General

🚨 St Mungo’s Strike Alert🚨

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💪 Unite members at St Mungo’s are striking for a 10% pay rise after our pay has been cut in real terms by 30% since 2010. At the same time, the salary of our CEO has increased by 77% since 2013, from £107k to £189,418.

🏠St Mungo’s is a leading UK homelessness charity in the UK, with many workers supporting homeless people on the frontline.

✊We’ll be on strike for 4 for weeks from 30th May. Come along to one of our pickets if you can – details below!

🗣️ We’ll be holding rallies over the course of the strike. We’re particularly keen to have striking workers come along and say a few words so if that is you or you know someone who is involved in a dispute or has been recently and happy to say a few words, please do get in touch!

🫶 We also have a hardship fund and are very grateful for any contributions and for those who can take it to their branch and/or trades council! More details about the strike can be found here, along with the branch bank details at the bottom for any contributions:

https://www.housingworkers.org.uk/readevents.html?event_id=256

Events

Protect Your Right To Strike

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Dear Friends and Comrades,

Protect the right to strike – Monday 22 May starting at 6:00 PM in Parliament Square SW1P 3BD

This Monday the TUC has called an emergency protest against the Government’s plan to abolish the right to strike.

If passed and if unamended, this Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill would allow Government ministers to order many staff to work or be sacked.

The Bill covers NHS staff, transport workers, firefighters, teachers, lecturers and more. Including over 5 million workers, it would mean that effective strikes could be outlawed at the whim of the Government.

As people get poorer and desperate, the Government is increasingly banning strikes and protests. Yesterday essential workers were clapped, today they’re being forced into poverty, tomorrow they can be sacked.

We can’t rely on a future Labour government – we need determined campaigning and a huge wave of anger to defend democratic rights.

General

Unite Report On Energy Bills

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Unite has just published research into the costs of renationalising the entire UK energy network:

“Taking public control of the UK’s energy network could reduce bills, reduce inflation, and pay for itself in a few years, reveals new research by Unite the Union.

“Unite Investigates “Renationalising Energy – costs and savings” considers how a publicly run energy network could use the massive profits of Britain’s energy giants to reduce household bills and fund the transition to a green future with secure jobs.

“The report reveals that companies made £45 billion profit from the UK domestic energy system in 2022. If that money had been kept in public hands, it could have been used to save each household £1,800 on their energy bills.”

https://www.unitetheunion.org/news-events/news/2023/may/new-union-investigation-reveals-taking-energy-into-public-ownership-would-end-the-scandal-of-energy-company-profiteering/

Events

Trades Council Meeting

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Next meeting: Wednesday, 19th April 2023. 7.30-9.30 pm 
Coffee Shop Area on the Ground Floor of Hounslow House, Bath Road, Hounslow.

Put it in your diary for next week

Agenda

  1. Introductions
  2. Apologies for absence
  3. Minutes of the meeting held on 15 February 2022
  4. Matters arising
  5. Report on affiliations
  6. Treasurer’s report.
  7. Union round-up. An opportunity for all delegates and visitors to update the meeting on disputes, strikes and other issues in their union or workplace.
  8. Discussion – Can we and should we expect our leaders to coordinate lawful industrial action to maximise the impact of disputes?
  9. Discussion – Should we be happy that our unions defer strike action to allow talks to proceed?
  10. Extinction Rebellion – four days of action
  11. Public campaigning on behalf of Hounslow Trades Council – plans
  12. Any other business

Please forward any other items that you wish to have discussed either at the meeting or in future meetings.

General

Resolution from LE/1111

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Dear All

Pleased to announce that the following resolution was passed by your branch meeting for Unite the Housing Workers last night. This will now go to the higher bodies and committee of the union:

Hestia Resolution from LE1111 housing workers

his branch salutes members in Hestia LIFE in Hounslow taking strike action against poverty pay and unrealistic workloads.

The employer has refused to talk to Unite, and we appeal to Hounslow council to make a clear call for management to enter negotiations with Unite.

The service is funded by Hounslow and councillors have a responsibility for how it treats staff and the quality of its service.

Unite must make clear to Unite members on the council that this is a minimum request by low paid workers faced with a bad employer. If Unite Labour councillors fail to make a clear call disciplinary action along the lines of action taken against Unite members on Coventry council in pursuit of that dispute