September 2013

Wolverhampton, Bilston & District Trades Union Council

Delegate meeting minutes Thursday 19^th SEPTEMBER 2013

 

1)       Present:  Sis. Taylor (CYWU-UNITE), Jassal (UNISON Gen), Battell (NASUWT)

Bros.   Rahimi  & Marris (UNITE), Kelleher, Turner, Everall, Fraser, Deacon (UNISON Gen),  Grant (NUT), MacMillan & Childs (CWU) Juss (GMB), Millington (NUJ)

Apologies: Bros. Thomas (Community), Grant (UCU), Retnasingham (UNITE), Cole (NUT)

Sis Elson(PCS) Halfpenny (NUT) Ceresa & Sharkey (UNISON Gen)

 

2)        Minutes of last delegate meeting –agreed no corrections; matters arising: contact Mike Edwards to see if they have a library to use books donated to us.

3)         Executive Committee report September – correspondence

a)            Orgreave mass picnic and festival Sat 14 June 2014 30years after strike, agreed £25 donation and put on website

b)            England bus pass petition – Walsall pensioners – filled, to be sent

c)            Shrewsbury 24 petition filled & sent for presentation next month – re-affiliation £25

d)            Update from Sis Ashcroft re WW1 play – joint venture including Archives being looked into as funding not looking good

e)            Hope not Hate re anti-gagging campaign in W’ton SW too late

f)              Correspondence re Frank Clapham – awaiting response from UNITE.  MT has chased up.

g)            £100 deposit on coach £360 to pay 29^th October £40 income so far for tickets

h)            Local People’s Assembly organising meetings for Black Country TUCs in Wolverhampton spent 15 July (room hire £10) 2 Sept (food £20); 20,000 29 Sept leaflets £174.31 (5,000/TUC £21.61 back from Dudley TUC)

i)               Musicians Union organiser to speak at our Oct meeting – Stephen Brown

Sent:

j)               Our Chainmakers motion to Midlands TUC, and PCS report were passed at Midlands TUC Exec it was believed and cancellation of the festival or a move back to the Museum seemed ruled out.  Future work to develop links with community proposed as still little local knowledge of festival.  Costs have been high in past.

k)             £250 grant application to Midlands TUC re 29 Oct transport

l)               £1140.75 invoice to Workers Beer Co for work @Glastonbury – payment processed

m)          to Labour councillors and 60 GP surgeries/medical centres re Sun 29^th Sept 

n)            to branch secretaries re supply of leaflets – UNISON Gen & ret. section, UNISON Uni, UNITE-CYW, UCATT, NUT and NASUWT have distributed copies

 

4) Reports/discussion:

a)                UNISON – re threat of 1,000 council job cuts. Government cut of £89m by 2019 to Wolverhampton Council. No recruitment freeze currently. Voluntary redundancy being pushed heavily by council. 3,500 at three mass meetings to hear cuts. No specific areas to be cut/privatised currently known.

 

Motion passed, send to WCC Chief Exec, Co. Leader and Ex&Star:

 

Wolverhampton, Bilston & District TUC

1. Recognises the massive cuts to council funding by the Coalition government
2. Notes with great sadness and anger WCC’s proposals to make 1,000 staff redundant
3. Learns with alarm that some senior managers at WCC appear to favour outsourcing and disfavour public services provided by public sector employees.
4. Urges WCC to do all it can, through working with the recognised trade unions, to avoid redundancies for example by:
   1.                                        i.      a recruitment freeze
   2.                                       ii.      cutting the number of interim managers
   3.                                     iii.      cutting the number of agency staff
   4.                                    iv.      cutting the amount of overtime
   5.                                     v.      open meaningful negotiations and discussions with the trade unions
5. Encourage the leader of WCC to meet frequently with representatives of the recognised trade unions.

 

b)                After two years of action short of strike action, in the dispute over pay, pensions, working conditions and jobs.  Media has been ignoring action, teachers are being sacked on spurious capability grounds; teacher retention is poor already.

Since no meaningful negotiations are taking place, main teaching unions the NUT and NASUWT which cover 90% of staff have announced regional rolling strike actions in England on Tuesday 1st October. Wolverhampton teachers will join other colleagues from across the Midlands, Eastern, Yorkshire and Humberside regions on strike.  All teachers from across the region urged to attend the Regional march and rally Tuesday 1st October 2013 assemble 10am Victoria Square, Birmingham; 10.30 march through Birmingham with banners; 11amrally at ICC, Birmingham.  Dept of Education has launched another review of facility time consultation for teachers

c)                CWU Save Royal Mail Campaign – meeting held previous night of workforce. Sec to contact Sis Kelsey for local info.

d)                Firefighters will strike over pensions on Wednesday 25 September, noon-4pm the Fire Brigades Union has announced. Sec to contact Rose Jones.

e)                PCS – no report

Black Country People’s Assembly minutes of 2 Sept meeting distributed.  Next meeting Tuesday 24th September @ The Pegasus WV6 0QQ

f)                   Secretary’s report – 29^th September demo, encourage Bedroom tax protestors to join coach.   27 seats available similar numbers left on UNISON coach no other W’ton coaches

Leafleting of Wednesfield High St Sat 14 Sept – 500 distributed no additional enquiries. Several hundred of our 5,000 leaflets left. Sec to produce info handouts for coach.

Mary Seacole event on 11 Oct to be held at Heritage centre where current owners were previously colour barred from the premises when it was a Tory club and had hosted its MP Enoch Powell. Local school of Nursing is named after Mary Seacole.

g)                LGB&T TUC Conference 2013 – no report

h)                Diggers festival in Wigan Bro Deacon had attended – worth going.  Condition of the Working Class film agreed to be shown as our December’s meeting if available, possibly at alternative venue.

i)                    Palestine Solidarity Campaign £430 raised at garden party, good public meeting last week, national lobby of parliament Wed 27 November several going locally, more needed

j)                     Hovis Strike – Bro Millington gave eye witness account from strike demo in Wigan, good turnout but demonstrators arrested.  Seems that BFAWU may win on zero-hours contracts but still issue of agency workers.  Send letter of support. Several delegates commented that the only media coverage was by Morning Star.  Possible speaker – Bro Juss/ Sis Taylor to arrange.

k)                 Support Stafford Hospital Saturday 28th September -The March for Children is starting from Stafford Market Square 2pm.  40,000 at last demo there.

 

5) Any Other Business; new mesh banner was lost on train by Sec after demo – another to be purchased @about £90