October 2022

2022 minutes 0

Delegate Minutes Wolverhampton, Bilston & District Trades Union Council

Thursday 20th October 2022

  1. Welcome & introductions to delegates, visitors. Present(delegates listed in bold): Graham Childs, Mark Ward CWU; Warinder Juss GMBx13; Clare Simm PCS, Penny Welch UCU Wolverhampton University, Paulette Whyte, Adrian Turner UNISON City of Wolverhampton; Michael Vaughan UNISON Staffs; Marie Taylor UNITE LE/372; Di Weaver UNITE WM/5203; Zahid Ali, Carol Hyatt & Ali Rahimi UNITE Community; Nick Kelleher, John Oakley, Rob Marris UNITE WM/6150; Jason Gould UNITE WM Tram branch; Barbara McGarrity delegate apologies: Tim Martin MU, Steve Smith RMT, John Grant UCU College, Bob Deacon UNISON City of Wolverhampton, Si Goode ASLEF
  2. Minutes of last Delegate Meeting (Sept) agreed; matters arising – none
  3. EC Report; urgent correspondence
  • John Grant our Treasurer will be giving up role at AGM, after 40 years in role
  • Eight of our volunteers gave out 1,000 of TUC’s We Demand Better leaflets@ railway station in 45min, seemingly the biggest group at the 60+ stations leafleted. Leaflet was not seen in advance.
  • Links to Enslavement – EC needs to decide how to deal with issues around Black Country flag and next steps
  • Unite WM5203 and UNISON Wolverhampton asked about sponsorship of Townsend Theatre’s Ragged Trousered Philanthropists community project @Newhampton Arts centre. Hold onto donations until Dec/new yr, once there is news of any Arts Council funding.
  • Nov 5th coach to London for Peoples’ Assembly demo – details on our website
  • Paul Agg Sec Walsall TUC & WMCATUC died last week NK to send card
  • TUC Midlands Regional Council/We Demand Better Rally Saturday 12th November 11am Britannia Hotel, Fairfax Street, Coventry CV1 5RP
  • TUCJCC consultation on CATUCs to happen again. NK to write response
  • our website hosting has been transferred from Left-space to Jolt
  • tram strike with 53 days planned until new year. Pickets at Wednesbury tram station only. UNITE to see if anything else planned publicly at end of line in Wolverhampton.
  1. delegate reports:
  • ASLEF – members working for Avanti West Coast & West Midlands Trains have been called to a second ballot for industrial action over our pay dispute and anticipated tory anti worker legislation. Scheduled EC session on 8th November.
  • GMB – dispute at Walsall Housing Group and Amazon
  • PCS – office closure threat still, pay ballot ongoing
  • UCU –we were thanked for our support of the rally last month which was covered in the Ex & Star. Management trying to bypass union by holding individual consultations. Management inexperienced, now having to advertise for staff to teach remaining two years of courses after making redundancies. National ballots on pay and pensions ongoing.
  • UNISON – £1.925 flat rate pay offer accepted; GMB & UNITE to decide. Staffordshire county council run by Tories but now bringing jobs back in-house including home-carers and family hubs. NHS pay ballot starts next month.
  • LP –all councillors due for election in May 2023. Parliamentary candidate selection in South West and North East ongoing.
  • Secretary report with details of forthcoming strike days circulated. A number of delegates attended the demo at the Tory conference
  • Wolverhampton Palestine Solidarity Campaign ‘Israel’s apartheid against Palestinians meeting 40-50 attended. Peace camp now closed at UAV engines, Shenstone who supply drone engines for Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit.
  • TUC Pensioners Network minutes and Plan of Work were circulated
  • 5. any other business – Tory leader Liz Truss resigned today, shortest ever term of office for a PM, after most incompetent budget ever.
  • 6. speakers at 8pm from local union branches in dispute:
  • Mark Ward CWU spoke live from the picket line. Negotiations began at start of year but 2% offer including later deliveries and reduced sick leave, was rejected, but then imposed. Announcement of 10,000 job cuts is hire and re-fire since new staff would be taken on at 20% lower with 3hour longer working week. Solid pickets locally 6-30am to 11-15pm with near 100% support. Well organised pickets keeping morale high, but not getting strike pay. Post Office CEO acting bizarrely on social media, now removed from negotiations after failing to turn up.
  • Jason Gould UNITE WM Tram branch, shop steward was sacked just before start of strikes, but going to appeal. Was third day today of 53day of strikes. Shifts can start at 4am and can end at 2am, yet pay starts at £10-50/hr. Plans to remove conductors, reducing safety. Our delegates, councillors Clare Simm & Carol Hyatt are both on the WM Combined Authority Transport Committee, they will put pressure to negotiate before strikes take place on buses.
  • Ali Rahimi spoke about the current situation in Iran. Over last six weeks since 22-year-old Iranian Kurd Mahsa Amini was killed by the Morality police, women-led protests and strikes have spread across the country. Strikes in schools, universities, Tehran prison on fire, 350 killed (less than previous uprisings so far). BBC is giving more coverage than previous uprisings. The internet cut off since September, which 6million jobs rely on. Some managing to use bypass systems but only in short bursts. Economy is collapsed due to corrupt religious leaders and sanctions on the oil/gas rich country. Only 3% voted for regime after mass boycott. British-based union-backed solidarity group http://codir.net/