Dear
London Branch Secretary and Chair
Your
branch is entitled to nominate candidates to the London SGE Community General seat
for this years’ Service Group Executive elections. If you are not a Community
specific branch please put this request to
your Community members for consideration - John Gray
for the Greater London General Seat
I am standing on a platform to unite the leadership
of our union. Our General Secretary needs unity and support not factions fighting
internally. A united leadership will ensure UNISON concentrates on taking on
the government, making sure our members don't pay for the cost of Covid and
fighting their plans to divide workers with below inflation pay offers.
If your branch is organising hustings I
am more than
willing to attend.
I
have been an activist in UNISON for many years and held a number of different National,
Regional and Branch positions. My special interest is pensions. I work for a
large London based Housing Association and am its National Convenor as well as
a front line worker specialising in complex ASB. I am also a former Branch
Secretary, Chair of the GLR Housing Associations Branch.
Covid 19 Pandemic These past 2 years has been
the most difficult time in generations. UNISON should be so proud of our
members for continuing to provide much needed public services. Also UNISON activists and staff have
supported sometimes very frightened members and fought hard for adequate PPE
and risk assessments. But the impact of the
pandemic on our members physically and mentally can't be underestimated- proper
support needs to be in place for those who got the country through the pandemic
as we hopefully come out of this crisis
Austerity. All of us deserve decent wages and decent terms
and conditions. Instead many of us are facing cuts in pay, reduced benefits and
redundancies. If elected to the SGE I will be working and campaigning hard with
branches and regions to oppose these measures. I believe that Community members
must play our part in opposing further Covid related austerity.
Equalities: The pandemic has highlighted the health
inequalities with women and Black communities impacted the hardest. UNISON
should be leading campaigns to end the disgraceful health inequalities in this
country and holding the government and employers to their commitment to end
systemic racism.
I also support the Community
specific campaigns below:-
- Better
funding & resources for branches that support Community member who
often work for small employers and in isolated workplaces.
- No
public money for “union busters”. Any employer that does not have a union
recognition agreement should be barred from public grants or contracts
- Sector Wage
Councils. Set up to decide the pay and conditions of all staff by collective
bargaining including a real living wage minimum for all Community workers
and agency/sub-contractors.
- UNISON
Ethical Care Charter. All employers must be called upon to sign up.
- Better
governance and democracy. Many
of our employer management boards are unelected and unrepresentative. We
need worker reps on Boards and trustee bodies.
- Defend Pensions.
Protect
the Social Housing Pension fund and the Pension Trust from further cuts. A
decent defined benefit pension
scheme for all.
- Better health
& safety at work in particular protecting members by supporting
the UNISON “End Violence at Work” charter.
- Recruit
& train more activists to support members
