East London & the Olympics 10 years on - where next? Unmesh Desai AM

 Yesterday evening there was a reception at London City Hall (Newham!) hosted by East London & City Assembly Member, Unmesh Desai. The theme was about the Olympics 2012 legacy. There was a number of interesting speakers and it was good to meet up face to face again with colleagues from across London. 

There was of course the obligatory photo of us all from Newham Labour :-) 

Mayor of London's Summer Reception 2022

Some pictures from the Summer Reception that took place last Thursday at the new London City Hall (in Newham!). I was there as Chair of UNISON London Labour Link with Yvonne Green as Vice Chair (and we had a great turnout of regional and national officers). 

London Mayor, Sadiq Khan, met with us (UNISON) and we discussed various issues but also for a photo with the local Newham "Crew". 

Other speakers at the reception included Leader of Camden Council, Cllr Georgia Gould and Dawn Butler MP. I was able to offer my congratulations in person to local MP, Stephen Timms, on his knighthood. 

A good evening and was able to catch up in person and chat with lots of people. 

UNISON Housing Associations AGM 2020: Keynote speaker Tom Copley - London Deputy Mayor for Housing

 "The Branch Annual General Meeting will take place on Thursday, 19th of March (note change of date) from 6:00pm-8:00pm at London City Hall.

This meeting is open to all members of UNISON Housing Associations Branch. At the meeting Branch Officers will present their reports and field your questions. Elections to the Executive Committee and National Delegate Conference will be held in the hall. We will also debate and decide upon any motions on branch policy submitted by our membership.

Anybody who meets the criteria stated on the nominations and motions form is eligible to submit a motion or to be nominated to any of the Branch positions.

We particularly encourage nominations from Women, BAME, Low Paid, Young, LGBT+ and Disabled members as these groups are under-represented in the current Branch structure.

If you are able to attend, please confirm by sending the information below to AGM.Admin@unisonhablondon.org

1. Full Name
2. Membership Number (if known)
3. Name of Employer

If you wish to bring a guest (who will be able to observe but not vote) please include this in your email.

We have a fantastic venue and keynote speaker on the day. Tom Copley is the newly appointed Deputy Mayor for Housing at City Hall and a long time friend of the branch. 

There is a free social with food and drinks taking place near to City Hall after the AGM. 

Please monitor our website as further information will be published soon.

If you have any queries or questions please get in touch by e-mail to AGM.Admin@unisonhablondon.org". 

UNISON Housing Association AGM: Branch Secretary report 2014

On Tuesday next week it is my branch AGM at GLA City Hall. At the meeting the Annual Report for 2014 will be tabled (see here).

I have been re-elected unopposed again as Branch secretary for 2015/2016 and below is my contribution to the 2014 annual report.

"Our branch staff, stewards and activists have continued to protect members in the most difficult of circumstances against some of the very worse cuts in jobs and attacks on pay, pensions, terms and conditions. 

Care and support staff wages in particular are under threat as unscrupulous employers deliberately underbid to win contracts then try and do their upmost to destroy TUPE protections. 

All staff in our sector have suffered pay cuts while many housing management organisations are cash rich after years of inflation plus rent rises yet still refuse to pay their staff properly. This cannot be allowed to continue. Members must be prepared to stand up to employers when they are being treated unfairly and the union must be there to support them. 

While the representation of members in disciplines, sickness and grievances is a key part of what we do as a union, collective bargaining over pay, conditions and redundancies’ is the most important thing that unions can do for you. While not everyone will need personal representation, everyone will be impacted by threats to their jobs if, for example, there is a restructure or merger. In order to defend your rights we need to remember what our grandparents knew. The more of us in the union the better the deal the union will get. 

We need trade union recognition agreements in every single employer in our sector. You cannot rely on employment law to protect you at work. You can only rely on your union and your fellow workers. 

We need more employees to become UNISON members and activists. To help protect yourself ask a work colleague to become a UNISON member or become a workplace activist or local steward yourself. 

 In 2015 we must also continue to work with our regional and the national union to campaign against austerity and must play our part in arguing for an alternative economic policy regardless of who wins the General Election in May. 

The branch is in better shape than it has been for many years. Membership is growing and the branch is building a network of activists to help it protect and support members further and grow the union. Become part of this network and contact your local steward or the branch about becoming an UNISON activist. 

John Gray
Secretary
UNISON Greater London Housing Association Branch"

UNISON Housing Association AGM - Stella Creasy MP Keynote Speaker

Don't forget the branch AGM is next Tuesaday 17th February, 6-8.30pm at City Hall, The Queen's Walk, London SE1 2AA (the London Assembly building). 

London Assembly member (and former branch member) Murad Qureshi is hosting the meeting whose theme will be "Rights at Work". 

All branch members welcome. Our keynote speaker will be Labour Shadow Minister and London MP Stella Creasy. 

There will be sandwiches and soft drinks as well as other speakers from UNISON. 

Check out agenda, motions and other information in the branch Annual Report - have a look for information about what your branch officers have been up to over the last year. You can also find the branch's annual reports on our website at: http://unisonhablondon.org/resources/annual-reports/

UNISON Housing Association AGM 2015: London Assembly City Hall

The branch AGM is taking place at the London Assembly City Hall on Tuesday 17 February 2015 - 6pm to 8.30pm.
The theme of the meeting will be about "rights at work".

City Hall is a wonderful and iconic modern London building, over looking the Thames and Tower Bridge.

It is well worth a visit.

Former branch activist and now a Labour London Assembly member, Murad Qureshi, is hoisting the event.

We have over 3000 members across London in the branch and would really welcome as many as possible to attend.

Afterwards, we will be having our annual branch social at a venue nearby. 

Further details (and guest speaker) to follow. 

All members will be sent an AGM report and invite but please check out for updates on our branch website here.

"The devil is in the detail...and I am the detail"

So said the new Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Eric Jack Pickles, at yesterday evenings GLA/London Council’s bash at the 9th floor of City Hall for all newly elected London Councillors.

I suppose many of us present would in fact agree with Mr Pickles self assessment of himself! He actually gave quite an emollient and even a suspiciously constructive speech about the importance of having elected Councillors (who can be “chucked out” by their electors if they are no good) and came close to promising that the Greater London Authority and Local authorities will receive much greater powers and responsibilities from central government and deleted quango’s. Watch this space I suppose.

London Mayor, Boris Johnson was unable to attend since he had to go to a School play. Fair enough although this did not stop cynical souls amongst us reflect that it was more likely because when he planned this event he did not expect so many Labour Councillors to be elected in London.

We did not escape - since he had specially recorded a vintage bumbling Boris performance on a DVD for us to watch (and endure).

Hackney elected Labour Mayor and new leader of “London Councils” (which represents all 33 local authorities in London) Jules Pipe, gave an upbeat and positive speech about us all working together for the benefit of London and the great services that London Councils provide. He didn’t notice Eric licking his lips at the knowledge of more things that he can demand to be privatised.

I had to leave early in order to go and make a report to my ward meeting but as I left I did reflect upon Boris as London mayor and the first time I had been to the 9th floor City Hall - and I hope to return sometime after May 2012 to a reception run by a Labour Mayor of London.

(Eric is bottom left; Jules is next to him and top left is UNISON and GLA Labour Assembly member Joanne McCartney with Newham Councillors)

Workers Memorial Day – Rally outside London City Hall

This afternoon I was on a Unison Regional Council Officer “Away day” in central London. During lunchtime a few of us went to the Greater London Assembly, City Hall to take part in the Workers Memorial Day (WMD - see picture) rally.

As previously posted WMD is an international Day of Remembrance of workers who have been killed at work or have died of diseases linked to work. It is also a campaigning day to stop workers being hurt in the first place. The rally had a number of speakers from trade unions, safety organisations and families who have lost loved ones.

According to the ILO over two million workers are killed due to work every year world wide.

This rally was quite subdued and poignant. Especially when speakers spoke about family members who had been “killed” while at or due to work and their long, long legal battles for justice.

Last year West Ham Labour Party held a “minute’s silence” outside Forest Gate Youth Centre, with Lynn Brown MP, local councillors and Party activists.

There were actually two events outside City Hall - “back to back”. The WMD rally and the anti-Nazi/BNP “Ring of Democracy” around City Hall (see next post).