Vote Labour on Thursday May 4th 2023

 

While there are no elections in London on May 4th, in other parts of the UK there are Council elections in England and Northern Ireland. UNISON Labour link will be supporting candidates across England and I expect in the coming week to be out supporting UNISON members standing as Labour Candidates in Kent, Essex and Hertfordshire. 

Remember in the latest attempt by the Tories to "fix" the vote in their favour,  you will need photo ID for these elections. See UNISON's view on this https://www.unison.org.uk/news/article/2023/03/voter-id-is-the-governments-latest-threat-to-our-democracy/

UNISON NEC Elections 2023: Recommendations on National Seats

Hi

Denise and I support these recommendations by lay activists in these Self organised groups for the NEC election which will start next week. We will also be sending out soon a wider list of recommendations which will include candidates who have not sought or asked for any endorsement. 
 

Greater London Seats on the UNISON National Executive Council (NEC)

It is with great pleasure that I recommend Eddie, Sonya, Abiola and Anu as your candidates for the 4 regional London seats in our NEC elections. They are great comrades and union organisers. I have been in many difficult meetings, debates and picket lines with them. They are enthusiastic, intelligent and pragmatic activists who will do their level best for members and put their interests first and foremost. 

We cannot continue to have our NEC controlled by those who have openly supported misogynistic bullies, who have tried to sack our elected General secretary and have so divided our union, that at our national conference last year a vote of no confidence in them was carried (yet they still did not resign).

If you are a UNISON member and in Greater London region you can vote for all 4 of them. Ballot papers will start to drop at members homes from next Monday 17 April. 

Workers Memorial Day: Friday 28 April 2023

 

This year UNISON Housing Association Branch will be remembering those who have died at work due to accidents at work or from work related ill health & diseases. It is also a campaigning day to fight for the living at work and their health and safety.

We will holding a wreath laying event at the "Clasping Hands" statute in Three Mills Green, Stratford, London E3 3DU at 1pm on Friday 28 April 2023. We have held this event now for many years but hope to get a good turn out post Covid. 

This beautiful statue is near the site of a ventilation shaft where 4 workers died in 1900. 3 of them perished while heroically trying to rescue a fellow worker.

The local MP, Lyn Brown has been invited and all trade unionists will be welcome as well as Safety advisors and anyone else, genuinely interested in health and safety at work. 

Please bring your trade union and Labour movement banners.

UNISON members from the nearby L&Q Housing headquarters will be walking to the site beforehand. The wreath laying and talk about what happened here and why it is important should last no more than 30 minutes or so.

If you are unable to attend this event then check out the TUC website for events local to you or arrange with your employer to carry out a general walkabout safety inspection of your workplace looking for obvious hazards. It is also Stress Awareness month so check on stress risk assessment arrangements and occupational health support for workers.

Picture from 2022 with UNISON National officer Andrew Dobbie giving a wonderful historical tlak on what happened in 1901. 

UNISON NEC Elections 2023: Less than one week to go before 1.3 million ballot papers are sent out

 

Next Monday 17 April ballot papers should start dropping through the home letter boxes of 1.3 million UNISON members. 

These are really important elections and I would urge all UNISON members to Vote and unite our unison by supporting candidates, who put the interests of the union first and foremost. The present NEC Majority Group has been so dreadful that it actually lost a vote of no confidence in it last year (but still refused to resign). 

Denise and I are standing for the 2 Community National seats (for UNISON members who work in Housing Associations and the Voluntary sector)

I will be putting out personal recommendations for other seats over the next few days (and posting videos). 

Margaret Gray: A Tribute

We held the church service at St Mary's then buried Mum on Thursday in Denbigh Town cemetery. Many thanks to the Church, funeral directors and staff at the Guildhall for a wonderful service, funeral and wake. 

Also, to our family and friends, who came from near and far, to show respect, share our grief but also to celebrate Mum's life. A lot of laughter as well as tears. 

Special thanks to Matthew for his very special tribute to his Nain and also to Rachel and Hannah for sharing with us the privilege of being pallbearers. We had a special family time with David via Facetime across the pond in Arizona. 

I have been overwhelmed with kindness and understanding in person and online. Below is my tribute from the service to Mum. 

"I would like to thank everyone, family and friends, for being here today to help Helen, Lucy and I remember and also celebrate the life of our mother, Margaret Gray.

Mum was born Margaret “Matthews” in Denbigh in 1941. Daughter of Fredrick and Hannah. It was a large family by modern standards, she had 7 brothers and sisters

Joyce, David, Ann, Rose, Jean, Jim and Dan. Sadly most are now gone but we still have Auntie Ann and Auntie Rose with us today.

My Taid was a decorated hero in World War One, who met Nain when they both worked pre NHS in a local hospital. I believe that all the children at some point in their lives worked in the famous Denbigh hospital as nurses, administration staff, technical, porters, chiefs and drivers. Our Mum was a nurse there before she met our father Johnnie.

They married and set up home in Buckley where Mum juggled bringing us up with various jobs such as a secretary for a glazing company and then working for the motor tax in Mold. The family later moved along the north wales coast and ended up first in Holywell then Colwyn Bay. The marriage didn’t work out and she and Dad parted. She came back to Denbigh for several years before moving to an exceptional flat in Llys Awelon, Ruthin which she absolutely loved and which she relished decorating and tastefully furnishing.

Her children, her grandchildren Mathew, Hannah, Rachel, David and now her great grandchildren, Evan and Rohan, were most important to her but she also loved good food, her audio books, watching her telly, politics and buying bargains on the internet.

A few years ago in her 70s she had unexpectedly asked us for a iPad as her Christmas present. She had never previously shown much interest in the internet but within a little while she was up and running with internet banking and buying everything she needed online, especially if it was at a discount. Sometimes she would make the odd error and order 8 pairs of slippers instead of 1 but Helen would dutifully take back the returns on her weekly visits.

More seriously, I think it is important to bring up that life had been at times, very difficult for Mum and the wider family. Mum did suffer at times from mental health issues which impacted not only on her but also those who loved her.

The final chapter in Mums life was dominated by physical health problems and the 3 of us pay tribute to the staff at Llys Awelon and our NHS who cared for her until the very end.

The end came suddenly on March 14 but not unexpected, she passed peacefully in her sleep in her beloved home. Alas, she did not meet her ambition to outlive her own maternal Nain, who lived until she was 90. And I know Mum would be annoyed about that.

But the memory I will treasure is from September last year when we received the call from hospital that all families must dread. Please come to see your mum ASAP. Ironically it was the same day that it was announced that the late Queen Elizabeth was unwell. As I drove up from London I was convinced that both were already gone. However, despite being seriously ill, within 24 hours she was alert and awake, joking and gossiping with the 3 of and making plans to return to her home.

This is the memory I will cherish. So goodbye Mum. Thank you for the many, many good times and good bye".  

UNISON NEC elections: Voting Starts April 17th

 I think most people who follow this blog and my social media, know I am standing for the Community General Seat. My plea is that as many UNISON members vote as possible in these important elections. While my wish is to get rid of a majority NEC faction that lost a vote of No confidence in it (but refused to resign) at our sovereign National Conference. It is really important that members turn out and vote as a democratic principle. 

We have had tiny turnouts in the past and no wonder we get unrepresentative and dysfunctional representation (in my view) if only 5% of the membership participate.  So regardless of your views, UNISON members please VOTE. 

Mr Jones - Ukraine 1932 (and 2022) BBC iPlayer

 

Recently I watch this film on BBC iPlayer. This is about a Welsh  journalist, Gareth Jones, who exposed the "Holodomor" (Great famine)  in Ukraine during the 1930s. This famine killed millions and was caused either intentionally and/or  due to incompetence by Stalin, the Soviet Union dictator.  

Not an easy film to watch but will give you a greater under standing why Ukraine is fighting so bravely against Putin's invasion. 

New Music for the Matchgirls

 

New Music for the Matchgirls

Hello All,

 

This year marks the 135th anniversary of the Matchgirls Strike! We thought you would be interested to hear of some new music inspired by the Matchgirls story. 

 

We are very excited to announce our upcoming project, 'Striking Sparks: The Story of the Matchgirls'. In partnership with East London Music Group, we will premiere 'A Fair Field' by Jonathan Pease, in an evening of music in the Great Hall of the People's Palace at QMUL, telling the story of the 1888 Matchgirls Strike.

We will be welcoming East London Community Band, Aldersbrook Community Choir, Poplar Singers, and Victoria Park Singers to join us, along with a new children's choir, in what promises to be an epic performance. Look out for more info about the project over the next few weeks, on both our and the ELMG social media channels. See attachment, and you can get your tickets at EVENTBRITE.

 

We are also delighted to be running a local schools poetry competition for the second year running. The winning entrants will read their poems at the concert.

Best regards, 

 

Sam and Graham

 

Samantha and Graham Johnson

Founding Trustees

The Matchgirls Memorial

matchgirls1888statue@gmail.com |  www.matchgirls1888.org  

Newham Voices - April 2023

 

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