Unite Job Fears At Cadbury

Unite has said they fear a take over of Birmingham-based chocolate firm Cadbury by US company Kraft will lead to "massive" job losses.

Unite spoke out after a recent meeting between the union and Kraft. A union spokesman said the firm did not give any guarantees over the workforce.

Cadbury has rejected Kraft's £9.8bn ($16.4bn) takeover offer but it will now go to shareholders.

Jennie Formby, the union's officer for the food sector, said nothing had been said by Kraft to allay concerns over jobs, particularly at the Somerdale plant in Keynsham.
'Lack information' She said Kraft had said it could not give guarantees as Cadbury had not provided enough information, given that it was a hostile takeover.

In her letter, Jennie Formby said: "Our major concern is to understand how you would achieve the quoted savings of $625m (which some analysts believe will need to rise to as much as £1.5bn) without significant restructuring involving the loss of jobs and sites."
Reports say US firm Hershey is also considering bidding for the firm.

Unite Leaders To Fight For Labour

The last of Unite's industrial conference in Brighton concluded on Friday 26th November with Tony Woodley and Derek Simpson vowing to use their remaining time in office to fight for a fourth Labour term.

The earliest the election of a new Unite general secretary could take place is June, but Mr Woodley and Mr Simpson made it clear that they would fight to ensure that their last months as joint leaders did not coincide with the final months of Gordon Brown's premiership.

"Labour must be re-elected because the alternative doesn't bear thinking about," declared Tony Woodley.

"Our union has to be on the front line, working for a Labour victory in next year's elections," he insisted.

Letter on Honduras to The Guardian

The letter below was published in The Guardian today, Friday 27 November, and can also be seen at the website of the Emergency Committee Against the Coup in Honduras.

Latin America faces the greatest threat to its democracy in decades. The military coup that overthrew elected president Manual Zelaya and seized power in Honduras in June is now seeking to legitimise its illegal government through the international recognition of elections on 29 November. Such recognition would give a green light to opponents of democracy throughout the continent that military coups will be tolerated. Free and fair elections on November 29 are impossible. Human rights, freedom of assembly and of the press have all been under attack in Honduras. Repression under the coup regime has seen at least 20 people killed, more than 600 people injured and 3,500 people detained.

The legitimate Honduran president, Manual Zelaya, has called for supporters of democracy not to recognise the elections under the military coup regime. Nearly all of Latin America's governments have declared that they will not do so. Worryingly the US has indicated it will recognise these illegitimate elections. We call on all governments, including the Obama administration, to not recognise the elections on 29 November under the military coup regime.

* Colin Burgon MP Chair, All-party Parliamentary Group on Venezuela
* Jon Cruddas MP,
* Ken Livingstone,
* Baroness Gibson Chair APPG on Latin America,
* Brendan Barber General secretary, TUC,
* Jamie Hepburn MSP (SNP),
* Adam Price MP (Plaid Cymru),
* Caroline Lucas MEP Leader, Green party,
* Bruce Kent,
* David Hare,
* John Pilger,
* Lowkey (Musician),
* Brian Eno,
* Dr J Buxton Centre for International Co-operation and Security, University of Bradford
* Tony Lloyd MP Chair, Parliamentary Labour Party
* Doreen Massey, Professor of Geography at the Open University
* Johan Harri, commentator
* Ann Cryer MP
* Brian Simpson MEP
* Colin Challen MP
* Clare Short MP
* Dave Anderson MP
* David Chaytor MP
* David Drew MP
* David Martin MEP
* David Taylor MP
* Diane Abbott MP
* Gordon Prentice MP
* George Galloway MP
* Harry Cohen MP
* Hywel Williams MP
* Ian Davidson MP
* Jeremy Corbyn MP
* Jean Lambert MEP
* John Battle MP
* John Battle MP
* John Hemming MP
* John McDonnell MP
* Lord Nic Rea
* Mark Fisher MP
* Martin Caton MP
* Michael Cashman MEP
* Neil Gerrard MP
* Nigel Griffiths MP
* Paul Flynn MP
* Paul Holmes MP
* Rob Marris MP
* Steve Pound MP
* Tony Woodley and Derek Simpson Joint general secretaries, Unite the Union
* Sally Hunt General secretary, UCU
* GMB union
* Alan Ritchie General secretary, Ucatt
* Luke Crawley Assistant general secretary, Bectu
* Mick Shaw President, FBU
* Matt Wrack General secretary, FBU
* Gerry Doherty General secretary, TSSA
* Bob Crow General secretary, RMT
* Steve Hart - Unite London & Eastern Regional Secretary
* Chris McLaughlin Editor, Tribune
* Sam Tarry National chair of Young Labour
* Chris Weldon Labour party NEC
* Kaveh Moussavi University of Oxford's Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, Head of the Public Interest Law Programme
* Professor Keith Ewing
* Professor Mary Davis
* Dr Steve Ludlam Department of politics, University of Sheffield
* Diana Raby Senior fellow, Latin American studies, University of Liverpool
* Barry Cannon Postdoctoral fellow, school of law and government, Dublin City University
* Hazel Marsh School of politics, social & international studies, University of East Anglia
* Dr Michael Derham School of arts and social sciences, Northumbria University
* Rod Stoneman Director of the Huston school of film & digital media
* Dr Stephen Wilkinson Director, Centre for Caribbean and Latin American research and consultancy, London Metropolitan University
* Professor Ernesto Laclau University of Essex
* Cuba Solidarity Campaign
* Nicaragua Solidarity Campaign
* Venezuela Solidarity Campaign

Unite National Industrial Sector Conferences Report

Unite National Industrial Sector Conferences Report by Workers Uniting Group Supporters.

"A momentous week for Unite and Workers Uniting" - Les Bayliss: Workers Uniting Group candidate For Unite General Secretary

During the week of November 23rd to 27th, Unite activists and reps from all of the unions' 24 Sectors took part in conferences which debated and decided their own industrial policies.

Delegates heard excellent plenary speeches from Derek Simpson and Tony Woodley - on organising, politics and international issues and the conferences welcomed guests from Venezuela, Columbia, USW and representatives of 3500 striking Steelworkers in Canada.

It was also a week when Workers Uniting - the merged global union between Unite and the United Steelworkers was put firmly on the trade union map.

Les Bayliss, candidate for Unite General Secretary who is supported by the Left Progressive Workers Uniting Group said: "This was a momentous week for Unite and Workers Uniting. The work being done in print and paper; in the NHS and healthcare; in the finance sector and in Columbia and the Bangladeshi ship breakers was highlighted by Unite's senior officers and our Steelworker comrades. No delegate attending the conferences in Brighton could be left in any doubt that Workers Uniting will be a global union to be reckoned with. I am proud to have been part of helping develop Workers Uniting and will continue to work to strengthen it. The support both morally and financially for Workers Uniting-USW members on strike at Vale Inco in Canada was magnificent."

Comrades representing striking Steelworkers from the Brazilian multi-national Vale Inco in Canada explained the background to their strike along with the need for a strong global union. Senior officers of the United Steelworkers Jon Geenen and Carol Landry put the case for building Workers Uniting as a global union and they received unanimous support each day and at each conference.

In a number of key debates delegates discussed issues pertinent to their own industries and sectors including the fight back against the attacks by employers on pay and conditions; the privatisation of the NHS and local services; pay claims; health and safety etc.

Delegates also had a daily opportunity to question Derek Simpson and Tony Woodley on a wide range of issues - especially on the organising strategy, the financial crisis, pay, conditions, democratic union structures, Europe, the health service, pensions etc.

They also had the chance to learn about the positive developments in Venezuela, Bolivia, Nicaragua reports back from Unite delegates who have attended recent solidarity delegations to Latin America - as well as hearing about the difficult situation in Columbia and Honduras at evening fringe meetings.

Chairing two of the fringe meetings on Latin America Les Bayliss said: "Unite's work in Latin America is vitally important. It has helped us understand how these countries are developing socialist policies which suit them and the threats they may face from reactionary forces in the region and elsewhere. We will also need to re-double our efforts to help trade unionists facing repression and imprisonment in Columbia and Honduras".

The weeks conferences also gave an opportunity for delegates to gauge the campaigning already underway for the General Secretary-ship of Unite. In his winding up remarks at the plenary sessions Joint General Secretary Derek Simpson, referred to the no-hoper candidates, saying that we could run the General Secretary election like the "X Factor" where members could vote an aspiring candidate off every week until we get to the election proper!

Workers Uniting Group candidate Les Bayliss was on hand to meet groups of delegates from different sectors and to listen to their views. He said: "It was good to listen to our reps. They told me they want to develop a united, strong and powerful union. They are looking for a financially sound and growing union, one which is responsive to the real needs of our members".

Les Bayliss added: "It is clear that our reps want a democratic and accountable union with equalities for all, with well trained reps who really represent people in work - those who face a boss everyday, with no going back to a re-hash of previous unions. They want Unite to help them when they need it, to defend workers and their families and not get side tracked by personal ambition or by fanciful politics and undeliverable policies".

Unite can be proud of running 24 succesful conferences - which should be a good prelude to the main policy Unite conference in 2010.

More information on the the Vale Inco Strike can be found at
http://unitingworkers.net/international/support_usw_striking_miners_at.aspx

Daily reports from the weeks Unite Industrial Sector Conferences can be found on the Morning Star website
http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/index.php

US investigation into health and safety cash scandal prompts UK campaign

US investigation into health and safety cash scandal prompts UK campaign

UK paper manufacturing procedures will be reviewed after a survey revealed staff at mills in the US are being given financial incentives not to report health and safety incidents.
The US campaign was launched by Workers Uniting – the world's first global union that consists of the United Steelworkers (USW) from America and Canada, and Unite the Union.
It found that the recent increase in fatalities and serious injuries in the paper manufacturing industry may have been caused by employers trying to increase profit margins at the expense of safety.
It also said there have been widespread cut backs on safety training and a reduction of union safety committees.
Workers Uniting will follow up the US campaign with a transatlantic investigation to be launched in the UK in January.
Tony Burke, Unite assistant general secretary, announced the plans at the union's print and paper conference in Brighton.
He said globalisation in the paper industry was "pushing employers to shirk their responsibilities for the health and safety of staff".
"Workers Uniting is very concerned with the emergence of financial reward schemes for reduction in reporting accidents in the workplace," he said. "It is a cynical development designed to hide safety problems and avoid investigation."
USW's International vice president Jon Geenan added: "The safety problems we have discovered in America will already be in existence or will soon be imported into the UK."
The UK campaign will offer a free phone number for members to report unsafe work practices, which will be reported to health and safety authorities in both the US and the UK.

Superdrug Win!

Unite members working at Superdrug's national distribution centre in West Yorkshire have claimed a major victory following strike action in a dispute over pay and conditions.

The dispute, which was sparked by the retailers' bid to make fundamental changes to the workers' terms and conditions led to a two week strike which began on November 4th . The dispute has now been resolved. The workforce, both UK and Polish, also led protests outside Superdrug stores throughout Yorkshire and the North East.

The 261 workers have returned to work after an agreement was reached which means that the company will not force through changes to overtime payments, sickness entitlement and flexible hours of work. In return, the workers have agreed to a £10 a week reduction in shift pay for the afternoon shift.

Unite's John Evans said: "As a result of our members standing firm and fighting to protect their pay, terms and conditions, Superdrug's management were forced back to the table and agreed to reverse their proposals. Our members have claimed a major victory following their courageous two week strike action. "

"We are proud that both Polish and UK workers stood shoulder to shoulder to resist the company's attempts to worsen their terms and conditions.

"Our members have gone back to work even more committed to their union and they are going back united. "

Engineering construction industry union members accept new national employment agreement

Engineering construction industry union members accept new national employment agreement

Unite and GMB members in the engineering construction industry have voted to accept a new national employment agreement from the sector's main employers' body.

The vote came after the Unite union recommended the new deal proposed by the Engineering Construction Industry Association, stating that it would address many of the grievances that workers have recently experienced.

The agreement prohibits employers from hiring non-UK labour at a site before unions have been formally advised in a reasonable timescale. This clause follows wildcat strikes at Lindsey oil refinery and other power plants earlier this year over the use of foreign workers.

All vacancies on long-term and maintenance repair projects will also have to be advertised via local jobcentres for three days and then UK-wide for a further two days before it can be advertised overseas. Any contractor using overseas labour will have to comply with UK health and safety legislation and all terms of the national agreement, including rates of pay, welfare provision and trips home.

Unite's assistant general secretary, Les Bayliss, said: "We are pleased that our members have accepted the deal which we believe provides an opportunity for stability in an industry that has been plagued by unrest, thanks to certain unscrupulous employers."

The union said it would be working closely with employers to ensure that the two-year agreement was implemented.

Workers Uniting Group Yorkshire and Humberside Meeting

Please note the nexy meeting of the Workers Uniting Group in Yorkshire and Humberside will be on

Sunday 6th of December

Sheffield Trades & Labour Club

200 Duke St, Sheffield, S2 5QQ

Time 11 am till 1 pm

Open to all Unite members

A Rubbish Pay Dispute

The following article was sent to Workers Uniting Group by Colin Burgon MP

As always we are happy to publish this.

A rubbish pay dispute

In its failed attempt to cut refuse workers' pay by a third, Leeds council has cast itself as an enemy of the low-paid working class

Beyond television shots of piling rubbish and narrow Victorian terraces, a surprise victory for Leeds refuse workers will send national reverberations to elected politicians, employers and public sectors workers alike. Attempts by the Liberal Democrat/Conservative ruling coalition to cut the already modest pay of refuse collectors from £18,000 to £13,000 a year, all the while "modernising" the service they provide, were roundly rejected by the workforce and public opinion.

If any reader is unsure of what modernising would entail, imagine forward-thinking concepts such as more work and less pay; in the case of the Leeds bin workers, 33% less pay, at a time of economic hardship. This resonated with the public and attempts by the council to isolate the strike by employing an even more desperate and mistreated strata of our labour market – agency workers – only hardened the strikers' backbone.

As the dispute approached week 12, many suspected that talks were being deliberately stalled by the council as this staging post would mean it could sack the entire workforce under existing employment law. But gradually, aided by generally objective reporting on the part of the local media, the council PR machine found itself making no headway even as the rubbish accumulated on city streets.

Watching from the wings, councils such as Bradford, Wakefield and Kirklees quickly settled their pay and grading reviews without dispute and Brighton swiftly came to a deal with its workforce rather than risk the scenes of rubbish piling up on their own streets.

What lessons for all parties, locally and nationally? For local authorities, the hard ball, zero dialogue tactics with a group of low-paid workers deployed by Leeds City Council proved a singular failure; especially as the trade unions involved (GMB and Unison) were ready to talk from day one. This obstinacy stalled negotiations for a month and did little to mobilise public opinion against the refuse workers as council leaders had hoped. Only the public and many of the low-paid striking workers who were already in debt before this dispute started suffered.

This has cast Leeds council in a bad light, and other local authorities should take note. Public opinion does not favour punishing hardworking people who have done little to cause this recession. Within the Leeds Labour party there are now few echoing the calls of some of the London-based chattering classes for an alliance with progressive elements within Liberal Democrats, who regionally, have form.

Back in December 2008 when the recession began to bite hard, a Labour and Green coalition tried to secure a "Leeds Living Wage" to anyone directly or indirectly employed by the council.

The Liberal Democrat council leader, Richard Brett, strongly opposed the move, even telling the executive board that low-paid workers were "lucky" to have a job at all owing to the current economic conditions.

Later, Brett had the cheek to cite the example of students being paid badly in casual employment across the city to call into question any special treatment for the bin workers. Brett knew perfectly well that the student unions of Leeds Met and Leeds University both campaigned passionately for the "Leeds Living Wage" status that he and his party opposed and blocked.

Nationally, the workforce flexibility so admired by New Labour and the conservatives has increasingly left lower-paid workers vulnerable to the tumult of privatisation, the use of agency workers and the threat of dismissal after the 12-week period on strike is reached. It is patently obvious that this is very, very unpopular with marginalised working class voters.

And these disputes are as much about the future of the services as they are about a fair deal for the low paid. During the most bitter impasse in Leeds – in sentiments remarkably similar to implications briefed by Royal Mail and Lord Mandleson during the recent postal strikes – the leader of the council warned on record "if there's no resolution to this dispute, we may have to privatise". This naked preference to flog public services demonstrates that at this time of severe economic difficulty, ideological agendas overran the plight of the low paid.

We are now seeing groups of workers ready to stand up to oppose deteriorating wages and conditions. They feel that the economic crisis should not be solved at their expense and are showing a real combative attitude when attacked. The Leeds bin workers' stance and their ultimate victory under extremely difficult circumstances prove that working people are not willing to be turned over; their example will be followed by others.

Meet Venezuelan Union Leaders!!

The VSC have emailed Workers Uniting Group with details of meetings, discussions and receptions with visiting Venezuelan Comrades - Eglé Sanchez - General Secretary of the Venezuelan Graphical, Print & Paper Workers’ Union; Organiser for and representative of workers within, the United Socialist Party of Venezuela and recent recipient of a May Day award from Hugo Chávez recognising her contribution to the revolution and Elias Rodriguez – Union President and activist of the PSUV and Bolivarian Workers’ Force.

Details so far:
BRIGHTON
November 25th - 10 Years of Social Progress & Democracy: Achievements & Threats, including Q&A with Venezuelan Speakers
With: Eglé Sanchez and Elias Rodriguez, plus Dave Lovelidge (Unite NEC) reporting on the recent Unite GPM and VSC delegation to Venezuela.
Time and Place: 7pm, Pelham Room, Brighthelm Church & Community Centre, North Road, BN1 1YD
 
MANCHESTER
November 26th – Public Meeting and Reception - 10 Years of Social Progress & Democracy: Achievements & Threats, including Q&A with Venezuelan Speakers
With: Eglé Sanchez and Elias Rodriguez. Chair: Eddy Redmond, UNISON Manchester.
Time and Place: 7-9pm. Buffet Served from 6.30pm.
The venue is now confirmed as The City Road Inn Pub, 14, Albion St, M1 5NZ, which is opposite Deansgate Locks. The nearest tram stop is G-Mex and nearest Railway station is Deansgate.
 
ALSO - FILM SHOWING
November 26th – Lewisham & Greenwich VSC - Film Showing: Tocar y Luchar (To Play & to Fight)With: A film showing followed by discussion. The documentary portrays the inspirational stories of world class musicians trained by the Venezuelan system including world renowned conductor Gustavo Dudamel.  Time and Place: 7.30pm (film starts 8.15pm,) Café Crema, 306 New Cross Road. London SE14 6AF. £6 including food or wine and cake. Tickets available from the café in advance.

LONDON FUND RAISING DINNER
VSC Fundraising Dinner with Guests from Venezuela
Time and Date: From 7pm, 28th November Venue: La Piragua Restaurant, 176 Upper Street , Islington, N1. Tubes: Highbury and Islington, Angel
Price: £20 per ticket, including Latin food, beer or wine and a Mojito. Kindly supported by UNISON Greater London Region.
Places are limited so book early - contact info@venezuelasolidarity.co.uk to reserve your place.

CHELMSFORD
November 30th - 10 Years of Social Progress & Democracy: Achievements & Threats, including Q&A with Venezuelan Speakers
With: Eglé Sanchez and Elias Rodriguez, plus Dave Lovelidge (Unite NEC GPM Sector) reporting on the recent Unite and VSC delegation to Venezuela. Venezuelan Rum Cocktails and refreshments will be served.
Time and Place: 6-8pm, Thompsons Offices, Grosvenor House, 53 New London Road, CM2 0ND
Hosted by Thompsons Solicitors & Chelmsford TUC

LONDON
Q&A WITH VENEZUELAN SPEAKERS FOR VSC MEMBERS & ACTIVISTS - DECEMBER 1st, 7 - 9PM, ROOMS 3/4, UNITE THE UNION BUILDING, 128 THEOBALD'S ROAD, LONDON.

LEEDS
December 2nd – Rum Reception & Public Meeting – 10 Years of Social Progress & Democracy: Achievements & Threats, including Q&A with Venezuelan Speakers
With: Eglé Sanchez and Elias Rodriguez plus Colin Burgon MP and Louise Cousins (Unite NEC GPM Sector) reporting on the recent Unite and VSC delegation to Venezuela.
Chair: Davey Hall, Unite Regional Secretary.
Refreshments and Venezuelan Rum Cocktails will be served.
Time and Place: 6-8.30pm (Meeting starts 6.30pm,) Civic Hall, Leeds, LS1 1UR
 
BIRMINGHAM
December 3rd – 10 Years of Social Progress: No to US Intervention, including Q&A with Venezuelan Speakers
With: Eglé Sanchez and Elias Rodriguez, plus Francisco Dominguez (VSC) updating on Honduras.
Time and Place: 7pm, UNISON Regional Centre, 24 Livery Street, Birmingham, B3 2PA.
 
LONDON
December 4th - Invite to Roundtable Discussion and Reception with Venezuelan Trade Union Leaders, 2pm, Unite, 128 Theobald's Road, London , WC1X 8TN . The discussion will take place from 2pm-3.30pm , at the Unite the Union Building on Theobald's Road (nearest tube Holborn) on December 4th. This will be followed by short reception with the guests and Venezuelan Ambassador at a nearby bar.   
This event is sponsored by UNISON Greater London Region and is part of a national tour to mark 10 years of social progress in Venezuela  supported by Unite the Union , the UNISON General Political Fund and Thompson's Solicitors.

LONDON
December 5th – Latin America 2009 Conference and Fiesta Latina
With: Eglé Sanchez and Elias Rodriguez plus speakers from Honduras, Cuba, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Nicaragua.
Time and Place: 9.30am – 5pm, followed by cultural celebration from 5pm-10pm, TUC Congress House, London. Visit www.latinamerica2009.org.uk For more information and to register online.

For more information contact:
Matt Willgress
Co-ordinator
Venezuela Solidarity Campaign (formerly VIC)
Tel: 020 7420 8963
www.vicuk.org

Meet Venezuelan Union Leaders!!

The VSC have emailed Workers Uniting Group with details of meetings, discussions and receptions with visiting Venezuelan Comrades - Eglé Sanchez - General Secretary of the Venezuelan Graphical, Print & Paper Workers’ Union; Organiser for and representative of workers within, the United Socialist Party of Venezuela and recent recipient of a May Day award from Hugo Chávez recognising her contribution to the revolution and Elias Rodriguez – Union President and activist of the PSUV and Bolivarian Workers’ Force.

Details so far:
BRIGHTON
November 25th - 10 Years of Social Progress & Democracy: Achievements & Threats, including Q&A with Venezuelan Speakers
With: Eglé Sanchez and Elias Rodriguez, plus Dave Lovelidge (Unite NEC) reporting on the recent Unite GPM and VSC delegation to Venezuela.
Time and Place: 7pm, Pelham Room, Brighthelm Church & Community Centre, North Road, BN1 1YD
 
MANCHESTER
November 26th – Public Meeting and Reception - 10 Years of Social Progress & Democracy: Achievements & Threats, including Q&A with Venezuelan Speakers
With: Eglé Sanchez and Elias Rodriguez. Chair: Eddy Redmond, UNISON Manchester.
Time and Place: 7-9pm. Buffet Served from 6.30pm.
The venue is now confirmed as The City Road Inn Pub, 14, Albion St, M1 5NZ, which is opposite Deansgate Locks. The nearest tram stop is G-Mex and nearest Railway station is Deansgate.
 
ALSO - FILM SHOWING
November 26th – Lewisham & Greenwich VSC - Film Showing: Tocar y Luchar (To Play & to Fight)With: A film showing followed by discussion. The documentary portrays the inspirational stories of world class musicians trained by the Venezuelan system including world renowned conductor Gustavo Dudamel.  Time and Place: 7.30pm (film starts 8.15pm,) Café Crema, 306 New Cross Road. London SE14 6AF. £6 including food or wine and cake. Tickets available from the café in advance.

LONDON FUND RAISING DINNER
VSC Fundraising Dinner with Guests from Venezuela
Time and Date: From 7pm, 28th November Venue: La Piragua Restaurant, 176 Upper Street , Islington, N1. Tubes: Highbury and Islington, Angel
Price: £20 per ticket, including Latin food, beer or wine and a Mojito. Kindly supported by UNISON Greater London Region.
Places are limited so book early - contact info@venezuelasolidarity.co.uk to reserve your place.

CHELMSFORD
November 30th - 10 Years of Social Progress & Democracy: Achievements & Threats, including Q&A with Venezuelan Speakers
With: Eglé Sanchez and Elias Rodriguez, plus Dave Lovelidge (Unite NEC GPM Sector) reporting on the recent Unite and VSC delegation to Venezuela. Venezuelan Rum Cocktails and refreshments will be served.
Time and Place: 6-8pm, Thompsons Offices, Grosvenor House, 53 New London Road, CM2 0ND
Hosted by Thompsons Solicitors & Chelmsford TUC

LONDON
Q&A WITH VENEZUELAN SPEAKERS FOR VSC MEMBERS & ACTIVISTS - DECEMBER 1st, 7 - 9PM, ROOMS 3/4, UNITE THE UNION BUILDING, 128 THEOBALD'S ROAD, LONDON.

LEEDS
December 2nd – Rum Reception & Public Meeting – 10 Years of Social Progress & Democracy: Achievements & Threats, including Q&A with Venezuelan Speakers
With: Eglé Sanchez and Elias Rodriguez plus Colin Burgon MP and Louise Cousins (Unite NEC GPM Sector) reporting on the recent Unite and VSC delegation to Venezuela.
Chair: Davey Hall, Unite Regional Secretary.
Refreshments and Venezuelan Rum Cocktails will be served.
Time and Place: 6-8.30pm (Meeting starts 6.30pm,) Civic Hall, Leeds, LS1 1UR
 
BIRMINGHAM
December 3rd – 10 Years of Social Progress: No to US Intervention, including Q&A with Venezuelan Speakers
With: Eglé Sanchez and Elias Rodriguez, plus Francisco Dominguez (VSC) updating on Honduras.
Time and Place: 7pm, UNISON Regional Centre, 24 Livery Street, Birmingham, B3 2PA.
 
LONDON
December 4th - Invite to Roundtable Discussion and Reception with Venezuelan Trade Union Leaders, 2pm, Unite, 128 Theobald's Road, London , WC1X 8TN . The discussion will take place from 2pm-3.30pm , at the Unite the Union Building on Theobald's Road (nearest tube Holborn) on December 4th. This will be followed by short reception with the guests and Venezuelan Ambassador at a nearby bar.   
This event is sponsored by UNISON Greater London Region and is part of a national tour to mark 10 years of social progress in Venezuela  supported by Unite the Union , the UNISON General Political Fund and Thompson's Solicitors.

LONDON
December 5th – Latin America 2009 Conference and Fiesta Latina
With: Eglé Sanchez and Elias Rodriguez plus speakers from Honduras, Cuba, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Nicaragua.
Time and Place: 9.30am – 5pm, followed by cultural celebration from 5pm-10pm, TUC Congress House, London. Visit www.latinamerica2009.org.uk For more information and to register online.

For more information contact:
Matt Willgress
Co-ordinator
Venezuela Solidarity Campaign (formerly VIC)
Tel: 020 7420 8963
www.vicuk.org

LRD Says Pay Freezes To Continue

Labour Research Department

Pay freezes to continue into 2010

While the economy may be poised for recovery, and overall there is a decline in the proportion of freezes in data from the Labour Research Department (LRD), we have not seen end of wage freezes yet.

This is borne out by statistics from LRD’s Payline database. The peak for pay freezes was in the three-month period from April to June, when 25% of all deals and 33% of new deals (i.e. excluding second or subsequent stages of long-term pay agreements) were freezes. This period also saw the highest number of wage cuts registered on Payline.

There has been a steady decline in pay freezes as a proportion of all settlements since then: that is, including all stages of long-term deals. In May-July, the proportion of all pay deals was 23%; in Jun-Aug it was 22%; in July-September it was 21%, in August-October (a quiet period for pay settlements) it was 14%. However, it is not possible to state confidently that the trend will continue to be downwards as the figure may have increased again according to the provisional figure for the three months from September to November 2009, to 19% of all pay agreements across the economy (see table/graph below).

However, for newly-agreed settlements (one-year and first-stage long-term agreements), the pattern is less clear. Although there have been periodic decreases since April, it is evident that new deals are still suffering the brunt of freezes, while employers are not showing any obvious signs of relaxing their pressure on pay.

From a high in April-June of 33% of new pay deals, the three-month periods May-July and June-August both saw freezes at 28% of new deals. But they increased again in July-September to 32%, then dipped to 23% in the quiet period over the summer from August to October, then rose again in the latest three-month figures to November, once again reaching 32%. As November has not yet concluded, it is too early to say whether this change is significant.

The figures do not suggest that the rate of pay freezes among new deals has really changed significantly since the depths of the recession. What is more, further pay freezes are expected in the New Year, according to LRD data on long-term pay settlements and already-known agreements.

“The bad news isn't necessarily over even though the recession may soon be,” said Lewis Emery, LRD’s pay and conditions researcher.

“There are known pay freezes coming in the New Year and the continuing rise in unemployment, particularly youth unemployment, means things will be difficult again in 2010. The fact that there is a downward trend in freezes overall could mark a positive turn. But this is not by any means the last we will see of pay freezes."

Unite To Meet Kraft Next Week

Unite will meet bosses of food firm Kraft next week. Cadbury has turned down Kraft's £9.8bn ($16.4bn) takeover offer but it will now go to shareholders to look at.

National Officer Jennie Formby said the union would not be "fobbed off" with "bland assurances" about investment. Jennie said: "We are not just going to take bland assurances of 'don't worry, your jobs will be safe with us and we will make investments. We have sought concrete guarantees for five years for jobs, sites, terms and conditions, pensions and so on and we are not going to be fobbed off with something that is just paying lip service to that."

New Strikes on London Buses

A 48-hour strike on 58 bus routes across east London and the City involving Unite members will commence at 0300 GMT on Sunday in protest at the freezing of drivers' wages. Unite said it would do "what is necessary to secure the decent increases that our members seek".

Day and night services covering Barking, Bow, Leyton, Romford, Upton Park and West Ham are affected.

Unite regional secretary Steve Hart said: "We cannot tolerate pay freezes for these low-paid workers. Our preference is always for negotiation but we take strike action where necessary.

HP Engineers To Strike

Unite members working as engineers at IT giant Hewlett Packard have voted to go on strike over the potential loss of pension benefits and pay reductions. The timing and duration of the strike have yet to be decided.

Unite said in a statement that engineers were angry at the prospect of job transfers from HP to subsidiary company HP CDS, and said the transfers would be accompanied by the loss of benefits, including final salary pension and a performance bonus scheme worth up to £2,000.

Seventy-seven percent of Unite members at HP voted for all-out strike action, while 85 percent voted for some form of industrial action. Unite said these percentages demonstrate "the strength and depth of feeling amongst Unite members" at HP.

"This is likely to be the first of more industrial action in HP, unless the company rethinks its policy of attacking the terms and conditions of its workforce as a sacrificial offering on the altar of stock exchange driven short term financial targets aimed at primarily enriching its senior executives," said Peter Skyte, Unite national officer for IT said.

Unite announced at the end of October that it was balloting 150 HP engineers to gauge their willingness to strike. At the time, Peter Skyte said that any strike could have a major impact on HP systems.

A former HP engineer, who wished to remain anonymous, told ZDNet UK at the end of October that HP customers could be severely affected by a strike as there would be potential maintenance disruptions. HP has contracts with large corporations to provide systems and services. HP services are also resold by large IT companies.

Statement by Les Bayliss - Workers Uniting Group Candidate For Unite General Secretary

Statement by Les Bayliss

I would like to thank Brian Boyd and Paul Reuter for the comradely way in which the hustings process was carried out and welcome their support.

Unite faces many challenges. We will need to create a union which is “fit for purpose”. A unified union, not a Mark 2 or mirror image of previous unions but a new union based on the three pillars of Unite – Organising, Political Campaigning and Internationalism.

We will need to provide our reps, activists and members with strong, disciplined leadership to protect their employment and their terms and conditions, in every sector, in every region, in every branch, chapel or workplace.

Our new democratic structure at region and sector level, with a strong equalities base and next week’s Industrial Sector Conferences will help us on the way to building a great union.

We will need fight to reshape the Labour Party – there is no point in pretending that setting up new parties with minimal electoral appeal will attract working people.

We must press on with the fight for the removal of the anti-union laws, the end of the European Court of Justice rulings which will damage trade unions in the long run.

We will need to create a union that is financially strong with a growing membership, a union which recognises its future lies in attracting workers in economically important private and public sectors - the skilled, professional and technical workers who historically stick with us. That is not to say that we don't organise all workers - as I have said before the bosses need to know that we are serious when we take them on.

We will need strong leadership – leadership based on wide experience, a leadership that doesn't lead members up a blind alley.

With the support of Workers Uniting Group, many Unite Officials and staff, many activists, reps, members from across the UK and the Republic of Ireland, I believe I am ready for the challenges we will face and we can face them together.

STATEMENT BY WORKERS UNITING GROUP STEERING COMMITTEE

Forthcoming Election Of Unite General Secretary

Following a meeting of the Workers Uniting Group Steering Committee consisting of Region and Sector representatives the following statement was agreed.

Over the past few weeks three candidates have sought the support of the Workers Uniting Group for the post of Unite General Secretary.

These were Les Bayliss, AGS, Brian Boyd, National Officer and Paul Reuter, National Officer.

They attended 10 regional hustings meetings.

The candidates have expressed their view that the process was fair and provided an important forum for the candidates to debate the key issues facing Unite and answer questions from delegates attending the hustings meetings.

Over 600 activists and members attended the hustings.

The result of the hustings was that Les Bayliss had a majority of regions expressing their support for him.

Therefore the Workers Uniting Steering Committee endorses Les Bayliss to be the candidate for the Workers Uniting Group – the progressive left group in Unite in the forthcoming election.

We would ask all supporters, activists and members to work towards securing Les Bayliss as the next General Secretary of Unite - working to ensure that Unite becomes a unified union.

It should also be noted that Workers Uniting Group is not a “one issue” campaigning group.

Over the past year Workers Uniting Group has supported and campaigned for the many Unite members and working people involved in struggle across the whole of the union including Diageo, First Bus, Vauxhall, Corus, BA, Justice for Pleural Plaques sufferers, Restoration of Democracy to Honduras, in support of exploited ship breaking workers in Bangladesh and the striking nickel miners at Vale Inco in Canada.

The Workers Uniting Group welcomes all Unite members who wish to see the union become a progressive left wing union which unites all members; is forward looking; supports organisation of workers; is internationalist and socialist – neither TGWU Mark2 or Amicus Mark 2 – but Unite – The Union.

For more information visit

www.workersunitinggroup.com

From Brian Boyd

Comrades
This is to inform you that after losing the North West Hustings Decision on Saturday 14th November, I conceded the Workers Uniting Group nomination to my good colleague Les Bayliss.

I do however, want to take this opportunity to thank you all for the support and encouragement you have given me throughout. It has been a privilege to be involved in the democratic process.

However, the campaign to deliver Les Bayliss as the first Single Unite General Secretary has only just begun.

I will now be puting all my efforts into supporting Les as our Workers Uniting Group candidate, and urge you all to ensure that you do everything you can to promote the campaign. It is crucial that we deliver Les, as the future of 'our union' Unite, is at stake.

The direction we take in developing policy, the difficult decisions that will need to be made for the benefit of our members, and the manner in which we build this Union as we face the challenges ahead, hinge on this election.

The campaign ahead of us must be inclusive to every member who wishes to make a positive contribution, and there can be no room for complacency. Hard work, determination, and a sense of unity will be major factors if we are to deliver our candidate.

Let's make sure that we do everything we can.

Thanks.
Brian Boyd Unite National Officer.

Unite Rep Becomes First Co-Chair Of Airbus EWC

Unite has a union representative at the head of the European works council for Airbus, the aircraft manufacturer, for the first time.

John James, a member of Unite, was elected to a four-year term as co-chairman earlier this month. Horst Niehus, a German, will serve beside Mr James.

Out of a pan-European Airbus workforce of 55,000, 11,000 are in the UK.The works council has 20 members, four of whom are members of Unite. The company has French, German and Spanish shareholders, but no UK investor since BAE Systems sold its 20 per cent stake three years ago.

"It has always been accepted that the two biggest parties [union members from Germany and France] would be the co-chairs, though the only formal agreement is that they come from different countries," said Mr James. "This shows that the Brits have got some influence in Europe and I want to raise the UK's profile within Airbus."

Mr James joined Airbus from BAE 10 years ago and has been on the committee since 2007. He is now a full-time union rep and was previously a semi-skilled fitter.

Unite has the single largest number of EWC reps within the TUC and has lay union reps on a significant number of EWC's and also has lay repswho have been elected to the supervisory boards of companies within EU countries.

Unite Blasts RBS For Support Of Cadbury Takeover

The Royal Bank of Scotland is under fire from Unite, MPs and many other critics for acting against the best interests of the UK economy by backing foreign takeover bids and dodging its commitments on lending.

A coalition of unions and MPs said a £630m RBS loan facility to Kraft, the US firm bidding to buy Cadbury, should be examined by ministers to prevent taxpayer funds being used to undermine the independence of British companies.

Unite, the union representing Cadbury workers, expressed concern about RBS's role in supporting the takeover of one of the last big British-owned manufacturers – particularly since Kraft has so far failed to give firm commitments on job losses or plant closures.

A Unite spokeswoman said: "It hasn't escaped our attention that we have got a bank that is owned by the taxpayer partly funding this bid." She said the union was demanding an urgent meeting with Kraft's senior management to clarify its plans if the bid succeeds.

The union's complaints were joined by Labour MP Khalid Mahmood who has written to the chancellor, Alistair Darling, expressing concerns about mass redundancies if Kraft is successful in its £9.8bn takeover. He called for an investigation into how RBS was being allowed to lend the US firm millions of pounds if it meant factory closures and an attack on workers' rights.

In a separate development, City bankers, who have asked not to be named, are claiming RBS is buying up loans held by foreign banks in order to meet government lending targets.

A loan bought from another bank in the secondary market counts as a new lending even though it does not channel fresh funds to customers. Critics say this activity does little to get credit flowing to UK businesses and individuals – the primary intention of the loan targets set by the Treasury as part of the deal under which the state-controlled banks received taxpayer bailouts.

The bank, which has been criticised for failing to meet lending levels, has targeted foreign institutions – such as banks in Spain, Germany or Ireland – that need to retreat from Britain to reduce their balance sheets.

"We've seen that [RBS] is desperate to try to meet its guidelines to increase their lending," said one banker. "They are willing either to extend their existing commitments or to buy commitments from other banks."
RBS is also selling some of its non-British loan portfolio as it tries to shrink its balance sheet and use the proceeds to increase UK lending, the banker said.

Why Trade Union Freedom Matters

The following article by Barry Camfield former TGWU AGS is being circulated widely for debate and discussion on the Left.

Workers Uniting Group is happy to publish the paper for discussion "Why Trade Union Freedom Matters".

"Why Trade Union Freedom Matters"
By Barry Camfield, LCDTU National Organiser


The Liason Committee For The Defence Of Trade Unions is a campaigning organisation, dedicated to the struggle for trade union freedom in the UK. We organise to help defend unions in dispute at local and national level and, critically, we organise to promote and prioritise the case for the removal from the statute book of all anti-union laws established by the viciously anti-union Conservative Party and its Government’s of the 1980’s and 1990’s.

Those anti-union laws included:-

• The Employment Act 1980
• The Employment Act 1982
• The Trade Union Act 1984
• The Employment Act 1988
• The Employment Act 1989
• The Employment Act 1990
• The Trade Union Reform & Employment Rights Act 1993

The effect of those laws upon workers and unions was enormous. Its fundamental aim was not to prevent trade union organisation, but rather to prevent effective trade union organisation. They wanted the appearance of union freedom, but not the reality!

What did the Conservative Party achieve? A whole raft of anti-trade union laws which rendered UK workers and their trade unions much less powerful, much less effective. Take a deep breath and consider the following:-

The repeal of statutory recognition of unions, the attack upon the ‘closed shop’ and its eventual outlawing, the ending of union organised ballots and their replacement with state arrangements (but not for business ), restrictions on picketing, the repeal of the ‘going rate’ law, severe limitation of trade union immunity in trade disputes, union liability for members actions, statutory damages against unions for ‘unlawful’ action, ‘union labour only’ contracts rendered void, unions banned at GCHQ, NUM assets sequestered during the miners strike, state interference with union rule books by prescribing internal election arrangements, further restrictions upon industrial action ballots, the attempt to break the union link with the Labour Party by means of Political Fund ballots, the imposition of a so-called ‘Commissioner for the Rights of Trade Union Members’ (to encourage complaints against the union, not the employer), weaker rights of union reps to time off, weaker employment protection rights for workers, reductions in H&S protection for women and young people, allowing fascists and racists to join any union and severely restricting union rights to expel members.

Of course, the Conservative Party and its Governments did much more damage to UK workers, including the introduction of the Poll Tax, massive redistribution of income and wealth to the rich, the ending of Wages Councils, selling off council housing, the destruction of manufacturing industry, abolishing exchange controls, creating and sustaining mass unemployment, driving up prescription charges, abolishing the GLC in London (a Labour stronghold), allowing the Stock Market crash, benefits withdrawn from 16/17 year olds, pushing VAT up to 17.5%, massive pit closures, etc, etc.

But critical to the philosophy of the Conservative Party was the ending and prevention of effective trade organisation and action. Nicholas Ridley masterminded this for the Tories during the 1970’s in his setting out of action against the NUM, the NUS and the TGWU in road haulage, amongst others. This was known as the “Ridley Plan”.

It was put into effect by Margaret Thatcher and Keith Joseph with absolute ruthlessness. Today’s trade union members are much weaker, but not because their causes are any less just or their commitment to trade union organisation any weaker, but because of the anti-union laws enacted by a Conservative Party whose vested interest was big business and the wealthy.

Surely it will be the equivalent of a Shakespearean tragedy that, if David Cameron and his Conservative Party were to win the 2010 General Election, Margaret Thatcher, Keith Joseph and the late Nicholas Ridley will have achieved the unimaginable task of having handed their brutal anti-union attacks of the 1980’s virtually intact directly to another Conservative Government after 13 years of an intervening Labour Government.

The task is clear for committed trade unionists and Labour Party socialists. However long it takes, we must fight for trade union Freedom in Britain and never give up.

With trade union Freedom, we can negotiate union membership agreements, where the workforce are required through an Agreement to join the recognised union/s (or pay an equivalent sum to charity). We can use solidarity action across employers, where the strong help the weak. We can take industrial action quickly and effectively, and decide locally how to arrange a vote on industrial action. We can decide upon our own Rule Books, who to admit or expel, how to elect our leaders, how to authorise official action.

But repeal on its own is not enough. We also need ACAS to be renewed as a major force empowered to help resolve disputes, properly funded to work with unions and employers of all sizes, with the legal obligation returned to it to promote the extension of collective bargaining. We need trade unions to be embedded in economic institutions across the UK, not merely attached to the occasional quango as an afterthought. New Social Dialogue arrangements should be enacted requiring every Local Authority in the land to set up a Social Dialogue Forum, consisting of local trade union Reps, local employers, the local authority, local education institutions etc, to develop the economy, education and sustainability of the local area, and more. We should see the ILO Conventions on the Freedom of Association, the Right to Organise and the Right to Collective Bargaining set out in primary law.

Shop Stewards and workplace Reps must be given much greater protection from dismissal and victimisation in return for the selfless work they undertake, day in, day out. Employers should be required to enter into collective bargaining arrangements with a union that has more than a single member at the workplace. The Minimum Wage must be enforceable by trade unions acting on their members behalf. Employment Tribunals must be made less legalistic and more informal in their proceedings, with re-instatement the very clear goal if unfair dismissal is proved.

We need a new start in the battle for trade union Freedom. With a twin track approach. On the one hand, the full and total repeal of Britain’s anti-union laws, and on the other, the establishment of arrangements designed to reduce the need for disputes and industrial action, along with substantial new opportunities for employers and unions to work together for the benefit of all, with Shop Stewards finally recognised for their important work.

Trade Unions are a crucial health check for any decent society. In Hitler’s Germany, trade unions were targeted at a very early stage. Across the world, rotten regimes attack trade unionists and trade unions. Britain could lead the world in tolerance and fairness by demonstrating its full acceptance of trade union freedom. We owe that freedom to those who follow us. But more than anything, we have to organise to win our freedom!

Workers Uniting Group Hustings Results - Eastern, North West

At well attended hustings meetings in connection with the forthcoming General Secretary election in Unite in Newmarket and Manchester, please note the following:

Eastern Region:, Les Bayliss selected, North West: Les Bayliss selected.

The final hustings is on Sunday 15th November in Sunderland.

See previous emails for details

ADL Job Cuts

Unite has hit out at proposals by the UK's biggest bus builder Alexander Dennis (ADL) to cut 260 jobs from its Falkirk, Scotland base.
Unite members are already working a four-day week with workers being asked to take more wage cuts.
ADL announced a 90-day consultation on the future of the jobs after a 50% drop in its core market.

Scott Foley, Unite's regional industrial organiser, said staff had been on a four-day week since September in order to preserve jobs and that the agreement would remain in place until March 2010.
Both sides have also agreed to move holiday leave from September to January 2010 and to extend Christmas and New Year breaks.

Unite questioned why further cuts were needed when it was anticipated that market conditions in the sector would improve soon.

Brazil-based mining giant Vale Inco tries to conceal financial impact of lengthy strikes

Sudbury native and Steelworker's International President Leo Gerard has adopted a truly global fight-back strategy to trump a globalized mining giant. In doing so, he just may have waged the 21st century's first post-modern strike, using his union's global reach and the power of international union solidarity to check Brazilian mining giant Vale Inco at every turn across the global board.

He has also given the lie to two oft-repeated truisms that sounded plausible in Sudbury just weeks ago:

Forced to disclose a steep decline in third quarter year-over-year profits last week, Vale nonetheless insisted that its operational results were "strong".

Turns out both assertions are wrong, especially the latter. More and more evidence points to an impending union victory decided by the International Steelworkers — or, as as retired Sudbury Steelworkers staff rep Homer Seguin says fondly, "the Big U".

Kicking off a frightful Halloween week for the boys from Brazil, the conservative National Post newspaper ran a weekend article headlined, "Politics, labour unrest beset Vale". The article detailed Vale's many woes, including the strikes at nickel operations across Canada in Thompson, MB; Sudbury; and Newfoundland and Labrador.

Facing the threat of union pickets at investor confabs on Wall and Bay Streets, Vale made a highly-public, and embarrassing, decision to cancel the events.

But the union's reach didn't stop there. When the strike-bound mining giant scraped together enough copper recently to fill an order in Germany, the Steelworkers sent a contingent to Germany to "greet" the ore-carrying ship as it arrived. They informed the ship's captain and crew, as well as local dock workers and reporters, of the high-handed treatment Vale was according its Canadian workforce.

The union's globe-girdling mischief began just after the start of the strike — waged since mid-July over corporate demands for major union concessions, despite healthy profits — when a pair of Sudbury Streelworkers were dispatched to Brazil to drum up public awareness of the dispute in Vale's back yard.

To their alarm, the pair discovered that Vale was accustomed to treating its Brazilian employees as little more than disposable parts. There were twelve workplace fatalities on Vale premises in Brazil last year, and workers are hired and summarily fired depending on corporate demand.

The company has tried to bluff and bluster its way through the strike. Forced to disclose a steep decline in third quarter year-over-year profits last week, the company resorted to outright falsehood in an unconvincing attempt to maintain that it didn't feel the loss of its entire Canadian nickel operation.

In its news release that revealed disappointing Q3 results, Vale insisted that its operational results were "strong," an absurd claim given the near-total absence of nickel, copper, and precious metal production from the Canadian subsidiaries for which it shelled out $17 billion just a few years ago.

The firm's Brazilian bigwigs have chosen to try to ignore the strikes here. But in choosing to focus solely on its iron ore production and sailing so close to the wind of fiduciary falsehood in a statement to investors and the financial world at large, their silence spoke volumes. Either the company really does not feel any effects from the picket lines — hard to believe after the dismal Q3 reports — or else Canada's Steelworkers just might be inflicting a wound that is so deep and so tender that the company cannot acknowledge it publicly.

But a head-in-the-sand approach will not feed this bulldog. Until very recently this strike appeared to be a case of the irresistible force meeting the immovable object. But ultimately something had to give. Now it appears increasingly likely that the company will soon utter, in its native Portuguese, "não mais".

Fujitsu - Action On Hold

Unite has met with Fujitsu, as a result of which an agreement has been reached which eases the deadlines facing members of the end of pensions consultation on 14th November and redundancy dismissals on 11th December and the deadline on the company of industrial action starting tomorrow.
The planned industrial action is therefore not taking place.

The joint statement reads:
FUJITSU AND UNITE JOINT STATEMENT 10th NOVEMBER 2009

Constructive talks took place today, as a result of which a number of steps were agreed:

The company has agreed with Unite to extend the timescale within which Unite could call industrial action under the recent ballot in accordance with the Agreement attached.

Unite will withdraw the notice of industrial action that has been issued to commence on Thursday 12 November 2009 and therefore the industrial action planned to commence on 12 November 2009.

Fujitsu will not take any action against employees who do not find out in time that the notice of action has been withdrawn.

The company has agreed that consultation will continue with the Pensions Forum until at least 31st January 2010.

In the event of the proposals to make redundancies being implemented, the company has agreed that no employee selected for Compulsory Redundancy who wishes to remain in Fujitsu will have their employment terminated before 31st January 2010. Where redundancies arise, the company intends to give notices of dismissal on 11th December 2009 and use some or all of employees’ notice periods and/or annual leave entitlements to cover the period between 11th December 2009 and 31st January 2010.

Unite and Fujitsu will have further talks with the aim of agreeing a resolution by Christmas 2009 or agreeing a way to continue dialogue.

Scotland, South West, London Hustings Results

At packed regional hustings in releation to the forthcoming General Secretary Election in Glasgow, Bristol and London the results were as follows.

Scotland Brian Boyd was selected; South West Les Bayliss was selected; London, Les Bayliss was selected.

Unite Members Protest At "Docked" Pay For Toilet Breaks

Unite is in a dispute with bosses at a meat processing plant amid claims workers are being docked pay to take toilet breaks.

Officials from Unite say they have evidence from 100 hundred workers at the Dunbia plant in Sawley, Lancs, that their wage is cut every time they go to the lavatory.

But the company has strongly denied the claims — and said employees’ weekly wages were compensated for any money taken away for toilet breaks.

A third of the workforce at the plant in Gisburn Road have submitted an official grievance to the company bosses demanding a change in the toilet break policy, according to Unite.

Cathy Rudderforth, regional officer for Unite said they tried to speak to Dunbia ‘numerous times’ in recent weeks but the company refused to talk to Unite.

Organising Campaign at Lloyds

Unite is to embark upon a major recruitment drive at Lloyds Banking Group by launching a campaign about the "unachievable" sales targets set by the bank which is 43%-owned by the taxpayer. The union is also calling on all banks to learn from their mistakes and abandon the sales culture that dominated the industry before the banking crisis.
The campaign follows the announcement this week of a further 5,000 job losses at Lloyds, on top of the 8,000 that had been revealed previously. As well as voicing concern about their job prospects, staff at Lloyds have told Unite that their bonuses are based on sales targets that were set before the credit crunch and that they feel under pressure to sell products to achieve their earnings potential.
Some of the staff affected earn £13,000 a year and rely on their bonuses – often about £2,000 – to make ends meet. While the government has imposed a limit on cash bonuses to employees earning more than £39,000, Unite is targeting staff who earn considerably less than that.
Unite will argue that it is now time to end the link between sales and staff pay in the financial services industry and instead put a focus on customer service.
Rob MacGregor, Unite national officer for the Finance sector, said the sales culture "encourages staff to sell customers products that they do not want or need".
Unite is offering an alternative way to motivate and pay staff which would end the link to selling products to customers.
"The union is calling for a new focus towards high standards of customer service and fair wages for all staff," it said.
Banks have faced challenges in the past about the way their bonus systems for branch staff operate.

Unite slams ‘City pay culture’ in non-profit sector

The "City pay cultur"e which has seeped into the charity sector must be stopped, Unite has warned.

Unite which has 60,000 members in the not-for-profit sector, warned that some chief executives in the sector were earning more than the prime minister's salary of £197,000.

The union warned that while executive pay was increasing by 6% annually, many charity workers struggled on low wages, often just above the national minimum wage of £5.80 an hour.

Unite called for a High Pay Commission to be set up to prevent the "greed culture" spreading across the economy.

The union revealed Anchor Trust's chief executive, John Belcher, was paid £391,000 in 2008/09, while Riverside Housing Group's highest paid director received £231,000.

The chief executive officer of the UK Film Council received between £205,000 and £210,000 in 2008, and in 2009 The National Trust paid between £160,000 and £169,999 to a top member of staff.

Rachael Maskell, Unite national officer for the not-for-profit sector, said: "It is quite clear that the insidious City culture of excessive pay is seeping into the packages of some not-for-profit sector chief executives.

"This is to be deplored as it corrupts the ethos of the voluntary sector and is an insult to those, often on average incomes, who donate to charity.

"It has also contributed to great and unfair disparities between the pay of the chief executives and top directors, and other members of staff, as this is being replicated across other sectors of society.

Rachel called for flat pay rates to be introduced rather than percentage rises.

She said: "Flat pay increases of a set amount should be introduced, instead of percentage rises, as this would reduce pay disparities, which are hitting, in particular, women, disabled people, ethnic minorities and part-time w

First Bus Essex Strike

Unite members at First depots in Essex have taken industrial action after rejecting a three-year pay deal following talks with the company.
First proposed a pay deal offering no increase for this year, a 2.5% increase in 2010, and a third year rise based on the retail price index at the time.
Unite said the company was using the recession as "an excuse to freeze pay".

Vale Inco Demo In London

From the Morning Star.....

Striking Canadian miners have brought their fight to the City and challenged their hard-line bosses to "come out of hiding" and explain why they have forced 3,000 workers to take to the picket lines.

The nickel miners from Sudbury in Ontario, who have been on all-out strike since July over huge multinational mining corporation Vale-Inco's demands for massive pension cuts, tracked down the firm's executives at a wealthy stockbrokers' meeting in London.

Demanding that their bosses "show their face," United Steelworkers Union (USW) member Patrick Veinot told the Morning Star that the miners were prepared to challenge executives "wherever they went.

"This is a company that doesn't know how to talk to a union, that doesn't know how to negotiate and that doesn't mind lying," he explained.

"Management has provoked strikes and demonstrations by its workers across the world - in Canada, in Indonesia and in Brazil - because of its attacks on conditions," Mr Veinot added.

The picket in the heart of the capital's financial district was organised by the Workers Uniting global union that brings together the USW and Unite. The British union's joint general secretary Derek Simpson emphasised how the demonstration was "just the beginning of real international co-operation.

"Multinational companies are free to organise their interests across borders and it is essential that unions organise internationally to defend the interests of workers in those companies," he stressed.

Unite assistant general secretary Les Bayliss added that the Canadian miners' four-month strike deserved solidarity throughout the world and proclaimed that "the fight of Vale-Inco workers, whether in Canada or Brazil, is our fight too."

Global campaign against Vale Inco gaining momentum

From Sweden to Korea, New Caledonia to Indonesia and Mozambique, IMF and ICEM affiliates around the world are calling on Vale to make a Fair Deal NOW and respect basic labour rights at all of its operations around the world.

The United Steelworkers' (USW) global campaign to prevent Brazilian mining giant Vale S.A. from eroding working conditions and denying basic labour rights at its operations worldwide is gaining momentum with the assistance from the International Metalworkers' Federation, the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions and LabourStart.

Members of the two global union federations have held a number of actions around the world targeting Vale business operations and investment. LabourStart, a web-based news service for the international trade union movement, launched an online letter writing campaign yesterday, with more than 1,000 letters sent to Vale CEO Roger Agnelli within hours. In coordination with the letter writing campaign, the IMF launched its global campaign webpage (www.imfmetal.org/Vale) with information about the struggle in four languages.

IMF and ICEM affiliates are being asked to support the global campaign and send letters to Vale. 3500 USW members in Canada have been on strike since July 13 after refusing deep concessions from the Brazilian mining giant. The company has hired replacement workers to continue production during the strike.

On October 26, workers at Vale's largest Brazilian mine walked off the job in response to the company's proposal at the bargaining table. Vale workers in Brazil report the denial of basic labour rights, low wages and substandard health and safety conditions.

IMF and ICEM affiliates in October, with the help of the International Transport Workers' Federation, tracked a Vale copper shipment from Canada to Germany and on to Sweden. Union members held a protest at the port outside of Hamburg and in Sweden, met with board members of Vale customer Boliden AB which owns the Rönnskär copper smelter.

The global campaign is making an impact and has some Vale executives on the run. The company has twice cancelled its "Vale Day" at the New York Stock Exchange and in London respectively. More global actions are planned until a just resolution can be reached.

On Monday Unite and USW (Workers Uniting) will be demonstrating at an event involving Vale Inco in the City of London.

East London Bus Strike

Thousands of Unite members who are bus drivers working for the East London Bus Group are expected to stage a 24-hour strike on Monday over a pay dispute after talks with employers broke down on Thursday, following their decision to freeze salaries, with no wage rises.

The stoppage is likely to hit 58 routes and some 750 buses across East London and the City, including night buses.
The company said they could not offer an increase as they had to watch costs.

Unite regional industrial organiser John Griffiths said: "Our members are extremely loyal and hardworking and will not tolerate this unacceptable behaviour towards them.

"All our members want is to be treated fairly and we urge management to get back to the negotiating table with a fair and reasonable offer to end this dispute."
Competitive market

Unite says it has 2,400 members out of the 2,600 staff working for East London Buses.

The garages affected are Barking, Bow, Leyton, Romford, Upton Park and West Ham.
Bus routes in South East London, operated by Selkent from Bromley, Catford and Plumstead garages are not affected, nor are those operated by Thameside from Rainham.

Bmi Baby Job Losses.

Unite, has raised its concerns at the announcement from Bmi Baby that it is to make 158 airline staff redundant. This comes as part of a restructuring process designed to bring the low cost airline back into profitability.

Brian Boyd, Unite national officer for aviation, said: “Today's announcement casts further doubt over the whole Bmi Group as its new owners Lufthansa search for cost savings. Unite members are once again caught at the sharp end of business restructuring. We will now be engaging with the Bmi Baby to ensure that compulsory redundancy is avoided.

“Unite had the foresight earlier this year to commit Bmi into a legally binding agreement in the event of future redundancies caused by the Group's current financial predicament. This shows once again the importance of trade union representation within the workplace. However, it is unfortunate that we will have to reference the terms of this document, in such a short period of time.”

The 90-day consultation period has now started

Honduran deal is on the "point of collapse"

From Tribune

A deal brokered last week by the Organisation of American States between supporters of ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya and the country’s interim leader Roberto Micheletti appears to be on the brink of collapse.

Last Friday, coup leaders said they would sign an accord reinstating Mr Zelaya in a government of national unity ahead of elections scheduled for later this month. But on Tuesday the Honduran Congress deferred a vote on the reinstatement of the president and asked the Supreme Court for its view.

Jeremy Corbyn, Labour MP for Islington North, Tony Burke of Unite and Linda Perks of Unison addressed an emergency protest outside the American embassy in Grosvenor Square on Wednesday.

Tony Burke told the demo: Unite has supported this campaign throughout - and will continue to do so. Unite has strongly condemned the series of human rights violations that have taken place since the 28 June coup d'état, which have seen trade unionists and many others killed – all these human rights abuses must end and the perpetuators be punished if there is to be a real democratic settlement. Zelaya has said himself, we must remain vigilant until he returns to power. Many of the forces in Honduras who supported the coup in the first place are now seeking to delay or even stop the return of President Zelaya.

Such coups are something that we hoped had been confined to the dustin of history in Latin America – this coup is now being defeated by the mass movement for democracy in Honduras, alongside international pressure and solidarity. If is tried again to other throw progressive governments in Latin America, the world must against protest.

The USA must put pressure on the illegal regime and cease trade with them - as must the EU and today we demand an end to the dictatorship in Honduras and support social progress in Latin America in Venezula, Bolivia, Cuba, Ecuador – restore President Zelaya Now!

Matt Willgress, of VSC one of the organisers, said: “A deal was reached last week but so far has not been implemented. There are growing – and worrying – signs that this will be delayed by those opposed to the return of Zelaya. In Honduras itself, there are increasing concerns that Zelaya’s reinstatement will not happen.”

Iggesund workers poised for strike action

Unite members at the Iggesund papermill in Workington are poised for strike action over the way bosses have handled proposed redundancies.

Unite union members at Iggesund Paperboard, Siddick, met on Monday and decided to ballot on industrial action.

It comes after attempts by the union to negotiate with the company failed, and the union said Iggesund bosses refused to follow dispute procedures.

Workers are also angry at company plans to use part of a bonus budget intended to reward staff, to fund the £1 million to £1.5 million cost of making up to 100 people redundant.

The company, which the union said employed 484 people, announced in late September that it will axe the jobs when it closes one of its two board machines at the plant at the end of the year.

It blamed a weak paper market for the move.

Unite officials immediately tried to negotiate with the company to minimise compulsory redundancies, but Unite regional officer Eddie Irvine claimed the company had been hostile from the start and had refused to follow procedures outlined in a national agreement between Unite and the Confederation of Paper Industries.

Eddie said: “We had to fight to get the company to involve the union. They weren’t listening to anything we said and were paying lip service really.

“Our objective was to achieve these redundancies through voluntary means. The company have offered the worst redundancy terms in Iggesund’s history, which are just slightly above statutory minimum.

“Our members’ view is therefore that we are going to be potentially faced with compulsory redundancy. We are not going to accept that situation without the required consultation.”

Mr Irvine said that, as the company and the union had failed to reach an agreement, procedure says that a conference should be held with National Officer Peter Ellis.

But the company has told Unite that it has made its best and final offer on redundancy terms and there would be no point holding a conference.

Mr Irvine said: “There doesn’t seem to be any effort on their side to reach any amicable solution and they’re just pressing ahead so it’s left us with no option really. To add insult to injury they’re actually using our members’ money to fund the redundancies.

“Members were adamant at this week’s meeting and the previous two meetings that they’re not prepared to accept imposition.”

He added: “Nobody wants to be in this position but equally it would appear that there isn’t an alternative to get the company to sit down and talk with us.”

Hendy To Do Battle For CWU & Unite In High Court

As Unite and the CWU go to the High Court it has been announced that John Hendy QC has been instructed by partner Steve Cottingham at trade union firm OH Parsons & Partners to act for Unite in its High Court action against BA. The hearing takes place today (Thursday)

Hendy will appear in the High Court tommorrow to represent the CWU in an effort to stop Royal Mail from employing 30,000 agency workers while its members are on strike.

For CWU Hendy has been instructed by Pattinson & Brewer partner Paul Statham.

Hendy, is used to acting on high-profile cases, appearing on behalf of crash victims in the Ladbroke Grove train crash inquiry in 2000.

On the BA case, Hendy will go "head to head" with Devereux Chambers’ Timothy Brennan QC, who has been instructed to act for BA by Baker & McKenzie partner John Evason.

Hendy will argue that imposing new employment contracts on BA’s 14,000 cabin crew constitutes a breach of contract. The unions wants the High Court to intervene to stop the changes, which will come into force on 16 December.

For CWU, it is understood that Hendy will argue that by taking on temporary workers Royal Mail will be in breach of the Conduct of Employment Regulations 2003, which stipulate the conditions under which temporary workers can be employed.

Corus Members Get Double Bonus Thanks To Unite

Legal action by Unite has forced Corus to pay back-dated bonuses to Unite’s 8,500 members in their next pay packet.

Corus decided to hold back the first two quarter bonuses that were due to members so Unite immediately launched a legal challenge to contest the decision.

Unite has been leading the campaign to make Corus pay its employees the bonus that was due to them for the first two quarters of this year after the company decided to stop the payments.

Unite national officer for metals Terry Pye, said: ‘‘We are delighted that we achieved such a good result for our members and hope this serves as a warning to other employers that they cannot just unilaterally stop agreed bonus payments.

“We are pleased for our members, who have worked tirelessly for Corus, even when the company decided to stop paying their bonus. This U-turn by Corus shows how vital union membership is and what the union can do when companies act arbitrarily.

“This will come as very welcome news for our members, especially in the run up to Christmas and help alleviate pressing household bills.”

Call For Support For Jailed Iranian Trade Unionists

Six Iranian trade unionists representing sugar workers at the Haft Tapeh company have been jailed for their trade union activities.

Worldwide food workers’ union the IUF say “the regime is clearly determined to crush the union by putting its entire leadership behind bars.”

The TUC is urging British trade unionists to join the worldwide union protest about the jailing of sugar workers’ union leaders in Iran last month. TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber has written to the Iranian Ambassador in London to protest.

Ghorban Alipour, Feridoun Nikoufard, Jalil Ahmadi, Nejat Dehli and Ali Nejati were all sentenced to 6 months’ immediate imprisonment and 6 months suspended sentences over 5 years; during which time they are barred from union activity.

Mohammad Heydari Mehr received a 4 month term, 8 months suspended. Ali Nejati must serve his suspended sentence as prison time, meaning he faces an immediate one-year prison term. Should he lose his appeal on the 2008 conviction, his sentence could stretch to over 2 years.

Please do what you can to protest and encourage others to do the same. We owe it to our fellow trade unionists in Iran – and remember: building stronger unions anywhere builds stronger unions everywhere.

Sign the petition at http://www.iuf.org/cgi-bin/campaigns/show_campaign.cgi?c=449

25,000 Jobs At Risk in Banks Sell Off

Warning that up to 25,000 banking jobs are at risk with the government’s plan to sell off parts of the state-aided high street banks, RBS and Lloyds Banking Group, Unite tsays ministers, the employers and the UKFI have a duty to prioritise saving jobs over securing the best price for the banks' assets.

Rob MacGregor, Unite national officer for Finance said: “Another day, another announcement bringing huge uncertainty to employees at the part-nationalised banks, RBS and the Lloyds Banking Group. We cannot allow a situation to arise where some 25,000 loyal workers in bank branches in high streets and towns across the country are made to pay the price for the banking executives' recklessness

“While this is a decision largely out of both banks' hands, in divesting these assets, simply securing the best price would be letting down loyal and long serving staff. Any potential buyers should be assessed on the commitment to job security and protection of terms and conditions, not short-term profit maximisation.

“The employers, UKFI and the government all have a duty to these long suffering staff to ensure that opportunistic buyers are not permitted to asset strip these institutions, leaving thousands of staff facing a bleak future. For Lloyds-owned Cheltenham & Gloucester staff, this is a further blow and a return to massive uncertainty as the on/off decision on their future continues.

“The government has saved the banks, now it is time to save bank workers.”

GM Magna Deal Off; BA Cabin Crew; Superdrug;

Tony Woodley Hails Magna Pull-Out of Sale To Magna
General Motors has scrapped plans to sell off Vauxhall to a Canadian car parts firm.
Unite joint general secretary Tony Woodley said of the General Motors' decision "We're absolutely delighted GM has taken the right decision for General Motors, British workers and British plants." An agreed takeover by Magna had threatened more than 10,500 jobs across Europe. But then GM announced in the US that "the board have decided to retain Vauxhall and move forward with restructuring".
Tony described the apparent U-turn as an "incredible turnaround".
He added : "The decision is in my view a fantastic decision. There's no logic in breaking up the company. It is best for Britain." Mr Woodley said there will now be negotiations with GM bosses over its plans.

Mr Woodley said: "The British Government aren't immune from what they're going to have to do to support this massively important British manufacturing company."

In a statement, Fritz Henderson, president of GM, said the decision to retain Vauxhall followed a better business outlook in Europe and his firm's improved financial health.

He said: "This was deemed to be the most stable and least costly approach for securing Opel/Vauxhall's long-term future."

The deal to sell Opel and Vauxhall to Magna was backed by the German government, which pledged £4billion in loans.

The Department for Business said: "We want to work with GM to understand their plan. We have always said that if the right long-term solution is identified the Government would be willing to provide funding."

Superdrug depot strike
Unite members at one of Superdrug's three national distribution centres are due to begin an indefinite strike over changes to pay and conditions.

Members at the Pontefract, West Yorkshire centre are due to walkout today.
261 members at the site are striking due to cuts in shift pay and other entitlements.

BA Cabin Crew
3,000 Unite members attended a meeting at Sandown Park Racecourse and voted to ballot to take industrial action over the companies threat to impose changes to working conditions, job cuts and a two year pay freeze.
Cabin crew were told that a ballot for strike action would close on 14 December, raising the possibility of a walkout from 21 December.

"We are not militant trade unionists looking for a confrontation," one said ahead of the meeting in Surrey. "We are all decent people from middle England, some would say middle class, just wanting to protect our living and look after our families."

Two years ago, a cabin crew strike was narrowly averted but BA had already cancelled flights over several days. In that instance, BA offered affected passengers the chance to take a later flight, transfer to another carrier or a full refund. The last time BA staff did strike was for three days in 1997.

East Midlands and West Midlands Hustings Results

Workers Uniting Group Hustings - East Midlands and West Midlands
At a well attended meeting on November 2nd in Derby, (East Midlands) members attending the meeting voted to support National Officer Brian Boyd.

At an equally well attended meeting in Birmingham (West Midlands) on November 3rd, members attending the meeting voted to support Assistant General Secretary Les Bayliss.

See earlier posts re forthcoming Hustings meetings in London, South West, North East, North West and Scotland.

Vale Inco Dispute Comes To London

Over 3000 USW members (now part of Workers Uniting) comrades are currently engaged in a protracted strike in Canada.

They are defending their pensions and other benefits against an attack by the greedy Brazilian owned multinational that owns the mine they work in.

It's the biggest and most profitable nickel mine in the world, but the employer wants to impose third world wages and conditions on all their workforce. Vale workers in Brazil are supporting the action because they know unless the best organised remain strong they will have no chance of achieving the improvements on wages and pensions they hope for in their country.

Workers Uniting and Unite are actively supporting the strikers.

To this end two USW comrades are travelling from Canada on to demonstrate outside an investors conference in the city of London on Monday 9th November, where Vale Inco representatives are making a presentation to shareholders.

The intention is to demonstarte support for our comrades in struggle, to put pressure on the company, to disrupt their relationships with their investors and demonstrate the reach of the global union.

You can help strike a blow against the global fat cats by joining the Vale Inco strikers and picket at

Deutsche Bank
Winchester House
1 Great Winchester Street
London EC2N 2DB

Monday, November 9 at 7:30 am at the following location:

Find out more about the struggle

http://www.fairdealnow.ca/

HONDURAS PROTEST AT THE US EMBASSY STILL ON!

PROTEST AT THE US EMBASSY!

Reinstate President Zelaya Now!

Defend human rights in Honduras!

Wednesday November 4, 5.30-7.30pm

At the US Embassy, 24 Grosvenor Square, London, W1A 1A.


A deal was reached last week in Honduras that should see the return of President Zelaya to office. But so far this has not been implemented. There are already many reports that this will be delayed by those opposed to the return of Zelaya, including in the Supreme Court and Congress, which both have to approve the deal.

President Manuel Zelaya has warned about a possible "manipulation" by the coup government after signing the agreement that could return him to power and end the crisis in his country. "There may be manipulation, so we must remain vigilant until compliance has been achieved," he said in a telephone contact with the channel Telesur, adding that "possibly some members are trying to impede the drive to complete this agreement."



We need to keep up the pressure to ensure the return of the elected President. Please join us on Wednesday!



Speakers to include:

Jeremy Corbyn MP

Tony Burke, Assistant General Secretary, Unite the Union

Linda Perks, Regional Secretary, Greater London UNISON

Jose Vallejo Villa, Justice for Cleaners

Bellavia Ribeiro-Addy, Black Students’ Officer, NUS


This picket is part of the activities of the Emergency Committee Against the Coup in Honduras. The Committee involves Venezuela Solidarity Campaign, Cuba Solidarity Campaign, Nicaragua Solidarity Campaign, Labour Friends of Venezuela, UNITE the Union, UNITE London & Eastern Regions, South East Region TUC, and other bodies of the British Labour movement and Latin American communities.

Visit the blog at http://committeeagainsthondurascoup.blogspot.com.

For more information email: notohondurascoup@googlemail.com