Budget crises, health, and social welfare programmes -- Stuckler et al. 340: c3311 -- BMJ

There's an interesting article about the potential impact of social welfare spending cuts in the British Medical Journal. Read more here Budget crises, health, and social welfare programmes -- Stuckler et al. 340: c3311 -- BMJ

Gloucestershire Pride this Saturday

It's Gloucestershire Pride on Saturday. Please go along to Gloucester and support this fun, friendly and totally enjoyable day. Details can be found here http://www.gaytoz.com/search01.asp?line=30193

BP pay. Some questions answered

BT memebrs can find a short Q & A session here http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=553909142#!/?sk=messages&tid=1250052825972

Male desire to be strong and protect family key to preventing suicides, study finds

Male desire to be strong and protect family key to preventing suicides, study finds

Firearms policewoman wins record damages in sexism case | UK news | The Guardian

Firearms policewoman wins record damages in sexism case UK news The Guardian

Equality Act implementation update

Further to my last post on this subject it appears that the ConDems intend to proceed with the implementation of the Equality Act as stated in it's provisions. You can read more here http://www.equalities.gov.uk/equality_bill.aspx

It's Motor Neurone Disease Awareness Week 18th to 26th June

On Saturday June 5th CWU members supported a sponsored walk in Redcar to raise money towards former CWU divisional rep Mike Findley's MND Fund.

Mike and the Deputy Mayor of Redcar

Team CWU

Team talk

Team walk

Equality Officer walks

Motor Neurone Disease (MND) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that attacks the upper and lower motor neurones. Degeneration of the motor neurones leads to weakness and wasting of muscles, causing increasing loss of mobility in the limbs, and difficulties with speech, swallowing and breathing.

• Motor Neurone Disease is not infectious or contagious. It can affect any adult at any age but most people diagnosed with the disease are over the age of 40, with the highest incidence occurring between the ages of 50 and 70
• Men are affected approximately twice as often as women.
• The incidence or number of people who will develop MND each year is about two people in every 100,000.
• The prevalence or number of people living with MND at any one time is approximately seven in every 100,000

(Source: Motor Neurone Disease Association. http://www.mndassociation.org)

  

The Equality department has produced a fact sheet to raise awareness. This can be downloaded from the Equal Opportunities section of the CWU website.

 

BT workers prepare for pay strike vote | News

From the London Evening Standard
BT workers prepare for pay strike vote News

Will the Equality Act be implemented?

I am grateful to employment law barrister Daniel Barnett for drawing my attention to the fact that the implementation dates for the Equality Act 2010 have been removed from the government's official website. There may be a good reason for this but if there is a delay it confirms what I heard at  a TUC seminar a couple of months ago. That is that the Tories were lukewarm about the legislation. You can download some useful guides to the Act here

The rich get richer

Todya's London Evening Standard reports that:
   "Boardroom bonuses are increasing again, with payouts to leading company directors increasing by 22% in recent months, research showed today. Annual bonus payments to directors in FTSE 100 firms increased from £456,000 to £558,000 in the last six months, according to a study by Incomes Data Services.It is a dramatic recovery from last year when payments fell by almost a third. Basic salaries increased by 7% on a year ago for FTSE 100 directors and by 5.1% for directors of all companies listed on the stock market, according to the study.
  The 5.1% jump was modest compared with rises granted to directors in previous years, but it was still bigger than increases to the rest of the workforce, said IDS.  Steve Tatton, of IDS, said: “It appears that all the signs are that after a period of relative austerity, the good times have returned to UK boardrooms.
  “While not all UK listed companies have yet published their annual reports and the final picture is yet to emerge, the trend seems clear.
  “On the back of a wave of incentive redesigns and recalibrations, coupled with the first signs of economic recovery, all the signs are that boardroom bonuses are recovering at a much faster pace than anticipated.”
  The report was based on a study of 237 directors."

So while CWU members are fighting for a decent pay rise and millions of our comrades in the public sector are being told they wil have no pay rise our captains of industry get richer. Words fail me. BT members SUPPORT YOUR UNION!
LES article here

Dementia fact sheet

As part of National Carers Week the CWU and BT have produced this fact sheet.on dementia. Copies can be downloaded here

New rights for self employed workers

Self employed workers are to gain new maternity and pension benefits under a new European directive. More here

101 trade unionists murdered

The ITUC has published its Annual Survey of violations of trade union rights. It exposes some shocking treatment of our comrades throughout the world. Here's a short extract.
  "At least 101 trade unionists and labour activists were murdered in 2009 compared to 76 the previous year: 48 were killed in Colombia, 16 in Guatemala, 12 in Honduras, six in Mexico, six in Bangladesh, four in Brazil, three in the Dominican Republic, three in the Philippines, one in India, one in Iraq and one in Nigeria. Colombia was yet again the deadliest country in the world: 22 of the trade unionists who died were senior trade union leaders and five were women."
 Please take the time to read the report at http://survey.ituc-csi.org/+-Whole-World-+.html

CWU response to BT pay offer

Can be found here http://cwu.org/news/archive/cwu-response-to-bt-offer.html

Royal Mail privatisation

The national press is reporting Cleggcon proposals to sell of Royal Mail but not the post office. Read more here
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1285478/Minister-hints-9bn-Royal-Mail-sell-off.html

CWU members are the most generous in the trade union movement

A bucket collection at conference raised £622.70 from delegates for the African Caribbean Luekaemia Trust. This will go a long way to raising awareness and promoting bone marrow and blood donations amongst the African Caribbean community.
 I thank you all from the bottom of my heart. You are all so kind hearted, caring and generous. Visit the ACLT website here

Racism and Homophobia 2010 Pride London Conference

On Monday June 28th Pride London is holding a Racism and Homophobia 2010 - Challenges to Equality & Co-existence conference in conjunction with the TUC. The event starts at 9.30am in Congress House and includes contributions from Peter Tatchell (Stonewall), Yemisi Ilesanmi (Nigerian Trade Unionist), and Nikk Mager (recording artist).

My latest Equality e-bulletin

National Carers Week June 14th to 20th

Almost 5.2 million carers in the UK dedicate their time providing unpaid care to a relative or friend who is ill, frail or disabled.
  Over 12000 events are taking place throughout the UK as part of National Carers Week which takes place from the 14th to 20th June.
  The statistics are revealing.

• Every year over 2 million people become carers.
• 58% of carers are women and 42% are men.
• Over 3 million people juggle care with work.
• 22% of carers in employment provide over 50 hours of unpaid care per week.
• 114000 children age 5-15 provide care (9000 of these for over 50 hours a week)
• The main carer's benefit is £46.96 for a minimum of 35 hours, equivalent to £1.34 per hour.
• By 2037 the number of carers could have increased to 9 million.
• Carers save the economy £57 billion per year, an average of £10,000 per carer.

Because of their caring responsibilities carers sacrifice so much that we take for granted – a night out, holidays, promotion - and many experience financial hardship.
  National Carers Week will be calling for greater support for carers to allow them to maintain a life of their own. It will highlight the incredible stories of carers; those who can describe how they have managed to create a life of their own, and those who feel that they are unable to.
  Many CWU members have caring responsibilities. The Work and Families Act 2006 and the Employment Rights Act 1996 give working carers rights to help them manage work and caring including the right to request flexible work and leave entitlement. (In Northern Ireland they are called The Work and Families (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 and The Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996). Please contact my Department if you have any queries about your rights or visit http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/CaringForSomeone/CarersAndEmployment/DG_4000206
  For information about National Carers Week log on to http://www.carersweek.org/

Crozier's millions - an absolute outrage

I forecast in an earlier post that Adam Crozier's pockets would be bulging with salary and bonuses when he left Royal Mail. BBC News confirms he received £2.4 million. And of course there's the obscenity of BT executives excessive pay and remuneration. How is this fair when my members in Royal Mail and BT are losing their jobs and seeing their terms and conditions of employment being eroded? Why did a Labour government allow this to happen? More here http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/10230767.stm

BT pay campaign

BT Pay Campaign


4th June 2010

Dear Colleague,
  The CWU’s annual conference last week carried a motion stating that if BT do not revise their final pay offer by noon on 4th June, the CWU will initiate a ballot for industrial action.
  That deadline has now passed and we have received no revised offer from the company. We are therefore left with no alternative than to proceed with an industrial action ballot of BT members.
  The union will serve BT with a formal notice of our intention to ballot within a matter of days, once we are absolutely certain that we have met all the various legal requirements of running a ballot.
  Once we have served notice to the company, the law says we must then wait seven days before we can launch the ballot.
  The union does not enter into industrial action lightly and this is the first time in more than 20 years that we have faced a dispute situation with BT over pay.
  This year the company is taking a particularly intransigent approach which is unwarranted given its strong performance. It is vital we stand up and resist BT’s attempts to cut your pay in real terms at a time when you have been central to delivering the targets that have brought generous pay rises and bonus payments for executive directors.
  Yesterday the CWU held a national forum of CWU branch officers, where the message came through loud and clear that members right across the country are angry about the blatant double standards shown by BT over pay this year.
  We recognise these are worrying times for members and we will be issuing some information and guidance in the coming days to address your concerns. Please also stay in close contact with your local CWU branch for advice, and read the Q&As we have created on some of the more frequently asked questions, available from the BT pay campaign page on the CWU’s website.
  We will be holding a series of meetings in major locations across the country shortly, and you will find details of these from your local branch. I would strongly urge you to attend a meeting near you to hear more about the union’s approach and what the ballot and industrial action will involve.
  It is essential that we win this ballot with a big turnout and a big majority to demonstrate to BT the strength of feeling amongst their employees on pay this year. If we fail, it will be extremely difficult to secure fair pay awards in future years, and we can expect BT to take it as an invitation to undermine your terms and conditions in other areas.
  Thank you for all your support and feedback, and please continue to communicate and engage with us as we take the campaign forward over the coming days and weeks.
  Most importantly, please vote in the forthcoming ballot, and please vote YES for industrial action as recommended by your CWU Executive.

Yours sincerely,

Andy Kerr
Deputy General Secretary (T&FS)

It must be an open leadership contest!

One of the highlights of last weeks conference was listening to John McDonnell speak at a Labour Representation Committee fringe. John expressed a number of concerns about the Labour party not least of all that he was struggling to get the requisite 30 nominations for him to stand in the current leadership contest. Please do all you can to ensure that John's name is on the ballot paper. Also read this http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jun/01/labour-leadership-hustings-john-mcdonnell