E-Bulletin, Issue 10 - October 2007
Welcome from Unite North West Regional Secretary, Laurence
Faircloth
Unite is just over six months old but even in this short time has
made a big impact as the UK’s biggest, newest and foremost
campaigning union.
Since May over 75,000 workers have joined our
union. Our campaigns to stop the exploitation of agency workers, to
demand an end to the privatisation of the NHS and our demand that
government support our manufacturing base are striking a chord with
working people.
We believe we have the ear of the government.
But we don’t just want Gordon Brown to listen, we want him to act.
We want affordable homes, a well managed, fully funded public
health service and a level playing field with Europe on employment
rights so that sacking UK workers is no longer the cheapest option
for multinationals as they ship thousands of jobs abroad.
Unite members will be out again in force at
the national demonstration in support of the NHS on November
3rd. Unite has over 100,000 members working in the NHS
and we are the fastest growing union in the health service.
Although we welcome the extra billions the government have given
the NHS, we condemn the rapid expansion of the private sector and
reforms that have set different parts of the NHS competing against
each for patients and investment. This is fragmenting the health
service, threatening patient care and undermining its public ethos.
So come along and support the demonstration which assembles from
11am at Temple Place, Victoria Embankment and marches at noon
through Westminster. The rally starts at 1 pm in Trafalgar
Square.
To book your place on the march and lobby
please contact:
Danny McGowan - Email: DannyMcgowan@hotmail.co.uk,
Tel: 0781 347 1548 for members travelling from Liverpool
Andy Ford – Tel: 07764 280321 for members
travelling from Manchester.
Terry Burns – Email: Terry.Burns@unitetheunion.org,
Tel: 0161 798 8976 for all other members travelling from the
NW.
Government promise to work with Unite
on manufacturing
Secretary of State, John Hutton made a promise to consult with
Unite to develop a strategy for manufacturing following our
successful lobby and rally in October.
1,000 manufacturing workers travelled from all
over the UK to tell the government that intervention is needed if
the UK is to maintain and develop its manufacturing industry. In a
jam packed room over 60 Labour MPs and Ministers were directly
lobbied by Unite members who gave first hand accounts of the
problems in manufacturing.
On the day of the lobby Unite published new
research showing that many of the UK's £42 billion worth of public
manufacturing contracts are awarded to overseas firms.
Unite says that if that £42 billion was
invested in UK manufacturing it would create or secure over half a
million high value manufacturing jobs.
Laurence Faircloth, Unite regional secretary
said “Unite wants the UK procurement process to take
account of the impact on UK industry and jobs. This compares with
other European countries that favour their own producers in the
award of public contracts.”
Asbestos victims let down by House of
Lords decision
Unite is bitterly disappointed with a House of
Lords decision to end compensation for victims of pleural plaque –
an asbestos related condition.
For several years Unite has been fighting a
legal battle to defend an established right to compensation, which
had existed for 20 years, for pleural plaques which are in almost
every case caused by workers being exposed to asbestos due to
negligence of their employers.
Pleural plaques is associated with an
increased risk of developing fatal conditions like mesothelioma or
asbestosis. Diagnosis of pleural plaques often leads to extreme
distress for the victims, as they fear they may develop fatal
asbestos related diseases which can often lead to a slow and
painful death.
Regional Secretary, Laurence Faircloth, said:
“This decision means thousands of people diagnosed with
pleural plaques will no longer be entitled to compensation. It also
means massive savings for the insurers of companies who knowingly
exposed their employees to asbestos in the
workplace.”
Massive pay rise in pipeline for
plumbers
Unite has negotiated a massive pay increase
for thousands of plumbers in the North West region following
national pay negotiations.
Plumbers on work on construction projects like
T5 and the Olympics as well as smaller local plumbing companies
could see their pay rise by £3,328 over two years. Following
almost six months of negotiations, the deal was struck between
Unite and the Joint Industrial Board for Plumbing Mechanical
Engineering Services in England and Wales.
Steve Benson, Unite Regional Officer for
construction said: "It just goes to show how effective
national pay bargaining can be. Even
those plumbers not included in the deal could benefit as the deal
sets a benchmark for the industry."
Unions in talks with Airport over
pay
Unite, GMB and Airport management have agreed
to continue talks in an attempt to resolve the pay dispute at John
Lennon Airport in Liverpool.
Unite and GMB members’ rejected the company’s latest pay offer of a
3.8% increase backdated to 1st April which rises to 4%
from 1st October 2007, following a joint Unite and GMB
member’s consultative ballot.
Meetings have taken place over the last week
between Senior Management and our members to identify areas of
concern. In a joint statement, Carol Devereux, Unite Regional
Officer and Eddie Parker, GMB Union Organiser said:
“These meetings are being conducted with a view to making
proactive developments between the employees and the employer,
mindful of our members’ aspirations and the needs of the Airport
Company.”
Burton’s Foods -
Moreton site future agreed
Burton’s Foods and Unite have agreed fresh
proposals for the Moreton factory on the Wirral as part of a
minimum five years guaranteed work.
Over 430 jobs will now stay, including
manufacturing work, therefore easing fears of significant job
losses for our members. Some of the products which had been
earmarked for production elsewhere will now remain at Moreton and
the company has guaranteed work until May 2012.
Tony Woodley, Joint General Secretary of
Unite, said: “There is no doubt in my mind we have put
together the best deal available for Moreton in the circumstances.
Work has been guaranteed and jobs have been saved. We now have a
basis for looking forward.”
Petition to replace Remploy Chief
Executive Bob Warner
The Remploy Consortium of Trade Unions have drawn up a petition to
call upon the Secretary of State to replace Remploy Chief Executive
Bob Warner with someone with a proven track record both of
understanding the needs of disabled people and of having the
ability to run a successful commercial manufacturing
enterprise.
Unite is working with the
other unions in the Remploy Consortium of Trade Unions to stop the
closures of Remploy sites including Aintree and Birkenhead in the
North West. Remploy provides employment for workers with
disabilities and if these sites were to close this would lead to
many vulnerable workers losing their livelihoods in specialist
workplaces and going onto benefits.
Please print off and circulate
the petition as widely as possible so we can have Bob replaced with
someone who will appreciate the value this proud workforce.
Copies
of the petition and can be downloaded here.
Signed petitions should be returned as soon as possible to
Kevin Hepworth, Unite the
Union, Unit
2, Pride Point
Drive, Pride
Park,
Derby, DE24
8BX.
Voluntary and “Not for Profit”
Sector
Unite’s first North West event for the
Voluntary and “Not for Profit” sector was held on 24 September at
the Salford Quays Office where representatives from various groups
came together for a one-day conference.
The event was attended by delegates and
full-time officials representing members at Arena Housing;
Statutory and Voluntary Sector Youth Services; Turning Point; the
Merseyside People’s Centre; Asbestos Victims’ Support; Sahir House;
Migrant Workers North West; Caia Park Community Centre; National
Children’s Homes; Breakthrough UK; Nacro; Cheetham Hill Advice
Centre; George House Trust; Salford Women’s Centre and Salford
Women’s Refuge.
Conference Chairperson, Sharon Hutchinson,
said: “This is a really important sector for the new
union. There are 608,000 Voluntary Sector workers nationally, and
growing by around 10,000 each year. On the other hand, the Union
reckons that we’ve got 60,000 members, with about 6,000 here in the
North West – so it’s time for us to look carefully at how we
recruit, organise and service in the Sector.”
Proposals from the Conference included:
inserting a regular Sector section for members in the North
West E-Bulletin; forthcoming discussions with the Sector’s
Minister, Phil Hope, should focus on the need to strengthen funding
arrangements; the Union should compile “best practice” and “model
agreements” on contractual terms and conditions, procedures, health
and safety, etc; and the Unite North West Region should target
recruitment resources at some of the infrastructure agencies –
Councils for Voluntary Service, Voluntary Sector North West and
Social Enterprise Networks.
Riverside Recruitment
Week
Unite reps held a successful recruitment week
last month at Riverside Housing Group sites in Carlisle, Newcastle
and three in Merseyside.
Unite Regional Officer, Steve Power
said: “Considering we were working in an organisation
where we are already recognised and quite well organised, we got
some really good feedback from members who said it was refreshing
to see the Union raising its profile and letting members see that
it is around.
“We also recruited some new
members and due to its success we are already planning to do it
again and make it a regular feature of Unite activity within the
Riverside Group. This is particularly important as the group
has grown considerably since its recent merger with the English
Churches Housing Group, which will open more opportunities for us
to become more established across the whole of the
group.”
Salford dispute ends
in workers’ success
The terms of a new agreement reached between
Salford City Council and Unite were greeted with cheers by union
members, as they voted unanimously to accept the deal and therefore
end the dispute with the council over the casualisation of jobs and
the undermining of council pay and conditions.
The agreement was described by the union as “a
commitment to 100% service delivery by a permanent workforce.”
Following a review, the council will ensure that staffing levels
for refuse collection and street cleansing are established on the
basis of service need, and any additional staff will be recruited
on permanent contracts.
Neil Clarke, Unite Regional Industrial
Organiser, said: “The outcome surpasses the
expectations of our members at the outset of the dispute. It
represents a magnificent victory won because of the unity of Unite
members, and demonstrates what can be achieved by organised workers
who campaign collectively within a strong union.”
Students unite at Manchester
University
As part of our efforts to organise working
students Unite was present at the Fresher's fair at Manchester
Metropolitan University earlier this month.
Unite reps handed out information and spoke to
students about trade unions and their rights at work. Our aim is to
set up a group for working students who are Unite members at the
university and work with them to get more of their fellow students
to join the union.
Regional Organiser, Sarah Holden said: "More and
more students are now working to finance their studies and often
find themselves in low paid, non unionised workplaces where they
are treated badly. Bullying is rife, their rights are ignored and
they don't know what to do about it. It is essential that we
organise students into unions at the start of their working lives,
to ensure that they are treated with dignity and respect at work,
to stop them being used as cheap/casual labour
and to hopefully keep them in unions for the rest of
their working lives."
If you are a working student check out the
Unite Student Workers Campaign at http://www.uniteworkingstudents.org/.
Joint Seminar on Agency
Labour
Unite is organising a joint seminar on Agency
Labour in the North West – details to be confirmed shortly.
Our aim is to produce a “model” best practice
agreement following the seminar, therefore, if any officials or
representatives have copies of existing Agency Labour agreements
please forward copies to Dave McCall - email: dmccall@tgwu.org.uk or fax
to: 0161 872 6068.
Farewell to NW Officers
North West Officer, Laurence Chapple-Gill, who
was based in the Prestwich Office, has now moved to the Unite
London Region. We would like to thank Laurence for his hard
work and commitment to the North West and wish him luck in the
London Region.
North West Officer, Phil Morgan, will be
taking over Laurence’s responsibilities.
North West Officer, Michael Barr, who is based
in the Southport Office, will be leaving the union on
23rd November after 20 year service with the union. Best
wishes for the future in your new job from all your colleagues and
friends in the North West.
This bulletin has been produced by
Karen Viquerat, if you have any stories or contributions please
email karen.viquerat@unitetheunion.org or telephone Karen on 01704
546 500.
