Work of the Unite Parliamentary Group
In Brief: Recent work of the Unite
Parliamentary Group
Arts Funding
achievement
Arts Funding achievement following
lobbying of Unite MPs
Unite, led by the Chairs of the Parliamentary Group, has lobbied
both the current and previous, Secretary of State for
Culture, Sport and Chief Secretary to the Treasury to push the
importance of a positive outcome from the Comprehensive Spending
Review (CSR) regarding the funds allocated to Arts Council England
(ACE).
Following the joint work of the union and the Arts Council
England on this issue, the Government last month announced an extra
£50 million going to the Arts Council England by 2011. The funding
comes from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s settlement
in the 2007 spending review and means that funding for the Arts
Council England will rise from £417 million this year to £467
million in 2010/11.
Motor Industry – Impact of Green taxes and band G vehicles
Co-Chair Lindsay Hoyle MP facilitated a meeting for Unite officers
Roger Maddison and Des Quinn with Treasury Minister Angela Eagle
about the Government’s proposals to introduce higher purchase tax
for band G vehicles which includes Land Rover. Unite believes that
such measures would have direct impact on Jaguar and Land Rover
sales in the UK, whilst the environmental benefit would be small as
sales are 7% of the UK car market. Angela Eagle said she understood
all the arguments as her constituency in Liverpool would also be
affected by the Jaguar impact and that the Government had and would
take all manufacturing impacts into consideration.
Fujitsu
Members of the Unite Parliamentary
Group from the area affected by the dispute, led by Unite MP, Tony
Lloyd, have met with union members and representatives from
Fujitsu and contacted the Chief Executive on a number of occasions
with regards to a meeting. A delegation of union members also came
presented a petition to Jim Fitzpatrick MP, member of the Unite
Parliamentary Group and then Minister for Employment Relations.
Following this, MPs in the Parliamentary Group were keen to push
for an adjournment debate on the ongoing dispute and made this
clear to Fujitsu.
However, while constructive talks were
ongoing, a meeting and debate was put on hold – with the strong
possibility that both would be brought back in should talks stall –
and, after months of talks, it looks like an agreement has been on
all of the outstanding issues as well as on a national organising
agreement.
Electra/Lil-lets
UK
In July a group of representatives
from the Electra/Lil-lets factory in the West Midlands came to
Westminster to raise the issue of the effect that private equity
companies are having on employment in the UK, and, in this
particular case, the impact that ensuing redundancies are having on
the level of their pension entitlement. Representatives met with
Sylvia Heal MP and Steve McCabe MP – member of the Unite Group -
and it is thought that the best way forward would be to apply for
an adjournment debate on the matter following the summer recess.
The Chairs of the Parliamentary group will also highlight the
matter with all those Unite MPs who have constituents affected by
the situation at Electra/Lil-lets.
RSPCA
The Chairs of the Parliamentary Group
contacted the – now former - Pay Master General Dawn Primarolo with
regards to the new vehicle taxation regulations and the way these
affect Unite members who work for the RSPCA. Dawn Primarolo has
replied to the Chairs of the Group offering a meeting and
explaining the system. This is an offer we hope the new minister,
Kitty Ussher, a member of the Unite Parliamentary Group will
honour.
