Meeting: Rebuilding union workplace organisation

Rebuilding workplace union organisation – the National Shop Stewards Network

Wednesday April 2nd 2008, 7.30 p.m.
Venue: The Broadgreen Centre, Salisbury St

The guest speaker at Swindon TUC’s April 2008 meeting is Dave Chapple Secretary of Bridgwater TUC, and President of the CWU’s big Bristol Amalgamated branch covering Royal Mail. Dave is also Chair of the National Shop Stewards Network, in which capacity he is speaking.

Campaigning against the government’s privatisation agenda

A Swindon TUC Open Meeting

Swindon Trades Union Council - Media Release October 12th 2006Wed November 1st
7.30 p.m.
Broadgreen Centre, Salisbury Rd (off of Manchester Rd)

The November meeting of Swindon TUC will be an open meeting on the above theme. The Blair/Brown government is comprised of ‘free market fundamentalists’. They have opened up the public sector to exploitation by big business despite the evidence that it has had disastrous consequences, both for the workers and the service users.

The recent Labour conference , for the third year running, passed a resolution opposing government policy of privatising council housing, and demanded the right of councils to direct investment, including building new council houses. But the government contemptuously ignores the decisions of its own party conference.

It’s policy in the health service has been to create a ‘market’ in healthcare. It’s a rigged ‘market’ though because the government has instructed PCT’s to hand over work to the private sector, with no competition, taking money away from the NHS. The contracts for this work are also rigged. Whilst NHS hospitals are being penalised for doing ‘too much’ work, private companies are being paid for operations they have not carried out!

Locally, Swindon’s Great Western Hospital is having some of its audiology work handed over to a private company, and a private hospital will be given imaging work (MRI scans etc).

Swindon’s Tory Council is carrying out New Labour policy by proposing to create a private Academy run by a religious organisation and Honda. It is threatening to privatise council services in the pursuance of its (and the Blair government’s ) dogma.

The government has also opened the postal market up to competition, threatening the universal service obligation by which we have a standard price however far a letter has to travel. Royal Mail is making cuts in service so as to ‘shape up’ to the new market.

Speaking at the meeting will be John McDonnell the left wing Labour MP who has declared he will stand for leader of the Labour Party against the privatiser Gordon Brown. John has played a key role in drawing together the trades unions to campaign against privatisation across the public sector. (see http://www.john4leader.org.uk/ )

Also speaking will be Dave Warren a member of the CWU national executive committee, the union covering Royal Mail and the Telecomms industry.

For further information ring Martin Wicks, STUC Secretary on 07786 394593

Health & Safety Conference

Swindon TUC, with the assistance of South West TUC Education Officer Marie Hughes, and the Trade Union Centre at New College, is organising a Health & Safety conference on February 5th at the Oakfield Campus of the University of Bath (in Swindon), from 09.30 am to 4 pm.The conference is for workplace Health & Safety reps, though any union activists interested in campaigning in relation to Health & Safety will be welcome.

We will be writing directly to health &safety reps and union branches shortly.

More detail about the day will follow. Please put the date in your diary.

Health & Safety Conference ?

Swindon TUC and the Trade Union Education Centre are looking to organisation a day conference for Health & Safety reps in the area. Below is the letter being sent out to union branches, together with a feedback form to guage the level of interest.

Swindon Trades Union Council, in conjunction with the Trade Union Education Centre at New College, is considering organising a one day conference for Health & Safety reps in the Swindon area.One of the most positive things about the TUC Health & Safety courses is that they provide the opportunity for reps to meet people in other unions, industries and workplaces, learning from each others experience. After they finish the Stage 1 and 2 courses, there is no framework for meeting other reps again. Some unions run their own courses so their reps never meet H&S reps from other unions.

The one day conference we would like to organise would be an opportunity to bring together H&S reps in the area to:

• Discuss contemporary issues relating to H&S law and its operation;
• Provide the opportunity for reps to report on their experience in their own workplace – successes and problems – and to learn from the experience of others.

Currently there is not a means of generalising from the work of reps in individual workplaces. If the local labour movement had more idea of common problems across workplaces, we could help H&S reps to develop ‘best practice’ in order to improve H&S in the many workplaces in the area.

We would envisage the day comprising an opening session with speakers talking about H&S policy – government policy, problems with the HSE etc - to be followed by discussions in small groups, which would provide delegates with the opportunity to discuss their workplace experience and problems in a more informal setting. These groups could report back on their discussions. A final session could discuss how useful delegates found the proceedings and what we might do together in the future.

• Should we have an annual meeting?
• Might we organise an event on Workers memorial day?
• Might there be an email information/discussion list for H&S reps in Swindon?

Other ideas may well emerge during the course of discussion.

Before we set about organising a day’s event, however, we are writing to union branches and asking them to circulate this letter to their H&S reps, together with a questionnaire (enclosed), to test out the level of interest and potential attendance. If you think the event would be useful please fill in the questionnaire and return it to us asap.

Please let us have any ideas or suggestions.

Many thanks

Martin Wicks
Secretary Swindon Trades Union Council

If you are interested in attending such a conference please email the detail requested below.

NameAddress

Union

WorkplacePhone

Email

Would you be able to arrange for release to attend on a weekday? Y / NComments (please write down any suggestions for issues that you think should be dealt with on the day or any general comments)

Campaign against proposed Academy

More than 30 people attended an open meeting called by Swindon Trades Union Council to discuss the proposed Academy to replace Headlands school.

More than 30 people attended an open meeting organised by Swindon TUC on the issue of the Academy proposed to replace Headlands school. Phil Baker of the teaching union ATL, who spent many years teaching at Headlands spoke against the Academy. He pointed out that when the issue was discussed at the town’s Educational Partnership Board and everybody apart from Tory Councillor Gary Perkins voted against the idea. According to his information the United Learning Trust would be handed over the school for 125 years!Penhill Councillor Andy Harrison called for public investment rather than giving away public assets to an anti-union car company and a religious trust. The only people to profit from our schools should be our children.

NUT Assistant General Secretary Christine Blower talked about the national experience of Academies.

UNISON Secretary Bob Cretchley said:

“There is clearly a good cross section of people opposed to the Academy and it is all about ensuring that there is a big campaign to stop this from happening. We need to be working together because there is a good chance we can scupper this.”

The meeting agreed to set up a campaign to oppose the Academy which would involve education unions, school governors, parents and residents from the local area. Details of a meeting to organise a campaign will be circulated shortly.