Images from the LGB & T History Month launch

The University of Birmingham hosted a launch event for LGB & T History Month in the Bramall Concert Hall on the evening of Thursday 28th November. The event attracted a large audience, many of whom visited the stall holders. Trade unions were well represented, with stalls and representatives from the NASUWT, NUT, Musicians Union and the University branch of UNISON - as well as Unite and the Midlands TUC. 
The event was followed by a meeting of the Midlands TUC LGB & T Network who are now considering their program of work for 2014.

LGBT History Month launch

Look who is exhibiting next to the TUC at tonight's LGBT History Month launch at the University of Birmingham - none other than our good friends from the Musicians Union!

- Sent from my HTC -

Unionised enterprises less likely to be hit by the recession

Employees in workplaces which recognise unions were ‘significantly less likely’ to have been adversely effected by the recession, says an authoritative new survey published today (Monday).

The Workplace Employment Relations Survey (WERS) – conducted for government by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research – also found that one in five companies not adversely affected by the recession still froze or cut pay.

Its findings also noted that redundancies and pay freezes in the public sector have led to perceptions of job security plummeting, along with trust in managers. But the good news for unions is that WERS finds that they are generally holding their own across the economy, with the percentage of union members and the extent of their coverage virtually unchanged since 2004.

WERS also states that unions have improved their membership in larger firms, increasing from 44 per cent (2004) to 50 per cent of employees, which is significant as larger firms account for more than half of all employees in the private sector

TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “This survey reveals the degree to which opportunistic employers used the recession as an excuse to hold back pay. This kind of behaviour deepened the recession and pushed working people into poverty unnecessarily. A swift return to real pay growth is now urgently needed if the emerging signs of growth are to be shared by everyone.

“It’s reassuring to learn that unions have held their own and were able to help working people get through the worst economic storm in living memory. The challenge in the months ahead will be to take unions into new workplaces and parts of the economy where union membership is rare.

“We need to make life fairer at work and ensure that top earners do not leave ordinary families behind. We can only do that if we have a strong and vibrant union movement which gives a voice to the interests of working people.”

HS2 hybrid bill published

 

HS2 will take a major step forward today (25 November 2013) with publication of the Bill for phase one of the country’s new railway between London and Birmingham.

The hybrid Bill, effectively the planning application for the scheme, will give the government the powers to construct and operate the railway. It will also give those affected by the proposed line the opportunity to petition Parliament, both for and against the proposals, and have their case heard by a committee of MPs.

 

The publication of the hybrid Bill has been widely welcomed as a significant milestone towards delivering HS2.

Midlands TUC Regional Secretary Rob Johnston said:

HS2 is a vital infrastructure project for the Midlands. With careful planning and the involvement of social partners the project has the potential to deliver thousands of innovative, quality jobs for the people of the Midlands.

 

Once the line is built, it will also help to release the economic potential of the region through increased capacity. HS2 gives us a once in a generation lifetime to secure a more sustainable, better paid, more progressive regional economy"

TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said:

With rail passenger numbers along the west coast route set to rise sharply in the next few decades, HS2 is vital for delivering the extra capacity that passengers will need.

But HS2 isn’t just about helping passengers, it can boost growth and help rebalance the economy too. HS2 will provide new business opportunities at stops along its route, while local employment and apprenticeship clauses could help HS2 to create many thousands of high quality jobs across the country. This is an opportunity we can ill afford to miss out on.

Derby City Council leader Councillor Paul Bayliss said:

Today’s (25 November 2013) laying into Parliament of the hybrid Bill to build HS2 is a very significant step forward in the development of Britain’s new north-south high speed railway. As the country’s leading city for advanced transport engineering, we welcome the economic opportunities that HS2 should bring, particularly if the East Midlands Station is in the right location.

 

Photos from the Midlands TUC Reps Award night

Our second annual Reps Award night was held in Nottingham in the presence of 180 trade union officers, reps and guests. The awards were sponsored by Homer Creative, Pellacraft, Simpson Millar Solicitors and Thompsons Solicitors and we would like to thank them for their incredible support which helps make the night so special. 
Special thanks also to Mohammad Taj, the TUC National President, for attending and presenting the awards.
Below are some images from the evening including pictures of the award winners and those who attended to support the event.

Reps night at the TUC

Here we go for our second annual reps night in Nottingham, 180 trade unionists celebrating our fantastic shop stewards and health and safety reps.

Blacklisting demo success in Birmingham

Cheryl Pidgeon, UCATT Regional Secretary with Rob Johnston TUC Midlands Regional Secretary protesting in Birmingham today

Today's demonstration outside the offices of Sir Robert McAlpine in Birmingham took place in torrential rain - but protesters from UCATT, the TUC and NUJ turned out to make their point. The issue of Blacklisting workers is rising up the political agenda and needs to be scrutinised at the highest level. Unions are calling on the government to investigate this scandal - and make sure it never happens again.

Midlands TUC day of action against blacklisting

The TUC is holding a national day of action against blacklisting on Wednesday 20 November with demonstrations against blacklisting to be held outside the offices of Sir Robert McAlpine, Paradise Street, Birmingham, B1 2BJ from 9.30 a.m. to 10.00 a.m; and Carillion Plc, Birch Street, Wolverhampton, WV1 4HY from 11.00 a.m. to noon.

Protests against blacklisting will be held around the UK, and the TUC – along with the construction unions GMB, UCATT and Unite – will hold a lobby of Parliament to call for justice for construction workers who were illegally targeted because of their union activities or for pushing for better health and safety on building sites.

For more than 20 years employers in the construction industry used secret files to vet new recruits and keep union and health and safety activists out of work. This blacklisting was discovered in March 2009 when the Information Commissioner’s Office raided the offices of the Consulting Association and found a list containing the details of 3,213 building workers, which had been used by more than 40 construction companies around the UK.

More than four and a half years later most of these construction workers are still unaware they have been blacklisted as they have not been contacted, nor has a penny been paid to any of the victims.

The TUC and unions are unhappy that companies which have blacklisted workers have still not been held accountable and want a Leveson-style inquiry into the practice.

Joe Morgan, GMB Birmingham & West Midlands Regional Secretary said: “Workers who were placed on this list were denied work through no fault of their own. They have been deprived of an honest living through these illegal tactics and have been the victims of injustice over many years by multi-national companies.”
“Not a single company has yet been punished nor have any of them paid out compensation. We need to fight for the suffering these victims have gone through and give them back the jobs that were wrongly taken from them.”
“Many of these workers have spent years out of work, we want a guarantee that jobs will be offered to them on any up and coming major construction projects.”

Cheryl Pidgeon, Midlands Regional Secretary for Ucatt said,

“UCATT is campaigning for a public inquiry into the blacklisting scandal and for the ICO to directly notify all persons listed on The Consulting Association blacklist files, in the same way victims were notified in the newspaper phone hacking scandal. Companies guilty of blacklisting must be barred from tendering for publicly procured contracts and compensation must be paid retrospectively to all victims of blacklisting for loss of earnings. The existing blacklisting regulations offer no protection.  It must be a criminal offense to supply, compile, solicit or use information in connection with a prohibited list.  The blacklisting of workers must no longer be part of our society.”

Gerard Coyne, Regional Secretary of Unite the union said,

 

“The aim of the day of action is to get the industry to Own Up, Clean Up, Pay Up!

The companies involved must ‘Own Up’ and accept responsibility for what they have done in the past.
They also need to ‘Clean Up’ and ensure that it does not happen again by having transparent recruitment procedures that are agreed with trade unions and properly monitored.
Then they must ‘Pay Up’ and compensate all those who have suffered as a result of their actions. Many of those who were blacklisted were unable to work in the industry again had years of unemployment. They deserve compensation.”

Nasuwt regional conference 2013

Currently exhibiting at the west midlands Nasuwt regional conference. The first two conversations - time off for trade union duties and mental health in the workplace.

Mids TUC Reps Awards Night - Running Order

Falling unemployment welcome - but long way to go

Iis welcome news that 30,000 people have found employment in the midlands in recent months. As we know, the midlands has suffered hard from the steep recession and any decrease in unemployment is welcome. 
However, unemployment still remains high with over 410,000 people still without work in the midlands and youth unemployment remains scandously high.

Jobs, jobs, jobs. That needs to be the mantra of government.

And, it is still worrying that the vast majority of jobs created are part-time, low-wage, insecure jobs. With prices continuing to outstrip wages the squeeze on ordinary peoples finances continue to be fierce.

So perhaps the mantra should be decent jobs, decent jobs, decent jobs.

We need a recovery that secures decent jobs and fair wages for all.

So decling unemployment is a good sign. But we are just at the foothills of recovery. And what's more, we have to keep organising and campaigning for a recovery that works for working people and not a return to the casino capitalism of the past.
           

Paying the living wage would mean a £262 million boost to public finances from the East Midlands

Big savings – £262m – could be made by the public purse if the East Midlands’ 388,000 low-paid workers received a pay rise and were paid the living wage, according to research published by the Midlands TUC today (Friday) to mark the end of Living Wage Week.

Economic modelling carried out for the national TUC by Howard Reed of Landman Economics suggests that the Treasury would receive an extra £169m from the increased tax and national insurance contributions (NIC) resulting from an East Midlands wide living wage boost.

Similarly, if low earners across the East Midlands were to see their wages rise to current living wage rates – currently £7.45 outside of London – the research says that the Treasury would pay out £92m less in means-tested benefits and tax credits across the region.

Commenting on the research, Midlands TUC Regional Secretary Rob Johnston said: “Almost 400,000 workers across the East Midlands are being paid less than the living wage, and with in-work poverty growing, it’s not hard to see why so many families are struggling to make household budgets stretch to cover the cost of everyday essentials.

“The UK is in the midst of a living standards crisis, and while the economy is slowly starting to recover, ordinary people are a long way from feeling any benefit. Money is so tight that any unforeseen expenses – like a winter coat for the children or repairing a broken cooker – are forcing families to borrow just to keep their heads above water.

“Of course not every employer can afford to pay their staff the living wage, but many more can. Increasing the number of people across the East Midlands who are paid at least the living wage would mean huge savings for the public purse in extra taxes paid and fewer benefits claimed.

“Britain is crying out for a pay rise – and there are real benefits that would come from a nationwide pay boost for the UK’s lowest paid workers.”

Lifting workers across the UK out of poverty pay and onto the living wage would see £2.1bn raised through extra taxes and national insurance contributions, and £1.1bn less paid out in benefits and tax credits. This would see a net benefit to the Treasury of £3.2bn.

Exchequer benefits of increasing coverage of the living wage

Regions and nations	Tax and NICs (millions)	Means-tested benefits and tax credits (millions)	Total (millions)
North East	92.4	46.2	138.6
North West	223.3	123.2	346.5
Yorkshire & the Humber	184.8	115.5	300.3
East Midlands	169.4	92.4	261.8
West Midlands	169.4	84.7	254.1
East of England	177.1	84.7	261.8
London	408.1	200.2	608.3
South West	184.8	100.1	284.9
South East	207.9	100.1	308.0
England	1817.1	947.1	2764.2
Wales	100.1	53.9	154.0
Scotland	161.7	84.7	246.4
Northern Ireland	53.9	30,8	84.7
UK	2132.8	1116.5	3249.3

Proportion of workers paid below the living wage by region

Regions and nations	Number of workers paid less than the living wage	% of the workforce paid less than the living wage
Wales	252,000	23
East Midlands	388,000	22
Yorkshire & the Humber	456,000	22
West Midlands	473,000	22
North East	213,000	22
North West	571,000	21
South West	452,000	21
East of England	466,000	20
Scotland	416,000	19
South East	530,000	16
London	572,000	16

- The figures have been calculated using existing living wage rates – £8.55 an hour in London and £7.45 elsewhere in the UK. It was announced this week that the living wage is to increase to £8.80 and £7.65 in April 2014.

- The figures for the number of UK workers paid below the living wage are from a Resolution Foundation study published earlier this year.

- Living Wage Week is promoted by the Living Wage Foundation and runs from 3-9 November www.livingwage.org.uk/living-wage-week-2013

- The analysis uses the Landman Economics/IPPR tax benefit model to calculate the changes in income tax and national insurance contributions, and the amount saved in tax credits and means-tested benefits if everybody paid below the living wage were moved onto it.

Because the dataset used for the analysis (the UK Family Resources Survey) overestimates the number of people in the UK, the results were adjusted so that the number of people affected by the introduction of a living wage corresponds to existing estimates of the number of people on low wages from Resolution Foundation research.

Paying the living wage would mean a £254 million boost to public finances from the West Midlands

Big savings – £254m – could be made by the public purse if the West Midlands’ 473,000 low-paid workers received a pay rise and were paid the living wage, according to research published by the Midlands TUC today (Friday) to mark the end of Living Wage Week.

Economic modelling carried out for the national TUC by Howard Reed of Landman Economics suggests that the Treasury would receive an extra £169m from the increased tax and national insurance contributions (NIC) that would result from a West Midlands-wide living wage boost.

Similarly, if low earners across the West Midlands were to see their wages rise to current living wage rates – currently £7.45 outside of London – the research says that the Treasury would pay out £85m less in means-tested benefits and tax credits across the region.

Commenting on the research, Midlands TUC Regional Secretary Rob Johnston said: “Some 473,000 workers across the West Midlands are being paid less than the living wage, and with in-work poverty growing, it’s not hard to see why so many families are struggling to make household budgets stretch to cover the cost of everyday essentials.

“The UK is in the midst of a living standards crisis, and while the economy is slowly starting to recover, ordinary people are a long way from feeling any benefit. Money is so tight that any unforeseen expenses – like a winter coat for the children or repairing a broken cooker – are forcing families to borrow just to keep their heads above water.

“Of course not every employer can afford to pay their staff the living wage, but many more can. Increasing the number of people across the West Midlands who are paid at least the living wage would mean huge savings for the public purse in extra taxes paid and fewer benefits claimed.

“Britain is crying out for a pay rise – and there are real benefits that would come from a nationwide pay boost for the UK’s lowest paid workers.”

Lifting workers across the UK out of poverty pay and onto the living wage would see £2.1bn raised through extra taxes and national insurance contributions, and £1.1bn less paid out in benefits and tax credits. This would see a net benefit to the Treasury of £3.2bn.

Exchequer benefits of increasing coverage of the living wage

Regions and nations	Tax and NICs (millions)	Means-tested benefits and tax credits (millions)	Total (millions)
North East	92.4	46.2	138.6
North West	223.3	123.2	346.5
Yorkshire & the Humber	184.8	115.5	300.3
East Midlands	169.4	92.4	261.8
West Midlands	169.4	84.7	254.1
East of England	177.1	84.7	261.8
London	408.1	200.2	608.3
South West	184.8	100.1	284.9
South East	207.9	100.1	308.0
England	1817.1	947.1	2764.2
Wales	100.1	53.9	154.0
Scotland	161.7	84.7	246.4
Northern Ireland	53.9	30,8	84.7
UK	2132.8	1116.5	3249.3

Proportion of workers paid below the living wage by region

Regions and nations	Number of workers paid less than the living wage	% of the workforce paid less than the living wage
Wales	252,000	23
East Midlands	388,000	22
Yorkshire & the Humber	456,000	22
West Midlands	473,000	22
North East	213,000	22
North West	571,000	21
South West	452,000	21
East of England	466,000	20
Scotland	416,000	19
South East	530,000	16
London	572,000	16

- The figures have been calculated using existing living wage rates – £8.55 an hour in London and £7.45 elsewhere in the UK. It was announced this week that the living wage is to increase to £8.80 and £7.65 in April 2014.

- The figures for the number of UK workers paid below the living wage are from a Resolution Foundation study published earlier this year.

- Living Wage Week is promoted by the Living Wage Foundation and runs from 3-9 November www.livingwage.org.uk/living-wage-week-2013

- The analysis uses the Landman Economics/IPPR tax benefit model to calculate the changes in income tax and national insurance contributions, and the amount saved in tax credits and means-tested benefits if everybody paid below the living wage were moved onto it.

Because the dataset used for the analysis (the UK Family Resources Survey) overestimates the number of people in the UK, the results were adjusted so that the number of people affected by the introduction of a living wage corresponds to existing estimates of the number of people on low wages from Resolution Foundation research.