UNISON Greater London Labour Regional Committee AGM 2018 (& Supporting free school meals!)

Today I was re-elected unopposed as the Chair of the UNISON political fund in London that supports the Labour Party for a 2 year term.

I was really pleased that long standing Committee member Yvonne Green was elected as the Vice Chair.

Yvonne is also our well respected Regional Convenor as well as a being a UNISON branch secretary and Chair of a Labour Party Local Campaign Forum.

UNISON is now the largest trade union in the UK and Greater London is one of our biggest regions.

At the AGM London Assembly member, Fiona   Twycross,  gave us an excellent report on the Greater London Assembly.

Her online petition
"Protect Free School Meals - hungry children do not learn" now has 280,000 signatures. Please click and sign (then share) 

Sign petition to stop market tendering of NHS services

To: Members of Parliament and of the House of Lords

SIGN HERE FOR PETITION

We the undersigned call on both Houses of Parliament to ensure the NHS Competition regulations (SI 257) made under the Health & Social Care Act 2012, are subject to a full debate, and vote, on the floor of both Houses of Parliament, and that they are defeated or withdrawn.

Why is this important?

These regulations - which will only go to a vote if parliament insists - would require virtually all health provision to be carried out in competitive markets, regardless of the wishes of either local people, GPs or local Clinical Commissioning Groups. 

They contradict assurances that were given by health ministers during the passage of the Act that it did not mean the privatisation of the NHS, and that local people would have the final say in who provided their NHS.

For example, Lord Howe said then “Clinicians will be free to commission services in the way they consider best. We intend to make it clear that commissioners will have a full range of options and that they will be under no legal obligation to create new markets... this will be made absolutely clear through secondary legislation and supporting guidance as a result of the Bill”.

Andrew Lansley said (in a letter to the Clinical Commissioning Groups set up to manage most health budgets) that “It is a fundamental principle of the Bill that you as commissioners, not the Secretary of State and not regulators – should decide when and how competition should be used to serve your patients interests..” We call on parliament to take all necessary steps to ensure these regulations,
which would be incredibly damaging to the NHS, do not become law. For more information see this report:

http://www.opendemocracy.net/ournhs/nicola-cutcher-lucy-reynolds/nhs-as-we-know-it

-needs-prayer

Hat tip Captain Swing

Elder Abuse: sign the UNISON e-petition and pass the link on

Check out and please support this petition calling for a Parliamentary debate on Elder Abuse.  They need to get 100,000 supporters.

"This petition has come from the Retired Members of UNISON, but you don't have to be a trade unionist to sign it. It affects everyone and is non-political. The law regarding elderly vulnerable people needs changing for you, and for your family:-

• Due to mental/physical incapacity many older people are as vulnerable as a baby. There would be public outcry if politicians opposed legislation for
care of children as hard as they oppose legislation for care for the elderly.

• There are specific laws protecting children, animals and domestic violence, but only regular laws to protect the Elderly

• We are calling for the introduction of Elderly Abuse Protection Legislation as a matter of urgency.

• As with child abuse, and racial or homophobic hate crimes, incidents of neglect and ill treatment that specifically targets an older person should be a specific criminal offence with additional penalties.

JOIN OUR CAMPAIGN. Sign this petition

e-petition against the change from RPI to CPI

Click on this link here to sign the petition calling for a Parliamentary debate on this change which will reduce the value of your pension by around 15%!  There needs to be 100,000 signatures.  So far (4 Sept)  there are 35,000.

"Many workers in the Public and Private Sector have contributed to their pensions on the understanding that on retirement these Pensions would be increased each April by the preceding September's Retail Price Index (RPI) rate. From April 2011 the Government has transferred these increases to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) measure which in the Treasury's own words "...is designed to take account of the fact that consumers tend to shop around, switching to cheaper alternatives when prices of similar goods change." This change, which has been introduced in most cases without any prior consultation, will mean a steady reduction in spending power for pensioners as they progress into their retirement. Given the promises that have previously been made, the RPI measure should be reintroduced without delay to ensure that the spending power of these Public and Private pensioners is maintained".