E-Bulletin Issue 8 - August 2007
Welcome from North West Regional Secretary, Laurence
Faircloth
Firstly, I would like to introduce myself as the new Unite Regional
Secretary for the North West.
I am delighted to lead the biggest Unite
region with a dominant presence in a diverse range of sectors
including manufacturing, motor vehicles, finance, construction,
education, aerospace, shipbuilding and the NHS.
The months ahead are going to be particularly
exciting. One of my first challenges is to lead the integration
process to ensure the smooth operation of the single trade union,
Unite.
The new union will have enormous strength and
we will continue to campaign on the issues that are more important
to you such as job security, decent pensions and affordable
homes. It is essential that we continue to organise and
recruit new members across the North West to build a stronger union
with a collective voice in the workplace.
I very much look forward to working with you
and keeping you all informed of what’s happening in the North West
as we move forward through this transitional period.
Graham Goddard, Deputy General Secretary, who was previously
covering this region has now moved on to London to be Head of the
Finance Sector.
It's almost exactly a month until the Unite
march at Labour Party Conference on Sunday 23rd September.
Hundreds of members from the North West Region
and thousands from across the country are already signed up to
attend 'March with a message for Labour' in Bournemouth but we need
thousands more to ensure that our presence and our demands cannot
be ignored.
We have a new Prime Minister, many new Cabinet
Ministers and the next General Election could be less than a year
away so this really is the time for us to impress upon the
government the issues we want them to prioritise. From keeping the
NHS in public hands to building more affordable housing and from
stronger legislation to protect jobs to greater trade union rights,
the opportunity really is now.
Of course, we are also a new trade union, the
UK's largest, so the march will enable us to push Unite to the very
top of the political and media agenda.
Remember it's going to be a fun day with
music, bouncy castles and children's entertainers so don’t just
bring your colleagues, bring your family too.
The North West is coordinating free transport
to the march in Bournemouth. Coaches are leaving from
Liverpool, Manchester, Preston, Crewe and Vauxhalls Motors,
Ellesmere Port. For more information on attending the march and
publicity materials for your workplace please contact the Prestwich
Office on 0161 798 8976 before Monday 10th September or
click
http://www.amicustheunion.org/labourpartysite/.
Join the Remploy Crusade
The Remploy Consortium of Trade Unions (Unite
the Union, GMB, and Community), determined to bring work into the
Remploy factory sites, are on a crusade to stop the dreadful
closures of Remploy factories and let the whole of the UK know what
is happening.
The Remploy road trip will start in Aberdeen
on the 28th August 2007 and reach the North West on 1st
September travelling through Scotland, England and Wales and
calling at all Remploy factory sites that are earmarked for
closure.
Unite, the GMB, and Community are making
history in attempting such a gruelling schedule and never before
have the trade unions taken on such a difficult commitment, which
will be a real challenge, to visit over 60 Remploy sites and to
hold so many public meetings.
We are asking all union members in Unite, GMB,
and Community to take part in this crusade when to make sure that
we have maximum support:
Saturday 1st September
2007
Barrow in Furness - Truck/Street Stall Event
at 10.00 a.m.
Manchester – Football ground at 2.00 p.m.
Monday 3rd September
2007
Manchester – Factory rally/press briefing at
8.30 a.m.
Stockport (m) – Factory rally at 11.30
a.m.
Wigan – Factory rally at 3.00 p.m.
Liverpool – Public meeting/rally at 7.30
p.m.
Tuesday 4th September
2007
Liverpool/Aintree – Factory rally/press
briefing at 8.30 a.m.
Birkenhead and CCU – Factory rally at 11.30
a.m.
St. Helens – Factory rally at 2.30 p.m.
For further information please contact
Kevin.Hepworth@unitetheunion.org.
Virgin settlement
Virgin Atlantic drastically improved its pay
offer to cabin crew after Unite members voted to ballot for
industrial action.
Virgin Atlantic has now offered a three year
deal with 4.8% in the first year and RPI for the second and third
years. The company also offered a 20% increase on trip pay. Virgin
Atlantic had initially offered just 2% over eighteen months.
Other non-unionised Virgin Atlantic groups
including staff, engineers, operations and administrative staff
were awarded just 2%.
Unite (Amicus section) National Officer, Brian
Boyd, said: “Unite now believe that we have reached a point
where the important part played by cabin crew in the continued
success of Virgin Atlantic has been
recognised.”
Virgin Atlantic cabin crew are now being
consulted on the offer.
AXA sign new agreement
AXA and Unite (Amicus Section) have signed a
new recognition agreement covering AXA Insurance, AXA Life, AXA
Shared Services and AXA UK. This new agreement consolidates
the previous separate operating company agreements and ensures a
consistent approach to industrial relations within AXA.
The new agreement includes a number of
improvements on its predecessors including the inclusion of a set
of principles on consultation that will ensure Unite is brought
into the consultation process at the earliest possible stage to
enable us to influence the decision making process to the benefit
of our members.
The agreement also formalises the relationship
between local reps and their workplace management team, promoting
the process of dialogue and consultation on the shop floor as well
as at a national level.
Local workplace reps will also benefit with
the agreement of the company to provide additional paid time off
for training which will not only benefit the reps in their role and
career development, but also members by ensuring their workplace
reps are up to date in a rapidly changing industrial relations
world.
New protection - but more
needed
New corporate manslaughter legislation was
finally passed at the end of July.
The long awaited Corporate Manslaughter and
Corporate Homicide Act which comes into force in April 2008, will
mean that organisations, including those in the public sector, can
be prosecuted for corporate killing when a companies’ negligence
leads to the death of someone at work. Previously it has proved
almost impossible to find organisations guilty of corporate
manslaughter.
The new law also provides for offending companies to be ‘named and
shamed’ and for judges to issue remedial orders, as well as fining
companies but importantly, it does not include penalties for senior
company directors which Unite has campaigned vigorously for.
Bud Hudspith, Unite Amicus Section's National
Health and Safety Officer, said:”It doesn’t do
everything we want but it is still better than no Bill at all.
There are many employers out there who, quite rightly, will be
frightened by the possibility of prosecution, heavy fines and
adverse publicity. We also expect to see judges issuing novel
remedial orders. However, we do not want to wait for workers to be
killed before action can be taken against guilty
directors.”
Unite Amicus will now be campaigning vigorously for individual
health and safety duties to be applied to directors and senior
managers under the Health and Safety at Work Act.
Manchester
Pride
The North West is officially sponsoring
Manchester Pride this year. Unite will have a stall in the
'lifestyle expo' of the festival on Saturday 25th (11am - 8pm) and
Sunday 26th August (11am - 6pm) and possibly Monday 27th
August.
Unite representatives will be on hand to give
out literature about the Unite (Amicus) LGBT and other equality
networks to Unite members, talk to people about unions and
encouraging non-union members to join, surveying people about their
attitudes to, membership of and involvement in unions, giving out
goody bags and generally having a fun time (hopefully) in the
sun!
As sponsors, it is important that we have a
good presence at the event and are looking for activist and
volunteers to help at the festival. Please contact Sarah Holden on
0161 798 8976 if you can help out, even if it’s only for a couple
of hours it will help.
Make Manufacturing Work
As part of the campaign for a strong
government response to the continued decline in manufacturing Unite
are holding a lobby of parliament on Wednesday 17th
October 2007.
Please put this date in your diary and if you
wish to attend please contact your regional co-ordinator terry.burns@unitetheunion.org
Further information on transport arrangements
and materials will be issued shortly and will also be on the
website.
Fresher’s season
This September is the launch of our second
successive Working Students Campaign. Last year saw the creation of
two Trade Union societies at Durham and Birmingham Universities.
The societies are run and managed by Students who pay a special
rate of £10 a year to be members of Unite, the function of
societies is to support and campaign for working students and adopt
our national campaigns bringing in a new generation of trade
unionists. The campaign starts with a strategic presence at
selected Fresher’s Fairs across the UK. This presence will not only
see new members but will see the creation of at least one Society
per region.
To get involved please email David at David.Braniff-Herbert@unitetheunion.org.
Remember if you have any students at
University or starting this September get them to join Unite and
get involved in the society
North West
Legal
The widow of a Unite (Amicus section) member
has been awarded more than £330,000 in compensation in her battle
to gain compensation for her husband’s exposure to asbestos.
Her husband sadly died from the disease in May
2003 just a few months after he was diagnosed. Since his death his
widow has received support from Unite and their lawyers to pursue
her claim for compensation.
Her husband worked as a contractor in a number
of different premises over the years. He was exposed to asbestos
while working at notorious asbestos factory Turner & Newall,
Cape Darlington, Joseph Nadins, Kitsons Insulations, Miller
Insulation and Engineering Ltd and VSEL Birkenhead Ltd.
Her case was affected by the House of Lords
decision, known as Barker, in 2006 which made it harder to bring a
successful claim where there had been exposure to asbestos by more
than one company.
Thompsons Solicitors worked through these
problems so that the widow received £330,000 compared to the
£40,000 she would have been entitled to received had it not been
for the change in the law which Unite and Thompsons Solicitors had
called for.
She said: “I want to thank Unite and
their solicitors for all their hard work.
“Mesothelioma is a devastating disease
and it has wrecked our family. It was a horrendous time but I
feel we have been able to achieve some justice for my
husband.”
Unite Regional Secretary, Laurence Faircloth
added: “We will continue to fight to ensure asbestos
victims retain their right to claim full compensation for the
injuries they have suffered through merely carrying out a hard
day’s work.”
Unite/CPHVA Facing the Future:
Regional Road Shows on the Health Visitor
Review
Current and future Unite/CPHVA members are
invited to be involved in feeding comments into the national,
professional team at a regional road show to be held on Monday 3rd
September at 4:15 pm. at Central Clinic, 50 Victoria Place,
Carlisle CA1 1HP. All Health Visitors and Nursery Nurses
welcome.
Pilkington
Glass Pension
Do you know anyone over 65 years of age who is
receiving a workmen’s pension from Pilkington Glass? The branch has
concerns that these people are not receiving any increase in their
pension. Please get in touch with Martin Bond at sthelensamicus-0865@yahooco.uk.
Reach on line licenses – going
cheap!
Unite have a great deal on cheap online
courses - please see below.
IT professional libraries
· Technical
Microsoft. (MCSE LEVEL)
· Technical
Web Development. (Creating simple to complex web sites)
· Technical
General. (Programming Languages)
Desktop & Business
· End user
Desktop publishing.
· End user
Business skills development. (Bus mgt, time mgt, Negotiating skills
and communication)
Personal skills
Interview skills, basic business accounting
and CV’s.
Learners must register by
31st August. For further information please
contact Javaid Aslam on 0161 798 1970. Alternatively you can
contact our Reach Online Organiser Sunil Patel at
Sunil.Patel@amicustheunion.org
This bulletin has been produced by
Karen Viquerat, if you have any stories or contributions please
email karen.viquerat@amicustheunion.org or telephone Karen on 01704
546 500.
