Tag Archives: events

Sanctuary Housing Maintenance Workers Vote To Strike

100% In Favour:

The result of Sanctuary Housing’s London maintenance workers ballot for action was overwhelmingly supported by members who voted 100% in favour of action on a 60% turnout.

Wake up call Sanctuary lead rep commented, “Since we started the union 2 years ago we have come a long way. Over the last year in particular we showed that we have got a voice. The result of this ballot shows how angry members are. 100% of members voting for strike action should be a wake up call for management.
Patience has run thin Many things have contributed to this result including the way we are treated on a daily basis. Our patience has run thin, we want an inflation proof pay increase, we want parity of conditions with office workers, we want our travel time to be part of core hours and importantly we also want our union to be recognised!”
Unite membership up dramatically Sanctuary workers have been forced into balloting for action as management have continually refused to negotiate with them. Members are particularly upset at the way their genuine concerns have been brushed aside or ignored. Our last piece of correspondence took management 3 months to respond to and then they had the cheek to ask us to bring our concerns to them as soon as possible! No wonder members see industrial action as the only viable option.Unite members at Sanctuary have seen their numbers rise dramatically over the last 18 months and with their confidence to push back at management. Our members will now start a process of intense discussion with their work colleagues to ensure maximum support for the strike. They will also be visiting other regions to spread the word and encourage their fellow workers to join them in their fight.
Sanctuary do not recognise any union Sanctuary workers will be striking over pay, disputes relating to travel time, parity with office staff, a four day week and recognition of their union.Sanctuary do not currently recognise any trade union which is why Unite members at Sanctuary have included this vital issue as part of their claim.Sanctuary claims to have 13,000 employees, manage over 120,000 properties and house or care for over 250,000 tenant and service users. This makes it one of the biggest employers in the sector. Our members are determined that Unite raises its profile and becomes the genuine voice of workers.

End Exploitation Of Care Workers

Public Zoom Meeting on

END THE EXPLOITATION OF CARE WORKERS FROM ABROAD

Monday 5th Feb 6.30 – 8pm

JOIN US to hear from the front line about the many ways in which vital care and support workers from abroad are financially exploited, harassed, intimidated and now threatened with separation from their families.

Share your experience and ideas and help us to organise resistance.

Speakers:
Fatou Jinadu from ‘Broke not Broken”, Manchester

Josie Tothill from ‘Care and Support Workers Organise’ (CASWO)

Lykelady Chiriseri from the ‘Pan African Workers Association’

Fran Kelly from ‘Patients not Passports’

Andrea Egan, President of Unison

Chair: Alison Treacher, founder member of CASWO, Unite activist

REGISTER HERE:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0lcuiprTkrEtNtlhXraUk_7GTTRu26rfK7

and please share the link widely

Ticket Office Closures

It’s official – Train operators have announced plans to close up to 1,000 ticket offices. We have only 21 days to take part in the public consultation. Can you take two minutes to respond to your train company’s consultation and object to the closure of ticket offices? The RMT has prepared template letters for each train operator.🚆 Please have your say 👉 https://www.rmt.org.uk/campaigns/rail/save-ticket-offices/

RMT: Ticket Office Closure Demos

Between 7am and 9am on Friday 21 July, there will be a demo taking place at Putney Station.

Between 5 and 6pm there will be a similar demo taking place at Brentford Station.

If you can help at either of these locations, it will be much appreciated

It’s not just about jobs, it’s going to seriously affect the travelling public if these ticket office closures go ahead, particularly disabled and other vulnerable travellers.

Action!

Monday 13th March 

– BMA Junior doctors begin their 3 day strike. There will be pickets at all major hospitals including North Middx and the Whittington from 7am-10am, and from 7.45pm-9pm

– Unite activists demonstrating at the three key government departments which control debt advice funding.

• 11.00 – 11.45 – Demo at Department for Work & Pensions (DWP), Caxton House, Tothill Street, SW1H 9NA (nearest tube St James Park)

• 11.45 – 12.30 – Demo at HM Treasury, 1 Horse Guards Road, SW1A 2HQ (nearest tube Westminster)

• 13.15 – 14.00 – Demo at Money & Pensions Service (MaPS), 120 Holborn, EC1N 2TD (nearest tube Chancery Lane)

– Islington and Haringey Stand Up to Racism Public Meeting 6pm, Finsbury Park Mosque, 7 St Thomas’s Rd, N4 2QH (see below). As well as speakers advertised, Danny Denny, General Secretary of the Caribbean Movement for Peace and Integration will be talking about reparations for slavery. With the government ramping up racism towards refugees, the far right attacking hostels, and the suspension of Gary Lineker for speaking out about this, the meeting is both timely and important.

Wednesday 15th March 

Educators, civil servants, doctors, university lecturers and rail workers strikes and the National Budget Day demonstration

There will be a national teacher’s strike organised by the NEU, in addition there will be national strikes by civil servants (PCS), doctors (BMA), University Lecturers (UCU) plus tube workers (RMT & ASLEF) in London. 

There will be a picket line at Seven Sisters Tube depot in Westerfield Rd (near the overground entrance) from 5am until 3pm. There will also be picket lines at some Haringey schools (details to follows) but the main focus here has been on getting people to the demonstration.

A National Demonstration is planned to go from Hyde Park to Trafalgar Square, assembling at 12pm on Park Lane. This is likely to be the largest weekday demonstration in a generation. Please share and come if you can. The main meeting place for people to go down to the demonstration from Haringey is Finsbury Park Station(by M&S) at 10.30am,  with some people also meeting up at Seven Sisters (Overground entrance) and Alexandra Palace Station also at 10.30am.

Thursday 16th March

 – Second day of the National NEU strike. All schools in Haringey will be affected, with many having picket lines (more details to follow). 

 – National rail strikes on the 16th and 18th March – picket lines at Kings Cross and Euston (more details to follow)

Saturday 18th March

National Resist Racism Demonstration organised by the TUC and Stand Up to Racism, from the BBC HQ in Portland Place to Parliament Square.. People from Haringey will be meeting up at Finsbury Park Tube (by M&S) and Turnpike Lane Tube at 11am to go down there.

Unite Meeting London & Eastern

There was a meeting of workplace reps from the London & Eastern Region that took place at the Royal National Hotel in London on Wednesday 24th May 2023, at which Sharon Graham, the General Secretary of Unite, gave a presentation to explain the direction that she feels the union should be going in.

Since Sharon Graham was elected General Secretary of Unite some twenty months ago, she has made it her goal to make some major changes to the way things get done.

She has launched a no-holds-barred investigation into the Birmingham hotel project where overcharging to the tune of around £30 million took place.

Another way she is trying to get things done is by setting up sector-wide combines. In the London bus sector, this had already been set up, and we have quarterly meetings for both stewards and convenors from all London bus operators. There is now a nationwide combine for bus operators set up, which has had several meetings. The process is in place to set up a docks combine. Other combines are in the pipeline.

Collective bargaining has always been the best way to achieve results and if efforts can be co-ordinated across a whole sector and not just involving one employer, there is hope that greater goals can be reached.

Leverage campaigns have been very effective in the past, and Sharon was involved in a number of these before she was elected GS, and these are set to continue when necessary.

All in all, it was an excellent meeting; interesting, thought-provoking, and motivating too.