UNISON is THE women’s organisation - International Women's Day

"UNISON is the largest women’s organisation in the UK with over a million women members. Standing up? You bet we are… #IWD2019 #IWD"

"When I give food to the poor they call me a saint. When ask why the poor have no food, they call me a communist"

"Council warns residents against workmen conning people out of thousands of pounds"

"Newham Council is warning residents against fraudsters attempting to con people out of thousands of pounds.​

The con artists pretend to be contractors working for the Council offering repairs at the victims home. They then tell the victim that specialist equipment will be needed and that the deposit will need to be covered upfront by the resident.

Two cases have been reported in the borough, one in Canning Town and the other in Stratford, with one 89-year-old woman mistakenly handing over £2,700 to the conmen.

In previous cases, the fraudsters, while dressed as workmen, have claimed they are working for a company called ‘A1 Solutions’. They have also given details of a ‘Mr Smith’ at Newham Council when questioned on their credentials, giving a false number of 020 3633 7029.

Newham councillor John Whitworth has been one of the residents targeted by the scam.

Councillor Whitworth, ward member for West Ham, said: “As someone that has been targeted by this scam, I urge other residents to be vigilant.

“Should any workmen visit your house, do not hand over your hard earned cash and please do report it to the Council.

“These men may seem convincing but they should not be trusted.”

Newham Council will always contact residents by letter first if there is any work needed to be carried out at their home. In no circumstances will the Council allow the contractor to contact residents without getting in touch first and residents should be aware of any workmen knocking on their door or calling unannounced.

The con has been reported to the police.

Councillor John Gray, Deputy Mayor and lead member for Housing Services, said: “It is disgraceful that this con artists think they can get away with this behaviour in Newham.

“The Council will always contact residents in advance if any work is required at their property, and they should under no circumstances hand any money over to workmen that knock on the door.

“Both the Council and the Police are aware of this fraudulent activity, anyone that experiences this should report it to the authorities.”

Residents should call the normal council number of 0208 430 2000 if they are suspicious and speak to a Customer Services Advisor. Anyone that falls victim of the fraud should contact the police".

- Hat tip Newham Council website, Cllr Whitworth and well done to staff to their prompt response to this report. I am not a member of the "hang 'em and flog 'em" brigade" but believe that we must protect our elders.  Such abuse, is technically "burglary", which could result in a 14 year prison sentence. I would be very content if these criminals spent 14 years behind bars for such crimes. 

West Ham Ward #Labourdoorstep with Lyn Brown MP 23 Feb 2019

Picture college from recent canvass session. Our MP, Lyn Brown was on one canvass team and our East London GLA Assembly member Unmesh Desai, the second. It was a really busy canvass session and I met many residents and picked up lots of casework as a local Councillor.

Including a mum with 9 kids (two of which have special needs) in a two bedroom flat and another resident with an ongoing repair problem saying that regardless of whether or not I can help her, she will always support the Labour Party.

Our support in the ward, a 100 year Labour heartland, is simply humbling and we need to make sure that we earn this trust.

Rothschild Conspiracy Theory Exposed & "Antisemitism Open Letter"

An excellent video by Momentum. We need more of this stuff to combat anti-semitism in the Labour Movement (nevermind the Labour Party)

also Hat tip Momentum. I have signed below "Antisemitism Open Letter"

"We are Labour members who support Jeremy Corbyn in his leadership and the progressive, socialist programme and anti-racist principles of the Labour Party.

We have seen antisemitism from Labour members and supporters, online or offline. We recognise that as a movement we have been too slow to acknowledge this problem, too tolerant of the existence of antisemitic views within our ranks, too defensive and too eager to downplay it.

We sincerely apologise to the Jewish community, and our Jewish comrades in the party, for our collective failure on this issue to date.

We believe that a small minority of antisemites are wreaking havoc in the Labour movement, alienating Jewish people, and sabotaging the Labour project. Some of these people are already expelled or otherwise suspended by the party, but remain active on social media. Moreover, there is a much wider problem of denial about the problem, including shouting down those who raise it or take action.

We are acutely aware that confidence in the left is at an all time low within Jewish communities. It is our goal to rebuild trust and relationships with our Jewish compatriots.

In addition, we understand our obligation to be sensitive to the concerns that have already been widely expressed. A particular issue is that many people, due to a general lack of education about antisemitism, are not recognising antisemitic tropes, and as a result often react defensively. We recognise that rising antisemitism in society at large, and in other parties, isn’t a reason to fall short here in the Labour Party. It is our party that has always led the fight against racism, which is why our failures are bitterly disappointing for Jewish members, and as such we affirm that there is no space for anti-Jewish prejudice and bigotry in our movement. We must be at the forefront of eradicating antisemitism from our own spaces and movement, which is where we have the power to hold ourselves to the highest standard in order to make a real difference.

Part of the difficulty is that when speaking out about the injustices of the Israel-Palestine conflict, progressive and radical activists have faced allegations of antisemitism when they have either not been antisemitic or when they did not intend to be antisemitic and took care to ensure they were not using antisemitic tropes or rhetoric. At the same time, we acknowledge that we face real currents of unchallenged and somewhat normalised anti-Jewish oppression in our movements and society at large including at times alongside criticism of Israel. In order to resolve this we call on all members of the Labour movement to seek an end to bunker mentality, demonstrate maturity and prove why, as a party awaiting government, we can be trusted to face up to the challenges we encounter in bringing about significant change both within and outside of the movement.

It is our ambition to arrive at a place where we can hold ourselves accountable, continuing to address important challenges and having meaningful discussions about topics including the Israel-Palestine conflict. All of this whilst being true and committed allies to our Jewish compatriots in the fight against antisemitism.

We are committed to proactively opposing antisemitism and antisemitic tropes wherever they occur and countering efforts to downplay concerns raised. We want to work with the party to urgently assign resources, in consultation with the Jewish community, to expose and isolate antisemites active online purporting to support Labour; to create and develop political education materials to assist in educating those who are ignorant of this subject and unaware of the nuances of antisemitism; to publish a dedicated page on the Labour Party website addressing antisemitism; to address both new and outstanding cases in a timely manner; and to raise up Jewish voices speaking out about their experiences; and to reiterate publicly and privately that dismissive attitudes and denial are part of the problem.

We understand that many Jewish members feel uncertain and have reservations, but we hope that you will stay in the Labour Party, so we can work with you and together eradicate antisemitism from our movement and society as a whole.

PLEASE NOTE THAT SIGNATURES ARE BEING VETTED AS BEST POSSIBLE TO AVOID TROLLING AND PROBLEMATIC PEOPLE FROM SIGNING SO IT MAY TAKE TIME FOR YOUR NAME TO APPEAR AFTER SIGNING.

Vote Members First: UNISON NEC elections 2019

Picture collage from last weekend at the UNISON Community Conference in Southport (for our members who work for Housing Associations and the Voluntary Sector). It was great to get support from activists and to hand our leaflets and to ask for support from delegates.

Denise Thomas and I are standing for the two UNISON NEC seats for Community. Check out our joint request to branches to nominate us here https://www.johnslabourblog.org/2019/01/unison-nec-elections-2019-nominate.html

uCVS19 Conference speech 10. "Alexa did you takes our jobs The rising threat of Automation and computerisation in the Housing Sector"

This was my speech to UNISON Community Conference yesterday on Motion 10.

"John Gray, speaking on behalf of the Service Group Executive in favour of motion 10 as amended.

Conference,

This is all disturbing and challenging but negative changes in employment is nothing new. My first experience of significant industrial action took place 20 years ago this July when I was I was a housing officer working for a London council and was elected chair of a strike committee, we took all out strike for a month against setting up of a repairs call centre and closure of 12 local housing offices with the threat of compulsory redundancies.

It is also not just automation that threatens our jobs but the associated so called “gig or uber economy” employment practices. The rise of bogus self-employment, insecure contracts, no sickness pay, no decent holiday nor pension provision.

Undoubtedly there are threats from automatisation that this motion seeks to begin to address but also there are opportunities to organise. Remember the words of the famous song “Jerusalem” by William Blake? We have new versions of “dark satanic mills” in this 21st century  industrial age, even though there might appear to be shiny computer centres, and UNISON has to be there for workers - fighting, campaigning, persuading, influencing, defending workers by all means possible.

Unison needs to raise its game as well, recently a community member rang our free phone number unisondirect to advise us that she had left her job with a major charity and was now working “freelance” for two charities. As soon as she mentioned “freelance” she was told that she was no longer eligible to be a member! Of course, this is nonsense and Gavin our national officer was horrified when I told him and has taken up with issue with unisondirect, but this shows how we must change our union to reflect the reality of workers, here and now.

This member doesn’t just want traditional representation if things goes wrong she want help with chasing invoices, claiming tax back, basic pension advice and income protection if she is sick.

Finally, conference, 20 years ago we won that dispute against automatisation and managed to save a local housing office service and no one was forced out of a job.

What we must do now is to ensure that our union can adapt to our ever changing world and win future fights for all our members. Conference, please support this motion.

This motion was from the great nation of Cymru/Wales written by my good comrade Mark Jones. Hat tip picture to Mitsy. The motion was passed unanimously.

UNISON supports striking AFG care workers

UNISON Community Conference showing solidarity with AFG care workers taking industrial action this weekend. Including strong support from UNISON Assistant General Secretary, Christina McAnea and Shadow Minister, Rebecca Long-Bailey

Unison Community National Seminar & Conference 2019 #uCVS19

Day one of our unison conference for members who work for voluntary organisations and housing associations.

First thing was meeting of our Service Community Executive to agree on last minute arrangements, platform speakers and our position on amendments.

We also agreed to support our members taking industrial action tomorrow to protect "Sleep in" payments from being cut by AFG (Alternative Futures Group).

This is not a case of inadequate funding but an organisation that is choosing to slash and burn the pay of its already low paid work force.

Next, sector meetings for housing associations, Community & voluntary, Major Charities, new delegate briefing, Then start of seminar at 2pm.

Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Hapus!