• Regions
• North West
• E-bulletins

E-Bulletin, Issue 24 - February 2009

North West activists are invited to join thousands of people on a march through London to make world leaders listen to working people, ahead of their 2nd April summit on the global financial crisis.

Put People First! – March for jobs, justice and climate
March 28th 2009

Our future depends on creating an economy based on the fair distribution of wealth, decent jobs for all and the sustainable use of resources.

People from all over the country will join the march on March 28th 2009 as part of a global campaign to challenge the G20 leaders.

For transport details from the North West contact Dianne Kennedy on 0161 798 8976 or  visit www.unitetheunion.org/G20demo.

Jacob’s based in Aintree, which is part of the United Biscuits Group, has snapped up the award for 2008 United Biscuits site of the year.

This was achieved by the hard work of staff and management in turning the site around. Last year, they were successful in attracting extra funding from the group to establish a cake plant on the site. This resulted in not only extra staff being appointed but the appointment of much needed apprentices.

The company has set targets for 2009, which includes a 10% reduction in costs. Normally, when companies set these targets it means redundancies. However, within the maintenance group, management have said they are aiming to make reductions from savings within, such as moving away from costly contractors and savings in equipment parts.

The company is working with the maintenance group to improve communications, recruit and train three apprentices into the department for the first time in ten years, increase the skills of our members and implement a multi-skilled training programme. This issue has been ongoing for sometime but we are hopeful that we will be able to make real progress this year.

Unite Regional Officer, Debbie Brannan said: “This truly is a good news story considering the difficulties that manufacturing is facing in this unprecedented downturn, highlighted even further with the turbulent industrial relations we have experienced in recent years.

“However, since the appointment of a new management team we are seeing real progress in partnership working with the company, with not only improved industrial relations but also new apprentices and maintenance staff being appointed. We still have a fair way to go but we are moving in the right direction and the accolade of site of the year is, dare I say it, 'proof of the pudding!'

Launch of first ever survey of UK truck drivers

Truck drivers fed up with the poor facilities they have to put up with during their working days and nights will now have a chance to make their views known with the launch of the UK's first ever hotline dedicated to professional drivers.

Unite wants truck drivers to call the hotline about the problems they face in finding somewhere safe to park their valuable cargoes at night, and the high costs and poor standards at many UK truckstops.

The hotline is the first step in a campaign to stop the pirates who prey on lorry drivers. According to Unite, a drivers' tough working day is made more difficult by the poor quality and scarcity of truck stop facilities around the UK and Ireland. One driver's typical week on the road reported closed truckstops, nights spent sleeping in a lay-by and filthy toilet facilities.

The hotline - which is available on 0800 833 0570 - will gather information on the state of truck stops across Britain and will run from Friday 13th, February 2009 until mid-April.

For further details on the campaign please visit http://www.unitetheunion.org/.

Tesco: Show some love for workers in your supply chain

Thousands of workers employed in the supermarket supply chain called on Tesco's CEO, Sir Terry Leahy to have a heart on Valentine's day. Unite also held demonstrations outside Tesco stores across Britain and Ireland.

A giant Valentine's card accompanied by a petition signed by thousands of workers including British, Polish, Portuguese and Lithuanians working in the UK, was delivered to Tesco's head office on February 14th. The Valentine's card calls on Sir Terry Leahy to make a commitment to end the harsh and divisive conditions, which the union believes exists in many of the companies that supply meat to Tesco stores.

Demonstrators leafleted customers at the Tesco store in Cheshire and other stores across the country to raise awareness of Unite's ongoing campaign, calling for justice for workers employed by companies operating in Tesco's UK meat supply chain

The union has presented Tesco with evidence that workers in its UK supply chain are experiencing harsh and divisive conditions that in some cases are abusive. Unite believes that structural discrimination exists in many parts of the supply chain that provides meat to Tesco.

For full story please click here.

North West supports constructions workers at Staythorpe

Unite members from the North West joined hundreds of skilled but unemployed construction workers being refused work at the Staythorpe power station on 11th February. 

The co-ordinated demonstrations outside Staythorpe and Isle of Grain sites called on Alstom to give UK-based labour fair access to work.

Alstom, the main contractor at both power stations, is using two subcontractors at each of the sites, both of whom are refusing to consider local labour.

Unite is calling on the government to insist that companies applying for contracts on public infrastructure projects, sign up to corporate social responsibility agreements which commit to fair access for UK labour.

On the same day Derek Simpson, joint leader of Unite, together with a delegation of Unite members working in engineering and construction delivered a petition to Number 10, calling on Gordon Brown to insist that employers give UK workers fair access to work on UK engineering and construction projects. Following the delivery of the petition, construction workers met with MPs and peers in the Houses of Parliament to put forward their case for fairness not favours.

The petition signed by thousands of engineering and construction workers also calls for overseas workers to be paid in line with agreed UK rates. Unite believes that the best way to achieve this is to ensure that UK workers and their unions work side by side with overseas workers.

A march and rally around Newark is being planned to take place on 24th February assembling at 10.30 a.m. We need to encourage and assist as many unemployed members to attend as possible. For further details on the march please contact Mike Gaskell, Unite Construction Officer on 07768693950.

For further information on the campaign please visit http://www.unitetheunion.org/.

We need YOUR help to win a fairer deal on redundancy pay
Campaign to secure MPs' support for the Second Reading of the redundancy Bill
House of Commons, Friday 13th March, 2009

Statutory redundancy pay (SRP) in this country is among the lowest in Europe.  Introduced in 1965, when its value was some 200% above average weekly earnings, its worth has declined so dramatically that a worker made redundant tomorrow can expect their redundancy pay off to represent only 56% of their average weekly earnings. 

This is a lousy reward for years of loyal service - and it means that workers in this country are among the cheapest to sack in the EU.

It is time to stop the rot.

Unite, working with our sister unions, is leading the campaign to back a private member's bill, introduced by Lindsay Hoyle, Labour MP for Chorley, that will improve the tired formula for calculating SRP.  Getting a fairer deal for workers, and stopping employers from viewing redundancy as the cheapest option in these testing economic times, is a priority for our union - but we need your every assistance to win this campaign.

For this Bill to have any chance of success, at least 100 MPs must be in the Commons on Friday 13th March to steer it through to its next Parliamentary stages.  With your help, we can impress upon Labour MPs across the country that they must stay at the Commons on March 13th to support the bill.  Remember what we achieved with the temporary and agency workers bill? By lobbying Labour MPs now, we can achieve a better deal for workers on redundancy pay.

In the next few days bulk quantities of postcards intended for MPs will begin to arrive at our regional head offices for distribution to members and activists.  These must be filled in and posted to MPs as early as possible so that they get the message - be in the Commons on Friday 13th March, 2009 to support this Bill. But don't just wait for the postcards - please start contacting your MPs now, by phone, by email or by letter, and ask them to support this Bill.

It is also vital that we demonstrate how this Bill, which will lift the cap on SRP so that it is brought into line with today's average earnings, will deliver a fairer deal for three in every four workers.  To do this, we need case studies illustrating how our members recently made redundant have had a raw deal.  If you can help with any case studies, please contact our Campaigns team by emailing pauline.doyle@unitetheunion.org  urgently.

Further information on the campaign will soon be available but if you want to find out more about how you can get involved, please email Pauline.

Backing this Bill means backing a better deal for our members.  We only have a few short weeks to deliver this change and need your efforts to do so.

Action Mesothelioma Day - 27 February 2009

“Mesothelioma is far and away the least researched of the top twenty cancers in the UK”

Asbestos Forum Calls for a Government funded UK National Centre for Asbestos Related Disease.

Action Mesothelioma Day was inaugurated by the British Lung Foundation and supporting organisations to raise awareness of mesothelioma, a fatal asbestos related disease, which kills over 2,000 people each year, and to gain support for a mesothelioma charter, including improved treatment and research.

On Action Mesothelioma Day the Asbestos Victims Support Groups Forum, MPs, doctors and nurses are calling for government to fund a UK National Centre for Asbestos Related Disease, similar to the centre established in Australia.

The Commonwealth Government of Australia has given $6.2 million to fund their research centre and a further $1 million has been donated by the research centre host, the University of Western Australia.

The UK and Australia have the highest internationally reported incidence rates (30 per million) for mesothelioma, yet in the UK almost all funds dedicated to mesothelioma research come from families and friends of mesothelioma sufferers. Very little funding comes from government.

Asbestos victims support groups are holding events in several cities on Action Mesothelioma Day, supported by doctors, nurses and MPs, calling for government funded mesothelioma research. Events can be found on http://www.asbestosforum.org/

John Edwards: Consultant Thoracic Surgeon and Chair of the British Mesothelioma Interest Group: “Patients and their carers do not want the compensation – they want their lives back. Industry does not want to pay the compensation. Government does not want to pay the benefits. Researchers are desperate for funds to develop life saving treatments – mesothelioma is far and away the least researched of the top twenty cancers in the UK. Funding for a UK National Centre for Asbestos Related Disease is a priority to satisfy all parties. Such a virtual institution would encourage collaboration between current and future researchers and stimulate trans national research to generate future treatments to prolong and save lives.”

Please support events in your area and join the call for government funded mesothelioma research. http://www.asbestosforum.org/. For more information contact Rob Miguel Health and Safety Advisor on 07900 804911.
 
Unite wins protective award of £145,000 for former staff at Automotive Applied Technologies

Unite has won a protective award of £145,000 for the former staff at Automotive Applied Technologies Ltd (“AAT”) the plastics injection moulder for the automotive industry.
 
AAT employed 145 people at its site in Accrington, Lancashire.  On 24 October 2007 Unite regional officer Peter Wheeler was informed AAT had run out of money and that Menzies Corporate Restructuring (“Menzies”) was being appointed as Administrators. 

Two days later representatives from Menzies were present at AAT’s premises and they informed Mr Wheeler that they were trying to find a buyer.  However, if a buyer could not be found then AAT would have to make all employees redundant. No further information was provided to the union or the employees.

Between 2 November and 19 December 2007 AAT made all employees redundant. At no point prior to the first redundancies was Unite notified that redundancies would be made.  Unite, the recognised union at AAT for the purposes of collective bargaining, pursued a protective award claim through its solicitors Rowley Ashworth in respect of the company’s failure to inform and consult under the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (“TULR(C)A”). 

The Employment Tribunal found in favour of Unite.  It held that AAT had failed to inform and consult and that consequently all those employees who were dismissed between the dates of 1 November and 19 December 2007 were entitled to remuneration during the protective period, which the Tribunal held to be a period of 90 days.  The members are therefore entitled to receive 90 days’ pay each.