Grinning Tory MPs and Food Banks

Check out this article in "NewStateman" on "When Tory MPs  visit foodbanks - Armed with tins of beans and bags of sugar, elected representatives of this government have been posing alongside the damage they’ve done."

I do not for minute pretend that I am in any way neutral about the modern day Conservative Party but I am genuinely flabbergasted at their F...ing cheek.

In the article "Neil Coyle, the Labour MP for Bermondsey & Old Southwark who chairs the All Party Parliamentary Group on Foodbanks....

“Far and away, the biggest issue affecting foodbank use is Universal Credit,” he says.
On average, foodbanks in areas where Universal Credit has been in place for a year see a 52 per cent increase in demand, and foodbank use is up 13 per cent in areas where the new system has been rolled out for three months or less, according to the biggest foodbank charity the Trussell Trust.

“Turning up and grinning is simply, well, it’s insulting,” Coyle tells me. “Turning up and being practically supportive is what foodbanks need – and trying to work out how to reduce pressure on foodbanks would be the sensible thing to do.”

The biggest single reason for a food bank referral, accounting for 31 per cent in the six months leading up to November this year, was benefits not covering living costs. More than a fifth of referrals to its foodbank network resulted from delayed benefit payments – a third of which were waiting specifically for their first Universal Credit payment.

“If you’re going to engage with foodbanks in the run-up to Christmas, learn who it is they’re supporting and why,” says Coyle, who also refers to children in families that cannot claim benefits (immigration policy means “no recourse to public funds” for about 50,000 people with dependents) using foodbanks on an “almost routine” basis. “This is a direct result of government policy.”

Hat tip Anoosh Chakelian

West Hammers "Solidarity Saturday" in Chingford & Woodford Green

I have always agreed with the great Lake district walking author, Alfred Wainwright, that "there is no such thing as bad weather only unsuitable clothing". Despite this I forgot to take a hat and gloves for this mornings Labour campaigning in the now marginal seat of Chingford & Woodford Green (currently held with a majority of 2,438 by Tory MP, Iain Duncan Smith). 

I therefore suffered somewhat in the cold and rain while in a West Ham Labour Party canvass team lead by our MP, Lyn Brown.

We were in Valley ward where there are currently 2 Tory Councillors and one Labour. My fellow UNISON Greater London Regional Council Officer, Elizabeth Baptiste, is standing here as a Labour Candidate.

Despite this being a traditional Tory ward, I thought we had good response and I had a number of decent political conversations with working class Tory voters who were now undecided on who to vote for in the next election. The state of the NHS, no pay rises and high housing costs are making some lifelong Tory supporters think again. As one disillusioned Tory supporter said to me "this government is treating people like me like S**t. So why should I support them anymore?". 

Agree. Nuff said.

After the canvass we recovered with welcome hot coffee and soup at the Aromas cafe in Chingford Mount.

As part of my campaign to persuade Labour Party members of the health benefits from political campaigning, I was also pleased to note that my google fit app recorded 8,169 steps. Other members of our team had a lower figure but I had to go back and forth to drag Lyn back to the team  after chatting too long to residents. 

#UNDC13 Pay & Privatisation Fringe - Wednesday Lunchtime

For some reason I forgot to take a picture of this lunch time fringe? First off was UNISON Assistant General Secretary, Karen Jennings, who opened this important fringe on Pay & Privatisation by making the arguments against the lies and propaganda of the Daily Mail & Taxpayers (aka Evaders) Alliance and dispel the myth that in the public sector "pay" is more than in the private sector. You have to measure like with like.

A recent report by Swansea University showed that in the public sector workers are actually paid 2% less than in the private sector. You need to fully job evaluate jobs in both sectors to properly compare. If you do this you see massive pay advantages in the private sector and especially in manufacturing.

Remember it is a fiction that the public sector are paid more.

UNISON National officer Gavin Edwards from the "Bargaining and Support unit" detailed what they can do to help branches and stewards. You can get background information and local reports on private sector bidders for public contracts and find out what has gone wrong with these contractors elsewhere. Email the unit and you will get a report back also they have access to the IDS pay data base so you can compare and contrast pay rates.

UNISON Pay, Bargaining and Equalities Seminar 2012

On Thursday I attended this national UNISON seminar at our headquarters in Euston. Jane Carolan, NEC, Chair of Service Group Liaison welcomed us saying that the traditional response by the union to serious disputes with our employers had been industrial conflict, that option will always remain but we also need to consider other options. We had a presentation on the "Economic Overview" by Nicola Smith , Head of Economic and Social Affairs at the TUC.

After a Q&A there were workshops on "Outsourcing and procurement"; "Attacks on terms and conditions"; "Negotiating with the private and voluntary sector" and "Bargaining". Then there was a presentation on UNISON Pay Strategy by our General Secretary Dave Prentis and Assistant General Secretary Karen Jennings. This was followed by a reception in the Atrium with speaker Anna Bird (Fawcett Society - see picture). On Friday morning Alistair Hatchett, Head of Pay and HR services from the IDS gave an entertaining account of how the Tories and the Tax Evaders Alliance deliberately distort and mislead on public sector pay. After the last workshop, Mike Kirby, Regional Secretary Scotland spoke on "making the best of the Coalition Government, a perspective from devolved nations".

I am pleased that UNISON is taking the education and development of its activists seriously. Not just the nuts and bolts of bargaining and negotiating but the wider economic, social and economic framework.