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In bed with the enemy!

Organising and growing our membership

with private contractors “BUILDING OUR POWER”

Conference notes that despite

UNISO N’s nece ssar y and

continued campaigns against

privatisation, the outsourcing of

public services continues apace. Conference completel y

condemns this Tory government’s

relentless attack on the public sector

and continues to call on the

government to properly fund

publically delivered services.

However, whilst privatisation

remains a reality, conference also

recognises that the union must

continue to organise and grow our

membership in private contractors.

Conference also notes that not all

membership in the private sector has

come via TUPE from the public

sector. Many of our members have

never worked for a public employer

or work in areas of private sector

growth, like social care.

Conference welcomes last

year’s rule change to establish the

new National Private Contractors

Forum. This forum is giving private

contractor members a real voice in Unison and a route to engage in the

democratic structures of the union.

This is a unique opportunity

for the union to reach out into our

membership in private companies,

building our power and our ability to

protect these workers.

A full rundown of the motion can be

found in the Conference Document

booklet page 6. point 2

Wednesday 21st June 2017

Hello.... Getting the public on our side -

public service campaigning

Close to a decade since the beginning

of the global financial crisis, the pressure on public services and those

that provide them remains unrelent-

ing. Despite the unprecedented cuts

th a t ou r m em ber s an d th e

communities that they serve have

already experienced, a raft of further

measures now threaten to push

services to a breaking point. These

include, but are not limited to:

The £3bn of ‘savings’ being

imposed on schools in England

by 2019/20

A growing social care funding

crisis across the UK; The fund-

ing crisis in the NHS, which the Red Cross have described

as a humanitarian crisis;

Continuing cuts and redundan-

cies in local government and

police.

The backdrop for the increased

pressure on public services is the

continued fallout from the EU

referendum result, in terms of both

economic uncertainty and political

turbulence, in the UK and internation-

ally.

In this context UNISON, as the

largest public services trade union, carries a heavy responsibility. Not

only must the union counter the strong

headwinds and continue to make the

arguments for an alternative to the

cuts and underinvestment that have

characterised the austerity decade. We

must also use our member’s experi-

ences, campaign resources, evidence

and expertise to win over wider public

opinion for an alternative that

properly recognises the value of

properly funded public services to all our lives.

Winning over public opinion is a huge

challenge. Although polls show strong

support for the NHS, recent

indications suggest that the Tories,

responsible for austerity in the first

place, enjoy high levels of trust as the

party best suited to manage the

challenges it faces. Added to this, all

too often we see a dispiriting low

level of concern about the pressures facing local government and public

services more widely.

Full report conference

document page 28 . 39

Wednesday Meetings

Your chance to hear more on a listed subject and how you can be part of events going forward.

How to build an organising

branch Come and hear about how to build

a strong, vibrant, organising

branch. There will be ideas,

practical solutions and examples of

how you can develop the UNISON

community within your workplace.

Speakers: Michelle Bradley, Essex

Branch, UNISON Assistant General Secretary; Martin Horton

Branch Secretary Aneurin Bevan

health branch; Julie Coulson,

Women’s Officer and Senior

Organising rep: Stefan Senese,

Vice Chair and Senior Organising

rep.

Chair: Chris Tansley, National

Exec Council and Regional Conv.

12.45-13.45 Room 1A. GF

Refreshments provided.

Objective Based Budgeting Since it’s introduction in 2009 we have continued to develop the

online branch accounting system

(OLBA) as an accounting, manage-

ment and organising tool for our

branches. The latest development

to the budgeting module continues

the OLBA tradition of keeping

things simple and easy to

understand.

The session will cover the

principles behind OBB and a

demonstration from the OLBA

Team on the new tools developed

to help branch committees with the

day to day management of their

finances. It will also be an opportunity for branches to provide

feedback and input into further

enhancements based on their needs

as wel l as shar ing your

experiences.

Speakers: Raj Ashra, UNISON

Director of Finance; Sotirious

Loizou, UNISON Regional &

Branch Development Officer.

Chair: Josie Bird, Chair Finance and resources Management Com-

mittee

17.15-18.15 Syndicate 1 GF

Refreshments provided.

Still just a bit of banter?

Sexual harassment in the

workplace Sexual harassment is sometimes

dismissed as being “banter” or just

a joke, and people who complain

about it are written off as humour-

less. But, as those who responded

to a TUC survey attested, it really

isn’t “just a joke”. In fact, sexual

harassment often has the effect of

making the recipient feel ashamed,

humiliated, undermined and fright-

ened and can have a lasting impact on mental health.

This fringe looks at those survey

results, and how UNISON is chal-

lenging sexual harassment in the

workplace..

Speakers: Kathryn Mackridge,

TUC Women’s Officer; Linda

Durrant, UNISON Women’s

Officer, Eastern Region.

12.45-13.45

Room 1B,

ground floor.

Sandwich lunch provided.

Making the political

fund a success after the

Trade Union Act

Under the new Trade Union Act all

new members of the union will be

required to actively ‘opt-in’ to the

political fund. How can we

encourage people to contribute to

the fund? How can we best explain

the different political traditions of the union (GPF and Labour Link) in

a way that engages prospective

members? Come along and here

about the work of the political fund

working group and take part in the

discussion about the way forward.

Speakers: James Anthony, Chair of

the GP Fund committee; Josie Bird, Chair of Finance Resource

Management committee; Wendy

Nichols, Vice-Chair, Labour Link

committee.

Chair: Eleanor Smith, Chair, Labour

Link Committee.

12.45-13.45 Syndicate 2.

Ground Floor

Sandwich lunch provided.

3 million apprentices by

2020—what’s the plan?

Apprenticeships and their

funding arrangements have

changed, and branches are going to come under

greater pressure to accept

schemes. Meeting the

Government’s target of 3

million new apprentice-

ships by 2020. A specific

target of 2.3% of all staff

employed to be apprentices

for public sector bodies

with over 250 staff sets us

a serious challenge.

Speakers: Pete Lauener,

Mark Ferguson, Ruth

Levin.

Chair: Jane Carolan (NEC)

12.45-13.45 Syndicate 4

Sandwich lunch provided.

Fighting job

insecurity

and the case

for improved

workers’

rights

The Institute of Employ-

ment Rights and NW

UNISON will jointly

appraise the job insecurity

landscape, and consider

what a better framework

of rights at work could

mean for this generation

and the next.

12.45-13.45 Syndicate 3

Sandwich lunch provided.

Overseas visitors take time out to pay a visit to the Unison National Delegates Conference her in Brighton to talk

about issues of trade unionism in their country. Corrupt senior government leaders jailing people for being in a trade

union. Companies breaking health & safety guidance and workers receiving around £600 for life effecting injuries.

Adding a further insult to their 22pence an hour wage in Bangladesh - Only 3% of our hourly wage here in the UK.

Salauddin Shapon, President of the Bangladesh Revolutionary garments Workers Federation and Erez Wagner from

Palestine will be speaking on Thursday at conference.

Shocking News:

Only 22 pence

an hour wage

Remembering Eric Eric was president of our union, but more than that,

Eric Roberts was a friend and a true friend to

countless UNISON members, and to those

he worked with.

He was the first ambulance person to be elected as

president our union, serving 42 years in the

London Ambulance Service.

Eric is a man who inspired happiness and great loy-

alty to his friends and colleagues.

Dave Prentis

Working together around the world

Workers’ rights in Palestine Come and see “A Dangerous Occupation”, Unison’s new

exhibition on workers’ rights in Palestine, marking the

50th anniversary of the occupation and the 10th

anniversary of the blockade of Gaza.

Find out how UNISON is standing in solidarity with

Palestinian workers in their struggle for justice. UNIZONE

UNIzone Let us hear about how you became an active

UNISON steward / Rep. Your story can

encourage others to become active in UNISON.

We will be interviewing and filming activists at

conference to promote first hand experiences

and opinions of what it is to be an activist in

UNISON. Come and find us at National

Delegate Conference and share your experiences.

Organising branch Building on best practice from UNISON members

the strategic organising unit will be available to

discuss what makes an Organising Branch. This will

compliment the presentation being given in the fringe meeting at lunch time. Materials and advice

will be available for delegates and visitors.

Digital

Support

Come along to the

digital.unison stall

and meet the

UNISON digital

team. We’ll be

offering support and

guidance on how to

use some key digital

tools. How to make

the most from

Facebook or Twitter

or perhaps you need a branch website.

Learning and Organising Services Come to our fun filled stall to find out about our fantastic

FREE learning opportunities for members and activists.

Equality isn’t an add-on It’s central to everything we do. Our ability to deliver

equality in the workplace depends on the work of lay

activists and organising staff. It’s by building on a web of

basic legal rights, through individual casework and

collective bargaining and campaigning, that better policies

and practices are won.

Come play the Equality Jenga game.

Your tweets #uNDC17

Send your “Selfies” from uNDC17 to

be included in Friday’s edition of the

West Midlands News to:

stewart.robinson@uhns.nhs.uk or

07931223922

@DavePrentis: Good morning

conference #UNDC17

@unisonaub: Employers should sign the charter to give terminally ill

workers protected rights at work

#undc17

@YLaw86Shaw: 1st day essentials

for #undc17! Looking forward to an

interesting day ahead in beautiful

Brighton

@Jensky: #askingforafriend If

someone is hungry enough, is it ever

possible, acceptable or ethical to

reheat a Saveloy in a hotel room

kettle?

@vogelbeere: Good morning from

the balcony at #undc17 conference is

about to start @unisontweets

@londonnurses2015: Remembering

President Eric Roberts @LASUNI-

SON LAS flag flying at half mast in

honour of Eric

@Tony2Wilson: #undc17 under starters orders and they're

off...fantastic to see so many delegates

and visitors at the #brighton centre.

@unisonnurses: @LASUNISON &

@EggOnTheMoon colleagues

friends & family out in full force for

#day1 of #undc17

@^^and?: Hiya peeps, another

conference underway, so pleased to see y'all 'specially in the bar #laters

#undc17

@LilyHatesPink: Love to see an

LGBT perspective on bullying and

harassment in the workplace

#uNDC17

@IanMountain06: #uNDC17 good

point that bullying,harassment etc can

come from unexpected places…and

we have to stop it .

@UNISONSouthLan: Ensure young people's experience in workplace is

positive one and sets a template for

the rest of their working lives - Marie

Macrae #undc17

@vogelbeere: Quite often complain-

ing about harassment results in capa-

bility procedure and further grief from

employers - that has to stop #undc17

@GwyneddUnison: Back with he naughty kids #UNDC17

@mfish_9: Inspirational speech from

@DavePrentis @unisontweets NDC

17 ,moving comments about our late

& great President Eric Roberts

#undc17

@ppatel777: #undc17 #Unison

@DavePrentis true strength lies

amongst the members and that's how

we will win

Let other people know about what’s

going on at

National Delegates Conference.

Tweet: #uNDC17

Via Facebook or your branch websites.

Do you have something to add to

Thursday’s Newsletter?

Email pictures or wording to:

stewart.robinson@uhnm.nhs.uk

Or txt 07931223922

BLACK

members’ All delegates and visitors

who identify as black are

welcome to attend the

black members’ caucus meeting

12.45–13.45

Restaurant 3rd Floor

Have you got the app?

This app gives you the chance to meet and chat to

other members at the conference, browse the

agenda or save details of meetings and events you

want to attend.

Get the full conference agenda and

standing orders, use the floor plans of the Brighton Centre to find your

meeting or event and connect with

other delegates by viewing their posts

and pictures or posting your own.

To access UNISON conference

app use the code undc17

Go to the app on either iOS or

Android phones.

Create your profile

The app is not just for conferences, but

has lots of useful information from all across UNISON.

Security Search Due to the tightened

security at Conference.

Travel Bags will be

searched on Friday when

entering the

conference centre.

Please allow extra time

for this to be carried out,

unless you are able to

leave at your hotel.