UNISON Nurses say "Stop the Cuts and defend our NHS"!

This is a great picture of UNISON Nurses from St Georges Hospital in Tooting, South London. Who have taken today "time out...to protest at the Governments planned NHS reforms and decision to cut £10bn a year from the NHS through so called efficiency savings.

UNISON Nursing staff at St George's have signalled that they will not hesitate to speak out against Government plans for swingeing cuts and privatisation of the NHS.

Michael Walker UNISON Regional Officer states

"UNISON will not sit ideally by and watch our NHS services slashed and privatised. Britain did not vote for the introduction of an American health care system, a system which is not comprehensive, bureaucratic, expensive and where increased competition not collaboration costs patients lives".

Jane Pilgrim UNISON Nursing Convenor at St George's Hospital, Tooting states

"Over one hundred nurses at St Georges Hospital have already signalled they will be joining the TUC rally to defend public services on Saturday 26th March in central London and we are receiving incredible support from the local community". 

Hat-tip UNISON press release.

SERTUC Rally: organising to defeat public service cuts (and splitters and wreckers)

Yesterday there was a successful and vibrant Labour movement rally at Congress House about grown up trade unionists organising with others to defend public services.

There were a few problems which I will return to later. This official trade union rally of affiliated trade unions and trade councils from all over London and the South East was organised by SERTUC. Who had spent a lot of time, money and energy organising an event to unite the Labour movement against the Coalition cuts and to be a springboard to organising against them.

The Rally started at 12 noon. There was an excellent and diverse line up of speakers. I was there with London UNISON convenor Gloria Hanson and other delegates to the SERTUC Council meeting that had been held immediately beforehand. Trade union branches who had marched to the Rally arrived at about 12:10 with their banners.

At about 12.30 Gloria and I were concerned, since numbers seemed a little light and many UNISON members that I expected to be there were missing. I went out to look for them. I knew the march had finished at nearby Bedford Square, which is just around the corner from Congress House. I went there and was astonished to find that a separate rally had been organised by the “NSSN” (aka as SPEW - Socialist Party of England & Wales) in Bedford square with speakers and a PA. There was around 300 people present I guess, The speaker’s at the time were busy happily attacking trade union leaders and “New Labour” (don’t think they actually understand that there has been change of government).

I went looking for London UNISON members. I said hello to an old UNISON Hackney mucker but most UNISON members I found actually thought that this was the SERTUC rally. I pointed the way to Congress House. I eventually found a bunch of London UNISON members having a chat together about 75m away from the main SPEW rally and gently chided them to come to Congress House as soon as possible.

When I got back to the Conference hall it was pretty full. CWU leader Billy Hayes gave a passionate speech about how hard work and organising had saved the Post office from privatisation in the past and will do so in the future.

FBU President Mick Shaw spoke about the cuts that fire-fighter’s have already faced across the country and that there is nothing less to cut. Today’s strike action in London by fire fighter’s is as much about protecting the service to the public as about stopping them all being sacked and re-employed on inferior terms and conditions.

Brand New Labour MP, Chuka Umunna, gave an assured Labour movement family speech (I’m trying to upload it to YouTube but having a few technical problems) pointing out the real differences between Labour and the ConDems.

Other stuff I found interesting was that the annual interest rate on new government debt (gilts) is 1.8%... in 1945 National debt was 250% of GDP yet we then went on to create the welfare state... the NHS, nationalised Coal and Steel and a mass public house building programme... the journalists who vilify trade unions would not be able to write a sentence if they had not been properly taught by trade union members.

RMT leader Bob Crow gave his usual high octane, finger waging and podium thumping speech. Great fun to listen to and highly entertaining if you are a trade union activist and but essentially empty and forgettable to everyone else (except for the hat – which was memorable). This is a problem. Which I think Bob knows.

By the time Steve Hart, the London UNITE regional secretary came to the rostrum the wanabee alternative SERTUC organisers had turned up and made the mistake of trying to repeatedly shout him down (as they do – it reminded me of a London UNISON AGM). Steve stopped and just took the abuse for about 30 seconds then laid into the “Peoples Front of Judia” and the “wreckers and splitters”. To which the hall erupted into loud clapping and cheers . This shut ‘em up and Steve continued with his attack on the real enemy – the ConDems.

Why do we put up with these Rule or Ruin sects?

SERTUC regional Secretary Megan Dobney spoke next to close the conference. The usually mild mannered and consensus Megan asked the idiot fringe present to “shut up and listen for a change”. She pointed out that the unions must either change government policy or change the government...from 1920-1960 national debt in this country was never less than 100%...72% of the cuts will come from purse not from the wallet.

On 26 March we need to have a successful TUC March against the cuts....in SERTUC there are about 1/3rd of all trade union members nationally...we need therefore to get at least 1 million members from SERTUC on that march, if we cannot even do that then we will risk losing the battle... we must not forget the elections next May.

Everyone must remember the discipline and commitment by this Government to their manta that this recession was left to them by the Labour Government...we must show the same discipline and commitment to our manta and show that this recession is due to a global banker’s crisis - not ours.

Greater London UNISON 1st Health Brigade

The proud banner of the Greater London UNISON 1st Health Brigade was brought out during the recent ETUC Day of Action at Congress House. (see picture).

On the far left of the Brigade banner is one of their new Pioneer recruits.

Who I understand has been given special personal responsible with regard to filling the Brigade's reconnaissance hot air balloons.

:)

Interviewed by Central China TV about "the Cuts"

This lunch time I was interviewed by a reporter from Central China TV about the impact that the cuts have had and will have on public services in the UK.

Central China TV is the major state television broadcaster in mainland China.

What was interesting (to me at least) was that an international Chinese TV Broadcaster is investigating issues involving poverty and deprivation in the UK when traditionally in "the West" we would consider ourselves to be the ones who should be sending TV crews to China to report on such issues. 

The interview itself and the questions asked were entirely professional and appropriate.

Apparently most news coverage in China about the UK is very positive and usually covers things such as technological advances and does not look at the darker side of our society.

I tried to be careful  in my answers and avoid slang or make any stereotypical assumptions.  Afterwards I did ask the reporter if I may have offended Chinese viewers by mentioning that in the UK, we often find that there is a crisis of overcrowding caused by different generations of families having to live together.  This is because grown up sons and daughters have nowhere else to go.  I was very gently put in my place when she replied that many Chinese may well want their extended family to live together or nearby but not in overcrowded conditions.

If the interview is used I may be able to get a web site link.

(the picture is taken outside Broderick House off Roman Road, E3 which I use to manage as a Housing Estate officer several years ago - I also learnt that in China instead of saying "cheese" when you take a photograph you say the Chinese equivalent for "aubergines")

UNISON London Retired members: 1033.5 years old in experience

What a great picture from a UNISON London Region Retired members' training day.  This took place in June this year.

Chair of the UNISON London Retired Members' committee, Rob Beeston, is as usual, up front, well on the left and wearing a red jumper!

Retired members in UNISON are a great resource for the union.  Many branches could not function without their help. 

However, I think we would agree that we don't actually involve retired members enough and are in fact missing out by not fully utilising their collective experiences. 

On board the Livingstone Battle Bus against Boris & CONDEM Cuts

Early yesterday morning I was with London UNISON convener, Gloria Hanson, at Euston to join other trade unionists who were helping London Labour Mayor Candidate, Ken Livingtone, launch his Boris and CONDEM anti-cuts campaign.  We went on a open air double decker bus to the Beormund Community Centre in Bermondsey, which itself is facing a Government £40k cut in its budget putting its existence in doubt. With us amongst others was Steve Hart, the Unite Regional Secretary, Paul Hayes the London GMB regional secretary, David Lammy MP and of course - Ken. 

Before we set off Ken got a good reception from passing commuters who shouted support and gave him the "thumbs up" sign and in return they received the famous grin.  Ken is of course notoriously a bit of a "Marmite" character, but ordinary Londoners seemed to be genuinely pleased to see him and offer support.

The bus driver was unsure of the best route to Bermondsey, so the Unite union Black taxi reps present offerred to help.  This could have been a "tricky" situation (taxi drivers telling bus drivers "what to do") but it seemed to work well (all comrades together!).  Perhaps also we were lucky there were no low bridges on route either? :)

The immediate Boris/CONDEM cuts already announced and the prospect of even much, much more are the defining issue facing Londoners.  We need the candidate who is best able to inspire and protect ordinary Londoners and then defeat in 2012 the ideological "slash and burners" who will be doing their level best to destroy our London.

In this particular battle - nothing else matters.

UPDATE: check out Mary Honeyball MEP top post here on her support for Ken.