TUC equality conferences elections

Letter to Branches

For instant updates: http//:www.cwu.org      email: info@cwu.org 150 The Broadway, Wimbledon, London, SW19 1RX  Tel: 020 8971 7200 Fax: 020 8971 7300 General Secretary:  Billy Hayes (www.billyhayes.co.uk)

No. 911/12

Ref:TK/PM/CMcK

Date: 10/12/2012

To: All Branch Secretaries

Dear Colleague

Elections of: 

CWU Delegates to the TUC Equality Conference’s - 2013

Please find attached the regulations, nomination forms and Candidate consent and biographical details forms for the above Conferences. The details of which are as follows:-

TUC WOMEN’S CONFERENCE

Date:          13 – 15 March 2013

Venue:       Congress House, London 

TUC BLACK WORKERS CONFERENCE

Date:          12 – 14 April 2013

Venue:       Congress House, London

TUC DISABLED WORKERS CONFERENCE

Date:          22 -23 May 2013

Venue:       Congress House, London

TUC LGBT WORKERS CONFERENCE

Date:          28 – 29 June 2013 or 4-5 July 2013 (TBC)

Venue:       Congress House, London

The Timetable for the elections is as follow:

Nominations open:                12 December 2012         

Nominations close:                 4 January 2013 (14.00) 

Despatch ballot papers:           7 January 2013

Ballot closes:                       18 January 2013 (14.00)

Reminders:- 

• All candidates for election to the TUC Women’s Conference must be women.

• All nominees require the nomination of their own Branch. 

Any enquiries regarding this LTB should be addressed to the Senior Deputy General Secretary’s Department on telephone number 0208 971 7237 or email address sdgs@cwu.org.

Yours sincerely,

Tony Kearns                                     

Senior Deputy General Secretary

Save Our Post on December 6th

The CWU will be holding a rally and lobby of MPs in a bid to garner support for a new Early Day Motion on Royal Mail privatisation.

Date: Thursday 6 December
Time: 13:00 (lobby starts, rally to follow)
Venue: Conference Room 14, House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA.

Regional Secretaries will be co-ordinating attendance. Please consult the regions and branches section on the website for your regional secretary's contact details.

Apply to be a parliamentary candidate for Rotherham

Following the resignation of Denis MacShane, a by-election will be held in Rotherham. 

The Labour Party will therefore need to select a candidate to contest this election, and the Labour Party National Executive Committee is today inviting applications from all interested members. 

Any member with more than 12 months current continuous membership may apply to be considered for this selection. 

Application may be made on a standard CV which is available from the membersnet area of the web site at http://members.labour.org.uk/parliamentary-selections - you will need to be logged on to the members area to access this page.

Applications must be sent to rotherham@labour.org.uk

The closing date for applications is 10.00am on Friday 9th November.

The National Executive Committee by-election panel will consider the applications received and any persons long-listed will be required to attend an interview in London on Monday 12th November.

From those people interviewed a short-list of candidates will be selected. Short-listed candidates will be expected to attend a hustings meeting in the constituency on Tuesday 13th November.

Regards

Emilie Oldknow 

Virgin Media members. Vote yes for recognition.

| Media | News Archive | Virgin Media move to de-recognise trade unions

1

Virgin Media move to de-recognise trade unions

7th November 2012

CWU has been informed by Virgin Media that the company intends to de-recognise its trade unions - by far the biggest of which is CWU.

All members of Virgin Media staff who are part of the Access Division workforce - mostly engineers -will be balloted in a self-proclaimed 'referendum' which opens today (Wednesday November 7) and closes on November 16. CWU was informed in a shock phone call on Friday afternoon and all staff received letters to their homes on Saturday explaining the company's intentions, with just days until the referendum opened.

Virgin Media is effectively (but not directly) asking employees to vote to deny themselves the right to be represented by trade union. Implicitly, employees have been asked to accept that Virgin Media's internal 'Voice Forum' is the best defender of their interests, despite the fact that it's self-evident that a company's own 'employee forum' cannot possibly be as independent as a democratically accountable trade union.

Classic 'union-busting' tactics - including the fact that many of those being balloted are not even in the recognised parts of the company - mean Virgin Media is virtually certain to get the result it wants. If so, the company will likely serve a three-month notice period on all current recognition agreements.

CWU deputy general secretary Andy Kerr said: "The CWU is nothing short of astonished at Virgin Media's decision to effectively declare war on the UK trade union movement in general, and its own employees' democratically elected representatives in particular.

"This derecognition move is not just entirely unprovoked but flies in the face of the public image that the entire Virgin Group has spent years cultivating for itself as an ethical and socially responsible entity.

"Virgin is always talking about the importance of 'trust' - indeed it specifically lists 'trust' as its core corporate value - yet the union-busting activity it has apparently embarked upon begs the question as to how much this company can actually be trusted.

"In the CWU we thought we were working in partnership with Virgin Media - but now discover the company has been working behind the scenes to stab us in the back."

Early indications show the company's actions are generating a sense of outrage amongst staff - reflected in a sudden surge in new CWU membership applications.

Andy's message to Virgin Media and members alike is unequivocal: "Rest assured, the CWU is not in the business of walking away and abandoning its members. We intend to continue the fight for better working conditions in Virgin Media - and we intend to continue to grow our membership. We're not going anywhere!"

CWU is encouraging people to vote to retain union recognition in the ballot.

CWU has members in engineering and call centre roles but only has recognition for collective bargaining for parts of the engineering workforce.

CWU immediately sent a letter to members on Monday setting out the union's position in response to this news and is in constant contact with reps and concerned staff at the company. Read the letter >here<.

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Do you work for Virgin Media? If so, join CWU today. Contact us on freephone 0800 731 7434, email Joinunion@cwu.org or simply download and complete the application form to join now.

Gender pay gap latest.

A report published by the Fawcett Society indicates tha the gender pay gap in the UK is still wide. Find out more here http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/jun/16/gender-pay-gap-audits

CWU Disabilty conference report

Can be found here http://www.cwu.org/news/archive/government-cuts-target-the-disabled.html

Definition of disability. EAT ruling.

This is an interesting ruling. The summary follows. The full transcript can be read here http://www.employmentappeals.gov.uk/Public/Upload/12_0031rjfhSBSM.doc

SUMMARY

DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION – Disability

The effect of an impairment may be direct or indirect. However, the majority of the Employment Tribunal erred in holding that the deduced effect of the Claimant’s impairment for the purpose of Equality Act 2010 Schedule 1 Part 1 paragraph 5 was substantial and adverse toher ability to carry out day- to- day activities when the evidence established that the impairment, Selective IgA, caused an increase in susceptibility to infection but did not support a conclusion that increased rate of infection had such an effect. Further the evidence did not support the conclusion of the majority of the ET that substantial adverse effects caused by the impairment in the past were likely to recur.

Swift v Chief Constable of Wiltshire Constabulary [2004] IRLR 540 considered.

Appeal allowed. Decision of the Employment Tribunal that the Claimant was a disabled person at the material time, October 2010, set aside. The issue of whether the Claimant was a disabled person at the material time, remitted for re-hearing before a differently constituted Employment Tribunal.

Betrayal of O2 workers

Absolutely disgraceful way to treat a loyal and dedicated group of workers. http://www.cwu.org/news/archive/pre-christmas-betrayal-of-o2-store-staff.html

CWU Black Workers Conference report

A reort can be found here http://www.cwu.org/news/archive/-stop-doing-fa-about-racism-say-cwu-black-workers.html

ConDems denounced for crimes against disabled people

Thanks to Nicola Coughlin for supplying this. A message about United Kingdom Government Denounced for Crimes Against Disabled People to International Criminal Court in The Hague Date: September 22, 2012 To: Mrs. Fatou Bensouda, ICC Prosecutor Information and Evidence Unit Office of the Prosecutor International Criminal Court Post Office Box 19519 2500 CM The Hague The Netherlands E-Mail: otp.informationdesk@icc-cpi.int Subject: Austerity deaths of sick and disabled people in the U.K. Dear Mrs. Bensouda, I am a 56-year-old Disability Studies specialist from Montreal, Canada who has been reporting frequently for the past year to the United Nations on the crisis for the United Kingdom's sick and disabled. Austerity measures, consisting of draconian welfare reforms and "sham" means-testing (Atos Healthcare U.K. and the Department for Work and Pensions) are ostensibly to blame for their plight—with disability hate crime and inflammatory media attacks factored into this mix. please read more @ http://links.causes.com/s/clDZIJ?r=vcCh thank you View, share, or add a comment: http://links.causes.com/s/clDZII?r=vcCh

Employment Tribunal Statistics out

The latest statistics on Employment Tribunals are now available here http://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/statistics/tribs-stats/employment-trib-stats-april-march-2011-12.pdf

Agency Workers Rights

For more equality related factsheets please log on to http://www.cwu.org/factsheets.html

September Ezine

For this and other editions please log on to http://www.cwu.org/e-bulletin.html

Save Our School Playing Fields!

From: Ian Palmer [mailto:action@38degrees.org.uk]
Sent: Thursday, August 16, 2012 05:49 PM
To: Linda Roy
Subject: Save school playing fields
 

Dear Linda, It’s just emerged that over a million children could lose the fields where they play. [1] The Education Secretary, Michael Gove, has quietly relaxed the rules protecting school playing fields. Many people are worried that this could open the door for them to be sold off to developers. Without playing fields it’s hard to imagine the children of today - the Team GB of tomorrow - will ever match this year’s record Olympic medal haul. If playing fields are sold off and built on, there’ll be no way to get them back. Once they're gone, they're gone. Right now David Cameron and his Government won't want a scandal about school playing fields taking the shine off the Olympic legacy. [2] There’s a great chance that if tens of thousands of 38 Degrees members create a public outcry by building a big petition, Michael Gove will back down to make sure the Olympic after-party continues on a high. Click here to sign the petition to Michael Gove to save school children's play areas: https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/playing-fields For lots of people, playing outside at break time left them with some of their happiest memories of school. But happy memories aren’t the only long-term benefit of having proper places for children to play. Running around outside gives children the chance to get into good exercise habits early in life. And it can help them concentrate in class the rest of the time, so they learn faster. [3] The Government is already feeling the heat - already a national newspaper has launched a campaign on this issue. [4] We can build on this pressure and, together, we can make that final push to persuade Michael Gove to do the right thing. We’ve already had one great success around the Olympics - our massive petition persuaded sponsors not to take advantage of a tax-break available to them. Together, as the Paralympic Games approach, we have a great chance of persuading the Government to protect the play areas of our future Olympians. Click here to sign the petition: https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/playing-fields Thanks for being involved, Ian, Marie, Hannah and the 38 Degrees team PS: Just a few days ago David Cameron announced his plans to make sport in schools compulsory. [5] Where are kids going to play sports if playing fields have been sold off? Sign the petition here: https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/playing-fields NOTES: [1] Telegraph: Keep the Flame Alive: A million pupils could lose sports fields http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/news/9478635/Keep-the-Flame-Alive-A-million-pupils-could-lose-sports-fields.html Guardian: School sports fields in danger as government relaxes rules: http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2012/aug/14/school-sports-fields-government-olympics Telegraph: Keep The Flame Alive: Team sports blow for schools http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/keep-the-flame-alive/9475984/Keep-The-Flame-Alive-School-playing-fields-at-risk-as-ministers-relax-building-rules.html [2] Number 10: PM appoints Seb Coe as Olympics legacy ambassador http://www.number10.gov.uk/news/pm-appoints-seb-coe-as-olympics-legacy-ambassador/ [3] Exercise 'helps' school children concentrate: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/north_east/8629867.stm [4] Telegraph: Keep the flame alive http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/keep-the-flame-alive/ [5] BBC: School competitive team sports move unveiled http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-19219942

Paralympics discrimnatory ticket allocation - protest!

Thanks to Joe Malone for bringing this to my attention. Please join the campaign.

Tell London 2012 to review their Paralympic ticketing policy and allow families to sit together Sign My Petition Joe - The London 2012 Olympic Games were brilliant. My family - particularly my two children - loved it. I decided I wanted to take them to the Paralympic Games to sample the once in a lifetime showcase of disabled sport in London.   I'm a wheelchair user, with a four-year-old autistic son and a nineteen-month-old daughter. Naturally we wanted to sit together and, particularly as it’s the Paralympics, I assumed there would be adequate provision to allow for this.    So I was stunned to hear that there was no way that this could happen as there is a policy that wheelchair users can only be accompanied by one other person, meaning that either my children or my husband have to sit far away from me.   I’ve started a petition on Change.org calling on London 2012 to review this policy. Please click here to join me.   I cannot believe that this event, designed to inspire a new generation of athletes, has a discriminatory ticketing policy. It's essential that my husband sits with me as he helps me with things I need to do and clearly my kids can't sit separately.    Aside from these practical considerations, I want to share this special occasion with my family, but I'm being prevented from doing so just because I am in a wheelchair.   Please join my campaign to get the organisers of the Paralympics to change this ticketing policy for these and future Games - so every family can share the Paralympics together.   Thank you,   Beth This email was sent by Change.org to Jmalone@Cwu.org   |   Start a petition Unsubscribe. Edit your email notification settings.

CWU Women's Conference - Online registration

No. 595 /12

Ref: GS 8.0

Date:  6th August 2012

 To: All Branches

Dear Colleague

CWU Women’s Conference Saturday 15^th  September 2012 On-Line Registration of  Delegates and Observers
In order to improve the level of information gathered for monitoring purposes, this year the union will be trialling an on-line registration process for the Women’s and other CWU Equality Conferences.

Branches were advised in LTB 558/12 that further information would be sent directly to them and on 31^st July 2012 Branch Secretaries were individually emailed with their unique link to the registration pages - which allow for two branch delegates and unrestricted observers to be registered.

The purpose of this letter is to notify you of the process contained in the email of 31^st July 2012 and to encourage as many branches as possible to send representatives to this Conference.

Branches are reminded that delegates and observers should be registered on-line by Friday 7^th September 2012.

 Should any Branch Secretary encounter any difficulties with this process or, if you would wish to discuss this matter in advance of submitting the on-line registration, please contact the General Secretary’s Office on 0208 971 7259.

W HAYES

General Secretary

                                       

CWU NEC election candidates. Use your vote!

 Best wishes to all candidates. I've won and lost elections so if you're not successful this time
try again. CWU members please use your vote!

National Executive Council election candidates confirmed

31st July 2012
Candidates running in the election for a position on the CWU's National Executive Council (NEC) have now been confirmed after yesterday (Monday) marked the closing date for nominations.
Candidates are:
Mahmood Ali, Birmingham Amalgamated
Tony Bouch, Plymouth & East Cornwall Amalgamated
Bruce Devenport, Greater Manchester
Kye Dudd, Bristol & District Amalgamated
Ian Ward, South East London Postal & Counter
Bobby Weatherall, Northern Ireland Combined
Ballot papers will be enclosed with the August Postal edition of Voice magazine dispatched from the 7^th August 2012.The ballot closes on the 28^th August 2012 with the results due to be announced on the 30^th August 2012.
The term of office will be from the 5^thSeptember 2012 for a period not exceeding one year.
The position became available following NEC member Noel McClean leaving the CWU for employment elsewhere. Noel held a seat in the CWU's postal constituency opening up nominations only to branches with members in this section.
In order to protect the integrity of this very important national election and to ensure that the union is legally compliant with the relevant legislation covering such an election, election prize draws should not be conducted unless written authorisation has been given by the senior deputy general secretary.
For more information about the election regulations, please seeLTB 521/12 and LTB 579/12.
The timetable for the election is as follows:
Nominations opened: 16 July 2012
Nominations closed: 30 July 2012
Ballot papers despatched: 7 August 2012
Ballot closes: 28 August 2012
Result announced: 30 August 2012
For any enquiries, please contact Peter Metcalfe in the senior deputy general secretary department on telephone: 0208 971 7368, or e-mail: pmetcalfe@cwu.org

CWU Women's Conference

LTB 558/12 - CWU Women's Conference 2012 - Saturday 15th September 2012

No. 558/12

Ref:  womconf/12/an

Date:  24th July 2012

TO:      ALL BRANCHES
Dear Colleagues,
CWU Women’s Conference 2012 - Saturday 15^th September 2012
Further to LTB 309/12 you will be aware that the CWU Womens Conference will be held on Saturday 15^th September 2012 at The Bull Hotel, Westgate, Peterborough, PE1 1RB.
Delegates
Branches are entitled to send two delegates to the Conference.  A new on-line registration system for registering delegates and observers to the conference will be trialled.   Information on how this works and how to register will be sent directly to Branch Secretaries in a separate email.  Any queries regarding the registration process should be directed to toneil@cwu.org
Motions
Each Branch is entitled to submit 1 motion for consideration to be included on the agenda of the Conference. Motions should be submitted electronically to conferences@cwu.org using the template attached. Branches who do not have this facility may request paper motion forms by contacting Angela Niven on 020 8971 7256.
Motion forms must be returned by Wednesday 22^nd August 2012.  Anything received after this date will not be accepted.  All sections of the form must be completed. If submitted electronically only motions emailed to the above email address will be accepted.
As with previous Equality Conferences, the agenda will be structured in such a way as to maximise debate and participation by delegates. There will be 2 sections to the agenda, one for motions which are eligible for consideration for submission to General Conference, and one for motions that in the view of the Standing Orders Committee would not be admissible to the General Conference agenda.
Branches will be aware that the Women’s Conference has the entitlement under the rules of the union to submit 2 motions to stand in the name of the conference to General Conference. It is therefore important that if branches wish their motions to be in this category, they must contain policy that is capable of being discharged by the NEC, as opposed to either of the Industrial Executives.
As with previous Equality Conferences, the 2 motions for submission to the General Conference agenda will be decided from amongst those motions adopted at the Conference. A ballot to select the 2 motions will be held at the Conference.
Any enquiries regarding this LTB should be addressed to Angela Niven either by post to head office or by email to conferences@cwu.org
Yours sincerely,
A P Kearns
Senior Deputy General Secretary

Leeds Pride pictures

Had a brilliant time at Leeds pride yesterday. Great parade, excellent entertainment and music in Briggate. A day of love and peace. Congratulations to the organisers and everyone who attended.