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Category: Unison

  • As Enough is Enough launches, the working class are fighting back

    Organised workers are on the move. After years of stagnancy, UK trade unions are starting to ramp up activity again. Needless to say, there’s been little help from the Labour Party. But the waves of strikes are unmistakeable signs of rising working class militancy.

    The increased popularity of trade union leaders, such as the RMT’s general secretary Mick Lynch and Unite’s Sharon Graham, suggests the post-Corbyn hangover is easing.

    At the launch of the Enough is Enough campaign on Wednesday 17 August, Lynch told the audience: “The working class is back”:

    Enough is Enough

    Enough is Enough (EIE) is a new force in the class war. Its supporters include a number of socialist MPs, such as Zarah Sultana and Liverpool’s Iain Byrne. The Tribune, Acorn and the Communication Worker’s Union (CWU) are also backers. EIE has five demands:

    1. A real pay rise
    2. Slash energy bills
    3. End food poverty
    4. Decent homes for all
    5. Tax the rich

    Its orientation appears to be social democratic, evidenced by many familiar faces from the Corbyn era being on board. Interestingly however, as The Canary recently pointed out, EIE does not appear to be calling specifically for the nationalisation of privatised utilities.

    EIE has also been notably endorsed by former US presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, who tweeted his support on Wednesday 17 August:

    So there are positive signs. But as The Canary‘s Steve Topple has pointed out, there needs to be an increased emphasis on particular marginalised groups – not just workers:

    Don’t Pay

    The Don’t Pay campaign came onto the scene earlier than EIE. It has a narrower aim and different politics. Since an energy crisis for working class people is looming large, Don’t Pay is encouraging people to refuse to pay their energy bills as a form of direct resistance. As The Canary reported recently:

    Analysts now say that the price cap could hit over £3,600 by January 2023. This is a 158% increase since October 2021, when the cap was £1,400. This could leave around 30% of all households in the UK in fuel poverty.

    Don’t Pay’s website lays out a plan to address this. They will demand a reduction in energy bills, and get people who have joined the campaign to cancel their direct debits from 1 October if the first demand isn’t met – but only if a million people pledge to join them.

    It’s worth pointing out that, with 1 October rapidly approaching, at the time of publication Don’t Pay has only collected 108,752 pledges according to their website. This might be a matter of a lack of working class confidence to resist directly by non-payment. Or maybe it’s a case of the message not cutting through on the intended scale.

    The level of interaction between EIE and Don’t Pay is hard to gauge. However, it’s difficult to imagine serving MPs publicly backing an action which could be deemed ‘illegal’.

    Don’t Pay’s politics are quite different from those of the more reformist EIE. Direct action of this kind seems to suggest a more libertarian or anarchist, bottom-up ethos. Understandably for a group of its kind, the founders do not have a public list of organisers or backers.

    The class war

    While these two groups share a lot of ground, they appear to come from very different traditions. This is not to say that they are now, or inevitably will be, in conflict. Just as other parallel social struggles have complemented each other, Don’t Pay and EIE could drive each other on. This would be similar to the way striking miners and gay rights activists, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, or the Hillsborough and Bloody Sunday families have complemented each other.

    The movements to seriously improve working class confidence and power need to be big, diverse, and fierce in the pursuit of their aims – and led by the working class. With the Labour Party effectively deceased, it must be hoped that Don’t Pay and EIE are the first signs of a new and energetic movement of workers.

    Feature image via YouTube/ Novara Media

    By Joe Glenton

    This post was originally published on The Canary.

  • It’s time to root out racism, misogyny and homophobia in the trade union movement

    Former National Education Union (NEU) Policy Specialist (LGBT+ and Race Equality) Camille Kumar has resigned from her role due to her experiences of discrimination on the grounds of her race, gender, and sexuality within the union.

    As exemplified by radical, grassroots United Voices of the World (UVW) Union’s recent victory securing full NHS contracts for Great Ormond Street Hospital cleaners, trade unions still play a vital role in ensuring fair wages and conditions for workers. But Kumar’s experience within the NEU – an enormous, mainstream union – reflects the institutionalised racism, misogyny and homophobia that remains unaddressed within the trade union movement.

    Pushed out

    In January, Kumar resigned from her NEU role on the grounds that the union subjected her to interpersonal and institutional racist, sexist, and homophobic discrimination.

    Upon returning to work from maternity leave, Kumar noticed that her work was being “discounted, side-lined and undervalued”. Speaking to her “demoralising” experience of “deskilling and gaslighting”, she explained:

    Every single piece of work I was directed to undertake during my pregnancy has not been used and some that were initially published on the website have since been removed or superseded by work commissioned by (white male) consultants.

    She adds that her work – such as extensive LGBTQ+ inclusion guidance for schools – was replaced by less radical work by white colleagues. The union removed other pieces of Kumar’s work from the NEU’s website while she was away without consulting her.

    This reflects the pregnancy and maternity discrimination that many working people still encounter when they decide to start a family. But also the ways in which white voices are often prioritised in workplaces and social justice movements, while racially minoritised women are often overlooked and undervalued.

    In an email explaining her resignation to comrades within the union she said:

    I have been increasingly disheartened by the NEU’s cynical approach to the BLM movement – releasing multiple statements in support of BLM but in practice actively shutting down Black workers’ activism.

    Kumar added:

    I raised these issues among others with my line manager and AGS [assistant general secretary] and have been met with denial, incomplete truths and obfuscation. When I expressed my feelings of confusion, hurt and upset I was accused of being ‘aggressive’, a word too often used to describe women of colour in the workplace.

    Indeed, this is a racist, misogynistic stereotype frequently used to silence and marginalise assertive Black women.

    A spokesperson from the NEU told The Canary:

    The NEU takes all complaints of discrimination seriously. The particular issues raised by this ex-member of staff are currently under investigation in accordance with agreed confidential processes so it would not be appropriate to comment further.

    A wider issue within the union

    As reported by The Canary in November 2021, Black NEU members spoke out about “feeling let down by the Union in race discrimination cases“. In an open letter expressing solidarity with Kumar, the Black Educators Alliance said:

    Just like the projects that Camille worked on, Black member led projects, such as Decolonising the Curriculum, were discontinued without the consultation of Black members. Motions presented to and passed at the Union’s Annual Conference by Black members are routinely dismissed.

    In April 2021, NEU members voted in favour of a campaign for a moratorium – a temporary legal ban – on school exclusions to give vulnerable and marginalised children returning to school a chance to adjust to the ‘new normal’. Despite the campaign’s success, union leaders have yet to commit to the vote’s result.

    In their open letter, the alliance added:

    Decisions on issues affecting Black members are made by senior white NEU staff without any comradery to Black members. It is a most condescending act of betrayal that we continue to endure over and over again in both our careers and within our union activism.

    A spokesperson from the NEU told The Canary:

    The National Education Union takes its commitment to bringing about positive change for race equality and LGBT+ equality seriously and works actively to ensure this is achieved. The NEU works with external organisations on equality issues as well as producing our own materials for use in schools and colleges. Training sessions for members and union staff are also regularly undertaken.

    Beyond the NEU

    But the NEU isn’t the only union at fault. In February, UNISON’s National Officer of Race Equality Margaret Greer launched a claim against the union on the grounds that she has ‘been subjected to race discrimination and victimisation‘.

    Greer has been an active anti-racist trade unionist for 34 years. She alleges that despite her longstanding commitment to the movement, UNISON deemed her ineligible to be considered for the position of general secretary due to a rule which demands that applicants have 5 years’ “continuous” membership or employment in the run up to their candidacy.

    In January, an employment judge stated that the rule could be interpreted to either reflect the union’s interpretation, or Greer’s understanding ‘that a person needs to have at least 5 years’ membership’. Greer adds that there is “no reference to the term “continuous” in the rules in relation to membership”.

    Greer alleges that:

    The Union has tried to use all its muscle to strike out certain aspects of my claim, including my allegation that I was eligible for elections; however, they have been unsuccessful with this.

    Calling for institutional change, she said:

    I have dedicated my life to the trade union movement, but they too need to change like all sectors and organisations. In the history of the trade union movement there has only ever been three General Secretary’s of BME background.

    Greer is raising funds to cover the cost of her legal battle. The main hearing is due to take place in June and July 2022.

    An institutionalised problem

    These are not isolated incidents. A 2019 survey commissioned by the Trade Union Congress (TUC) on racism in the workplace suggested that racism remained widespread within the movement.

    Many respondents reported experiences of racism from trade union members and officials. Others highlighted incidents of members, managers and employers working together to cover up racism in the workplace.

    Further, as reported by the report’s co-author Stephen Ashe:

    a considerable number of people reported that trade union officers were reluctant to get involved in incidents where the perpetrator(s) was also a trade union member(s), as well as being indifferent towards, if not dismissive of, participant’s experiences of workplace racism.

    These responses reflect Kumar’s experience, and demonstrate the extent to which interpersonal and institutional racism operates within the trade union movement. TUC’s report shows that despite campaigns to address entrenched inequalities in other workplaces, the trade union movement is yet to confront its own institutionalised racism and other forms of discrimination.

    Time for action

    The Black Educators Alliance is hosting a fringe event at the NEU’s national conference in April. Here, they intend to address institutional racism within the union as well as the education system at large.

    The alliance is urging supporters to sign its open letter calling on the NEU “to nourish and maintain a positive working environment” for Black, LGBTQ+ and female staff and members. The group’s demands include the establishment of an anti-racist working group to address structural and interpersonal racism at the NEU, and greater oversight for equalities seat holders.

    They are also calling for the provision of specialist support for victims of discrimination. And a formal investigation into racism, misogyny and homophobia at the NEU led by an independent barrister.

    If the trade union movement truly seeks to protect and further the rights of all working-class people, it must take urgent action to address and root out all forms of discrimination in its ranks.

    Featured image via Clay Banks/Unsplash (Cropped to 770x403px)

    By Sophia Purdy-Moore

    This post was originally published on The Canary.

  • Workers suffer steepest decline in real wages for over eight years

    Pressure is mounting on chancellor Rishi Sunak to offer further cost of living support in his upcoming spring statement as official figures revealed the biggest fall in real pay for more than eight years.

    The Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed that with rising prices taken into account, regular pay fell by 1.6% year-on-year in the three months to January.

    This marked the steepest decline in real pay since the September to November quarter in 2013.

    Cost of living crisis

    It comes as average earnings, excluding bonuses, rose by 3.8% in the latest quarter, up from 3.7% previously, but failed to keep up with rampant price hikes as inflation hit a near 30-year high of 5.5% in January.

    There are fears the strain on household finances will become more acute as experts predict inflation will rise to nearly 9% as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine exacerbates already rocketing inflation.

    The Resolution Foundation recently warned that households in Britain could be facing the sharpest decline in real incomes since the 1970s, predicting a 4% drop for working age people in 2022-23.

    Calls are growing for Sunak to offer more help for cash-strapped families and businesses as energy bills and fuel prices reach record levels.

    Union pressure

    Frances O’Grady, general secretary of the TUC trade union, said:

    Energy bills will rise at least 14 times faster than wages this year.

    Household budgets are already stretched to the brink and can’t take any more.

    The Government must use the spring statement to act.

    We need a plan to get wages rising in all jobs, a boost to Universal Credit, and a windfall tax on oil and gas profits – with the money raised going to energy grants for hard-pressed families.”

    Christina McAnea, general secretary at Unison, added:

    Seeing wage rises well below inflation will be chilling for millions of people already struggling with soaring prices and bills.

    It’s even more troubling for employees keeping public services running who have had little or nothing extra in their wage packets.

    She continued:

    With food, energy and tax bills rising, ministers must find the money to ensure those in the public sector are rewarded fairly and don’t leave for better-paid jobs elsewhere.

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on The Canary.

  • Care home residents ‘dying alone amid dangerously low staffing levels’

    According to new research, care home residents are dying alone and their everyday needs are being “neglected” because staffing levels are at such a “dangerously low” level.

    People in residential care are being denied a dignified end to their lives as there are not enough staff to sit with them during the final hours, according to a survey by Unison.

    The union found that 31% of care workers said that staffing levels are dangerously low, getting worse and negatively affecting care quality, which is leaving carers feeling “exhausted, angry and upset”.

    And two thirds (67%) are considering leaving the sector, which Unison says is a “disastrous but inevitable” consequence of years of low wages and morale and underfunding.

    “Unsafe” staffing levels

    The union surveyed 1,637 employees in England, Wales and Northern Ireland between October 13 and November 4 who work in care homes, or help people at home or in supported living.

    Respondents told of how people are not getting regular washes, some are not getting dressed until the afternoon and others are being put to bed early so staff can attend to other residents.

    They described care as “depressingly rushed” and said its quality is declining, with “unsafe” staffing levels on both day and night shifts.

    One respondent said:

    The dying aren’t dying with dignity because there’s not enough staff to sit with people in their final hours.

    Residents are being neglected, not having baths, meals are late, and staff are exhausted.

    Another said:

    The level of care is declining as there aren’t enough carers to do the job. People are being left in wet, dirty beds.

    Suzanne, a residential care worker, described staff levels as “dangerously low” at times, with care “well below acceptable standards”. She continued:

    I’ve had to leave residents in tears because I had to care for someone else who also needed me.

    Burnt out, overworked and under paid

    Almost all respondents (97%) said their employer is experiencing staffing shortages, with burnout, overwork and low pay among the main reasons cited.

    Some 47% agreed with the statement that shortages are having a negative impact on care, and 31% agreed staffing levels are also dangerously low and getting worse.

    A fifth (20%) said their workplace is managing despite the shortages, while 1% said their workplace is fine and is experiencing no serious staffing shortages.

    Unison general secretary Christina McAnea said a pay rise announced by the government would bring some “early festive cheer” to care workers and persuade many on the verge of quitting to stay.

    She said:

    Care workers are leaving in their droves – burnt out from the pandemic, exhausted from covering under-staffed shifts and fed up with low wages.

    This is nothing short of a nightmare for families worried about the care of their loved ones, overworked employees struggling to cope and employers concerned they won’t have the staff to stay open.

    The care sector is desperately short of workers and can’t wait months for the Government to come up with a solution.

    “Very tough reading”

    Vic Rayner, chief executive of the National Care Forum, said the Unison survey “makes for very tough reading”, with staff doing an “incredible job” as they face increasing pressure.

    She said:

    It is not good enough that the Government continues to ignore this very real crisis.

    Last month Unison and the NCF provided a joint call to Government outlining a call for an immediate retention bonus for staff and increase in pay.

    By ignoring this call and refusing to take action, the very real risks to people and communities are laid bare.

    A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said:

    Everyone deserves high quality and compassionate care, and we are grateful for the dedication and tireless work of social care staff throughout the pandemic.

    They said as well as the £162.5 million workforce fund, the Government would invest at least £500 million to develop and support the care workforce as part of its £5.4 billion to reform social care.

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on The Canary.

  • Unions urge government to reintroduce coronavirus safety measures in schools

    Education unions have urged the government to reintroduce extra safety measures in schools. It comes as an expert warned about the level of coronavirus (Covid-19) circulating among secondary school pupils.

    The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that around one in 15 children in school years 7 to 11 in England are estimated to have had coronavirus in the week to 2 October. That’s the highest positivity rate for any age group.

    Stronger safety measures

    Five education unions wrote to education secretary Nadhim Zahawi urging him to bring back stronger safety measures for schools. They are GMB union, Unite, Unison, National Education Union (NEU) and NASUWT teaching union.

    The unions are also writing to local authorities and directors of public health, asking them to consider measures in their local areas.

    Coronavirus graphic
    (PA Graphics)

    Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the NEU, said:

    We are concerned that the Government is standing by while Covid cases surge across schools.

    It is evident that more needs to be done, and sooner rather than later, to prevent further massive disruption to children’s education, caused either by children contracting Covid-19 or Covid-related staff absence.

    Jim Kennedy, Unite national officer for education, called on Zahawi to “reset the safety agenda for schools”. And he argued that with winter approaching:

    the whole range of measures to keep school children safe needs to be deployed – the rising level of infections in schools demand it

    And the NASUWT said schools need more support with onsite testing “rather than relying on home testing, which is less effective”. The union urged the government to reinstate the requirement for self-isolation for pupils who are contacts of a positive case.

    Moreover, GMB national officer Avril Chambers said the latest figures show “it is clear further mitigation measures are needed immediately”.

    ‘Disease and damage to children’

    While education unions wrote to the government, an expert shared his concerns with the BBC about rising infections among children.

    Professor Calum Semple is a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), which advises the government. Speaking on the virus spreading among children, he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme:

    There is a risk of that and it’s not a good way to get to herd immunity. Commentators would usually say it’s ridiculous to aim for herd immunity using natural wild-type infection because that brings with it disease and damage to children both from acute disease and potentially long Covid.

    He said there’s “no pretence that this is a deliberate attempt to get herd immunity – that would also be ridiculous”.

    And he suggested “some flexibility would be great” for parents in England to be able to take children to vaccination centres.

    Most children in England aged 12-15 are currently being offered one dose of the Pfizer vaccine by immunisation teams at schools.

    Semple said the uptake so far in this age group has been “really encouraging”, but added:

    I’m sure it will take time for confidence to build among many parents.

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on The Canary.

  • Health workers stage protest to press the PM on pay decision

    Health workers are pressing the prime minister to end their long wait for a pay rise amid continuing anger over the government recommending a 1% increase.

    Fair pay for key workers

    Unison is staging a protest at Westminster on 23 June, saying thousands of health workers across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland will be looking to Boris Johnson to announce his decision in the coming days.

    NHS staff were due a pay rise in April, but ministers said they would await the recommendations of the pay review body, which is expected to deliver its report within days. Last month, health workers across Scotland accepted a pay rise from the Scottish Government worth at least 4% for most staff.

    Unison said it has been 300 days since it wrote to Johnson asking for a £2,000 increase for every NHS worker. General secretary Christina McAnea and head of health Sara Gorton joined health workers outside Parliament on 23 June, holding signs to emphasise that all eyes are on the prime minister to make a decision on pay.

    McAnea said:

    He either has – or will have within days – the evidence gathered by the NHS pay review body. Boris Johnson is now the only person standing between health workers and a wage rise.

    Scottish NHS employees have been recognised by the Government there, which has shown it values everything staff have done this past year. Now it’s the turn of the Westminster Government to demonstrate its support for the NHS. The ball is well and truly in the Prime Minister’s court.

    All along Boris Johnson has had it within his gift to reward NHS staff, but he’s chosen not to, preferring to use the pay review body process as an excuse for delay.

    Further time-wasting runs the risk that more health workers will leave. With the huge backlog of treatments and operations looming over the NHS, that would be disastrous for everyone.

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on The Canary.

  • NHS medics urge prime minister to tackle ‘chronic undersupply’ in staffing

    Medics have written a letter to Boris Johnson urging him to massively increase investment in NHS staffing.

    Invest now

    Groups and unions representing NHS workers have said increased demand for services due to coronavirus (Covid-19) has led to a “chronic undersupply” in staffing and there are nearly 90,000 vacant posts.

    The letter has been signed by the NHS Confederation, NHS Providers, the British Medical Association (BMA), the Royal College of Nursing, the Academy of Royal Medical Colleges, and Unison, and states that “billions of extra funding” is needed.

    Nurses' pay campaigners
    The NHS has reported high levels of stress and burnout among staff during the pandemic (Jonathan Brady/PA)

    The NHS has reported “high levels of staff stress and burnout as a direct impact of the pandemic” which threatens to further increase vacancies, according to the letter. It adds that results from the biggest survey of NHS staff, published last month, show that almost two thirds believe there are not enough people in their organisations to enable them to do their job properly.

    More than four in 10 also said they feel unwell as result of their job.

    Danny Mortimer, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said it’s “deeply worrying” that many medics feel unable to do their jobs properly due to a lack of support. He added:

    We desperately need the Government to give the people working in the NHS hope that the gaps in their teams will be filled in the longer term.

    It is deeply worrying that far too many NHS staff feel that they are unable to do their job properly because they simply do not have enough colleagues to support them.

    Plan of action

    Chief executive of NHS Providers Chris Hopson has called on the government to provide a “fully costed” plan. He said:

    We must see a fully costed and funded national workforce plan, so we stop asking NHS frontline staff to bear an unsustainable workload shift after shift, week after week…

    Currently, the NHS cannot consistently give its staff a reasonable workload and the work life balance they need and deserve. That has to change.

    BMA council chair Dr Chaand Nagpaul said a survey by the association found that “almost a fifth of doctors” were considering leaving the NHS for another career. He said:

    There is simply not enough staff and those staff who have been working over the past year are exhausted and in desperate need of some respite.

    Unison head of health Sara Gorton added that a “proper pay rise” is needed to incentivise NHS staff to stay in their jobs and attract much-needed recruits. She added:

    Preparation for the future needs investment in both NHS services and staff.

    This means the resources to cope with the backlog, and the funding to give staff the proper pay rise they’ve more than earned.

    Without better wages, experienced staff will be lost and new recruits much harder to attract.

    Mental health

    The letter says that 4.7 million people are waiting for medical care or surgery, and up to 10 million people predicted to need new or additional mental health support as a result of the pandemic.

    The Department for Health and Social Care said:

    This Government is committed to supporting the NHS and its staff in the fight against Covid and beyond the pandemic through the NHS People Plan.

    There are over 6,600 more doctors and 10,900 more nurses working in our NHS, compared to last year, and we are on track to deliver 50,000 more nurses by the end of this Parliament.

    We have funded an extra 1,500 university places for medicine expansion of university places for medicine by over 1,500 and are now offering nursing, midwifery and allied health professional students at least £5,000 a year in grant funding.

    This means there are more medical students in training than at any other time in NHS history, with nursing applications also up 34% on last year.

    Labour’s shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth has blamed “Tory underfunding and cuts” for the staff shortage. He said:

    Our hardworking NHS staff have gone above and beyond this past year but the reality is that the health service entered the pandemic short of 100,000 staff after a decade of Tory underfunding and cuts.

    It is vital that ministers listen to calls from across the NHS to invest in and increase the numbers of staff, but also show our NHS staff how much we value them with a fair pay rise not an insulting real terms pay cut.

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on The Canary.