messages of solidarity and support to colleagues fighting to defend jobs and conditions throughout our union.

 

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Receiving support from UCU colleagues across the UK makes a real difference to members fighting local disputes. Please help spread the word, and send messages of solidarity and support to colleagues fighting to defend jobs and conditions throughout our union. University of Brighton: No compulsory redundancies in IT support Brighton members will be on strike on Wednesday 2 December in the first of five days of strike action against compulsory redundancies of IT staff. The university is refusing to redeploy UCU members into posts in a new structure in order to sack them. Help fill the Brighton UCU wall of support Send a message here Join the online solidarity rally: 12pm, Wednesday 2 December Tweet support to @BrightonUCU Mass redundancies at Solent University In what is regarded by the branch as an existential threat to the future of Solent University, management have put 18.5% of staff at risk of redundancy, and plans to make 109 job cuts (9.2%) with dismissal letters expected to be sent just before Christmas. Members are currently being consulted as to whether they would be prepared to take action. Please show your support: find out more about the dispute send solidarity  tweet support: @ucu_solent Campus safety at the University of Birmingham Members at University of Birmingham are being balloted for industrial action over safety concerns as staff have been forced to work on campus and deliver face-to-face teaching. The union is asking members whether they will take action short of a strike by working and teaching online only, with a move to full strike action if staff are penalised for doing so. Please show them some solidarity: find out more here tweet support to @BirminghamUCU University of Manchester policy changes Following seven months of intense negotiations with management members at the University of Manchester are being consulted on whether to accept or reject the employers’ offer on a range of changes to terms and conditions including pay, progression, redundancies, and redeployment. Send solidarity: by email Twitter: @um_ucu  Northern Ireland further education All six of Northern Ireland's further education college branches are in a collective dispute with their employers over a below-inflation pay offer linked to unacceptable conditions which would remove workload protections and force trade unions to surrender collective bargaining rights. The changes mean there would be no limit on the number of hours a lecturer could be asked to teach each week. Watch and share Emma Shirrin MLA question Minister Dodds about lecturers' struggle for fair pay and working conditions. University of East London (UEL): no to compulsory redundancies and NO to unmanageable workloads In the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic UEL has placed hundreds of staff at risk of compulsory redundancy, with another 84 staff leaving with voluntary severance. The staff remaining have now been left with unsustainable workloads and the university continues to undermine and disrespect staff by attempting to impose new workload models and calculations without negotiation. UEL have backed down on the branch reps under threat, who are now allowed to serve their notice. Let's keep the pressure on and save their jobs too. Send #saveUEL tweets in support to the branch @EastLondonUCU Follow @saveUEL for unofficial news and updates Goldsmiths UCU restructuring dispute Staff at Goldsmiths are balloting on industrial action over a planned restructuring which will cut investment in staff and intensify workloads. Read about the issues here Follow the branch on Twitter @GoldsmithsUCU Great result at Northumbria UCU As announced last week, Northumbria University UCU has become the first union branch in the UK to win a ballot over health and safety relating to Covid-19. 66.5% of members voted to strike, on a turnout of 67.3%. Congratulations to Northumbria UCU, and thank you to all those who sent their support.  Support striking colleagues: donate to the UCU fighting fund Colleagues who can afford to do so are asked to consider a donation to the UCU fighting fund. The link is here and donations to the fund are spent on supporting members involved in important disputes. As always, members are asked to contribute whatever their circumstances allow. A donation in solidarity of any amount will be gratefully received by members taking action. Best regards Justine Stephens UCU head of campaigns

Support the strike at Optare

 Support the strike at Optare

 Optare make Electric Buses at their factory in Leeds. The company is owned by Ashok Leyland which is owned by millionaire business brothers Srichand and Gopichand Hinduja who are reported to have a net worth of £19 billion between them according to Asian Media and Marketing group. 

The workers at the factory who have been working a normal 40 hour week throughout the pandemic asked for a pay rise in line with the Bank of England’s inflation rate of 2%. Optare offered 1% so they went on strike.

The strike is however not just about pay Many of the jobs in the factory have been outsourced away from the permanent workforce and given to part time contractors on worse pay and conditions. This outsourcing can cause chaos with production. A worker at the plant explained that 167 pieces of glass had to be removed from a vehicle because it didn’t have the correct laminate and the outsourced workers hadn’t been trained to lift the glass properly which resulted in a lot of smashed bus windows and waste of money. 

The workforce wants to be able to produce excellent electric buses and are fed up with the chaos. In the last few months Marcus Rashford’s campaign for kids to get school meals has highlighted the struggle that working families are facing at the moment, even families in work are having to use food banks as wages in the UK are low and many companies have used the pandemic to reduce hours or sack people and rehire them on lower wages or longer hours. 

The workers at Optare just want a decent living wage. Does this have anything to do with the struggle against climate disaster? Rebels have already stared debating the way forward for XR after the pandemic and reviewing tactics. In Australia in Sept 2019 380 dockworkers from the Maritime Union walked out of work for 4 hours as part of a climate strike. 

They attended rallies with their official union placards saying” Stop Blocking Offshore Wind Climate jobs now” The Maritime union also represents oil and gas workers and says it’s trying to get ahead of the curve on climate action and has official union policy to limit warming to 1.5degrees.

 The Optare workers and the strikers at Rolls Royce who make jet engines are fighting for jobs and decent pay but in both factories, there is the beginnings of a serious debate on repurposing and a just transition. Factories can be tooled up to produce wind turbines or other necessary parts of green energy solutions and it is a mistake to think that workers even in fossil fuel industries can’t be won to action on climate. Some British unions have already supported climate action. The rail, lecturers’ and teaching unions have supported the climate strikes. Workers at the Government Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS ) who were on strike against being outsourced and for a London living wage when the last rebellion was on marched to one of the rallies with a banner that said “ Fighting for a green fair and just society” and chanting a “living wage on a living planet “.

 The strikers at Optare need support because they have a right to a decent wage to feed their families. No one in the movement for climate justice wants to see workers who are involved in new green technologies working hard with poor wages and conditions. 

We want decent permanent Green Jobs. We want Green Industry. We want a just and fair system for people to live in peace and safety. Supporting the Optare strikers is not separate to our struggle against climate disaster. XR rebels should send messages of solidarity to the Optare workers - we need them and they need us.

 Donations to the strike fund can be made. The account name is Unite NE/200/1 Optare branch account number 20327132 sort code 60-83-01 and the bank is Unity Trust Bank Messages of support can be sent to: Richard.bedford@unitetheunion.org 

Rebels can add their name to the list of signatories below. Signatories 

Mary Littlefield, Unite Community Norfolk Vice Chair and XR Rebel

 Wendy Smith, Unite member and XR rebel

 Tim Knight-Hughes, Unite member and XR rebel 

Tony Staunton, President, Plymouth Trades Union Council 

Hugh Stanners, NEU member and XR rebel 

Steve Wilkins Secretary Medway Trades Union Council 

Jamie Osborn, Unite member and XR rebel 

Raymond Morell, Unite Branch Chair, Aerospace, Edinburgh

 Ian Allinson, former Unite EC member, President of Manchester TUC

 Dave Sherry Vice Chair Glassgow Unite Retired Members Branch 

Jonathan Warner Unite member

 Nicola Redwood Chair Unite SE London Medical branch, Health RISC and NISC delegate and Co Chair Unite Rank and File 

James Eaden President Chesterfield and District Trades Council

 Arthur Nicoll Co-Chair, Dundee City UNISON

 Angela Brown, Unite Manchester Construction branch member

Brent Green Party and the Green Party Trade Union group fully support their campaign to retain the Ambulance Station

 

Brent Green Party and the Green Party Trade Union group are very concerned to learn of the proposed closure of Wembley Ambulance Station. This threat to the health of people in the surrounding areas which this would pose, seems particularly short-sighted and potentially dangerous. As stated on the Wembley Matters blog (https://wembleymatters.blogspot.com/.../999-join-battle...

),

‘The closure would occur in the middle of a pandemic at a time of peak winter illness and falls, in a multi-racial community suffering from disproportionate numbers of Covid19 cases. A resource is being taken away from an area with a rapidly growing population as the result of high-rise developments In Alperton, Wembley Central and Wembley Park – areas close to the ambulance station.’

Unison has set out detailed objections to the proposal, Brent Green Party and the Green Party Trade Union group fully support their campaign to retain the Ambulance Station, we trust the MP’s for Brent will also give their support.

Peter Murry

Trade Union Liaison pp Brent Green Party

Co-Secretary Green Party Trade Union group

VICTORY! IN-HOUSE OF CLEANERS AT UNIVERSITY OF LONDON

 

VICTORY! IN-HOUSE OF CLEANERS AT UNIVERSITY OF LONDON

All cleaners on the University of London contract have been brought in-house, following a relentless campaign that led to the in-sourcing of their reception-based colleagues and security officers earlier this year.
You can donate to the campaign against outsourcing in the University of London here...

More details of the cleaners' victory here...

Next step is Stand with Security Officers at the University of Greenwich...

STOP THE DEPORTATION OF OSIME BROWN.

Osime Brown is 22 years old, he is profoundly autistic and developmentally younger than his peers. Osime is also learning disabled, dyslexic and due to his time in care has since been diagnosed with PTSD, and suffers with depression.
Sign the petition...

Go-fund-me appeal...

Green Party US organisers from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

 

On Saturday 28th November at 6pm (UK time), GREEN PARTY TRADE UNION GROUP are excited to host a special discussion with two trade unionists and Green Party US organisers from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

November's US Presidential election saw the welcome defeat of Donald Trump, cheered by progressives the world over. But with a likely Republican senate, a reduced Democratic House majority, and poor results at a state and local level it is clear that the Democratic party has failed to deliver the thumping win it needed.

It is also clear that crucial victories - in Arizona, in Pennsylvania, and in Georgia - were delivered by the energies of social movements like Black Lives Matter and unions like UNITE HERE!. Nevertheless, the Democratic leadership has already signalled that it would rather shun these radical forces than build them up.

In this context, what should radicals in the US Left, labour unions and beyond be doing? How should they build on significant victories, like Florida's $15 minimum wage which won by more than 60% of the popular vote? What can we in the UK learn from this?

We'll be joined by Pittsburgh union organisers Shawn Domenico and Ed Grystar as they discuss with us the state of the US labour movement and how it relates to the developing US political situation.

Their talk will be followed by a Q&A, which promises to be informative for all involved.

Open to everyone, regardless of party or union membership. Please come, and encourage your friends and comrades from elsewhere to come along too!

Follow the link below to register and attend:

https://actionnetwork.org/.../party-politics-union...

Trade Unions & Human Rights in Colombian Universities

JFC and UCU present a special online event Trade Unions & Human Rights in Colombian Universities Monday 23 November, from 6.30pm Dear friends,   We are delighted to invite you to a special online event co-hosted by JFC, UCU and Colombia’s ASPU trade union for university workers. To register, click here or on the flyer image below.

Join us to hear from those defending human rights in Colombian universities, including the President of ASPU and UCU members who have supported and visited Colombia with JFC. We are also joined by activist and academic speakers from Colombia's National University, the largest public university in the country. Speakers: Pedro Hernández: President, ASPU Carolina Jiménez: Director of department of Political Sciences, National University of Colombia Douglas Chalmers: Past-President, UCU who visited Colombia with JFC in Feb 2020 Juanita Villamil: Law student, National University & District University Human Rights Network Hasan Dodwell: Director, JFC Chaired by Vicky Blake: President, UCU For more information, visit our website or email us at info@justiceforcolombia.org

Brent Trades Council MOTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE

 

MOTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE

Brent Trades Council notes:

1.Ongoing extreme weather events across the globe which have been exacerbated by climate breakdown: heat waves, wildfires, floods and hurricanes.
2. The 2018 IPCC report which warned of the dire consequences of exceeding 1.5C global average warming and that a societal transformation would be needed to avoid this, halving global carbon emissions by 2030; that despite this, global emissions have continued to rise.
3. That the climate crisis is a social justice issue, with those who have done least to cause the crisis facing the worst impacts.
4. That wealthy, industrialised countries have a responsibility to take on their fair share of emissions reductions; that the UK's target of net zero by 2050 is insufficient, and that the UK government is failing to implement policies to meet even this target.
5. That we also face a global and UK crisis of unemployment; that the global response to the Covid-19 pandemic represents an opportunity to invest in climate jobs, a just transformation and a fairer society; and that this opportunity has not been taken.
6. That the UN COP26 negotiations in Glasgow in November 2021 are crucial for the global response to climate change.
7. That UK civil society needs to exert maximum pressure on the government in the coming year for a green recovery and just transition in the UK, and to show leadership as COP26 host; that trade unions can play a key role in the COP26 coalition in which UK civil society has been organising as part of the wider global climate justice movement.

This (union branch) resolves:
1. To campaign, alongside allies in civil society for massive public investment in a green recovery that tackles the climate and ecological emergency, creates climate jobs and is underpinned by a fair deal for workers both here and in supply chains in the Global South.
2. To join the national mobilisations for protests during the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow in November 2021.
3. To send a delegation to Glasgow / To donate towards the costs of trade union transport to Glasgow / To donate towards the costs of members wishing to join protests in Glasgow.
4. To send this motion to our regional and national organisation.

Newham Trades Council support NEU Dispute PLEASE SHARE / SUPPORT

 

Combat climate breakdown in school and beyond

 From the National Education Union Climate Change Network

Combat climate breakdown in school and beyond

 

Conference recognises

1. The COVID crisis has been one manifestation of environmental blowback.

2. Climate breakdown and mass extinction are accelerating.

3. The world needs a global green new deal with all countries co-operating to salvage human civilisation.

4. The COP in November 2021 will be a pivotal point.

5. The measures taken by the UK government are not adequate even to meet its existing targets but many local authorities have declared a climate emergency.

6. The refusal of the DFE to consider a curriculum review to make our education system adequate for the society we need and implement their legal obligation under Article 12 of the Paris Agreement is a betrayal of the children in our schools.

 

Resolves to

 

1. Review all national union activity and infrastructure to draw up a plan for complete eradication of greenhouse gas emissions and begin implementing it as rapidly as possible - with a report on progress at the 2022 conference.

2. Ensure that education in Just Transition is built into our reps training and call on Districts to incorporate it into local training.

3. Incorporate the huge range of creative work in developing climate themed education done by teachers and environmental campaigns into the Union’s CPD programme.

4. Take these points to the TUC to propose the rest of the trade union movement does the same.

5 Call for all schools, LAs and MATs to declare a climate emergency and to plan a path to zero greenhouse gas emissions by supporting the Let’s Go Zero 2030 campaign and for LAs to establish local Task Forces, comprising representatives of all relevant parties including school staff and students, parents, FE colleges, universities, employers and trade unions; to coordinate provision and support for Just Transition in local economies and  transition from school to training and work, with teacher unions represented in the local authority’s climate emergency policy process.

6. Work with the school students movement, other unions and campaigns in informing and mobilising our members in support of actions up to and beyond the November COP in Glasgow.