"The Tory-led Health Bill is a deadly threat to the NHS that we know and love"

This has been the "Big NHS Weekend".  Up and down the Country the Labour movement has been out campaigning against the Tory led Health and Social Care Bill.  It comes back to the House of Commons this week for its 3rd reading.  Yesterday we had Labour Party and affiliated trade union street stalls in Stratford and East Ham. 

We handed out leaflets produced by TULO that the "NHS is not safe" in the hands of Cameron and Clegg.

Colleagues in East Ham reported that people were reticent to accept this leaflet at first since it had Cameron's face on it!

Picture is of our local City and East GLA member, John Biggs, handing our leaflets in Stratford High Street.  West Ham MP Lyn Brown was also out collecting signatures for the petition calling for the defence of the NHS.   Today there was door knocking canvass teams out delivering the leaflets and asking residents to fill out the petition. 

On Wednesday evening there will be a candle light vigil in Old Place Yard, outside the House of Commons from 9pm to 10.30pm.

Finally on the reverse of the TULO leaflet there is one of my favourite quotations "The NHS will last as long as there are folk with the faith to fight for it" Aneurin Bevan 1948.

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".

New NH$

Great new video from UNISONTV "Under government plans, you could be faced with becoming a private patient, or joining the back of an ever-growing queue. Don't let the government put profits before patients. Email your MP and ask them to take action against the Health and Social Care Bill: http://action.unison.org.uk/nhsbreakup

Those who think that words speak louder than action

While I am not at all surprised I am still somewhat puzzled about the call for a special UNISON local government conference on Pensions. This is of course only a couple of months after the 2011 UNISON Local Government and National Delegate Conferences.  When pensions were discussed and debated in depth and a number of motions passed.

So why should our precious facility time, resources and money be spent on yet another “conference”? When what we should be actually doing is real practical things in our branches: such as organising and mobilising our members? 

The union position I think is crystal clear. Unless it gets a deal supported by members, the most far reaching and coordinated strike action seen in generations will take place. However, the union will not call for strike action purely to satisfy the fantasies of the ultra left. That way will only result in yet another “Glorious Defeat”. No thank you.

I am also amazed about the sudden “about turn” by many of those who are calling for this conference. Only a little while ago they were arguing for co-ordinated action over pensions across the whole public sector. Now it seems that they want not only individual unions to go their own sweet way but unions could even be split internally over action? This would potentially be disastrous.

My esteemed NEC colleague for Knowall suggests here that I would be opposed to this "conference" idea because I think it would be “divisive” and yet he encourages me to ask my service group to hold a separate conference? 

I have been a member of the Local Government Pension scheme for nearly 20 years. There are many thousands of members in my branch and in our UNISON Community Service Group who are also members of the LGPS.

So our views are valid but what would happen if we did indeed hold a conference and we arrived at a different position from the local government service group? Or if the Health Service Group had yet another position?

While I am sure that there are members who genuinely think that calling for an (unnecessary, divisive and expensive) conference is the right thing, I cannot agree. The time for making speeches and passing motions has ended. We should now not be diverting our time and resources on conferences, motions, amendments, points of order and speeches. Branches should be focused on updating RMS, mapping the work place, educating members, supporting and recruiting new stewards and organising for possible action.

If we don’t do that we could not only lose any ballot but we will inevitably fail to deliver any effective industrial action that really matters.

So please comrades for the sake of our members "actions not words".

Join the online vigil for the NHS

"As the government's controversial Health and Social Care Bill receives its third reading in the House of Commons, we're standing vigil to show Parliamentarians the level of concern around the country about the threats to our National Health Service.

Please join the vigil online by uploading a photograph of yourself to this site. We'll be combining the pictures into a powerful mosaic image, to use in lobbying Parliament. It only takes a minute from each of us, but will build into something much bigger.

http://www.goingtowork.org.uk/nhs-mosaic/

Music: "All Things Being Equal" by Le Emu Tavern"

(my 2 seconds of fame at 1min:38)

London Labour Housing Group First AGM

"London Labour Housing Group First AGM - 7pm, Monday 12 September, House of Commons
Guest Speaker, Jon Cruddas MP

After an excellent launch and a really successful Policy Day, London LHG is firmly on the map and working closely with Ken Livingstone as Labour candidate for mayor. There is a lot to do to make sure that housing is an issue in the mayoral election, to remind people of Ken’s housing legacy and Johnson’s failures. We think that housing issues can have an impact in the election. As well as trying to make sure that Labour has strong housing policies for the election, we also want to encourage as much campaigning as possible in the boroughs around housing issues. 

We have had a great core group of people working on this so far, but we now want to put London LHG on to a more formal footing. We will therefore be holding the London Labour Housing Group’s first Annual General Meeting at the House of Commons, Committee Room 11, at 7pm on Monday 12 September. Our guest speaker will be Jon Cruddas MP, Member of Parliament for Dagenham and Rainham. 

LLHG Executive
The agenda also includes the election of a London Labour Housing Group executive committee. We have agreed that there will be an EC of 15, to be as inclusive as possible. Who can attend?

To attend the meeting, stand for election and to vote you must be a member of LHG. To join LHG you must be a Labour Party member.  To be as open and flexible as possible, you can join LHG at any time – see http://www.labourhousing.co.uk/join-lhg - and membership forms will be available on the door on the night so you can join and take part immediately. You must RSVP

If you wish to attend you must RSVP to Steve Hilditch at steve@hilditchonline.com to register your attendance. If you plan to come to the meeting, please allow 15 minutes to get through security.  Please note we are unable to offer refreshments at this meeting.  We do hope you can join us.
Steve Hilditch, Acting Secretary : Nicky Gavron AM, Acting Chair"

Follow Labour Housing Group Website http://www.labourhousing.co.uk; Red Brick blog http://redbrickblog.wordpress.com/ Facebook http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Labour-Housing-Group/247469867388 Twitter http://twitter.com/#!/LabourHousing

Quarriers staff to strike on Tuesday 6 September over 20% pay cuts

Quarriers is a 140 year old (mainly) Scottish Social Care charity.  Yet is planning to cut the pay of its staff by up to 23%?  Not only that but it is refusing to agree to even go to ACAS and try to resolve this dispute!

No wonder UNISON Quarriers branch have voted overwhelmingly for strike action next Tuesday 6 September.  The Scottish Parliament Labour Health spokesperson Jackie Baillie has asked the Health Secretary to intervene  "...You do not get good quality care for our most vulnerable citizens on the cheap... I'm calling on her to intervene and stop local authorities engaging in a race to the bottom in terms of care and quality of care. I would also hope she will get on the phone to Quarriers' bosses and urge them to sit down with their union representatives at Acas to thrash out a proper negotiated settlement."

Well said Jackie.  Pick up the phone Quarrier bosses - it's good to talk.

Big NHS Weekend

This weekend has been designated as the BIG NHS Weekend.  Up and down the country the Labour movement will be campaigning - street stalls, door knocking and petitioning - to save our NHS.

We have to let the public know that the Tories are planning to destroy our National Health Service.  Next week the Health Bill comes back to Parliament. In Newham, West and East Ham Labour Parties are planning to help TULO (Trade Union Liaison Organisation) run campaigning events.

UNISON General Secretary, Dave Prentis makes it clear what he thinks the Tories are up to:-

“Our health service is under siege. If anyone thinks that the NHS is safe in the Coalition’s hands - they better think again.  The Health and Social Care Bill is a Trojan horse bringing in private health companies to take over our health service. In Tory-ward, money talks and if patients don’t have the cash they will find themselves waiting at the end of a very long queue.”

Nottinghamshire Police civilian staff strike

Good luck to UNISON members of Nottingham Police Civilian staff out on strike today and on Friday over unfair
job cuts.

"(30/08/11) UNISON police staff members in Nottinghamshire are on a 24-hour strike against job losses, with a work to rule to follow.

The members include 999 control staff, PCSOs and detention staff.

Regional organiser Roger Young told the BBC: "It's not about the redundancies in themselves, it's about the way they're doing it.

"We feel that they're wasting resources and potentially identifying people to be made redundant who otherwise would not be so and they may have claims against the force."

General secretary Dave Prentis added: "“The union is full square behind members in Nottinghamshire Police Force taking action over job cuts and restructuring today.

"It is not only their livelihoods on the line – it is community safety."

So far, 170 staff jobs have been lost, while UNISON says a further 746 are at risk.

You can send a message of support to the branch by email: unison@nottinghamshire.pnn.police.uk or via Twitter: @unisonnottspol"

Check out BBC report here, UNISON press release here and Notts Police UNISON branch web site here. (picture from website)

Britain's Broken Housing Policy

Floundering Tory Housing Minister, Grant Shapps, was given a good going over this morning on the Radio 4 "Today" programme.  The National Housing Federation (FED) had first drawn blood with a report published today that under present policies home ownership will decline by nearly 10% while prices will increase by over 20%.

The interview started with a recording of a speech by Thatcher to her Party conference in 1986 saying that the great Tory political reform of the 20th century was encouraging more people to own property.  Yet ironically this government's housing policy will reverse home ownership back to 1986 levels.

Actually I think it is a "good thing" that home ownership density is lower but there needs to be far more good quality, affordable and secure rented properties to take its place (and address existing shortages and overcrowding). 

Shapps argument was that he will increase supply by changes in planning and anyway these problems will disappear due to Britain's low interest rates which means mortgages are cheap.  He ignores the NHF prediction that prices will increase by 20% and of course very few people expect 0.5% interest base rates to continue for much longer.  House prices are already too high and even if supply was increased substantially, they will still remain unaffordable.  

What we really need is a housing policy something more like this.