Save Our Royal Mail Campaign

 

 

The Save Our Royal Mail campaign, currently being led by the CWU, has the 100% support of the Midlands TUC. As the TUC General Secretary, Frances O’Grady, made clear at the TUC Congress "we will fight this latest, senseless, sell-off of the family silver – hands off our Royal Mail." The support of the trade union movement is unequivocal. With solidarity, commitment and determination we can, and will, win the battle to save the Royal Mail.

It is clear that the Save Our Royal Mail campaign has broad based support from unions and community groups, and that CWU members from right across the Midlands and the UK have been conducting a brilliant campaign that has been successful in raising awareness of the issues involved and in garnering widespread public support.

As a result of the CWU campaigning, the public are increasingly aware that privatisation can only but result in a deterioration in the universal postal service. A deterioration that will impact disproportionately on deprived and isolated communities; severely hit small businesses, and negatively impact on the dedicated Royal Mail workforce.

Quite simply privatisation is being pursued by the Government to sell off a successful business to the private sector on the back of outdated, misguided and wholly misplaced neo-liberal ideology. Unfettered free markets resulted in the 2008 crash from which we the country is still suffering. Clearly, this Government has not learnt the lessons.

And, what’s more, it is clear privatisation is singularly rejected by the British people. The most recent opinion poll has shown that 70% of the public are opposed to this senseless sell-off – including a majority of Tory voters.

So, it is clear that the opposition to privatisation is strong, with the public instinctively understanding the vital role that the Royal Mail plays in British society.

The Midlands TUC stands squarely with the CWU in this fight.

Labour councillors show support at protest

Labour councillors Bob Scott and John McGhee talk to protesters outside Northamptonshire County Hall prior to the council debate on staff conditions of service today.

Northants county council workers protest at cits

Northamptonshire county council workers are protesting outside County Hall this morning against cuts to their conditions of service. A sham of a consultation process is leaving staff with the chive of accepting changes or being sacked and re-engaged on new, poorer contracts. No choice, yet another council taking their staff for granted, and slashing services to the public they are supposed to support.

Back at Uni of Birmingham Jobs Fair

It's late September and that means talking to students at the University of Birmingham about their rights at work. As you would expect, lots of students enquiring about work, and interested particularly in the change to the minimum wage next week.

Update on Coaches to the TUC March and Rally in Manchester - 29th September

We have had further coach details sent to us for the TUC march and rally in defence of the NHS in Manchester on Sunday 29th September:

Coaches from Derby:

To book places on coaches leaving Derby email unison@derby.gov.uk or suearg1@yahoo.com (NUT) or diane.norton@unitetheunion.org or you can call

01332 643216/7; 07929043415 or 01522 300084 

Coaches from Nottinghamshire:
Notts TUC
Free
Pick up:
Nottingam, Maid Marion Way, 8am
Mansfield, Walkden St (outside Argos), 8.30am

Contact: Nottstc@gmail.com

Notts UNISON
Free
Pick up: County Hall
Contact: Martin
martinsleath@yahoo.co.uk

Nottingham Univeristy Hospitals
(City hospital and QMC)
Free
Contact: julia.stanley@nuh.nhs.uk

Ashfield & Mansfield Unison
Free

Pick up: Hucknall, Kirkby in Ashfield, Sutton in Ashfield, Mansfield
Contact: unison@ashfield-dc.gov.uk

PCS
Pick up: 8.30 am outside the Royal Centre, South Sherwood Street, Nottingham.
Free
Contact Rachel rachelshouse@gmail.com

Celebrate the TUC's education proramme in Solihull

Solihull Trades Union Education Centre are delighted to be able to invite you to an event to celebrate the TUC's Education Programme in Solihull.

The Centre will be working with Solihull College to deliver a programme of courses intended to support the needs of trade unionists and the trade union movement in the area.

There are many exciting developments taking place that we would like bring to your attention and we’d like to welcome you on Wednesday 25 September 2013 at the Trade Union Studies Centre, Solihull College, Blossomfield Road, Solihull B91 1SB from 2.30pm until 4.00pm.

The keynote speaker will be Rob Johnston, the Midlands TUC's Regional Secretary.  There will also be contributions from Trade Union Studies Centre Programme Manager Julie Matthews and Andy Probyn, Solihull Colleges’ Senior Director Creative and Professional Faculty. The event includes a tour of the Trade Union Studies Centre facilities, and a buffet lunch will be provided.

To book your place for this free event please contact Louise Power via lpower@tuc.org.uk

Facility Time Briefing

Defending our right to represent members

5.00pm – 7.00pm, Thursday 24^th October, UNISON, 24 Livery Street, Birmingham, B3 2PA

How can unions respond to the attack on facility time? And defend the ability of reps to represent members individually and collectively?

These practical sessions, with TUC national organiser Carl Roper, will look at the legal position of reps in respect of paid time off for union duties and activities and the attack from the political right. Discuss how reps and unions can respond by promoting the value of the work that union reps do, argue effectively against attacks on facility time and update current agreements.

These facility time sessions are for all reps working in both the public and private sectors. Please register as soon as possible. To guarantee your place please email Michelle Kesterton at mkesterton@tuc.org.uk

Austerity Uncovered tour video launched at Congress

In June of this year the TUC took a bus across England and Wales to listen to people talking about the affects of austerity on them and their families. The short video is a snapshot of the coalition government's Britain. It's not easy listening.

Rally for Education 2013 - Nottingham Saturday 14th September at 11.00 a.m.

The NASUWT and NUT have announced a series of joint public rallies. Teachers, parents, governors and families are welcome.

You are not alone in having serious concerns about the Government’s education policies and the damage being done to children and young people and to our schools and colleges.

Your support can make a real difference. Teachers, parents/carers, school governors, pupils and other members of the public have made clear that they have serious concerns about the Government's education changes. We think it is time for the Government to listen.

Help us spread the word by talking to your friends, family and colleagues:

• CONTACT YOUR MP and let them know why you are concerned about the Government’s education policies.
• If you use Twitter, spread the word to your followers - don’t forget to include the hashtag #rally4edu
• If you use Facebook, you could also post information on there to your friends
• Write to the letters pages of your local newspapers or post a comment on an internet forum about what you heard at the rally
• Find out more by watching the short film below
• Keep in touch with Rally for Education news, events and future activities and how you can remain involved by following us on Twitter at: @nasuwt

Thousands of teachers, parents, pupils and members of the public have been taking part in packed rallies across England and Wales.

The NASUWT/NUT ‘Rallies for Education’ in April and May were so popular that the venues weren’t big enough to accommodate all those who turned up; testament to the strength of feeling and will people have to defend public education.

Ordinary members of the public gave up their Saturdays and thronged to hear moving testimonies about the damaging impact of the Government’s education policies.

They heard harrowing stories from headteachers about the devastating impact on staff and pupils of being forced into Academies. They heard teachers talk about how demoralised they feel by the damaging reforms that have been imposed upon them. They heard from parents of disabled children fearful that the valuable support they rely upon is under threat.

The collective mood was one of anger, but defiance, and a determination to stand together and fight for the future of public education.

Come and show your support at one of the September rallies - the east midlands rally is being held in Nottingham on Saturday 14th September from 11.00 a.m. with speakers Chris Keates, General Secretary, (pictured, above) NASUWT and Kevin Courtney, Deputy General Secretary, NUT.

Crowne Plaza
Wollaton Street
Nottingham
NG1 5RH
(map)

Weakening TUPE legislation will drive down workers’ terms and conditions, warns TUC

The TUC has today (Thursday) warned that government plans to weaken the Transfer of Undertakings and Protection of Employment (TUPE) regulations will drive down terms and conditions for vulnerable workers and make privatisation cheaper and quicker.

TUPE protects employees’ terms and conditions of work when a business is transferred from one owner to another. Staff automatically become employees of the new employer on the same terms and conditions as they were on before, and their continuity of service is also protected.

However, under the government’s plans TUPE will not always apply when services are outsourced.

These changes will lead to the erosion of the pay and conditions for low-paid staff in sectors such as cleaning, social care and catering where outsourcing is common, says the TUC. It argues this will have an adverse impact on women, who are more likely to be employed in contracted-out services than men.

In addition, employers will now be able to re-negotiate changes to collective agreements one year after transfer. This will give them extra flexibility to cut pay and conditions after a transfer takes place. 

TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady (pictured, above) said: “The changes announced today could see hundreds of thousands of vulnerable workers lose out on vital protections at work. This is a deliberate attempt to make privatisation cheaper and quicker.

“Weakening guarantees on pay and conditions will encourage companies to compete for contracts based solely on wage and other employment costs, and not on the quality of service. This in turn will increase the risk of poverty wages for the many female employees who work in industries like catering, social care and cleaning where outsourcing is common.

“Today’s announcement will also see dismissal and redundancy rights watered down for outsourced workers. This is a blatant attack on the ability of unions to represent working people.”

Universal Credit scheme is in chaos, warns TUC

Responding to today’s (Thursday) report by the National Audit Office, which says that the government’s new Universal Credit Programme is wasting taxpayers’ money and is being poorly implemented, TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady (pictured, above) said:

“This report is a damning indictment of what happens when one minister’s ill- thought out hobby horse replaces proper policy development.

“The National Audit Office has exposed what a mess the government is making of implementing Universal Credit, which now appears to be a dysfunctional money pit.

“It beggars belief that minsters still don’t know whether their IT will work nationally and that such huge sums have been wasted on systems that aren’t fit for purpose.

“Instead of making up stats, attacking claimants in genuine need and cutting back on budgets for managing fraud, ministers should focus their energies on developing a modern welfare system that provides proper support to those who need help. They are to blame for this debacle not officials.”

Disability Forum Conference Special

Our new Disability Forum newsletter, our conference special edition, is now available on the main TUC website here

Thanks to Barbara from the National Union of Teachers for her comprehensive report.

Huge wage squeeze means East Midlands workers have lost more than £25 a week since 2007

In the last five years East Midlands workers have suffered a huge squeeze on their Britain Needs a Pay Rise campaign.

incomes, with average pay falling by 5.7 per cent in real terms – a real terms loss of £25.53 in the pay packets of employees working a 40-hour week, according to research published today (Wednesday) by the TUC as part of its

The TUC analysis of official figures compares hourly pay rates in 2007 (at 2012 prices) with those in 2012, and shows the extent of the pay squeeze being felt by families in the east midlands as incomes fail to keep pace with rising prices.

The wage squeeze in the East Midlands is slightly lower than the national average – across the UK pay has fallen by 6.3 per cent in real terms, a loss of £30.30 in the pay packets of full-time employees.

People living in Leicester suffered the biggest squeeze on pay in the East Midlands where real hourly pay fell by 10.4 per cent which meant workers found themselves £42.13 a week worse off in real terms.

People living in Northamptonshire suffered the next biggest squeeze on wages in the East Midlands. Hourly pay rates here fell in real terms from £11.77 in 2007 to £10.77 in 2012, an 8.5 per cent cut, and a corresponding £40.03 weekly hit in their wage packets.

Northamptonshire is closely followed by the rural county of Leicestershire and the city of Nottingham, which saw hourly rates drop by 6.9 per cent and 6.3 per cent respectively.

Across the East Midlands men have seen their pay hit harder than women. According to the TUC analysis male workers have seen their hourly real pay rates drop from £12.76 to £11.88, a 6.9 per cent fall which works out at £35.10 less in their weekly pay packets in 2012 compared to 2007. Female employees saw their wages decline by 3.6 per cent in real terms over the five years, a loss of £13.99 for an average full-time worker on a 40-hour week.

Commenting on the figures, Midlands TUC Regional Secretary Rob Johnston said:  “Across the East Midlands families are still really struggling to make their money go far enough – and are often having to go into debt – as they experience a huge squeeze on their household incomes.

“With real wages still falling, most people are being forced to use their credit cards or their dwindling savings if they need to purchase anything beyond the most everyday of items.

“Workers’ real hourly pay rates have taken a hit over the past five years because wages have failed to keep up with inflation. But this fall is also a result of the worrying increase in insecure and short-hours employment.

“And in many cases when people have lost their jobs, and are fortunate enough to find work, they are forced to take jobs with fewer hours and on lower rates of pay. This is not the way to build a strong economy – the UK needs far more better jobs on much better rates of pay.

“Next week at our annual Congress our Britain Needs a Pay Rise campaign will take centre stage as unions continue to push for decent and fair wages across both the private and the public sectors.

“We will also be urging those employers who can afford to pay a living wage to start doing so. If workers have more money in their pockets, they will feel more confident about spending that extra cash and that’s something that families, businesses and UK the economy can all benefit from.”