not vote for them.   

Virgin Media Complaint Update: Big Fat Zero

I made a complaint here on 4 January about anti-trade union boss Richard Branson and the treatment that you receive when you try and cancel your Virgin Media Contract. Following which Virgin Media apparently decided to cut off my land line to punish me for daring to make a complaint.  I made a further complaint here but once again, I have had no contact at all with Virgin Media. They are of course ignoring their own complaint procedure. But no surprise there. My phone is still not working.

I've just made a third complaint and have given them 72 hours to respond or I will make a report to the regulator. Not that they are at all bothered about this since the regulator is I understand pretty toothless.

I've had a quick look around Youtube and this clip by the CWU about Virgin Media plans to close its Liverpool office is one of the very few about Branson and Virgin Media that is not so rude as to contravene the Public Order Act. Sign the CWU petition against offshoring jobs here.

Telling Cameron No - to Postal Service Privatisation

The CWU are organising a rally and demo in Witney, Oxfordshire on January 9th.  Witney is the Constituency seat of Mr Cameron!

I would suspect that the privatisation of Posties is a live political issue in such a predominantly rural and agricultural area.  I'm pretty sure the Post Office does not make any money here from running an universal service.

Interesting to see how they get on.

See source of Cameron's picture and a previous reference to Whitney here.

Watch something different this Christmas

An excellent guide to films about trade unions - by the CWU. Go down to your local video store and watch something different this Christmas!

"Fed up with the usual Christmas films? How about watching a modern classic, comedy or blockbuster film with a trade union-angle? Over the years, trade unions have featured on the big screen and the latest is Made In Dagenham. CWU Head of Communications Kevin Slocombe reviews a group of films looking at how trade unions have been portrayed over the years and how it can affect the work place, including Made In Dagenham, Billy Elliot, Hoffa, On the Waterfront, Brassed Off, Wall Street, and even a Carry On film".

Labour Party conference 2010: General Election report (the role of unions)

I am listening to the debate on the General Election in the conference hall.   Andy Kerr (Labour NEC and CWU) has just spoken about the role of the unions in the election.  He thanked the unions and in particular TULO for their work.  In the election the unions fought for a “fair future for all working people”.  He compared the role of the unions in elections on both sides of the Atlantic. 

During this election as in America, what was found to work is one union member talking to one. New media helps but it is no substitute for targeted calls to targeted seats by trade union volunteers.  The unions used targeted direct mail.  Aided by polling and which was also used to tackle members concerns especially BNP threat. The unions ran voter registration and postal vote campaigns. 

TULO used its website to support the wider campaign and to respond quickly to events.  The unions had deadicated organisers for all key seat seats.  Remember that not all members use internet.  Anti-tory posters and bill boards were most effective.  The unions were major funders in the election but it was not just money. 

Stop the Royal Mail Sell Off !