Government's new PPE provider - Trotters Independent Trading Co: New York: Paris: Peckham

What could possibly go wrong. Hat Tip Roger McKenzie

Cockneyish Thought for Today

Even though I have lived and worked in the East End of London for some 30 years, I had to stop and think about this one for a little while....

Hat tip UNISON AGS Roger McKenzie. I suspect from a London Underground Station information board. 

TUC Congress 2018: Day 2

A somewhat random selection based on my tweets from Monday.

Frances O'Grady TUC leader in her speech to Congress calls for a 4 day working week for 21st Century. Just as in 19th century the TUC successfully campaigned 8 hour day & in 20th-century for weekend off & annual leave.

Also, she told Mrs May. "If you won't give us the New Deal that working people demand, then stand down. And take your ‘do nothing’ government with you. Give us a General Election. And we’ll do every thing in our power to elect a Prime Minister who will".

UNISON leader, Dave Prentis, while moving composite 7 "Public Services Outsourcing - Lessons from Carillon calls for an end to privatisation and making demands of Labour too. A day one commitment to abolish the divisive, destructive, disastrous policy of privatisation. No reviews, no reports but an immediate end!

Lunch time I went to "Show Racism the Red Card" fringe. Chaired by UNISON Liz Snape & 1st speaker UNISON Roger McKenzie. Last speaker UNISON Liz Cameron. The meeting was packed. Sign of times with growth of racist football lads alliance?

Finished off with evening fringe at Midland hotel on pensions chaired by Henry Tapper. First a short history of pensions then some home truths about the appalling miss-selling of unsuitable investments to British Steel pension holders. Surely this fraud this must be a criminal offence?

While fascinating presentation on new pension scheme for Royal mail workers based on dutch and Canadian models.

UNISON delegates had their delegation social later.  A good time was had by all.

UNISON NDC 12: "Supporting organising on the ground"

Tuesday lunchtime I went to my first Conference "fringe".  Sue Highton  (NEC) was chair.  I was late so I missed the contribution from Graeme Horne, Branch Secretary, Birmingham LG.

However, I did listen to the branch organisers Louise Hoare and Lewis Carson who were employed via the UNISON fighting fund to recruit and organise in social care nursing homes. 

Many employers in the sector are either obstructive or even anti-trade union. They have had to resort to "cold calling" and leafleting outside workplaces. Yet they have recruited members and potential activists.  It is vital they support members to become activists or any recruitment will not prove sustainable.  A £10 "recruit a friend or colleague" prize proved successful.

Greg Thomson, Head of Strategic Organisers, UNISON introduced the new UNISON mobile phone app.  He was at pains to say that this is not a "new organiser" but there to support organisers. You can sign up members "on line". Diana Veitch, National Development Officer, UNISON explained that there will be 11 areas in the app. Three main aims is that it will enable mapping of members, be dynamic, efficient and future proof.

Roger McKenzie, AGS for Organising finished the seminar by saying what many members want from the union is a "superhero" to help them. What we need to do is to empower members to realise that they are the real "superheros". We do need to move away from a servicing model to organising model with a supportive servicing element.

Roger made it clear that there is no high tech substitute to talking to people but what we want to open is many gateways as possible. We do need to establish a new "2 way" relationship with our members. We need to look at the things we do differently.

"Housing Voice" - for Affordable Housing in Britain

On Thursday I went to the Parliamentary launch of Housing Voice the Affordable Homes Alliance
in the Jubilee Room of the House of Commons.

The meeting was hosted by it's Chair - Lord Whitty (2nd right). This cross Party campaign has been formed to raise awareness of the lack of affordable homes across the UK and the need for
urgent government action. Lord Whitty also spoke at last week's UNISON housing fringe.

David Orr, the Chief Executive of the National Housing Federation, Shadow Housing Minister Alison Seabeck MP (speaking) , Alison Graham of Child Poverty Action Group, Roger McKenzie, Assistant General Secretary, UNISON and Stephen Gilbert, the Liberal Democrat Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Housing spoke at the launch.

UNISON sponsored the launch and YouGov research which has showed that:-

• 71% of the public do not think the Coalition Government is giving much attention to affordable housing
• For those in private rented accommodation affordable housing is their biggest concern after the economy – 40% compared to 28% for health and 18% for education
• Building more homes for rent would be a very popular policy with 70% support - including a majority of supporters of the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats or Labour
• Given a list of possible policies, less than half (40%) supported the idea of increasing supply by moving people from their council or housing association homes once their incomes rise above a certain limit
• A massive 18% - almost 1 in 5 – always or often struggle to pay their rent or mortgage

"The Housing Voice campaign aims to become a forum for ideas and a vehicle for action in order to build public awareness and push for urgent Government action to deliver more affordable housing"

So all good stuff. What I found interesting was:- Lib Dem Stephen Gilbert MP recognising that we have 250k new households per year but we are only building 125k new homes per year; Alison Seabeck MP thinks that there are votes to be won in planning but too many MPs think it will lose them votes.

David Orr pointed out that countries such as Finland and Norway plan to build 7 homes per 1,000 population to adequately house their people. This would have meant the equivalent of 420k new homes in the UK. We only built 100k last year - the smallest number since 1923 - when our population was half it is now.

Former Housing officer, now an Assistant General Sectary of UNISON, Roger McKenzie, reminded everyone that we we do live in one of the richest countries on the planet but if people do not have dignity, jobs and homes then life becomes intolerable.

Alison Graham of CPAG pointed out how can children who live in awful housing succeed in education if they smell of damp. (Which as a housing officer I know what she means) Toby Lloyd of Shelter was really pleased that at this launch that there was a wide spread of players and not the usual "housing suspects".

  

Finally, in the Q&A I mentioned that there seems to be a clear connection between countries cited in the debate who have good housing policies for all and are also those countries who are more successful because they are more equal. This would seem to support the arguments put forward in "The Spirit Level" book that societies that are more equal are simply better for everyone - rich and poor.

Update: forgot to add that Alison Seabeck MP had previously agreed to be a guest speaker at a UNISON Housing Association Branch Labour Link meeting, which we now hope will take place early September.

UNISON NDC 2011: The Spirit Level Fringe

On Wednesday lunchtime there was a fringe sponsored by the UNISON "hidden workforce" project.  I have posted about "The Spirit Level: Why Equality is better for Everyone" here and here.  What was different about this meeting was that the first speaker was someone who had suffered first hand from income inequality.  Then we heard about the research from Professor Richard Wilkinson.

The meeting was chaired by UNISON AGS Roger McKenzie. Luis Ojeda spoke first, he is from Ecuador who has lived in the UK for 14 years and is employed as a cleaner at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS). He described how dreadful it was for him and his work colleagues surviving on minimum wages as contract cleaners with a exploitative employer.  UNISON, the other campus unions and SOAS students campaigned together and the School eventually introduced a Living wage policy for all.

Richard spoke as eloquently and persuasively as ever about how hard research showed that income inequality is simply bad for everyone.  Rich and poor. Even if the biggest cheer he got was when he said that having no friends in society is worse for your health than if you smoked (from smokers)!

He also thought that it was no co-incidence that countries such as Norway and Sweden do better in almost all national well being statistical outcomes, have high levels of trade union density and influence.

So join UNISON and live longer and better!

3 Companies Project Awards

Organising, organising, organising...our new trade union mantra, especially in the outsourced private sector. The initial joint UNISON/SEIU 3 Companies project is now over. The self organising stage is next.

Good to see Bob Oram speaking (standing for re-election to NEC in North West region)

(Actually its always been about organising).