Dear friends
Our next Full Council Meeting will be on Wednesday 11th September 2019 at Friends Meeting House from 7.30pm.
It was decided by the EC that our next Full Council Meeting will have a large section of the meeting open to the public and non-affiliated unions.
We will have Jane Loftus, the national president of CWU to talk of the anticipated second national ballot of postal workers, why the ballot is taking place and what it will mean.
We also have a Annapurna Morley from the Youth Strike 4 Climate campaign who are holding a day of national action and strikes on 20th September. It was felt that as well as their message being a crucial one, their campaigning has been remarkably effective and that trade unions should be standing shoulder to shoulder with them.
There will also be an opportunity for delegates to raise ongoing and new disputes.
Current Disputes
The Trades Council have been made aware by UNITE Housing branch that workers at St Mungo’s are balloting for industrial action over plans to deskill the workforce and leave experienced and committed workers high and dry in favour of replacing them with lower paid staff. The Trades Council will share more information on this as we get it however UNITE Housing have our full support.
The Hands Off Moulsecoomb Campaign to save Moulsecoomb Primary School from forced academisation continues to build momentum. As instructed by the Full Council I wrote to Gavin Williamson, Secretary of State for Education outlining our deep concerns and unflinching opposition to the forced academisation order. On the plus side, the school scored excellently in results which supports the call for a second OFSTED report. After a series of unanimous indicative “straw” ballots”, members of the GMB, UNISON and NEU are all poised ready for a school year of industrial action ahead unless the order is revoked.
The community of Peacehaven’s attempt through the High Court to stop East Sussex County Council handing over Peacehaven Community School to Swake Academy Trust came to a sad conclusion last week when Mr Justice Nicklin essentially ruled that it was not up to communities who run their schools. In the face of outrage from everyone concerned East Sussex County Council then went so far as to attempt to recoup their own legal costs from the community group challenging them! As the Trades Council’s very own (and Secretary of East Sussex NEU) Phil Clarke told The Argus “East Sussex County Council have lost the moral ground” and even for Mr Justice Nicklin this was evidently a bridge too far as ESCC were told to pay for their own damn legal costs!
Up at Brighton University both UCU and UNISON are going to ballot members over their pay (or rather, lack of it). The 1.5% offer is dwarfed by the rising cost of living in the city and is against a backdrop of similar paltry below inflation pay increases over several years. This trades council understand that ballot papers will be going out to members any day now and will support both unions in any action they take.
Brighton & Hove City Council recently announced plans to close Knole House which provides temporary assisted living for vulnerable people. This is as a result of the NHS Trust withdrawing their half of the funding from the important service. This closure will involve the loss of dozens of jobs as well as a cut in hours for those who are lucky enough to find any redeployment in a BHCC run sister service. The Local Authority have stated that they do not envisage any compulsory redundancies (which they know will mean the balloting of the entire UNISON local government branch!) but even the Voluntary Severance requests were added up not everyone shares their shares their optism. Similarly, users of the services at Knole House will not come out better for it either although they are unlikely to be able to march, protest or strike over the closure themselves. BHCC say that they cannot afford to run the service without the NHS Trust bankrolling some of it however whether either the NHS Trust or the council can afford the long term costs of “bed-blocking” in NHS hospitals and the already beyond crisis point of Social Services remains to be seen…
If your branch are involved in a dispute that you would like including in the next newsletter please email brightontradescouncil@gmail.com
TWT at Labour Conference
The World Transformed are holding a huge 4 day festival (21st – 24th September) of art, music and politics during the Labour Conference in Brighton.
The line-up of speakers include Jeremy Corbyn, John McDonnell, Dianne Abbott, Yanis Varoufakis, Ash Sarkar, Faiza Shaheen, Ken Loach, Francesca Martinez, Kali Akuno and many more. There will also be interactive activities, talks by Wetherspoon strikers, Acorn Tennant’s Union and many more. Please ensure that you branches are aware of this gargantuan event and come along to get involved.
The Trades Council have been invited to have a stall at some point during the festival so we will need a volunteer or two!
Boris Johnson Shuts Down Parliament!
Well that's a sentence I hoped that I would never have to write.
Anyhow, after the last minute mobilisation of hundreds of people in Brighton on Wednesday night protesting against the far-right power grab - a second large protest has been organised on Saturday 31st August at The Level at midday. Please do head down and add your voice and that of the Trades Council.
