‘UNISON means? Confidence, learning and not getting a pay cut’

Hat tip to UNISON efocus on this article about top union activist (Newham resident & my branch member) Mitsy Harman-Russell.

"Careworker Mitsy tells her story
 

“I first got involved with UNISON six years ago when they cut our pay from £9 per hour to £6.

“I work with elderly people who have substance abuse problems, dementia, and mental health problems.

“A lot of the residents we’re getting now are highly dependent. Before, we were encouraging people to go out to school, maybe getting them in to classes so that they felt independent, but now the atmosphere is lower.

“Sometimes my shifts are spent with service users: doing personal care, providing lunch, doing their shopping, or sometimes I’m in the office booking appointments with GPs or taking people to hospital, and sometimes I do a sleeping in shift.

“Zero-hour contracts are a problem. It means the service users don’t know the staff that are coming in, because the staff change a lot. Service users are affected. There are people there to support them, it’s just that they don’t know them. They have to deal with strangers more often.

“Some of them have complained, because they have a specific way they want things done and it’s not being done, or they’re being asked about something that the regular staff know exactly how to do.

“The manager has created a list with details of exactly what each resident wants, but the problem is not everybody reads it; they don’t always have time. This creates more work for the permanent staff. There is always more work to do.

“I really like working with people with dementia, but you don’t know what you’re going to experience with each person.

“I care about health and safety at work. A lot of the time working with people with dementia, even though you like working with the individuals, they don’t realise what’s going on and they can slap or hit you. It’s an everyday occurrence, I’m trying to encourage my colleagues that when that happens we need to record it.

“Personally, being involved with UNISON has built my confidence. It’s made me more vocal when I think something needs changing. I like putting the members’ voices forward and getting things changed.

“I enjoy my job, and I also love learning. Since I’ve been working I’ve got a couple of degrees and a masters – a degree in health service management, and one in health promotion. I’ve also got a masters in health promotion, and I’m currently doing a diploma in nursing, but I won’t leave my job.

“Six years ago my branch fought the pay cut and won, and recently we fought for the Living Wage and won.

“I love my UNISON branch, it’s part of the reason I haven’t left my job even as it’s got harder.”

Mitsy Harmon-Russell

(Good luck to Mitsy and all UNISON delegates to Black members conference which is taking place in Llandudno this weekend) 

#uNDC Motion 36 Care of Older People

President, Conference, Mitsy Harmon, Greater London Housing Association branch speaking in favour of motion 36 as amended.

Conference, I have worked as a Care worker in a 24/7 residential project in East London for many years, caring for mainly older people who have severe physical and mental disabilities. As well as working shifts, I am also studying to be a registered nurse.

Conference, I welcome this motion. Not only as a care worker, who sees first hand my clients suffering, when they are stuck in the middle of a seemingly, never ending battle, between local authorities and health trusts, about what is social care, what is medical care and who pays for what.

I also welcome it as a carer on a low wage for its call to defend and rebuild collective bargaining , to level up our terms and conditions and to root out abusive employment practices, such as zero hour contracts.

Conference, we must never forget that collective bargaining is for trade unionists, the real reason for our existence. It is only way that care workers will be able to achieve a fair wage and equitable terms and conditions.

Finally conference, we must rescue our sector from the sharks and the thieves who seek to profit, not only from our labour but from the care given to our clients. Those who know the price of everything and the value of nothing.

It is fundamentally wrong to take profits for the care of the elderly and the vulnerable. We must fight and campaign for the reintroduction of accountable care services, based on the principle of a public service ethos and stop the ripping off of those who receive care and those who care.

Conference, please support the motion.

UNISON Greater London Community Executive AGM 2015 with Sadiq Khan MP

Collage is from the Regional AGM on Saturday for delegates from branches with Community Service Group members (Housing Associations and the Voluntary sector).

The meeting started on a somber note, as we stood up to pay our respects to Colin Joseph, who recently passed away suddenly. Colin was a long standing case worker for the Voluntary Organisation branch and will be sadly missed.

First speaker was our newly elected lay regional conveyor, Yvonne Green, who described herself as "the new Gloria".  She thanked all members who got involved in the election. She had done her bit in Croydon North and while devastated at the prospect of 5 years of Tory rule, encouraged all members to stand up to them, join Labour link and get involved in your branches and the Party.

UNISON Regional Secretary (and vice chair of Labour Board), Linda Perks, spoke about the last 5 years and how we had actually defended our members better than expected. We have had some terrible struggles in Community, especially in care and support but are now having some decent pay settlements in housing management organisations.

She thought a major reason for the defeat was that a third of the electorate did not vote. She wants us to now go on the offensive with the Tories and their attacks on working people. Expose their obscene employment practices such as unfair zero hour contracts. Linda also called for UNISON members to help build our Labour Link organisation and get involved in local Labour Parties and explain our case. How else will the Party understand us?

Our keynote speaker was UNISON member, Sadiq Khan MP (and Labour London Mayoral candidate), who did his best to cheer us up after the General Election result.

Sadiq thanked us for all the work that the unions did and said that he thought that one reason why Labour did better in London than other parts of the country was its good links with the trade unions.

He then reminded us of what Tony Benn said about politics and defeat "There is no final battle, there is no final defeat. There is the same battle over and over again. So toughen up - bloody toughen up". Sadiq believes that we can and will win in 2020 and we need to start by winning the mayoral campaign in Tower Hamlets.

Sadiq had to leave for another meeting. In the Q&A I pointed out that we must never accept the argument that Labour lost the election because it was "too left". With hindsight we should have realised that we were never likely to win because it is a historical fact that voters in this country will give any government a second chance. Especially if the economy is seen to be improving (aka "its the economy stupid").

In the collage is a great photo of retiring Chair, Charlie Hore, thanking our UNISON Regional Organiser, Colin Inniss, who obviously thinks things are not tough enough in our sector since he soon going off on an unpaid 6 month career break to go hang gliding and mountain climbing! Colin will be a difficult act to (temporarily) follow but the union is interviewing soon for his replacement.

Next on agenda was Dave Johnson, national secretary, on "meeting the organising challenge in the Community Sector". The future of the union depends on us keeping our current density and organisation in sectors that will be outsourced under the Tories. To me it is clear that we have to organise or die.

Final speakers were bectu union lay activists, Christopher Hutchings and Kerri Sandell, who told us about their successful campaign to win a living wage for all workers in the Curzon cinema chain. This is a pretty inspiring campaign which all of us can learn from. However, it was not all about publicity stunts and embarrassing the employer (but that was important) but also about a lot of hard work, organisation and graft by local activists supported by their national officers (and most importantly making sure that there was also some fun and laughs).

Despite the depressing backdrop, this was a really positive and forward thinking AGM. Congratulations also to new Chair, Mitsy Harmon and vice Chair, Tony Power.

Afterwards I went off to fight the good fight for Tower Hamlets Labour Mayoral candidate, John Biggs.