Sharing the sacrifice?

This comes from a poster in the 1930s, but how much have things really changed? Don’t let management keep treading us down. Join UNISON and get active to protect staff and services.

Together we can make a difference!

Sean Rigg

Sean’s sudden and untimely death has come as a shock to the family. On 21st Aug ‘08 he was arrested and restrained by Brixton police - he died very shortly after...Why?

For more information, visit: http://www.seanriggjusticeandchange.com

NUT bureaucrats pull plug on strike action

A graphic illustration of the trade union bureaucracy’s capacity for betrayal was seen earlier this week when the NUT’s Action Committee pulled the plug on official strike action due to be taken by the St Paul’s Way NUT group. The NUT group had been trying to secure strike action from the Union since the end of the Spring term when the Headteacher (acting on behalf of the school’s Interim Executive Board) had revealed a restructuring plan that contained a vicious attack on jobs and conditions, with over 20 jobs under threat.

These cuts were announced in the context of a generalised assault on both union organisation and comprehensive education. The NUT rep had been sacked at the end of December in a blatant act of victimisation, management bullying was rife and a restricted, increasingly vocational curriculum was being introduced. In addition, the IEB’s objective was to privatise the school by turning it into a Trust.

As soon as the plan was announced the NUT group called upon the Union to issue an immediate ballot for discontinuous strike action. This was a call that was made several times in various resolutions over the summer term. The national union, however, found pretext after pretext
for delaying the ballot. In the face of NUT inaction many members inevitably opted for individual solutions such as severance, early retirement or resigning.

The ballot was finally issued five weeks before the end of term. The result, though, was an impressive 91% yes vote for action on an 83% turnout. Despite this result and the obvious commitment to strike action shown by NUT members, the Union sought to limit action as much
as possible. Eventually it informed the Tower Hamlets Local Authority that there would be two days of strike action this term and two days in the Autumn.

Less than a week after this announcement the Action Committee recommended suspending all strike action! In doing so it claimed that the Local Authority was prepared to make a significant concession: it would delay by a term the issuing of redundancy notices. The Union had not saved members’ jobs but simply delayed the moment when they would be chopped!

It was left to Alex Kenny, left Executive member and also member of the Action Committee, to try to sell this thoroughly rotten deal to the membership at a meeting of the NUT group on Tuesday 7th July. Revealingly, he did not attempt to differentiate his position from that of bureaucrats like Tim Harrison and John Dixon and defended their recommendation to accept the Local Authority’s offer and call off action. He was, however, unable to convince a single person
amongst the 40 NUT members present at the meeting. Everyone who spoke rejected the offer as derisory and demanded that the strike action continue. Various speakers pointed out that if action was not taken this term, then even more NUT members, believing their Union would not
defend them, would leave the school. The result would be a broken NUT group whose ability to resist the creation of a Trust would be severely weakened. A motion reaffirming the NUT group’s commitment to strike action was taken and passed unanimously. The views of the membership could not have been clearer. Despite this, four hours later Alex Kenny informed the school’s NUT rep that the Action Committee, with complete bureaucratic disdain for members’ views, had abandoned strike action.

The situation at St Paul’s Way provides a clear illustration of the need for a radical ransformation of the NUT so that rank and file members, those whose jobs are on the line, decide when and how to fight, not the trade union bureaucrats (or their left apologists like Alex Kenny). It also makes it clear why it is necessary to take unofficial strike action: if the Union is refusing to sanction action, unofficial action is the only alternative to defeat redundancies and threats of privatisation in the form of trusts and academies. This is a lesson that has not been lost on the St Paul’s Way NUT group: at its meeting on Wednesday the group voted to take unofficial action on the 15/7/09 if the Action Committee has not reinstated the strike.

Support the campaign against privatisation of Ashmole Estate

Please support the campaign against privatisation of Ashmole estate.

DCH debates Metroplitan Housing Association, Ashmole Tenants Hall , Meadow Road

Meet Fentiman Arms Thursday 6pm June 25th for canvassing.

Residents meeting at 7pm.

Join the No to Transfer campaign – Canvassing and Postering Dates
Saturday June 27th meet 4pm Fentiman Arms
Sunday June 28th meet 4pm Fentiman Arms
Monday June 29th - first day of ballot - 6.30 pm Fentiman Arms
Tuesday June 30th 6.30 pm Fentiman Arms
- further dates will be announced as necessary.

Transfer is privatisation
Metropolitan Housing Association ‘says it’s not for profit’ but it borrows from banks and buys and sells homes on the private market, using tenant’s homes as security for borrowing. It’s very risky for tenants to become subject to the ups and downs of the private market and the instability of the banks.

Less security
Metropolitan say they will guarantee tenants the same rights that we get under a council ‘secure ‘tenancy. But these promises don’t have the same force in law as the statutory rights we have as council tenants. And though the current management of Metropolitan may say they are committed to tenant's security, what if they merge with another housing association and the new management takes a different view? ‘Transfer landlords‘ are much more likely to merge into even bigger businesses as that’s how the banks prefer them to be.

Even higher rents and charges
Housing Association rents and charges are higher than council rents. Metropolitan say that tenant's rents will be the same as the council charges, and the government has been trying to ‘converge ‘ council and housing association rents together, but their plans are in disarray – ‘convergence’ has been moved from 2012 to 2024 !!

COME TO THE PUBLIC MEETING TO FIND OUT MORE, ASK QUESTIONS AND http://www.support4councilhousing.org.uk/OIN THE LAMBETH DEFEND COUNCIL HOUSING CAMPAIGN: VOTE NO TO TRANSFER, IT’S NOT WORTH THE RISK !

Contact Lambeth Defend Council Housing dchlambeth@gmail.com 07834828292 www.defendcouncilhousing.org.uk

Lambeth housing: sell offs, job cuts and rent rises

From Workers Power website:

Demo: 11am Saturday 30 May, assemble Lambeth Town Hall, Brixton

When Lambeth Activists, a caucus of militants in Lambeth Unison, called a public meeting to highlight job cuts in the housing section and the privatisation of the repairs and maintenance service, we got a great response.

Jeremy Dewar reports on a packed meeting and plans for a fightback.Council housing in Lambeth, south London is in a severe crisis after years of corruption and incompetence at the very top. And - as with the wider economic crisis, of which this is an echo - it is the workers, who provide and rely on this public service, that are being made to pay the price.

Labour attacks council housing

In a calculated move, the Labour controlled authority froze council tax, but then made tenants pay for it. Rents have shot up not once but twice since November - a 25 per cent hike at a time when unemployment is rising and average wages falling.While 17,000 are waiting for a council home, 2,000 of whom are in temporary accommodation, the local authority is auctioning off empty properties, even though most need just minimal repairs to be ready to rent.

Again, what timing: up to 75,000 households will be repossessed this year, nationally, but Lambeth anticipates the growing need for affordable rented accommodation... by selling off its stock.

Reg Morrison told the meeting that housing officers had brought down the average time it took to turn round a "void" - making an empty council property ready for renting out again - from 88 days to just 22. But instead of easing the demand for affordable housing, the council has abused this dedicated labour by selling off the properties.Added to this, the council is still trying to hive off whole estates to housing associations.

The latest target is the Ashmole estate, which has only recently voted against privatisation. But there is no rule to stop the authority asking the same question again and again... until it gets the answer it wants. So the Ashmole tenants have again to mount a campaign to ensure a majority understands the issues and votes down the proposal.

The housing department itself was turned into an Arms Length Management Organisation (almo) a few years back on the promise that it could then apply for increased funding from central government and that it would not lead to further privatisation. Even then, the ballot to set it up only succeeded because the "Don't knows" were excluded.

Now the almo, called Lambeth Living, has announced a 20 per cent cut in the workforce - up to one in three posts in some departments. As Dan Jeffery told the meeting, this would mean "each member of staff working an extra 10 hours a week" just for the service to standstill. The fact that there are at least ten consultants earning between £500 and £1,000 a day in Lambeth Living has added to workers' anger.

Privatisation

On top of this, Lambeth Living has also put out to tender First Call, the emergency repairs unit, the concierge service and the north Lambeth cleaners. So much for the promise of no more privatisation.The 18 May public meeting certainly made clear that there was no call from those that use these services for their privatisation.

On the contrary, the number of concierges and cleaners has been halved in recent years and residents wanted the return of their full compliment - not the introduction of cost cutting profiteers. One of the cleaners, who couldn't be present, was reported to have complained, "I've cleaned up faeces, urine, drug needles, and for that I've been offered £6,000 or be turned over to a contractor and end up on the minimum wage."

First Call, on the other hand, is clearly a much-loved service - in complete contrast to the private contractors, Morrison and Connaught, which take the lion's share of the work. The last remaining public sector workers have for the most part been reduced to phoning up the privateers and checking up on their work.

Steve from First Call explained how the contractors milk the system: coming out without the right equipment or parts, then returning to do a rush job and finally fixing the problem properly; each time they will log it as a different job, so getting paid three times! As Steve said, "We are the only people checking up on this. Privatise us and you might as well give them an open chequebook."

Action

Ros Munday, chair of the tenants' council, brought home the human misery this crisis is causing by telling us of a Chinese woman, who was thinking of resigning from her part time job, which brought in £104 a week, because she could not afford the £15 a week rent rise without benefits.

So when Steve Hack of Lambeth Defend Council Housing proposed we all join him on a march from the Town Hall to protest at some vacant properties on Coldharbour Lane, it was agreed unanimously.

The meeting, which was packed with over 60 in attendance, many of whom were active in tenants and residents' associations, also endorsed adding to the slogan of "No selling our homes" those of "No job cuts" and "No privatisation".

A discussion was started over what further action could be taken. Everyone thought the tactic, pioneered by DCH, of occupying homes when they are put up for auction was excellent and could be spread.

I warned that the council would try to drive a wedge between workers and tenants, and that the meeting should set up some kind of joint action committee to support the unions, should strike action become necessary, and to support a rent strike, should the tenants decide on that course of action.

Again, this idea was warmly applauded.A useful debate also looked at putting up a political alternative to New Labour: should we stand protest candidates against Labour in elections?

While there were speeches for and against this idea, a Liberal Democrat candidate hoping to score points by coming to the meeting was swiftly rounded upon and sent packing.

Certainly the absence of a working class alternative to Labour was keenly felt.For now, however, all hands are on deck to build for the demonstration on Saturday.

Leaflets and posters are going up, as both the Unison and GMB union branches as well as the tenants associations and Defend Council Housing have all received a fillip in their fight to defend jobs, public services and council housing.

More coverage in the South London Press.

PROTEST MARCH - Saturday 30th May, Assemble 11am Lambeth Town Hall

Lambeth Housing Crisis

· No to sale of Council Housing
· No to privatisation
· No to job cuts


There are 17,000 residents on Lambeth’s Housing Waiting List and 2,000 in Temporary Accommodation... but Lambeth Council are AUCTIONING OFF council homes at rock-bottom prices, cutting jobs and giving away Council services to private companies only interested in profit.

UNISON is campaigning alongside tenants, leaseholders and community organisations to defend the interests of local residents and workers to oppose the Council’s policies. Council homes should be refurbished and used to house the homeless.

Saturday 30th May
Assemble 11am
Lambeth Town Hall

No more sell offs! No to rent rises, job cuts and privatisation!

Green MEPs head the poll on transparency, accountability, democracy and waste in the EU.

This is what I have been saying at hustings in London during this campaign and have the voting record to prove it. Now Open Europe, which campaigns for transparency and democracy in the EU, has stated it also. The Greens have a record second to none in the EU when it comes to this issue. But as I have also said at hustings, it is important to view the record of the other parties, and particularly of the pan European blocks which they are members of, such as the European People's Party, in the case of the Tories. All of the parties (well most of them) can talk a good talk. The point is can they walk the walk?

Green leader comes top in Open Europe's "premier league" MEP poll

Caroline Lucas MEP, leader of the Green Party, has been rated best British MEP on transparency, accountability, democracy and waste by campaign group Open Europe.
And Britain's Green Party MEPs were ranked above the groups of all other British parties.
Today Open Europe published a ranking of all 785 Members of the European Parliament, scoring their record on promoting transparency and reform in the European Union over the last five-year term.

Open Europe's ranking was based on a range of activities, including voting records, attendance, written declarations, and whether the MEPs themselves have taken part in wasteful activities, such as the controversial second pension fund.

Open Europe awarded points based on a "Premier League" model, where 3 points was the highest score, followed by 1 point and 0 points. On attendance, a scale from 1 to 6 was used. MEPs who had been the subject of substantive press reports of wrongdoing were shown Open Europe's "red card" and had 10 points deducted from their score.

UKIP leader shares bottom place with a Conservative, a Labour MEP and a LibDem
The bottom thirteen places for British MEPs in Open Europe's ranking included 5 Conservatives and 6 UKIP MEPs. The very bottom place, however, was jointly shared between an MEP each from the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, Labour and UKIP.
The UKIP MEP with the poorest score was party leader Nigel Farage.

Green Party leader Dr Caroline Lucas MEP, commenting on the result, said:
"I'm delighted that the Green Party has topped the poll on promoting transparency and reform in the EU. It shows more clearly than ever that if people want to see greater democracy, transparency and accountability in parliament, the best way of achieving that is to vote Green on 4 June."
Open Europe's Research Director Mats Persson said commented:
"No matter where their political sympathies may lie, MEPs should all be working for a more open, democratic EU, while trying to reduce the waste of taxpayers' money. These issues should be at the top of their agenda - especially now when the public's trust in politicians is at an all-time low.
"They might talk a good game at home, but too many British MEPs have voted against transparency and EU reform on a number of occasions. What we need now is a new generation of politicians, committed to acting in the public interest and pushing for a much better deal for taxpayers at all levels of government - including EU level."

Open Europe's categories were as follows:

A) Transparency, openness and democracy
MEPs are ranked according to whether they:
1. Voted for easier public access to EU documents

2. Voted against keeping MEPs' expenses and accounts secret

3. Voted to increase transparency, including better public access to MEPs' voting records

4. Responded to Open Europe's Transparency Initiative on expenses and allowances

5. Voted in favour of imposing sanctions for MEPs guilty of financial irregularities

6. Voted in favour of providing mandatory receipts for travel expenses

7. Voted to respect the outcome of the pending legally-binding Irish referendum on the Lisbon Treaty

8. Voted in favour of opening Europe up to trade with developing countries

9. Achieved good attendance at the Parliament's voting sessions

B) Fighting waste and misuse of EU funds
MEPs are ranked according to whether they:
1. Opted out of the Parliament's controversial second pension fund

2. Voted in favour of cleaning up the second pension fund

3. Supported moves to abolish the Parliament's second seat in Strasbourg

4. Voted against 'hypocritical' EU subsidies to tobacco farmers

5. Voted to reform the CAP and discontinue subsidies to tobacco farmers

6. Voted not to clear the European Parliament's accounts for 2006 due to 75% unaccounted expenditure on MEPs' assistants' allowances

7. Voted not to approve the Parliament's accounts for 2007

8. Voted not to approve the Commission's accounts for 2007

9. Voted to postpone clearing the European Council's accounts for 2007

10. Voted against clearing the accounts of the European Police College for 2007 while it was under investigation for fraud

To see the league table, please click here:www.openeurope.org.uk/research/mepranking.xls (See sheet two for UK MEPs only)For a guide to the criteria used in the ranking, please click here:www.openeurope.org.uk/research/rankingguide.pdf

Green Left Pamphlet on the economic crisis to be launched on Wednesday

Green Left, the anti-capitalist current in the Green Party, has just published a new pamphlet, which is to be launched at Housmans Bookshop in London at on Wednesday 27 May. Entitled Countering the Crisis, the pamphlet gives an ecosocialist response to the global recession and the threat of climate change.

The pamphlet has two main sections; the first provides an analysis of the current crisis and shows how it is the inherent instability of the financial system that is the prime mover of the credit crunch rather than just the sleight of hand of a relatively tiny number of spivs and hucksters. It points to the phenomena of the financialisation of capitalism - the shift in gravity from production to finance – and suggests that this has been the key factor in the development of asset bubbles and the growth of the increasingly more arcane and risky financial schemes which have triggered the collapse of markets throughout the world.The second part sets out some proposals for dealing with the twin crises – financial and environmental – that confront us. Central to these is the demand for a massive redistribution of wealth and power. One of the key factors in advancing the financialisation of the economy has been the dramatic redistribution of wealth away from wages as a percentage of the GDP. Therefore, there is an urgent need to redistribute wealth away from corporate profits and towards wages and income; not only because justice demands it but also because it makes sound economic sense.

The pamphlet points out that many of the points it makes have been made elsewhere on the left and that and a number of manifestos round which to organise have been issued, most importantly The People’s Charter. It is vital that we start to draw together these strands of opposition to the current system in order to enable the development of a genuinely grass roots movement. Realignment of the left (and that includes the Green Party as well) now becomes an urgent necessity for its existence and an essential precondition for the development of a new mass party of and for working people.

The pamphlet will be launched with a talk by its author, Sean Thompson, at Housmans Bookshop, Caledonian Road (near Kings Cross Station) at 7pm on Wednesday, 27 May

Anti-deportation campaigners encase themselves in concrete and glass to block mass deportation flight to Iraq

Campaigners from the Stop Deportation Network and the International Federation of Iraqi Refugees are blockading Colnbrook detention centre, near Heathrow airport, to stop 45 Iraqi refugees being forcibly deported to Iraqi Kurdistan on a specially chartered flight. Six protesters have encased their arms in glass and plastic tubes and concrete blocks, blocking the entrance to Colnbrook and Harmondsworth detention centres. The coaches to carry deportees to the airport have not been able to leave.
One of the deportees has been on hunger strike for 10 days in protest at his forced removal. Najih Rahim Mohammed said: "They haven't even listened to my case properly. I haven't been able to get a decent solicitor as I don't have enough money. I've just heard that the people I left Iraq to escape –people who had killed my brother– have recently kidnapped my uncle but the UK government doesn't care. Many of us have established lives here but the government doesn't care either. I have a daughter and a partner here. I have a life here but they want to send me back to Iraq. Why? It's not fair."Dashty Jamal, secretary of the International Federation of Iraqi Refugees
(IFIR), said: "Deportations to Iraq are inhumane and must be stopped. They place people and their families in great danger. Many of those who have been sent back are forced to live in hiding to avoid persecution by the Kurdistan Regional Government. IFIR has received reports of deportees who have committed suicide, been kidnapped or killed in car bombs. Nobody should be sent back to Iraqi Kurdistan."
The flight is thought to be carrying approximately 60 refused Iraqi refugees, with around 45 of them currently held at Colnbrook. More people are held in Brook House detention centre, near Gatwick airport. Typical of Iraq mass deportation flights, the time, airline and departure airport are not disclosed by the Home Office.
If it went ahead, the flight will be the 9th mass deportation flight to Iraqi Kurdistan in the last 10 months. Iraqis are also deported individually or in groups of two or three on commercial flights such as Royal Jordanian.
A similar mass deportation flight to Iraq in March this year was met by campaigners with a similar blockade of Tinsley House detention centre at Gatwick airport.
One of the Stop Deportation Network said: "Deportation charter flights such as this one are fast becoming the government's favoured way to deport those who have fallen foul of its macabre immigration controls. Every deportation is a violation of people's right to freedom of movement but these charter flights are a particularly sordid way to do that. On top of the trauma and hardship caused by deportation, these charter flights further undermine the legal rights of the deportees whose lives are torn apart. Many deportees have not exhausted all legal avenues available to them and have not had access to adequate legal representation as the emphasis is on filling the flight and getting rid of them as soon as possible and outside the public gaze."-ends-For further information and questions, please contact:Email: stopdeportation@riseup.net

Students occupy London Met to stop job cuts

In a story familiar to all public sector workers, London Metropolitan University are threatening massive redundancies as a result of budget cuts. The university is saying it wanted to get rid of over 550 roles, which would threaten the jobs of 800 staff (a quarter of the workforce).This is a problem which university staff are facing across the country, the Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) has said that 100 institutions are planning collective redundancies. For those who don’t lose their jobs work intensification is another major issue. The student-staff ratio for UK universities was 9/1 thirty years ago, today it is 18/1 (higher than France, Germany and the United States).

London Met students and staff are determined to fight back. As of 17:00 on Monday 11 May 2009, a large group of students began occupation of part of the Commercial Road building to protest at management’s plans for imminent and unprecedented staff redundancies. This follows last week’s industrial action at London Met. On Thursday 7 May UCU members went on strike after the university said it was pushing ahead with a voluntary redundancy scheme that that the union argued had no strategy behind it.

UCU members across the UK are currently being balloted for industrial action over planned job cuts at around 100 universities. The union said that the employers’ organisation’s refusal to act as the crisis over jobs deteriorated had forced it to ballot for industrial action. That ballot result is expected on Friday 22 May.Please visit the occupation and show your solidarity. It seems that the university will try to evict them. It is vitally important that we mobilise the maximum possible solidarity.
There will be a demonstration tonight (Tuesday 12 May), outside the building at 5.30pm - arrive from 5pmSee here for location details: www.londonmet.ac.uk/about/commercial-road.cfmFor more information see savelondonmetuni.blogspot.com

Boycott Israel and show solidarity with Palestinians

All major UK retailers sell Israeli goods, and most of them sell produce from illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Some have made statements in support of Zionism and some have contracts with Israeli companies.


There is a growing movement to boycott Israeli goods in solidarity with the people of Palestine and in line with an international call for BDS. There have been reports in the press that Israeli producers are experiencing a decline in demand for Israeli produce since the bombardment of Gaza in January 2009


Help to build Lambeth Unison’s Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Campaign! We will be holding our second boycott Israeli goods stall on 13 May 09 at 1pm outside M & S on Brixton High Road.

In defence of Brixton

On May 5th, the Times published the following article, called "Brixton: the depressing symbol of Britain's multicultural failure".



Roger Lewis has written the following letter to the editor in response:



11th May 2009

Dear Editor

I was passed a copy of Sathnam Sanghera’s article on Brixton in The Times 5th May 2009 “Brixton: the depressing symbol of Britain's multicultural failure“.

I felt a tinge of sadness followed by a growing sense of disbelief at Sathnam’s arguments echoing Trevor Phillips’ much publicised rantings on the failure of multi Culturalism in Britain today.

Firstly, let’s get some of the more ludicrous criticisms of Sathnam’s arguments out of the way.

1 Sathnam argues that “on Saturdays”, White people shop at Tesco’s and Black people shop in Brixton Market.

Well Sathnam, a very high proportion of Saturday market shoppers are not actually from Brixton. They travel here to enjoy Brixton and the worldwide selection of foods etc that are available in this internationally renowned market.

2 Suggesting, as he does, that no Black people shop at Tesco is simply bonkers and doesn’t deserve any further reply from me.

Sathnam suggests that White people don’t shop in Brixton market? Not my experience at all. However, I do concede that not that many white people are familiar with some of the produce, know that there is more than one variety of yam or mango and can’t recognise a cassava let alone know how to cook it! As examples of the failure of multi-culturalism though? I’m not impressed Sathnam.

3 Black people eat in Ethiopian restaurants and white people go to the pub? Well this is just stating the bleedin’ obvious isn’t it? Particularly if the Black people Sathnam refers to are Ethiopian. Also Sathnam, Strangely Irish people often go to Irish pubs that play Irish music and where people gather who share a common Irish culture.

IF I go to the West End for a Chinese meal, the people eating are generally non Chinese whereas the staff are generally Chinese. Is this not segregation?

Black kids congregating in McDonald’s? Apparently Sathnam seems to suggest White kids don’t go to or eat McDonalds. Bonkers Sathnam. If you can honestly state this with a straight face and believe it then I’m a teapot!

If it were just that these statements were harmless throwaway remarks then I’d let it go at that, but the stakes here are too high.

Sathnam states his despair at… “The bombing, the mini-riot, the numerous anti-terrorism raids, the stabbings, kneecappings and murders,”

Get a grip Sathnam. This is Brixton we’re talking about, not downtown Kabul. I’m sorry to hear of your unfortunate experiences, but don’t make out this is the norm. Of course things aren’t perfect; we have our problems with crime and drugs like other places which don’t have the same mix of racial communities living cheek by jowl like we do here in London SW2. And “kneecapping”?, where on earth did you dig this up from? What about deaths in police custody? These continue, mainly to young Black men, but you don’t mention this.

The real danger here and the danger that arises from Trevor Phillips statements on the same subject is that this gross distortion of reality does nothing to encourage community cohesion and everything to open the door to the arguments of the racists in the Nazi BNP and elsewhere. This is unforgivable.

I’ve lived and worked in Brixton, Clapham North and Stockwell for over 20 years. I use the market, live in a racially mixed household, work in a multi cultural workplace, (like every other workplace in Lambeth), shop at Tesco’s alongside Black and Asian people as well as white. Moan about the queues, laugh at the same silly things and chat with the Black/White/Asian worker (delete as applicable from your last shop experience) at the checkout.

Sadly, the depth of Sathnam’s pessimism is matched only by his failure to justify what he states in such glibly damming terms about the people of our community.

The forces at work today that are dividing and damaging our communities are not due to the unwillingness or inability of the various peoples of Brixton, or anywhere else, to socialise, mix and share our experiences. This is not a result of in built hostility between people from different backgrounds,. This stems from the social and economic policies that are destroying jobs, social services, the health service and social housing etc.

The council’s closure of Dick Shepherd School, along with the youth theatre and swimming pool and it’s replacement with luxury flats is what separates us, rich against poor. The high security gated communities alienate us, not our schools, restaurants, shops and cinemas.

Our public services have been devastated and passed over to the private sector. Costs have risen and standards have fallen. These are the dividing factors at work here. The press and media share the blame for this too. Demonising our young, particularly our black youth, attacking immigrants for all the evils in society, scaremongering about street crime, the result being a huge increase in stop and search – disproportionately aimed at Black and Asian kids and young adults. Sathnam might have done better to go into one of our schools and ask the youngsters how many of them have been subjected to stop and search and how often this happens. You can do this Sathnam, and it’s not dangerous, and you won’t need to wear a stab jacket either!

Dont pander to the racists Sathnam, don’t swallow the lies of the politicians after a cheap popularised soundbite. The BNP are grinning with delight at your article and love it every time it and others like it appear.

Finally, a message regarding Trevor Philips much publicised views on the matter.

When Trevor talks about segregated communities, Does he mean the gated communities in Belgravia and Kensington and Chelsea? Does he mean the segregation he imposes on himself with his luxury chauffeur driven car driven by a driver who he probably segregates himself from with a screen? Does he mean The posh restaurants he frequents which would not even allow me through their front door?

In Brixton, we travel together on the Bus, Black, Asian and White, use the same overcrowded Tube, shop in the same shops, eat in the same McDonalds, KFC, etc. It’s poverty Sathnam, this food is cheap. We integrate and would have to even if we didn’t want to. Our housing is overcrowded, not because of immigrants taking it all, but because it is being sold off to the private sector and the remainder left to rot. Poverty, heavy handed policing, lack of opportunities, poor quality and insufficient housing beat people down, lower expectations and aspirations in our young and breed frustration and sometimes anger. Certainly they alienate us from the politicians, bankers, and sometimes, sadly, from each other. Racist lies about immigration drive wedges between us and foster fear and suspicion.

Brixton has a fantastic and long tradition of welcoming people from around the world second to none and equal to areas like the East End, Hackney, and areas outside London such as Moss Side, Toxteth and elsewhere.

Social deprivation is what divides us Sathnam, not social diversity.

Yours faithfully

Roger Lewis
Brixton
South London

MEETING - STOP THE CUTS OF JOBS AND SERVICES!

Date: 19 May 09

Time: 6.30pm

Venue: St Matthew’s Tenant Hall, Brixton

“We take pride in our work and many of us have to do difficult jobs on low wages. We didn’t get Lambeth Living and the Council into this mess yet we pay the price with job cuts. But at the same time Lambeth Living and the council spend millions of pounds on consultants, the very people who got us into this mess in the first place. Hopefully we can build a campaign to give staff, tenants and leaseholders the respect that they deserve.” Employee of Lambeth Living

Are you fed up with:
• Rent rises? – Up 17%, on average £12 a week, £50 a month

• Council houses sold off? – Lambeth is auctioning off its huge stock of empty houses, while 16,000 on waiting list

• Over a fifth of Lambeth Living jobs to go and a third of jobs in some departments?– The former Housing Dept, now a separate company, says it has no money to keep staff on: experienced workers on the dole, more work for the rest, a worse service

• Wasted money? – Housing has a hole of millions of pounds in council funding, Home Office enquiry into lost refugee housing allocation… meanwhile consultants earn up to £1000 a day!

• Privatisation? – First Call emergency repairs service, concierge service and North Lambeth Cleaning to be privatised, even though existing contractors do an unsatisfactory job

At a time when unemployment is rising and many people are made redundant, this is a scandal. Lambeth Council is using the recession to destroy what remains of publicly accountable and halfway decent housing estate and squeeze housing staff and tenants as hard as they can.

We don’t have to put up with this. We can fight back. Come to a borough wide tenants, leaseholders and staff meeting, Lambeth Housing in Crisis. Speakers from Defend Council Housing, Unison, Tenants Council, LamPAG and speakers from local Trade Unions. But most of all YOU! Come and tell us what it’s like in your area. Let’s talk about what we can do to defend our homes and our jobs and build a campaign to take action!

Date: 19 May 09

Time: 6.30pm

Venue: St Matthew’s Tenant Hall, Brixton

Empty Homes in Lambeth - What to do next?

Unbelievably there are thousands of empty homes in Lambeth, despite the housing waiting lists being full. Lambeth Green Party is discussing this tomorrow night at its monthly meeting. Details below. It is open to the public. Hope to see some of you there.

"The next Lambeth Green Party monthly meeting will focus on our Empty Homes Campaign. Three speakers will tell us what Lambeth Council is doing, what a charity thinks the council should be doing and what the Green Party would do. The speakers are Maxine Wilson from Lambeth Council's Empty Property Service, James Rowlands from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors and Rebecca Findlay, our parliamentary candidate for Streatham.There will be a question and answer session, followed by a 'parallel thinking' session to formulate our campaign, based on what we've learned.Date: Wednesday, 6th May 2009Time: 7:00pm – 9:00pmPlace: Brixton St Vincent’s Community Centre, Talma Road, London SW2 1ASSee http://www.bsvcc.org/contact.html for details on how to get there.The meeting is open to all and it would be great to publicise it as widely as possible. So please:- Tell as many people as possible about the event -
And, of course, come along yourself.Cheers,Rachel and MagdaCo-Convenors of Lambeth Green Party

The agenda is therefore as follows:1. Speakers on Empty Homes Campaign 2. Question and answer session."

Another Absentee Councillor

It would appear that some Labour councillors are not receiving sufficient public subsidy - poor things! Some of them are forced to go AWOL (Absent Without Official Leave). The latest case of this is in Prince's Ward in Lambeth (in the parliamentary constituency of Vauxhall). It would appear that Cllr Townend moved some time ago to Henleave in Bristol in order to get the nomination to become a parliamentary candidate there.

Clle Townend was successful in his ambition and continued to live in Bristol while drawing on his councillor's allowance of £10,212 per annum.According to today's South London Press: "Townend continued to draw on his allowance as a Lambeth councillor, claiming that he was able to represent the ward despite living elsewhere." When it came to light, however, that he had only attended two meetings over the last year, his claim was called into question.

On Friday Cllr Townend resigned and had the audacity to do so on a Bristol radio station! Lambeth Council has confirmed that he has resigned and says that a by election date will be set soon. And they wonder why politics has fallen into disrepute? I hope he serves his new constituents better in Bristol that his old ones in Lambeth, if elected that is. Somehow I expect that there will be a dramatic fall in Labour MPs elected next time.

Campaign for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel!

In response to the recent Israeli onslaught, 180 Palestinian organizations and unions have called for a campaign of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Apartheid Israel.

The movement for BDS is growing fast. South African Dockers refused to offload an Israeli ship on 5 Feb. In Norway on 8 January, locomotive drivers stopped trains and trams for 2 minutes and informed passengers of the solidarity stoppage.

The shop workers’ union is asking employers to remove Israeli goods from stores, and at least 6 major unions are demanding the Norwegian government withdraw all State investment in Israel.

Come along to a lunchtime meeting to discuss ideas on how we can develop the BDS campaign in Lambeth Unison.

Date: 29 April 2009
Venue: Lambeth Town Hall
Time: 1pm-2pm

DEFEND ADULT EDUCATION AT LAMBETH COLLEGE!

MARCH THROUGH BRIXTON TUESDAY 28 APRIL March starts at Brixton College 12.30pm and from Lambeth Town Hall 12.45pm

PUT STUDENTS FIRST!
REDUCE TEACHERS’ WORKLOAD
REINSTATE COURSE MANAGERS
Organised by Lambeth College UCU (teachers’ union)

WHY WE ARE STRIKING

Teachers are buckling at the knees trying to keep this College on its feet. On top of teaching 23 hours a week, we have to attend more and more meetings, complete excessive amounts of admin and paperwork, mark students’ work, carry out interviews, oversee exams, etc, etc. Teachers are working a lot of unpaid overtime hours, working through their breaks, and taking work home with them. For about 2 years we have been telling Lambeth College Management that we are suffering stress and illness due to overwork. However Management have ignored us and continued to pile on the workload even more. We are saying that we want our teaching hours reduced to 21 hours a week because we no longer have enough time to prepare lessons properly, and this is not fair on our students.

Management are also implementing a more hierarchical system of Management, cutting some existing manager posts (although this will cost more) - this means that teachers will have less support and be under even more pressure.

Since 2006, each year we have faced £millions in cuts to provision, and lived with repeated threats to the security of our jobs. Yet again this year we are expecting more massive cuts, so we know that things will only get worse.

Now we feel we have no choice but to take action. We have balloted our members and agreed to take 2 hours strike action (which means we will lose pay) to highlight the effect that workload and restructuring is having on our ability to provide a decent education to our students.

PLEASE SUPPORT OUR DEMONSTRATION

Support the occupation of Enfield Visteon workers!

Hot off the heels of workers who have occupied their factory in Belfast, workers in the Enfield Visteon plant joined them this week when they went into occupation on Wednesday 1 April. Some workers are demanding the factory be kept open and that workers make green products such as bikes, solar panels and turbines. The mood is confident and workers are asking for solidarity and support from the labour movement.

For more information visit: http://www.permanentrevolution.net/entry/2636

Greater London UNISON Young Members' Election Statements

This election will be voted for by all Young Members' of UNISON in the Greater London Region.

James Caspell - Regional Council Election Statement

I am a shop steward in the London Borough of Lambeth and also the Young Members’ and Publicity Officer for my Branch.

I believe that the interests of young members can only be served by a fighting, member-led union in which maximum participation is encouraged in an inclusive environment free of bullying and harassment of young workers.

We need to provide socialist answers to the financial and environmental crises of capitalism, which will affect young people most acutely in terms of unemployment, pay cuts and attacks on our rights won over decades. Only collectively owned, worker-controlled and democratically accountable public services can put people and the planet before the interests of private profit.

Regional Council is essential in ensuring that UNISON follows its own policies within Greater London. Our representatives should facilitate maximum participation of all members, including young workers, providing the confidence we need to fight our employers, fight the government and ultimately fight capitalism!

James Caspell - Europe and International Committee Election Statement

I have a long record as a trade unionist and student activist campaigning for international socialism and against climate change.

I am a shop steward in the London Borough of Lambeth and also the Young Members’ and Publicity Officer for my Branch. I have co-founded the LSE-Palestine Solidarity Initiative which seeks to provide material and practical assistance for those living under Israeli Occupation to apply to British universities. If elected, I would seek to champion the following issues:

• Ending the Israeli occupation in Palestine and campaigning for a secular, single-state solution. Supporting twinning initiatives with our Palestinian comrades.

• Supporting arms divestment and nuclear disarmament campaigns.

• Campaign to secure and extend the rights of migrant workers across the world.

• Putting trade unions at the forefront of the struggle against climate change; workplaces produce 40% of the UK's carbon emissions. Trade unions should also lobby for recognition and support for the millions of environmental refugees that are already a direct consequence of climate change.

Workers of the world unite!

LAMBETH UNISON RAISES OVER £2000 IN SOLIDARITY WITH GAZA

The Lambeth Branch of UNISON, the second largest trade union in the UK, has raised over £2000 for Medical Aid for Palestinians through a fundraising drive throughout the Borough’s workplaces. Nationally, UNISON has committed to send a donation of £10,000 to Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) and Lambeth Branch activists collected a further £2020.43 for MAP’s Emergency Appeal for Gaza through a series of collections amongst Lambeth’s workers.

In the wake of recent Israeli military action, MAP has set up an emergency task force team to provide medical supplies and expertise throughout Gaza, as well as ensuring that the central blood bank has sufficient capacity and can provide emergency shelter. Palestinian medical sources say at least 1,300 Palestinians have been killed and 5,500 injured as a result of Israel's latest military offensive. The United Nations states that some 50,800 people are now homeless and 400,000 are without running water. Staff in Gaza report that many more people could die as medical equipment runs out.

Lambeth UNISON voted at its January Branch Committee to condemn the recent slaughter of Palestinians and the ongoing occupation by Israel. Calling for, "an immediate end to the slaughter of defenceless people and the [ongoing] siege of Gaza" the Branch concluded that, "Israel is a terrorist and apartheid state," and advocated academic, economic and cultural boycotts of Israel in an effort to delegitimise the Occupation of Palestine, and build international and domestic pressure against the state.

Lambeth UNISON International Officer Gurmeet Khurana, stated: “It’s great to see Lambeth’s workers demonstrating their solidarity with the people of Gaza. To raise over £2000 is fantastic and many more people donated online through the publicity produced by the branch. Thanks to all members and Branch activists who worked to raise awareness and provide material support for the Palestinian people. However, all trade unionists must continue to raise this issue in our branches and with our members and step-up solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Palestine.”

Jon Rogers, Branch Secretary added: “The trade union movement in Britain can play a crucial role in putting pressure on the British Government as well as the Israeli state to end the occupation of Palestine. Lambeth UNISON is proud to stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Palestine and we will continue to support those in Britain and around the world who are working to bring equality, democracy and peace for all in the Middle East. We encourage branches in UNISON and other unions to do the same.”

ENDS

Notes for Editors
1. For more information about Lambeth UNISON, visit: http://lambethunison.blogspot.com/

2. Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) works for the health of Palestinians (especially in conditions of occupation, displacement or exile) based on principles of self-determination and social justice. For more information visit: http://www.map-uk.org/

Contact:
James Caspell
+44 (0)7941 154912
James.caspell@gmail.com

Gurmeet Khurana
+44 (0)7828 668496
gkhurana@lambeth.gov.uk

GREEN COUNCILLOR PASSES LIVING WAGE MOTION FOR LAMBETH

Lambeth's Green Party Councillor, Becca Thackeray has successfully passed a motion endorsing the principle of a Living Wage for all those carrying out work for the London Borough of Lambeth.

At a full Lambeth Council Meeting on Wed 28 Jan, Cllr Thackeray, successfully proposed a motion to make Lambeth Council a "Living Wage" employer. Currently through national pay bargaining rules, every direct employee is paid a Living Wage, but hundreds of staff who work for the Council via contractors are often not and forced to endure poverty pay.

Cllr Thackeray's original motion would have made Labour-run Lambeth responsible in ensuring that all employees of the hundreds of sub-contractors used by the Authority are also paid the Living Wage, including cleaners, security/reception staff and labourers, but a wrecking amendment put forward by Labour was passed to neuter the most relevant role of the motion.

The original motion stated that, "Lambeth Council reaffirms its support for the establishment of the London Living Wage, set at a level calculated by the Living Wage Unit to avoid the 'working poverty trap' in the capital, a situation affecting around 400,000 Londoners who are paid less than can reasonably fund the basic costs of living in London."

However Labour ensured that the part of the motion was deleted which would make Lambeth responsible for ensuring that its hundreds of sub-contracted employees were similarly guarenteed a Living Wage.

Labour Lies on Living Wage

Last week Cllr Thackray, the Green Party councillor, proposed the Living Wage motion for all council employees and sub contracted employees in Lambeth. As noted already on this blog, it is already policy in the neighbouring boroughs of Southwark and Lewisham. Feedback from South London Citizens, and other organisations backing the campaign for raising the wages of poorer workers, was that the two boroughs where there would be the most resistance to this would be Lambeth and Tower Hamlets.

Cllr Thackray put her motion but then the following amendment was tabled by the Labour group in Lambeth:
"This Council is a Living Wage employer as no Lambeth Council employee earns less than the London Living Wage (LLW) of £7.45 per hour. In fact the lowest pay rate for our direct employees is higher than the LLW at £8.08 per hour and only 147 staff earn less than £10 per hour. In addition, contractors such as Veolia, the Council’s waste management contractor, pays at least LLW to all their staff. The Coucnil acknowledge the importance of the London Living Wage to help alleviate the ‘working poverty trap’ in the capital, the situation affecting around 400.000 Londoners who are paid less than can reasonably fund the basic costs of living in London.

This Council will continue to work towards the reduction of differentials terms and conditions between directly employed staff and those employed by the Council’s contractors, with the aspiration of applying the Lambeth minimum wage to contractors’ staff."

So the Labour amendment was passing Lambeth off as a council which pays all its subcontracted staff at least £7.45 per hour and that their wage rates are higher than average. This I do not believe to be true and I would like to see facts and figures to challenge this. This would require some assistance from those working in the council. Now that the motion has been passed with this amendment, everything possible must be done to ensure that it is enforced and that those staff who are being paid lower than the London Living Wage are made aware of their rights under the policy and their cases brought to light.

As Green Party parliamentary candidate for Vauxhall, I will work to ensure that this policy is implemented and will, together with Cllr Thackray, work with trade unionists in the borough to ensure that this becomes a reality and not just another piece of Labour spin.

Green Party Councillor Proposes Living Wage For Lambeth

At a full Lambeth Council Meeting on Wed 28 Jan at 7 pm, Cllr Becca Thackeray, Lambeth's Green Party Councillor, is proposing a motion to make Lambeth Council a "Living Wage" employer. Currently through national pay bargaining rules, every direct employee is paid a Living Wage, but the hundreds of staff who work for the Council via contractors are often not and forced to endure poverty pay.

The motion commits the Council to paying all staff, including sub-contracted staff, the London Living Wage and to use local strategic partnerships and other private sector engagements to promote the living wage more widely.

In November, Green Councillor Jenny Jones successfully passed a motion to make Southwark Council a Living Wage employer. Southwark was only the second Borough to adopt official policy backing a Living Wage, with Lewisham being the other where there are 6 Green Party Councillors.

The Living Wage is the real minimum rate of pay that enables a worker to provide a decent standard of living for themselves and their family. In London, the Living Wage currently stands at £7.45 per hour. The background to this figure can be found in the document, A Fairer London: The Living Wage in London (GLA 2008). Many service sector workers - including cleaners, security guards and catering staff - experience low pay and difficult, sometimes exploitative working conditions. It is estimated that in London alone 400,000 people fall into this working poverty trap.

It remains to be seen if the New Labour Council will support the resolution in Lambeth. The Living Wage is supported by trade unions across London. Whilst New Labour Councillors cross picket lines and force more job cuts, the Green Party continues to campaign in the interests of Lambeth's workers.

Message of solidarity to the students of SOAS, LSE, Essex and Kings College universities

Dear comrades,

I am writing to send a message of solidarity on behalf of the Branch Committee of the Lambeth Branch of UNISON.

We salute your courage in campaigning tirelessly for the Palestinian right to education. The tide is turning against the legitimacy of the Israeli Apartheid state and the student movement is crucial to that. We support you in your occupations to bring about firm commitments to Palestinian students from your universities.

You may also be heartened to know that this morning our Branch Committee voted to support calls for academic, cultural and economic boycotts of Israel.

In solidarity,

James Caspell
Lambeth UNISON Young Members' Officer

LAMBETH UNISON CALLS FOR BOYCOTT OF "APARTHEID" ISRAEL

The Lambeth Branch of UNISON, the second largest trade union in the UK, has voted to condemn the recent slaughter of Palestinians and the ongoing occupation by Israel at a meeting of its Branch Committee this morning.

At its monthly meeting of representatives, the Branch called for, "an immediate end to the slaughter of defenceless people and the [ongoing] siege of Gaza." The Branch concluded that, "Israel is an...apartheid state," and has advocated academic, economic and cultural boycotts of Israel in an effort to delegitimise the Occupation of Palestine, and build international and domestic pressure against the state.

For over 6 decades Israel has carried out policies of ethnic cleansing against the Palestinian people.1.5 million people live in Gaza, which is now effectively open air prison. For years Israel has blocked the transport of food, medicine and vital supplies forcing the people of Gaza to live in inhumane conditions and the vast majority of people are unemployed.

Palestinian medical sources say at least 1,300 Palestinians have been killed and 5,500 injured as a result Israeli's latest military offensive. The United Nations states that some 50,800 people are now homeless and 400,000 are without running water. Staff in Gaza report that many more people could die as medical equipment runs out.

Nationally, UNISON has committed to send a donation of 10,000 to Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) and Lambeth Branch is raising its own donations locally. The Branch voted to affiliate with the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) and to work towards submitting an emergency motion to the UNISON National Delegate Conference in July, demanding diplomatic sanctions and boycotts against Israel. The Branch also resolved to build links with Palestinians, Israelis and Egyptians who oppose the assault on Gaza and to send messages of solidarity to those students at British universities who have undertaken occupations demanding support from their institutions for the Palestinian right to education.

Lambeth UNISON's International Officer, Gurmeet Khurana, stated: "The British trade union movement played a crucial part in denouncing and delegitimising the racist ideology of Apartheid in South Africa, and now it must do the same for Israel. The only peaceful solution is one brought about by political and economic equality in the Middle East, and as such the policy of the Israeli state in carrying out ethnic cleansing needs to be condemned unequivocally."

Ends
Notes for Editors
1. For more information about Lambeth UNISON, visit: http://lambethunison.blogspot.com/

2. Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) works for the health of Palestinians (especially in conditions of occupation, displacement or exile) based on principles of self-determination and social justice: http://www.map-uk.org

3. BRICUP is an organisation of UK based academics, set up in response to the Palestinian Call for Academic Boycott.: http://www.bricup.org.uk

4. Palestine Solidarity Campaign: http://www.palestinecampaign.org

Contact:
James Caspell
Lambeth UNISON Publicity Officer
James.caspell@gmail.com

Socialist Candidates Challenge Lambeth UNISON Bureaucracy

A group of socialist activists in Lambeth have produced a manifesto which they hope will politicise UNISON members and provide the platform on which to build a "fighting, member-led branch" based on clear socialist politics. The manifesto was the basis for candidates to contest elections at the Lambeth UNISON AGM on a "Lambeth Activists" platform.

The platform currently comprises independent socialists, members of Permanent Revolution, the Alliance for Workers Liberty, Workers Power and Green Left, the ecosocialist platform within the Green Party.

Policies include fighting against all redundancies and job losses, maximising participation and control of the union by ordinary members and ending automatic and uncritical UNISON support for Labour in building a left alternative.

For more information, visit: http://lambethmilitants.blogspot.com/2009/01/lambeth-activists-for-fighting-member.html

James Caspell, a member of Green Left, won the post of Publicity Officer after making a speech in which he outlined a plan to "give members the confidence to fight the Council, fight the Government and ultimately fight capitalism". Rekha Khurana of Permanent Revolution took the posts of International Officer and Assistant Publicity Officer. Dan Jeffery, also of Permanent Revolution, was elected as a National Conference Delegate and Regional Council Delegate.

In his speech for the election of Membership Officer, which was lost by just three votes, Dan outlined that “we need to provide socialist answers to pay and job cuts”. He also highlighted the case of a colleague who because of privatisation had had her pay slashed and now had to work over 50 hours a week, while consultants for Lambeth in the same building get £1000 a day.

After the AGM, Rekha Khurana emphasised that far from being an electoralist front, the activists’ aim was to work with and engage all those who share a socialist political perspective and work towards rebuilding the union movement at the grassroots: “We need to coordinate our struggles with other local trade unions as well as with workers in other countries to win better rights for all”.

Other contested elections were narrowly won by the incumbent branch bureaucracy, though both the speeches and polices of candidates standing on the Lambeth Activists platform were widely supported amongst members, who welcomed the first set of seriously contested branch elections in a generation.

Notes to Editors

To see full platform, election results and list of candidates, please visit: http://lambethmilitants.blogspot.com/

Students establish university occupations over Gaza

The disgusting atrocities being committed by Israel have ignited the student movement in way that has not occurred for a generation.

Two days ago, the Brunei Gallery at SOAS was occupied and is still ongoing. For more info see: http://soassolidarity4gaza.blogspot.com/ Talks and lectures on wide-ranging political issues are being discussed and students have been climbing through the windows to get in!

In the last few minutes, comrades have taken to the stage in the main theatre at LSE and have established another occupation. I encourage all comrades who can to join them!

For peace and Palestine!

James Caspell
Lambeth UNISON Young Members Officer
Honorary Member, LSE Students' Union

Lambeth UNISON AGM Election Results - Analysis to follow

"Lambeth Activists" highlighted in red, party affiliations in brackets:

Chair
Peter Woodward (Labour) 106 elected
Dan Jeffrey (Permanent Revolution) 69

Assistant Branch Sec
Khi Rafe 111 elected
Reg Morrison (Independent Socialist) 64

Membership Secretary
Katrina Hoogendam 89 elected
Dan Jeffrey (Permanent Revolution) 87

Publicity Officer
James Caspell 105 (Green Left/Green Party) elected
Andrew Tullis (Socialist Party) 69

National Local Government Male Delegate
James Caspell 53 (Green Left/Green Party)
Nick Venedi and
Jon Rogers (Labour) 80 elected

Lambeth Activists elected unopposed:

Assistant Publicity Officer
Gurmeet Khurana (Permanent Revolution) elected

Young Members Officer
James Caspell (Green Left/Green Party) elected

International Officer
Gurmeet Khurana (Permanent Revolution) elected

National Delegate Conference
Dan Jeffery (Permanent Revolution) elected

Regional Council
Dan Jeffery (Permanent Revolution) elected

Vigil for Gaza outside the Brixton Tate Library on Friday 16th January at 5.30-7pm

There is a plan to hold a Vigil for Gaza, ceasefire and Israeli withdrawal outside the Brixton Tate Library on Friday 16th January at 5.30-7pm, called by the local Stop the War Coalition.

Lambeth Activists - For a fighting, member-led branch

We are a group of activists who believe that UNISON and the trade union movement at large needs to be rebuilt from the grass-roots, encouraging maximum participation and control of unions by members and giving workers the confidence to fight collectively for their own interests in their workplaces.

We are comprised of a group of independent socialists, members of Permanent Revolution, the Alliance for Workers Liberty, Workers Power and Green Left, the ecosocialist platform within the Green Party.

We want an inclusive, active, fighting union that effectively takes on management and the government by involving all workers in action to defend and extend our rights.
Over the last ten years the Lambeth UNISON branch has halved in size and is no longer as effective at protecting our members. We need new blood – passionate activists who are prepared to give their all to fight for members and involve them in the running of the branch.

If you agree with our policies, we ask you to support us!

Candidates for elections at the 2009 AGM:

Chair
Dan Jeffery

Assistant Branch Secretary
Reg Morrison

Membership Officer
Dan Jeffrey

Publicity Officer
James Caspell

National Delegate Conference
Dan Jeffery

Local Government Conference
James Caspell

Regional Council
Dan Jeffery

The following candidates have been elected unopposed:
Assistant Publicity Officer
Gurmeet Khurana

International Officer
Gurmeet Khurana

Young Members Officer
James Caspell

If elected, we will:
« Demand to see Lambeth Council’s accounts and find out why and how Lambeth housing is millions of pounds in debt. No more £1000 per day consultants! Open the books!
« Fight against all redundancies and job losses – including “voluntary” redundancies. Campaign for staff to refuse to cover posts and refuse overtime while staff are being made redundant
« Launch an anti-bullying campaign and end the culture of management bullying and harassment
« Campaign to end scales 1, 2 and 3. Decent wages for all!
« Launch an effective campaign for decent wage increases and an increase in London weighting. We need to force the UNISON leadership to escalate the campaign to include sustained strike action and occupations if we are to win.
« Have no more talking shops and no more “sweetheart deals”– worthless agreements with employers and Councillors made without support of the members.
« Ensure decent working conditions for all staff. Lambeth must abide by health and safety law!
« Build a campaign to defeat plans to further privatise services and cut jobs; fight to bring all council services back in-house. No more auctioning off of council houses!
« Oppose the ALMO – fight for council housing to be brought back under direct council control
« Campaign to set up a Direct Labour Organisation (DLO), implement apprenticeships and training to provide staff and local people with skills and jobs.
« Work with residents to oppose service cuts, privatisation and above inflation increases in rents and charges, and demand substantial investment in public services.
« Demand that councillors support Lambeth’s workers and tenants – or campaign against them in the next local elections. End automatic and uncritical UNISON support for Labour.
« Win the increased severance payments staff have been promised.
« Fight for branches to have the right to set up hardship funds to support members in time of need

How we will build the Branch:
« Organise to recruit and involve temporary workers, shift workers and young people. Campaign for lower union fees. The more members we have, the stronger we will be!
« A steward and notice board in every shop – fighting the bosses in every workplace.
« Ensure convenors and stewards visit workplaces and hold regular workplace meetings.
« An easily accessible web site publicising contact details and actions taken by Branch Officers.
« Regular newsletters in every directorate – let’s communicate our successes.
« Fight against racism, sexism, homophobia and all forms of discrimination. Assist democratic and accountable self-organised groups to get more members involved.
« Branch officers to be fully accountable – all Convenors and Officers to publish monthly reports of how they spend their time to serve you.
« Make the Branch Office more attractive and welcoming, for the use of all members.
« Branches and Directorates to have the right to elect industrial action committees and control and manage their own industrial disputes.

Our broader policies:
« Demand that national and regional UNISON officials are elected annually. All representatives should get the average worker’s wage. Our General Secretary earns £100,000+ a year!
« Fight for to scrap the anti-union laws such as the ban on secondary strikes
« Work to stop climate change, starting by establishing workplace environment reps
« Fight for mass mobilisation and self-defence by the working class and oppressed groups against the BNP and other far-right organisations.
« Show solidarity with workers across the world! Coordinate our struggles with other local trade unions and with workers in other countries to win better rights for all.

"Green bans, red union": film showing and social

7pm, Thursday 5 February
The Bread & Roses, 68 Clapham Manor Street, London SW4 6DZ

As part of our fundraising drive, South West London Workers' Liberty will be holding a showing of "Rocking the Foundations", the story of the New South Wales Builders Labourers Federation in the 1970s, and how they built a powerful, politicised workers' movement that stood up for the environment and sustainable communities. (For more about the BLF, see here.)

Facebook group here.

Followed by a speaker from Workers' Climate Action, discussion and a social.

£2 unwaged, £3.50 waged, £5 waged

For more information email ruthycashman@yahoo.co.uk

Lambeth UNISON Annual General Meeting

The Annual General Meeting of the Lambeth Branch of UNISON will take place on Tuesday 13 January from 12.30 to 14.30 in Lambeth Town Hall. Lunch will be provided.

The AGM sets the Branch's policy and priorities for the coming year. It is also the place where we elect Branch Officers who run the branch on members' behalf - so it's important that all UNISON members come along if they can.

Motions (16 in total) and reports have now been published on the Lambeth UNISON Branch blog.

Click here to visit the Lambeth UNISON blog to resad the motions and reports.

Should your office be closed?

· The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 stipulate that the minimum temperature in an office should be 16 degrees Celsius (61 Fahrenheit).

· Further relevant statute legislation is section 6 of the Offices Shops & Railway Premises Act 1963. The appropriate bits state:

- "(2) Where a substantial proportion of the work done in a room to which the foregoing subsection applies does not involve severe physical effort, a temperature of less than 16 degrees Celsius (61F) shall not be deemed, after the first hour, to be a reasonable temperature while work is going on.

- (3)...there shall be provided for persons who are employed to work in a room to which... this section would apply, conveniently accessible and effective means of enabling them to warm themselves.

- (6)It shall be the duty of the employer of persons for whom means of enabling them to warm themselves are provided in pursuance of subsection (3) of this section to afford them reasonable opportunities for using those means, and if he fails so to do he shall be guilty of an offence."