UNISON ELECTIONSPECIAL ACTIVE! · 2020-04-27 · offering voters genuine change for the better, characterised by the battle with David Cameron over MPs’ second jobs. He said: “He

If Cameron wins on May 7 will the last

person to leave the public

serviceplease turn

out the lights

SPRING 2015 | ISSUE 20 | £3WWW.UNISON-YORKS.ORG.UK

THE MAGAZINE FOR MEMBERS IN YORKSHIRE AND HUMBERSIDE

ACTIVE!UNISON

ELECTIONSPECIAL

2015

(WITH NO APOLOGIES TO THE SUN)

PLEASE

USE YOURVOTE

Registered charity number 1023552

- Financial assistance- Debt advice- Wellbeing breaks- Support & information

Please make sure our members

are aware of the help that is

available in these diffi cult times.

UNISON members struggling

through an unexpected crisis can

get help from ‘there for you’ by:-

Contacting their

Branch Welfare Offi cer

Calling us on 020 7121 5620

You can also fi nd out more

information by visiting our website

www.unison.org.uk/get-help/help-with-problems-at-home/there-for-you/

General SecretaryDave Prentis

Regional SecretaryJohn Cafferty

Regional ConvenorWendy Nichols

UNISON Yorkshire & HumbersideCommerce House, Wade Lane, Leeds LS2 8NJ T: 08000 857 857 or freephone

textphone 08000 967 968 W: www.unison-yorks.org.uk

Lines are open 6am-midnightMonday-Friday and 9am-4pm Saturdays

EditorBarrie Clement

Consulting EditorMary Maguire

Chief PhotographerJim Varney

ContributorsPeter Carroll, Amanda Dixon, RyanFletcher, Helen Hague, Mary Maguire,Anne Mitchell, Paul Routledge andTristram Sterry

Cover ImageAdapted from Sun newspaper. David Cameron: Valsts kanceleja /State Chancellery, R�ga, Latvija / WikiCommons / Creative CommonsAttribution-Share Alike 2.0 Genericlicense, Lightbulb: Somchai Som /Shutterstock

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© UNISON 2015

SPRING 2015 UNISON ACTIVE! 03

WELCOME

We’re in themidst of theclosest

election in livingmemory – evenhardened politicalpundits say the resultis too close to call.

With everything toplay for, the attentionbetween now andpolling day is all on100 or so keymarginal seats – asit’s here that theelection will be won.

Several of these arein Yorkshire and theHumber – inconstituencies likeBradford East andDewsbury where thevotes of UNISONmembers could provecrucial in determiningwho gets the keys toNo 10.

But many peoplehave still notregistered – they riskhaving no voice andno say over who wins in May. There is still time to sign up but the deadline is April 20.

Since 2010UNISON membersworking in hospitalsand local councilsacross Yorkshire andHumberside havebeen on the receivingend of theGovernment’s harshausterity programme.

Pay frozen or heldback, spendingslashed, servicesaxed, hard-pressedstaff working hours ofunpaid overtime tocover for colleagueswho’ve been made

redundant or who’veleft and not beenreplaced.

And if DavidCameron remains incharge, there’ll be nolet-up in the cuts.Much worse iscoming down thetrack if – despite alltheir attacks onpublic services – theTories somehowmanage to form agovernment in May.

So don’t let themdestroy the publicservices you care somuch about. Don’tleave the NHS andlocal services at themercy of the Toriesfor five more years.Make sure you havea vote on May 7 –and use that votewisely.

OurUnion

THE KEY TO VICTORY

DAVEPRENTISGENERALSECRETARY

Let’s kick out the tax dodgersIn the past five years ourmembers have suffered asustained and vicious attack ontheir jobs and incomes from theTory-led Coalition.From the start, they set out

deliberately to destroy unions andprivatise the public services which all of usrely on.The Tories and their allies hate public

services and – even more – the very principleof unions defending the rights of

members who provide theservices.But we have not folded.

UNISON has led the fightagainst this corruptGovernment. We havefought back at every turnand fully supported ourmembers in every form ofaction they have taken to

ms

UaGfoama

WENDYNICHOLSREGIONALCONVENOR

W.Nichols

defend jobs and services.The Care UK strikers in Doncaster not only

held out for 90 days to protect their own payand conditions, they also set the agenda for anational debate about privatisation.The Labour Party has pledged to put a halt

to further NHS privatisation by abolishingthe Health and Social Care Act theGovernment rushed through Parliament.Meanwhile, thousands more jobs will go in

local government as a result of huge centralgovernment budget cuts.We must get rid of this Government next

month and the only way to do that is to voteLabour. We cannot wake up to find this

bunch of heartless,tax dodgingmillionaires havesomehow clung onto power. We must vote them out.

04 UNISON ACTIVE! SPRING 2015

NEWS

More battles ahead over NHS pay

Attacks on facility timefor UNISON activists torepresent members arestill a grave threat as theTaxpayers’ Alliancepushes its anti-unionagenda.

Councillors in Yorkvoted against a proposalto slash paid time off for

lay officials to representcolleagues after listeningto the arguments ofbranch secretary HeatherMcKenzie.

She reminded them oftheir legal obligationsregarding time off torepresent members, andof the millions of pounds

saved by employersthrough reductions inworkplace injury andillness every year.

Heather said: “One ofthe lines of argument isthat they are in favourof the system but wantour members to pay forit instead of the

employer.“But this is not an ‘us

and them’ arrangement.Facility time is a sensibleand cost effective meansof ensuring goodpractice and fairness.But I have no doubt thiswill rear its head againsomewhere else.”

More than two-thirds ofUNISON membersworking in the NHSvoted to accept the latestpay offer after a lastminute concession fromthe Government.

The members were dueto take further strikeaction in their long-running pay dispute withthe Con-DemGovernment.

They were outragedwhen ministers refused toaccept a recommendedone per cent pay riseproposed by theindependent pay reviewbody.

The offer which wasaccepted included a oneper cent payment for staffup to senior level, anextra £200 for lower paidstaff and the bottom levelof pay boosted to £15,100a year.

UNISON’s regionalhead of health, TonyPearson, said the offerwas the best that couldhave been gained through

negotiation.But he said the issue of

fair pay for NHS workershas notgone awayand thereis muchmore

to be done in future tobring about real andlasting improvements.

“Our members havebeen targeted by thisCoalition Government forthe past five years. Theyhave suffered years of payfreezes, which are pay cutsin reality as prices rise.

“The industrial actionthey have already takenshows they are preparedto stand up for fairness

and justice.“The fact that there is a

General Electionapproaching is probablywhy the Government hascome up with an offer, toavoid industrial action forthe time being.

“Their record on theNHS is appalling and theywant the health servicepushed as far off thepolitical agenda aspossible.”

Heather wins the argument over facility time at York council

Tony Pearson

ELECTIONSPECIAL

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Only Labour can stop the destruction of our public services

There is a simple andstark choice for UNISONmembers at theforthcoming GeneralElection, says regionalLabour Link chair KenCurran.

He says that if theTories retain power, eitheroutright or in an alliancewith other right-wingparties, they will completethe destruction of ourpublic services they setout to achieve in 2010.

If Labour gains power,they will repeal theprivatisation charterknown as the Health andSocial Care Act, clampdown on mass taxavoidance and invest theresulting income inurgently needed socialhousing and job creation.

“The decision for ourmembers is obvious. Theyhave been cruelly treatedby the Tory/Lib Dem

Government,” said Ken.“I would say to

everyone, whether theyare traditional Laboursupporters or not, go outand vote for the onlyparty that canrealistically stop theCon-Dems from pilingeven more needless painon our communities.Only one party can dothat.”

Ken believes Labourand Ed Miliband areoffering voters genuinechange for the better,characterised by thebattle with DavidCameron over MPs’second jobs.

He said: “He haspledged that if he gainspower in May, noLabour MP will beallowed to have a secondjob.

“He has also made nobones about tackling the

tax avoiders and ToryParty donors to pay thetax they owe. He hasstood up to thepowerful elites whohave dictatedGovernment policy forso long.

“It is clearly in theinterests of all tradeunion members, and allworking people, to getthis government out ofoffice.

“I hope all of us make sure ourfamilies andfriends areregistered tovote and thatthey use thatvote forLabour.

“We mustnot let theTories extendthe miserythey havealready

inflicted on ordinaryworking people and theirfamilies.

“They are openly onthe side of the rich andpowerful. They cut thetop rate of tax formillionaires and didnothing to tackle taxavoidance.

“That’s why theydonate fortunes to theTory Party - for ‘services’rendered. We have to ridourselves of them.”

Ken Curran

In the 2010 election, 35% of Britons had no say about

who would represent them over the next five years.

This included 9.1 million women. Some seats were

decided by as little as 50 votes, so please use your vote

For those who are not registered to vote, the deadline is April 20.

Go to www.gov.uk/register-to-vote All you need is your name, address,

date of birth and National Insurance number. Otherwise you could

contact the Electoral Registration Officer at your local council.

PLEASE

USE YOURVOTE

Ken Curran

sponsored walks aroundHadrian’s Wall and the threepeaks in Snowdonia.Members can apply to takepart in these events and weare asking people to try toraise £700 each in sponsorshipto make sure the service isfinanced.

“We have regional welfarecommittees and people areelected onto them fromregional committee andregional council. It is a keycomponent of what we do asa union and I am doing all Ican to make sure we prioritisethe service to our members.”

And as the endlessausterity imposed by pay cutsand ever rising bills corrodesthe lives

of individuals and wholecommunities, welfare servicesare going to be a vital lifelinefor increasing numbers.

GENUINEWhen a member seeks acompletely confidentialmeeting with Anne, she talksthrough with them what theirimmediate problems are.

They go through anapplication form together andassess what the fund can doto help.

She said: “Obviously wemake sure that anyapplication is based ongenuine need and then try towork out the best ways tohelp.

“I get around seven

UNISON’s welfarefund is unique in theunion movementand it’s definitely‘There for You’, saysbranch activist AnneSzcepanska. PeterCarroll reports

UNISON branchwelfare officerAnne Szcepanska is a firm believerin the maxim, a

problem shared is a problemhalved.

She is working hard to getthe message out to UNISONmembers suffering financialhardship that the welfarefund ‘There For You’ is readyand willing to come to theiraid.

Anne, health and safety andwelfare officer for Leedscommunity health branch, hasbeen involved in similar rolesin UNISON for more than 14years.

Married with threechildren, she joined COHSEin 1977 when she was anursing assistant workingwith people with learningdifficulties at Meanwood ParkHospital in Leeds.

“There For You is a charityand we are the only tradeunion to have one,” she says.

“We hold quiz nights and

WHEN WE SAY THE SERVICE IS THERE FOR YOU, WE MEAN IT

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DON’T SUFFER IN SILENCE!

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WELFARE FEATURE

If you are a member and you are experiencing financialdifficulties, whatever the circumstances, There for Youcan offer you support.

There is no guarantee of financial help, but thousands ofmembers and their families benefit from the fund every year.

For more information call 020 7121 5620 or [email protected] or contact your branch welfareofficer.

For those who would like to support this vital work, themonthly Octopus lottery is a great way to do it. You canfind out more about the lottery at the website above.

HelpAtHand

applications a year, which isnot as many as I thought therewould be in the currentfinancial climate.

“I think a lot of people aretoo proud to seek help, andperhaps some members arenot aware of the help that isavailable.

“We have newsletters andother information formembers and we tell peopleabout it when we have thechance. But I think we shouldbe doing even more topromote the service.”

STRUGGLINGA typical case dealt with byAnne involved a member whowas off work through ill-health and was on half pay.

The member was suddenlyunable to pay rent and bills forgas and electricity and wasstruggling even to buy enoughfood.

Thanks to There For You,UNISON was able to helpwith those bills and pay forsome food and clothing to tidethe family over until themember could get back towork.

Anne said: “I’ve had peoplecoming in and I’ve had todirect them to a foodbank,usually the St George’s Cryptin Leeds because we alsodonate food to them.

“We have built up a rotationlist and we work withorganisations in Hunslet,Beeston, Horsforth and MoorAllerton.

“But it’s not only payments,we also provide advice withthings like debt and benefitsentitlements to help people getsome longer term solutions totheir problems. We directpeople to the best advice tomeet their particular needs.

“For example, people withdisabilities are put in touchwith DIAL which specialisesin that area and can giveinvaluable advice and support.

“We also help others to gainaccess to victim supportservices.”

Figures across the countryshow a massive 38 per centincrease in applications forhelp with heating bills and thebest part of £1 million hasbeen paid out – significantlyup since the cuts started to beinflicted on public services.

Applicants are not givencash payment. The debt isdealt with by UNISON welfareexperts after they have seencopies of the relevant bills andpaperwork.

It is a demanding rolebecause such financial worriescan drive people to despairand they are often veryemotionally andpsychologically damaged bytheir experience.

Anne said: “Sometimes itcan make me feel a bitdespairing. Some people justcannot see the full picturebecause they are in such a badway.

“You have to have patienceto help people understandtheir situation. A lot of tact andpersuasiveness are required tohelp people through theirproblems.

“And it is very rewardingwhen someone comes througha crisis because we have beenable to help them. Onemember came to thank me andsaid she couldn’t have gotthrough without us. That isvery striking, and you knowthat you have made adifference.

“Our firm policy is that allmembers should be treated

equally. That’s what we arehere for.

“I think it is certainly truethat a problem shared is aproblem halved.

“I want to tell people notto suffer in silence. If you arestruggling to cope, contactyour branch and ask to speakto the welfare officer. Whenwe say the service is ThereFor You, we mean it.” n

Above: Anne

helps out at

St George’s Crypt

foodbank, Leeds

s


FEATURE MEDIA REVIEW

Iwas sitting shouting atthe television oneThursday evening. Notfor the first time. It’susually provoked by

some self-appointed,opinionated, right-wing‘guest’ on QuestionTime. Some billy-no-matesblogger or some odious tax-avoider that the BBC seemsto think representative ofwell, who exactly?

This particular Thursdaywas during the so-called longGeneral Election campaign.The time of the zombieParliament. And it led to thefirst of the three BIG storiesthat characterises the finest ofpolitical reporting.

It’s not what the partiesoffer that obsesses the media.It’s not what they said. It’smore how they said it, whatthey forgot to say, how theylooked, what they wore andhow much rage can bewhipped up.

PRAYERSLabour’s Tristram Hunt fellmouth first into a hole. Hesneered at the notion of nunseducating arch right-whingerCristina Odone. And soNungate was born.Journalists were despatchedto find any nuns willing to be‘incandescent’ (Mail), ‘deeplyoffended’ (Express), or even‘a bit upset’ (Radio Coastradio). Sister Maria Conceptadeclared that she wouldremember him in her prayers

(Catholic Herald). Only a public flogging

would redeem the situation.The Yorkshire Post’sreporting was typical ‘Huntsays sorry after nungaffe’. Although the LondonEvening Standard’s SamLeith naivelyasked: “Monstering peopleinto declaring a position onnuns – is that where we’vegot to in our politicaldebate?”

No, don’t be silly, Sam. Thecolour of a bus is a muchmore interesting subject for apolitical dissertation. Notany old bus. Not a cerisebus. Not a magenta bus. Buta full-on pink bus, well van,actually. The Labour ‘womanto woman’ van.

Pinkgate: A modern tale ofhow Labour’s plan to reachthe 9.1m women who didn’tvote at the last GeneralElection, crashed into amedia storm.

“Patronising to women”screamed the Telegraph &Argus (et al). Then there wasthe shocking news: “Man todrive pink bus” (YorkshirePost). Regional newspaperswanted to know when it wascoming to their patch so thatthey, too, could ridiculeit. Yorkshire & Humber, youhave been warned.

Inevitably, such is thefickle nature of the news,Pinkgate gave way toFinkgate.

The Rt Hon Member for

Doncaster North, Mr EdMiliband, landed a punch onthe Tories in that weekly bearpit known as Prime Minister’sQuestion Time. About richTory donors who avoidedtax.

His attack sent the taxavoiders, the Tory Party andthe media into a feedingfrenzy. The story totallyeclipsed Nungate andPinkgate in impact, durationand rage. It was a sensation.

DODGERSTory donor Lord Fink, tookexception and, egged on byTory HQ, harrumphed to thenation’s media:

“If Ed Miliband whants tohimply I did anythingimpwoper in my welationshipwith HSBC, I would lake himto say that owtside Pahlamentwhere he is not hiding behindPahlamentary pwivilege, atwhich pint I will soo him”

In common parlance:“Outside mate, if you finkyou’re hard enough.”

Ed, apparently was. Asthe Harrogate Advertiserremarked: “Miliband won’tback down and vows to goafter tax dodgers.” Fink thenblinked first and confessed to‘vanilla’ tax avoidance withthe breathtaking claim thateveryone does it (NorthYorksnews et al). And the mediatempest continued.Vanillagate anyone?

Oh, and vote Labour,please. n

GAFFES GALORE

IT’S NOT WHAT THE PARTIES OFFERTHATOBSESSESTHE MEDIA, IT’S HOW MUCH RAGE CAN BE WHIPPED UP

~

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Mary Maguire

is retiring as

UNISON’S head of

press and

broadcasting, but

will continue to

write for Active!

First there was ‘Pinkgate’, then there was ‘Nungate’… closely followed by ‘Finkgate’.The press loves to whip up a frenzy about something, says Mary Maguire

UNISON is proud of being a democratic member-led union. UNISON members should always be aware of this and encouraged to take part in shaping our union. The National Executive Council (NEC) elections begin on 7 April 2015, and voting ends on 15 May 2015.

When people are not on the electoral register and therefore not eligible to vote, it’s democracy that suffers. Politics becomes less representative and less effective.

In the 2010 election, 35% of British adults didn’t have a say in who would represent them over the next fi ve years. This included 9.1 million women.

And when you consider that some seats were decided by as little as 50 votes last time, every vote really does count.https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote


FEATURE ELECTION

There's no time tomince words, saysUNISON regionalsecretary JohnCafferty. The

upcoming general election isthe last chance to stem thesevere and irreparabledamage being done to ourpublic services and to societyat large.

At the desks outside hisoffice at the union's Leedsheadquarters phones areringing bearing messagesfrom members under firefrom slash and burn Torypolicies. All day everydaycorners are fought for peopleworking under increasinglydifficult circumstances. Thepressure is palpable and theclock is ticking.

"She's been working in thatposition for ten years on thecorrect pay band. They can'tjust decide to lower it on awhim," says one UNISONofficer into his phone. Similarconversations are taking placeall over the building.

Nearly one million publicsector jobs have been lostsince the Tories came topower, and many more areunder attack. Despite this,austerity measures have notdecreased the country's debtand vital services are on theirknees. Policy shifts benefitingthe forces of privatisation andaimed at creating a countryruled by the rich have beendisguised as a roadmap torecovery, says John.

"Their mantra was 'we're all

in this together.' In fact it hasbeen a typical Torytransference of wealth fromthe many and the poorest tothe few and the richest.People cannot underestimatethe damage they have done topublic services and thequality of life for workingpeople," he said.

DECISIONSUNISON does all it can todefend its members, but inthe end what dictateswhether we will live in acountry that values everyone- rather than just a powerfulfew - comes down to a publicvote this May. Friends, family,colleagues and neighbourshold the cards now, and theirdecisions will affect Britain

LABOUR MIGHT NOT BE PERFECT BUT IT'S CERTAINLY A FAR BETTER CHOICE THAN THE TORIES

~

~Some of

Yorkshire and

Humberside’s most

precious public services will

be impossible to resurrect if the

Tories get in again. Ryan Fletcher

talks to regional officials


John Cafferty

Chris Jenkinson

for years to come."Labour might not be

perfect but it's certainly a farbetter choice than what'sfacing them if the Tories getback in again. We urge peopleto cast their vote the rightway because if the Toriescome back we won't be ableto remedy this in another fiveyears’ time. There won't beanything left to salvage.There are services they'vedestroyed that we will neverget back." John told me.

"Labour would halt thedecline. It's not turning aspeed boat, this is turning abloody great oil tanker andit's going to take years if notdecades to repair the damagethey've done. Labour canstart to make changes that

will create an environmentwhere the wealth starts totransfer back from thosefavoured few down to themajority."

Tory governance has notjust widened the dividebetween those with moneyand those without, it has alsocaused tensions betweenvarious geographical regions.Britain is in danger ofbecoming fractured; asituation reflected in thegrowing influence of smallerparties on the politicallandscape.

FUNDAMENTALRegional head of localgovernment Chris Jenkinsonexplained that in theYorkshire and Humberregion Conservative policieshave not only decreasedfunding but unfairlyreshaped how it is allocated.

"The amount of moneyprovided to localgovernment by centralgovernment has been cut by50 per cent. As part of that,we've seen money beingshifted from northern townsand cities to the moreaffluent and prosperoussouth. Thanks to cuts inrefuse collection, grasscutting and road mending.the degeneration in ourtowns and cities is noticeableto everyone," said Chris.

"What people don't see arethe cuts to quality of life andsafeguarding services: daycentres for the elderly,libraries, children's andyoung peoples' centres.These services arefundamental for the well-being of communities. Socialisolation, loneliness, thedeterioration in people'smental health, the increase in

suicide rates - it all comesfrom this fracturing of ourcommunities and society."

The drain started in 2010when the coalition abolishedLabour’s grant funding forlocal authorities ineconomically disadvantagedareas - which aredisproportionally in thenorth. Since then more andmore money has beensiphoned from the north anddirected to the south.

For example instead offunding being distributedequally, as happened before,local authorities where morenew homes are being built areallocated more. Most of thatmoney has gone south toauthorities experiencing arobust economic climate.

The same thing hashappened with business rates.Once a centralised tax thatwas wholly redistributedaccording to a needs basedformula, now only 50 percentis divided up fairly, with theremaining half being kept bythe local authority.

Again areas such asBarnsley have been hit hard,while areas such asWestminster grow fat. Undera new Tory government thesedisparities will only getworse, says Chris.

"This is exactly what theTories want. A small state,deregulation, pro-privatisation, tax cuts for therich and the creation of anunderclass. We need a changeof government," Chris said.

"We're absolutely clear,unequivocal: Labour is theonly other party thatrepresents a realistic chance offorming the next governmentand we're asking people totake that into considerationwhen they vote.” n

WE'VE SEEN MONEY SHIFTED FROM NORTHERN TOWNS TO THE MORE AFFLUENT SOUTH

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FEATURE EMERGENCY SERVICE12 UNISON ACTIVE! SPRING 2015

UNISON rep Emma Schofield never fights shy of a tough job. Anne Mitchellspeaks to a young woman who daily deals with life or death situations

AT THE SHARP END

AS A CALL HANDLER YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT YOU’RE GOING TO GET NEXT

~

~At only 30 years oldEmma Schofieldhas a tough job asa despatcher forSouth Yorkshire

Police. When a member of thepublic dials 999 or 101 shemakes sure that all the detailsget to the right officer, in theright place to deal with theemergency - fast. Despite herage Emma has ‘form’ workingin demanding jobs – firstly asa prisoner custody officer,then a neighbourhood wardenand more recently as a policecall handler.

Barnsley born and bred,Emma lives and works in thecity and knows the area like

the back of her hand. Aformer pupil of ElmhurstHigh School in WorsbroughDale, she left school at 16 withplans to go into social work.She studied advanced healthand social care at BarnsleyCollege but the job that caughther eye was as a prisonercustody officer for G4S - shewas just 19 at the time.

“Being young I thoughtwhy not? It was very hardwork – imagine a nineteen-year-old girl transportingmostly male prisoners – I gota lot of stick initially. But Ienjoyed it, taking prisoners upand down the countrybetween courts and prisons

and working closely with thepolice. No two days were thesame and I got to see a lot ofthe country. Part of me stillregrets leaving.”

When on occasions fightsbroke out Emma, had torestrain prisoners and shesustained a number ofinjuries over her four yearswith G4S.

“On one occasion I washandcuffed to a prisoner whonearly pulled my arm out ofits socket damaging all theligaments. It was a bad injuryand I was recovering at homewhen I saw an advert for aNeighbourhood Warden withBarnsley Council. It was

Image: M

ark Harvey


IT CAN BE STRESSFUL WITH PEOPLE SCREAMING DOWN THE PHONE OR IN A REAL PANIC

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based in a police stationworking closely with officersand Police CommunitySupport Officers and I saw itas a route into the force. Italso meant working withpeople before they gotarrested and I was definitelyinterested in that.”

UNCERTAINTYEmma became part of theSafer Neighbourhood Schemeworking closely with policeofficers and liaising withresidents, councillors andMPs. Based on a councilestate in Barnsley, the jobinvolved visiting elderlypeople needing reassurance,dealing with antisocialbehaviour, helpingyoungsters to stay out oftrouble and sorting outdisputes between neighbours,fly tippers etc.

It was a job Emma enjoyedbut there was no guaranteedfunding for the project afterthree years. At that timeGovernment cuts were hittingBarnsley hard as in councilsacross the region. With somuch uncertainty hangingover her, Emma spotted anadmin post with SouthYorkshire Police. She admitsto being a bit apprehensiveabout applying because shehad never worked in anoffice, but saw it as a way ofgetting a foot in the door.

She started by arrangingnon-urgent appointments forpolice officers or PCSOs withthe public. However, shequickly moved into a morehigh pressure job in thecommunications team as acall handler dealing with 999and 101 calls.

“As a call handler younever know what you’re

going to get next. Oneminute it could be a robbery,a missing child or even amurder and the nextsomething really trivial. Itcan be stressful with peoplescreaming down the phone orin a real panic and you haveto keep calm and get all theinformation you need to sendhelp quickly.”

PRESSUREAround this time staff atSouth Yorkshire Police startedto feel the impact of theGovernments’ cuts on theforce. Jobs were slashed anddistricts merged and Emmawas redeployed as adispatcher. She relays callsfor help taken by the callhandlers to officers on thestreet. It is another highpressure, round the clock job.Despite cuts in staff the centreis increasingly busy - theydealt with more than 4000calls on Boxing Day alone.

The pressure of the cuts onstaff and the small number ofUNISON reps in thecommunications department,persuaded Emma to becomemore active in July last year.

“We’ve lost 500 staff in

various departments andstress levels are rising.People are struggling andthere are a lot of issues likesickness, capability andfairness at work to deal with.As a rep UNISON hasarranged for me to go onvarious training courses andI have been accepted on anon-line employment lawcourse run by the TUC.There is a lot to do and learn.

“Lately I have beeninvolved in a project lookingat staff morale focusing onthe comms section. We putin a report before Christmaswith recommendations andare waiting for a response.

“I have changed my mindabout becoming a policeofficer. I am happy where Iam and I enjoy the job I do. Iwork shifts, day and nightand I couldn’t go back to a 9– 5 job. My partner Darrenhas been a police officer for14 years so we are used to it.

Despite the difficulties andcurrent pay dispute Emmadescribes South YorkshirePolice as “A good place towork, certainly challengingand where every day isdifferent.” n

UNISON police staff in England and Wales voted to accept a pay offer following an 87 per centvote in favour.

The Dealn A 2.2 per cent or £400 increase, whichever is greater, on all pay points from March 1, 2015;n A 2.2 per cent increase on standby allowances from the same date.n It will cover the 18 months to August 31, 2016 and UNISON hoped the increase would be in

March salaries.

Members rejected a 1 per cent pay rise last summer and strike dates were set for December 22and January 23. The action was suspended to allow further talks.

TheAgreement

Above: Wendy

- They’re playing

on people’s fears

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Ukip pretends to be theworkers’ friend, but inreality it’s right-wing, racistand ‘all over the place’,says regional convenorWendy Nichols. BarrieClement reports

Regional convenorWendy Nicholsbelieves you cantrust Ukip. “Youcan trust it just

about as far as you can throwits leader Nigel Farage,” shesays.

As the general electionnears, Ukip is trying to be ‘allthings to all people’ in adesperate effort to win votes,says Wendy.

“In the middle class shiresof southern England itportrays itself as an ultra-Thatcherite organisation: theonly party capable of keepingthe workers down andcarrying the political torch ofThe Blessed Margaret.

“In the South, it emphasisesits crusade to leave theEuropean Union, cut taxesand rid the country of redtape - or basic employmentrights as we call them.

“In working class areas ofYorkshire and Humberside,

its activists tell people thatthey are on their side; thegreat defender of publicservices, particularly the NHS.

“And it plays on people’sfears over unemploymentand low wages, blamingimmigrants for all thecountry’s ills. The reality isthat it was City bankers likeFarage who created theeconomic mess we’re in, notimmigrants. Basically Ukip isa multi-headed racistmonster that has got too bigfor its boots.”

FASCISTSIn a hard-hitting interviewwith Active! Wendy pointedto Ukip’s general electioncandidates in Yorkshire andHumberside, who are oftenfrom the Thatcherite wing ofthe Conservative party andwho think the Tories havegone too soft.

“And then there are thefascists sailing under a flag of

convenience because theyknow the openly violentracism of their former partiesholds little appeal for theelectorate,” she says. In factthe membership of manyneo-Nazi and fascist groupshas plummeted to a 20-yearlow with many finding a safehaven in Ukip, according tocampaigning organisationHope Not Hate.

Farrage’s ramshackle outfithas even attracted somedisgruntled Lib Dems andLabour members – andpeople without anydiscernible politicswhatsoever.

There are some who havehopped from party to party.Wendy gives the example ofAmjad Bashir, MEP forYorkshire and the Humber,who left Ukip to join theConservatives in Januaryamid allegations ofirregularities. The Respectparty says he had once been

YOU CAN TRUST UKIP AS FAR AS YOU CAN THROW NIGEL FARAGE

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WENDY’SWARNING

DON’T TRUST UKIP


The campaigning organisationHope not Hate keeps an eye onUkip and far right groups like theBritish National Party. The aim isto provide a positive antidote tothe politics of hate. It combinesthorough research withcommunity organising andgrassroots action to defeat hategroups at elections and to buildcommunity resilience againstextremism.

It says: “Hate is often theconsequence of a loss of hopeand a political articulation ofdespair, but given an alternative,especially one that understandsand addresses their anger, mostpeople will choose HOPE overhate. Our job is to expose and

undermine groups thatpreach hate, intolerance

and division whilstuniting communitiesaround what they have

in common.”

To affiliate your UNISON branchto Trade Union Friends of Hopenot Hate, please email Jean [email protected]

HopeNotHate

one of its members and thathe had told them that he hadpreviously been an activemember of Labour.

“Most local and countycouncillors – of whateverparty – will tell you that Ukipcouncillors are all over theplace. Many of them have noidea about their party’spolicies – and when they do,they disagree about them.”

As to being defenders ofthe NHS, Wendy points tofootage which emergedrecently of Farage saying hewould feel more‘comfortable’ if Britain’shealthcare system wasopened up to the‘marketplace’.

Speaking to UKIPsupporters just two years agoFarage said: “I think we aregoing to have to move to aninsurance-based system ofhealthcare.” That wouldmake Britain like the USA,where the healthcare youreceive depends on yourbank balance.

WEAPONSAnother loony policy, whichwould make us more likeAmerica, is the legalisation ofhandguns, a derangedresolution passed by Ukip atits conference last year inDoncaster.

Farage reckons the presentban on such weapons is‘ludicrous’. The Ukip leadercriticised the ‘kneejerk’restrictions on handgunsimposed after the 1996Dunblane massacre in whichThomas Hamilton killed 16schoolchildren and a teacherbefore shooting himself.

Says Wendy: “The murderrate in the USA is nearly fivetimes worse than the UK

according to United Nationsfigures – and Ukip wants usto be more like theAmericans. Has Farage takenleave of his senses? Well, yeshe has.”

To make Britain even morelike the USA, Farage wantsmillionaires to pay less tax.Someone currently beingpaid £1m a year wouldreceive a £43,150 windfallfrom all the tax changesproposed by Ukip at itsDoncaster conference.Meanwhile someone in thebottom 10 per cent (with payless than £6,284) of paywould receive nothing.

“Farage is desperate topose as the ‘worker’s friend’to win votes outside the ginand tonic belt in the HomeCounties – and there aresome on lower pay who willbenefit from Ukip’s plannedtax policies - but the realwinners are those at the top,”says Wendy.

“Ukip would widen themassive and growing gapbetween rich and poor evenfurther. Its plan to scrapinheritance tax, which raises£3.3bn a year, will make iteven worse.

“I’ve tried to find outabout their policies onemployment rights,” saysWendy, “but unsurprisingly,UKIP focuses on leavingbehind the ‘regulatoryburdens’ of Europe.”

That would put an end tolaws on working time,redundancy and sick payamong scores of otheressential rights. Amid thepresent mania for contractingout and privatisation, theTUPE legislation whichprotects workers’ terms andconditions when they are

transferred into the privatesector, would also go.

And for good measure,Searchlight magazine, whichinvestigates the far right, hasuncovered an emerging scabunion with close links toUkip and which seeks topoach members fromlegitimate unions likeUNISON.

“Working people shouldthink very hard indeedbefore placing their cross bythe Ukip candidate,” saysWendy. “They are not on ourside”. n

WORKINGPEOPLESHOULDTHINKVERY HARDINDEEDBEFOREVOTING FOR UKIP

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THE FAR RIGHT FEATURE


IT’S LIFEOR DEATHSenior activists Ann Moses and JohnCampbell warn of deadly consequences for the National Health Service if the Toriesget back in. Peter Carroll reports

Deputy regionalconvenor JohnCampbell isfrighteningly clearabout the

consequences of anotherTory-led government after theGeneral Election.

John says it would markthe death of the NHS as weknow it.

UNISON’s joint branchsecretary at SheffieldTeaching Hospitals Trust, saysGovernment budget cuts,wage freezes and the failureto train enough medical staffhave already caused a crisis inevery part of the country.

Health services are in chaosas most people - not leastmembers of the coalitiongovernment - knew theywould be when the Healthand Social Care Act waspassed.

This situation has providedthe very opportunity right-wing politicians desired - tobe able to argue that completeprivatisation is the only wayto rescue the NHS.

John said: “It is a scandalthat some MPs who loudlysupport ‘reform’ of the NHS –meaning privatisation – arealso directors of privatecompanies and will directly

benefit from it.“We must remember that

this is all public sector moneythat they are helpingthemselves to. We are seeingsomething similar to themassive lobbying in the USAagainst Obamacare, which wasdesigned to provide healthcare for millions of Americanswho currently have none.

“These companies also havetheir eye on the NHS as theyseek to strip its assets and feedthe profits to theirshareholders. We must not letthem destroy our mosttreasured public service.

“But the only way we canprevent it is to get rid of thisGovernment in May.”

HYPOCRISYUNISON members hadendured more than four yearsof pay freeze, leaving themstruggling just to meet theever-rising cost of food,housing and heating.

The Government hadrefused’ to implement the oneper cent pay riserecommended by theIndependent Pay Review Bodybut eventually backed down.

Yet MPs had all taken the 10per cent rise that the samebody recommended for them.

This hypocrisy is not lost onUNISON members.

As a branch activist atSheffield Teaching Hospitals,John has close experience ofwhat is happening to front-line services.

He said: “To take oneexample, on a recent day inSheffield there were 150patients in A&E and fiftywaiting to be admitted. Thatis what the staff are having tocope with.

“This is the impact of cutsto the NHS and to localauthorities who have had toclose care homes whichprovide after-care for patients

WE MUST NOT LET THEM DESTROY OUR MOST TREASURED PUBLIC SERVICE

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FEATURE NHS


NHS FEATURE

discharged from hospital.“Instead, far too many

have nowhere to go for careand so spend far too long inurgently needed hospitalbeds.

“People paid nationalinsurance so that they couldreceive care when they needit.

“But through no fault oftheir own they are notgetting those services. Weneed a government that willproperly invest in health andsocial care.

“Nurse recruitment isfalling and in the next five toten years there are going to

be more nurses retiring thanthere are coming in throughNHS training.

“We are ever more relianton taking overseas medicalstaff, damaging theiremergent health services.

“And with pay so low andwork pressures so high,people are put off from goinginto those professions. Theyread all the negativeheadlines about the NHS andturn away. This problemmust be urgently addressed.”

APPALLINGThe shocking revelation thatsenior A&E specialists are

charging hospitals £1,760 aday for their services is partof a huge problem ofretaining medical staff.

The cost of agency staff tothe NHS rose by 22.9 percent in a single year from£2.1 billion to £2.6 billion in2013/14.

At the same time, evidenceof appalling mismanagementand huge financial paymentsto senior staff at the Hull andEast Yorkshire HospitalsTrust has promptedUNISON to refer the matterto the NHS Fraud Team.

And at Barnsley Hospital,a Freedom of Informationrequest from UNISON hasdiscovered non-executivedirectors have awardedthemselves thousands ofpounds in pay rises whilepreparing to cut front-lineworkers’ pay.

This behaviourundoubtedly contributes tothe fact that the proportionof NHS trusts in the red hassoared from 10 per cent in2012/13 to 80 per cent lastyear.

After 35 years as a nurse inacute medicine in coronarycare, Ann Moses is in nodoubt that the Health andSocial Care Act is nothingmore than a ‘racket’.

Ann, UNISON branchsecretary at Grimsby andGoole health branch, NECmember and chair of thenational nursing sector, isappalled at what ishappening to the NHS.

She said: “I think thepressur es on nurses andsupport workers hasincreased at least ten-fold inthe last five years.

“In our trust alone they arespending £5 million a year

Above: Ann

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vacancies for the otherprofessional and supportstaff.

“The increasing insistenceon targets, paperwork anddata collection audits all takefront-line staff away frompatients.

“New rostering is nowgenerated by computers,which obviously have nopractical, humanunderstanding of healthcare.

“Some members aretherefore being forced towork 60 hours in one weekand the next week they workjust 16 hours.

“Some staff regularlywork 13 hour shifts. There isabsolutely no work-lifebalance in this system andmany medical staff recruitedfrom abroad are leavingbecause of this.

“If we don’t get out thereand vote this Governmentout, I am very distressedabout our future.

“If the Tories get back in, Igenuinely fear that that willbe it for the NHS.

“The right-wingpoliticians want to impose aprivate insurance-basedhealth system. If we letthem, many, many peoplewill die as a result.” n

the elderly in Grimsby. Likemany others, she sees thatthe failure to link health andsocial care in an effectiveand coherent partnershiphas caused chaos.

And she believes thatcommunity and healthservices are now sofragmented that ‘no-oneknows who is providingwhich services to whom’.

She welcomes the LabourParty’s pledge to repeal theHealth and Social Care Actto address these issues – butrealises great care andplanning are needed to turnback the tide of fundingcuts, privatisation and thehaemorrhaging of trainedstaff into retirement or forbetter pay overseas.

Ann said: “I don’t knowprecisely how the LabourParty would bring all theservices where they need tobe, back under one roof.

“But unless we are tocontinue wasting vastamounts of money creatingwidespread confusion whichonly leads to poorer services,they must be brought underone roof.

“The North Lincolnshireand Goole Foundation Trusthas 14 vacancies for nurses.That does not include

on agency staff. This is aracket and a tragic waste ofmoney.

“NHS managers neverused to be paid theastronomical salaries theyget now.

“Our members have hadno pay rise for four years butthe chief executive of ourtrust took a £40,000 pay riselast year.

“It is sickening that thesemanagers - who admit theyare running multi-millionpound deficits - are givingthemselves massive riseswhile our members sufferendless cuts to their pay.”

FRAGMENTEDAnn now works in thecommunity care sector for

RIGHT-WING POLITICIANS WANT TO IMPOSE A PRIVATE HEALTH SYSTEM. IF WE LET THEM, MANYPEOPLE WILL DIE

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FEATURE NHS

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Right: John

- NHS is in crisis

all over the UK

s

Could you be our Community Branch of the Year? To celebrate 125 years of UIA working with trade union activists and their community, we want to hear about all the inspiring things UNISON branches are doing to help their own communities.

Tell us your story for the chance to win £1,250 towards your end-of-year party.

To enter or to simply find out more, visit: www.uia.co.uk/awardsCompetition closes 31st August 2015. For full terms and conditions visit www.uia.co.uk/terms-conditions.

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FEATURE EBOLA20 UNISON ACTIVE! SPRING 2015

MISSION OF MERCY

Leeds paramedic Bill Clucas was one of a highly dedicated team of medical staffwho recently went to Sierra Leone to help fight the Ebola epidemic – and now hewants to return. Active! reporter Anne Mitchell interviews a true UNISON hero

When UNISONmember BillClucas wasasked to jointhe

international relief effort tohelp people suffering fromEbola in Sierra Leone, hedidn’t hesitate. As anexperienced paramedicworking in the HazardousArea Response Team (HART)in Leeds, he had the medicaltraining, skills and knowledgedesperately needed to helpsave lives.

Bill also had vital overseasexperience volunteering in

Africa and Gaza and he hadput his name on a register ofpeople willing to respond toemergencies abroad.

“Don’t get me wrong I wasnervous about going. Ebola isa really nasty illness but ifpeople are in need, I feel amoral obligation to help themand to stop the disease fromspreading to other parts of theworld. The best way to avoidit happening to friends andfamily in the UK was bygoing.”

Before Christmas, Billembarked on 10 days ofintense training at a Ministry

of Defence base in York with50 other medicalprofessionals, including 15from Norway. He describes it as really good trainingmedically, clinically andemotionally.

The overnight flight toSierra Leone was long andBill’s first experience of theimpact of the Ebola crisisbegan even before he reachedthe terminal.

“Before we were allowedinto the airport, each of ushad our temperature takenand we had to use achlorinated hand wash.

THE STAFF WERE ENGAGING, WITTY ANDMOTIVATED. THEYFILLED MEWITH JOY

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That smell of chlorine is oneof my abiding memories ofthe country. We were alwayswashing our hands to combatEbola and that smell ofchlorine was everywhere.”

FRUSTRATINGThe group split in three and Bill was deployed to anEbola Treatment Centre (ETC)run by the aid agency GOAL.It was situated in Port Loko -in the country’s NorthernProvince and one of thehardest hit areas. On arrivalBill found the centre stillunder construction by theBritish army with no othermedical staff, no water orelectricity. What they hadwas three tents in a field. The red zone for treatingEbola patients, the green zone for medical staff to puton/take off their protectivesuits and equipment and athird for administration,stores etc.

“The time from arrival tofirst patient was two weeks.It was frustrating but we were busy and we knew wehad to get it right before weopened. We needed toemploy and train a lot of newstaff, wait for the plumbing,electricity, waste disposal -those were long days.

“I was training volunteersfrom the Congo, Kenya,Zimbabwe and Nigeria aswell as local people. It’s veryimportant and very powerfulthat those staff can still bethere to help with this disease when we are gone.The national staff werephenomenal people -engaging, funny, witty,motivated - who filled me with joy.”

The ETC was designed for100 patients but needed many

His five weeks up, Billreturned to the UK justbefore New Year and foundcoming back more difficultthan usual.

“The culture shock wasworse and everyone was in asort of quarantine. We hadto monitor ourselves, takeour temperature and ringtwice a day to say if we hadany symptoms. We wereasked to avoid going on long journeys, to stadiums,or anywhere there could be alot of people.”

“I have asked to go backbut at the moment thepressures on the NHS comefirst - I understand that. I was lucky to have acollection of skills andexperience that allowed meto go over. I would say toUNISON members - thinkabout volunteering. It is not suitable for everyone -but use your skills andexperience to help otherpeople. It is really fulfillingand I can’t recommend itenough.” n

more staff before it couldbegin to manage that number. It opened with 10which quickly doubled to 20and by Bill’s final week thenumber of patients reached30. The turnover was high.

“It was very hard the firstweek, especially for staffwithout a medicalbackground, because thepatients were very poorlywhen they arrived and manydied. Ebola is a very horribledisease and has a terribleeffect on people and is awfulto watch. You couldn’t stayfor longer than 45 minutes inthe red zone because of theheat working in protectiveclothing.

“The second week westarted to get more survivorswhich was great. I rememberseeing a grandmother, herdaughter and kids comingout of the red zone and localpeople making a guard ofhonour and celebrating withmusical instruments andsinging.”

FRIENDLYBill describes Port Loko as anovergrown village – verypoor with massunemployment. As morepeople were being treatedand recovering, he found thelocals relaxed and friendlyand they would come outfrom their homes to thankhim.

“It is a very tactile countrywith lots of parties, fetes, bigdinners but you can’t do that.You can’t touch, can’tsocialise, shake hands or patsomeone on the back. Ebolais so nasty it attacks our basichuman desires to give a childa hug when they are ill, tocomfort someone - but that ishow it spreads.”

EBOLA ATTACKS OUR BASIC HUMAN DESIRE TO GIVE A SICK CHILD A HUG -BUT THAT’SHOW ITSPREADS

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Ebola is devastating and SierraLeone will take many years torecover.The outbreak will havecost West Africa an estimated$32.6 billion by the end of 2015.

The aid agency GOAL is proposingto turn the treatment centre in PortLoko into a ‘centre of excellence’for the training of clinical staff,upgrading its laboratory andopening a care centre forvulnerable and orphaned childrennearby.

You can donate to GOAL on theirwebsite goalglobal.org

HowToHelp

FEATURE ANALYSIS22 UNISON ACTIVE! SPRING 2015

There’s only one party for workingpeople and that’s Labour. In anexclusive analysis for Active!senior Mirror columnist PaulRoutledge issues a call to arms

LABOURIS BEST BET

APPALLEDThe laws of libel prevent mefrom saying what I think ofhim, but his own fellow ToryMP, Nadine Dorries, calledhim ‘one of Parliament'snastiest, slimiest MPs’. Heappalled parliamentarianswith crude remarks aboutdisabled people and thebedroom tax.

Even so, his majority of2,940 will be a tough nut tocrack. John Grogan, whocampaigned for agencyworkers’ rights and helpedget a memorial in Whitehallto the role of women inWorld War Two, deserves allthe support he can get.

Down the road in theoutskirts of Leeds, theconstituency of Elmet andRothwell has been held byTory Alec Shelbrooke since it was established before thelast election.

JUSTICEBut not for much longer, if Labour's Veronica King, acampaigner for theAlzheimer's Society, hasanything to do with it. She'sthe daughter of localteachers, and with severalformer mining villages tolook after, she's also active inthe Miners' Campaign forTruth and Justice aboutpolicing in the miners’strike.

Down in Lincs, PeterKeith, husband ofCleethorpes' former Labour

No wonder politicalpundits hesitate topredict theoutcome of thegeneral election.

It's shaping up to be anAlice-in-Wonderland race –only in reverse. Everybodyloses and nobody wins prizes.

That's what will happenunless Labour supporters and union activists work toprevent it. Every vote countson May 7.

And regional secretaryJohn Cafferty points out thatthe election is absolutelycritical for members ofUNISON and other unions.“The Tories are destroyingpublic services and havealmost brought the NHS to itsknees. They’ve cut wages andbenefits for the poorest, whilegiving tax cuts to the richest.Worse, they intend to domore of the same if they getin again.”

The Tories also want tosmash the organisationswhich protect workingpeople. John warns that theConservatives are proposingto end employers’ ability todeduct union subs fromemployees’ pay and to makeit much harder to takeindustrial action.

With their freshly-found,fake enthusiasm for ‘TheNorth’, the Tories are puttingbig resources into the region.

If they win here, they willwin the country.

But there are grounds for

Paul Routledge

introduces the

runners and riders

THERE ARE GROUNDS FOR HOPE, IF THE WORK IS DONE

~

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hope, if the work is done. So let me introduce the keyrunners and riders.

It should be all change inBradford East, where thecontroversial Lib Demincumbent David Ward witha wafer-thin majority of 365votes, is highly vulnerable toImran Hussein, deputyleader of Bradford CityCouncil.

Next most promising forLabour is Dewsbury, wherePaula Sherriff, a healthcareworker and Pontefractcouncillor, is battling tooverturn a Tory majority of1,526. After working for thepolice in victim support, shemoved to the NHS where herjob was privatised. So she'sexperienced coalition cuts atfirst-hand.

In Pudsey, my unionlawyer friend Jamie Hanleyis seeking to regain the seatlost to the Tories in 2010 byonly 1,659 votes. This isJamie's second bid to bringthe constituency back whereit belongs and he's mountinga big campaign with a lot ofhelp from trade unionists.

The same goes for Keighley and Ilkley.Whoever wins thisconstituency usually formsthe next government. JohnGrogan, former MP for Selby,a seat that was abolished, isLabour's man against KrisHopkins, the former Tory leader of Bradford City Council.

MP Shona McIsaac iscontesting the consituency,while in Brigg and Goole,local lass Jacky Crawford, aqualified nurse and socialworker and campaigner forthe NHS, seeks to retake theseat lost in 2010 by just overfive thousand votes.

Up in the Pennines, locallad Josh Fenton-Glynn ischasing down a Torymajority of 6,400 in CalderValley, and next door inColne Valley, internationalaid worker Jane East bids tooverturn Dodgy DaveCameron's man whosemajority is only 4,800.

Labour's biggestchallenge from Ukip is inGrimsby, where UNISONregional organiser MelanieOnn is Labour candidate.Born and raised inthe constituency, she'sdefending a majority of just over 700 votesbequeathed by retiring

veteran Austin Mitchell. Melanie has negotiated

living-wage agreements withcouncils in York, Doncasterand North East Lincs, andcampaigns tirelessly againstthe iniquities of zero-hourcontracts. As I wrote in theDaily Mirror last May, "Thisis a woman who gets it. Thepeople of Grimsby would bewise to get her."

Labour is in with a strongchance to take – or retake –most of these seats.

We also have to defendsome of our high-flyers,most notably Ed Miliband inDoncaster North and EdBalls in Morley andOutwood. The Tories would dearly loveto ‘decapitate’ the party –but it's the Lib Dems whoshould fear this most.

IMPOSSIBLETheir vote is collapsingthroughout the region, and

Labour is eating away atNick Clegg's majority inSheffield Hallam. It's atough call, but in the lastopinion poll, Labourcandidate and UNISONmember Oliver Coppardwas just three points behind.

UNISON’s regionalsecretary points out that ifthe Conservatives get in they intend to changeconstituency boundaries tomake it nearly impossible for anyone else to beat them in future generalelections.

“UNISON is thereforeencouraging members inkey seats across the region,but particularly in BradfordEast, Cleethorpes andGrimsby, to register to voteif they haven’t already done so and to vote for the partythat can make a real difference to the lives ofworking people and that is the Labour Party.” n

John Cafferty –

Vote critical for

union members

Above: It’s

odds-on Labour

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FEATURE OPPORTUNITIES

CLOSING THE CIRCLE

Pam Johnson left school with minimal qualifications, but took advantage of the opportunities provided by UNISON and NUPE. Barrie Clement reports

returning to Yorkshire in 2011as a regional manager.

Pam has never forgottenhow she started her career andshe’s keen that both activistsand admin staff feel able totread the same path as her.

It was a path built on thefoundations of education andtraining provided by NUPE,the first union she worked for,and then by its successorUNISON.

“I left school with very fewqualifications, but the unionprovided me with the help Ineeded. I took the chances thatwere available and I’d like tothink I made the most ofthem,” she says.

The education provided bythe union enabled Pam toenrol on a part-time basis atLeeds Polytechnic where aftertwo years she got a diploma inpolitics and history, an A levelequivalent.

In 1985 she went toNewcastle University to readpolitics and East Asianstudies, graduating in 1989.And in 2002 she took an MScin adult continuing educationat City University, London.Not bad for someone who leftschool at 16.

Pam points out that she hadto leave a full-time job withthe union in order to go toNewcastle University. “You

At UNISON there’sno reason whyactivists or adminstaff shouldn’treach the most

senior levels of the union.Pam Johnson, who is

retiring from UNISON after 26years, is a case in point.

Pam started work for Nupeas a telephonist/ receptionist,having left West Leeds GirlsHigh School with three O levels and a couple of CSEs.By seizing the opportunitiesprovided by the union, sheeventually became head oflearning and organisingservices at UNISON’sheadquarters in London,

EDUCATION IS A LIBERATING FORCE. IT HELPS US TO MAKE DECISIONS ABOUT OUR OWN LIVES

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don’t have to do that now,” she says. Pam commendsUNISON’s Return to Learncourses as a good starting point and the Open Universityas a means of entering furthereducation without physicallygoing to university.

“I am proud of the workNUPE did and UNISONcontinues to do, to provideeducation for our members.Education is a liberating force.It helps us to makes decisionsabout own lives and toinfluence the decisions ofothers.”

A strong theme in Pam’scareer has been hercommitment to women’sissues. She learned herfeminism the hard way. WhenPam started work at a buildingsociety at the age of 18, a youngman joined the same day onhigher wages. That was beforethe Sex Discrimination andEqual Pay Acts and it wasperfectly legal. “Thatexperience of discriminationmade me think that thingscould and should be fairer,”she says.

DIFFERENTThe battle is nowhere nearwon. “Virtually every policy ofthe coalition government hasbeen detrimental to women.Men have been hit hard too,but women have suffered mostin terms of pay, redundancies,zero hours contracts andbenefits.”

Pam takes issue with the oft-repeated mantra thatpoliticians are ‘all the same’.

She says:” “Labour offers acompletely different vision.Labour sees women as equalmembers of society. TheConservatives see men as thebreadwinners and women as

housewives and child carers.”Pam hopes a new Labour

government will resurrectequality measures they wereworking on before they leftoffice.

“The country appears to beslipping back as far as equalpay is concerned,” she says.Pam believes compulsoryequal pay audits would forceemployers to be transparent.

She points out that Labourhas committed itself toresuscitating the Sure Startprogramme which provideschildcare, early education andsupport to young families. Ithas been decimated by thecoalition government.

Pam also points to Labour’spledge to repeal the Healthand Social Care Act which hasled to a massive increase in theprivate provision of publicservices to the detriment ofpatient’s and clients.

She believes the coalitionhas had a deeply harmfulimpact on Britain. “ThisGovernment has underminedthe fundamental ethos ofpublic service and damagedprovision for the mostvulnerable people. Manyelderly and disabled peopleno longer have access tosupport to keep them in theirown homes.

“Providing support forvulnerable people is whatmakes us civilised. It is one ofthe most fundamentalprinciples of our society.

“U NISON members haveshown that they are preparedto make sacrifices to protectthe services they deliver.When they were needed theystood up and were countedright across the public servicesdespite the pressure they areunder. I was proud to stand on

the picket line with them.”Having worked for NUPE

and UNISON in London fornearly two decades, Pam is glad to be back. Despite her‘retirement’, she will remainactive in local politics. She livesin the Keighley constituencywhich is one of Labour’s targetseats. And when she is notbeing politically active, shewill keep constituentsentertained with her ukuleleband.

“It was the right time for meto leave the union. I leave it ingood hands. The organisers aredoing a fantastic job,particularly with recruitment.Coming back to Yorkshire was basically closing the circle for me. I’ve had afantastic working life. Now I’m home.” n

n 1970 Worked in a building society and then West YorkshireCounty Council where she joined NALGO and then NUPE.

n 1981 Went to work for NUPE in Y&H divisional office asa telephonist then secretary. Got involved in newlyestablished divisional women’s committee.Volunteered as adult literacy tutor.

n 1989 Short stint at Leeds City Council housingbenefits.

n 1989-1991 Researcher, trade union studiesinformation unit in Newcastle.

n 1991-1993 Constituency officer for Jim Cousins MP(Labour, Newcastle Central).

n 1993 Equalities researcher at NUPE head office,Woolwich.

n 1996-2002 Education officer, UNISON’s nationalactivist education unit.

n 2002-2011 Head of learning and organising services(LAOS). Then head of new unit incorporating UNISONopen college and LAOS.

n 2011-2014 Regional manager, Yorkshire andHumberside.

CurriculumVitae

UNISON MEMBERS HAVE SHOWN THEY ARE PREPARED TO MAKE SACRIFICES

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UNISON activists won a personal assurance that university staff won’t pay the price for Labour’s cut in student fees. Barrie Clement and Lorraine Fitzsimons report

You ain’t seennothing yet. Whenthe Tories and theirlittle chums in theLib-Dems whacked

up students’ fees to £9,000 ayear we all thought that itwas disastrous for workingclass kids who wanted to geta university education. And it was.

These days studentsgraduate with personal debtof £44,000 – courtesy ofDavid Cameron and his bagcarrier Nick Clegg, LibDemMP for Sheffield Hallam.

Well, now theConservatives have got alittle surprise up theirsleeves. They are to increasestudent fees to £16,000 –making university educationthe preserve of the elite, saysLiam Byrne, shadow ministerfor universities.

In a meeting with UNISONactivists and officials in

Leeds, Liam set out Labour’splan to cut the cap on feesfrom £9000 to £6000. Morethan half of students wouldalso get the maintenancegrant which would be liftedby £400 to £3,800 a year.

Just as importantly, Liamexplained exactly how itwould be funded.

University vice chancellorshave warned that the policywould lead to cutbacks atuniversities and UNISONmembers were naturallyconcerned that they wouldpay for the policy with their jobs.

Speaking to the meeting,called by Alex Sobel,Labour’s parliamentarycandidate for Leeds NorthWest, Liam categoricallyassured UNISON reps thatthe initiative would be fullyfunded.

Liam confirmed that theshortfall would be covered by

reducing tax relief onpensions for those earningmore than £150,000 a year.The commitment to cut feeswould be non-negotiable inany post-election deal.

Addressing the meeting,UNISON’s Leeds BeckettUniversity branch secretaryJames Appleby spoke of themassive differentials betweenvice chancellors on £300,000-£400,000 a year and thelowest paid. Some VCs hadtotal packages worth £1m.

“And yet manyuniversities still refuse to paythe Living Wage. What canLabour do?” James askedLiam.

Mobina Begum, assistantbranch secretary at LeedsBeckett, spoke of the lack oftransparency about pay andover the deliberations ofremuneration committees.“Student money fundssalaries but students have no

WELL-OFF WILL PAY

VERY FEWCAUSESARE ASJUST ASTHE LIVINGWAGE

~

~Liam Byrne

Leonie Sharp

– universities run

like corporations


HIGHER EDUCATION FEATURE

input into the process,” shesaid. Mobina pointed outthat living costs for studentswere increasing, and most oftheir money went onaccommodation.

Liam replied that Labourwould take action not just ontuition fees but onmaintenance grants. Therewas a shortage ofaccommodation andsometimes students had topay months in advance.People were ‘taking liberties’and that needed to beaddressed.

SECRETIVEOn the wages of universitystaff, Liam said it was notacceptable to pay less that theLiving Wage, while awardinga 8.1 per cent average pay riseto vice-chancellors.

“Hats off to UNISON forits Living Wagecampaigning,” Liam said,adding that there should bepay transparency, notsecretive discussions behindclosed doors.

“It’s unacceptable thatunions have to use Freedomof Information requests to getinformation on salaries. It istax payers’ money.”

One of the studentrepresentatives at the meetingasked how Liam would keepup the pressure on VCs onthe issue of the Living Wage.

He replied that if Labourwins the election, he wouldpersonally ask why VCs werenot paying the Living Wage.“Very few causes are as justas the Living Wage,” he said.

Few students woulddisagree and they had theright to voice a view on howtheir fees were spent, saidLiam. “It’s a shame youhaven’t got a government to

back you up at the moment,”he told the students.

Terry D’arcy, also anassistant branch secretary atLeeds Beckett, saidoutsourcing and zero hourscontracts, were causingmisery and hardship formany staff.

EXORBITANTRegional organiser LeonieSharp said universities werebeing run like majorcorporations setting up taxavoidance schemes,employing staff on zero hourcontracts and refusing to pay the Living Wage to theircontract cleaners and cateringstaff.

She added: “Theseuniversities are fundedthrough students and publicfunds and it is critical theyare accountable and payingback into the public purse notsimply siphoning off publicmoney for exorbitantpackages to those at the topwhile paying the minimum to those who really serve our students.”

Liam said that under aLabour governmentexploitative zero hourscontracts would be abolished.

He stressed that theGeneral Election would be

extremely important foryoung people, although oncurrent predictions aroundtwo million of them may not vote.

Ironically the youngergeneration had borne thebrunt of the Government’sausterity measures and wereworse off than previousgenerations.

There were eight seats inthe UK where students hadthe power to sway the result,said Liam. One of those –Leeds North West - is held bythe LibDems – the very partywhich broke its promise andbacked the increase inuniversity fees. Another wasSheffield Hallam, the LibDemleader’s constituency.

Labour had a plan forhigher education reform that would benefit everyoneand was deliverable. Theparty couldn’t offer freehigher education andwouldn’t make falsepromises – but Labour wouldreduce fees and improvestudents’ grants.

He was aware that somestudents were drawn to theGreen Party, but he pointedout that in reality students,like everyone else, had achoice: Ed Miliband or David Cameron. n

HATS OFFTO UNISONFOR ITSLIVING WAGECAMPAIGN

~

~Liam Byrne

Right: Reps

and officials

meet Liam Byrne

s


FEATURE EMPLOYMENT LAW

A RIGHTS RIP-OFFFive years of Tory government have been a disaster for workers’ rights. Thenumber of sex discrimination cases has plummeted by 90 per cent. And there’smore to come if the Conservatives get back in, says Thompsons’ Tristram Sterry

Squeezed livingstandards, savagepublic sector cuts,attacks on health andsafety laws, unions

bashed and ordinary peoplepriced out of the justicesystem.

Five years of a Tory-ledgovernment (ably assisted bythe Lib Dems who we mustnever forget voted for everycut and every vicious changein the law) has been a disasterfor workers’ rights.

The Conservatives haverepeatedly shown that theyare on the side of big businessand nothing must stand inthe way of their friends

making a claim at anemployment tribunal due tothe upfront costs. That meanspeople who may have beenunfairly dismissed, suffereddiscrimination, had theirwages withheld can’t affordto access justice and badbosses are getting away withrunning roughshod over theirrights.

Alarming Ministry ofJustice figures show that thenumber of sex discriminationcases at tribunals hasplummeted by 90 per cent.

Citizens Advice says thatnearly half of people wouldhave to save for six monthsjust to get to a position where

Tristram Sterry

of Thompsons

Solicitors, Leeds

making money. One of the most dangerous

aspects of the Government’sattack on workers’ rights isthe introduction ofemployment tribunal fees,which risks making access tojustice the preserve of thewealthy rather than ademocratic right for all. Aspredicted by everyone but theTories, fees of up to £1,200 areproving to be a major barrierto thousands of workers andclaims have dropped by morethan 80 per cent.

According to research byCitizens Advice, more thanfour in five people havingproblems at work are put off

Image: Africa Studio / Shutterstock.com


EMPLOYMENT LAW FEATURE

they could even start to affordthe fees. For many families,this is six months in whichthey will have to scrimp andsave while the injustice theyare suffering continues andtheir negligent employerenjoys a grace period inwhich to build their defence.

LIABILITYIt’s not just tribunal fees thatare causing misery forordinary working people. TheConservative – Lib Demgovernment has also takenthe opportunity to attackhealth and safety laws thathave been in existence sincethe Victorian era. They’vebrought an end to ‘strictliability’ which since the timeof the Crimean War has forcedemployers to proactivelyensure that the potential foraccidents is kept to aminimum. Getting rid of ithas ushered in an era whichforces workers injuredthrough no fault of their ownto have to prove the employerwas at fault.

With personal injury, theguilty party no longer picksup all the bill for theirnegligence. To help theirmates in the insuranceindustry, the Tories have seento it that the polluter doesn’tpay. Injured people whoaren’t in a union have to pay up front for things likemedical reports and court fees and don’t get 100 per centof their compensation if they win.

Court fees are also beingdrastically increased. SinceMarch 9 the maximum fee forclaims lodged at county orhigh court - including forworkers seekingcompensation from theirbosses for injuries at work -

soared to £10,000. Dependingon the value of the claim,some will jump by more than600 per cent.

For many lower valueclaims, fees will increase bymore than 200 per cent,hitting working people hard.

These dramatic increasesare clearly designed to makethe Ministry of Justice moneyrather than improve the legalsystem. They constituteanother huge barrier to justicefor workers.

RESTRICTIVEMost work-related accidentcases are complex, and oftenrequire investigation andreports, but with lawyersnow facing no payment ifthey don’t win (no-win no-fee) and very restricted fixedcosts if they win, people notin a union are finding itharder and harder to get asolicitor to act for them. Thatmeans employers take morerisks because they know thatmany workers will be unableto find a solicitor to pursue aclaim if they’re injured.

Workers need strong tradeunions to safeguard theirrights and prevent theeconomy slipping into asituation where it only servesbig business. But the Toriesare determined to underminethe trade union movement.

The right to strike isenshrined in the EuropeanConvention on HumanRights, but this Governmenthas shown no inclination torespect that, or any of theinternational supervisorybodies who have longcondemned the UK’sindustrial action laws forbeing overly restrictive.

Quite the opposite in fact,ministers have talked of

requiring 40 per cent of alleligible union members tovote for a strike beforeindustrial action can happen.This is a bit of a cheek giventhey gained only 37 per centof the vote at the last GeneralElection and have as many as34 MPs elected on less than40 per cent of the vote!

They claim it’s a sign oftheir commitment todemocracy. But if the Torieswere really committed todemocracy in the ballot boxthen they wouldn’tcontinually resist makingelectronic voting available tounions. The fact that they doshows that their real motiveis to straitjacket unions andundermine workers’ rights.

From tribunal fees tohealth and safety to unionrights, workers have sufferedan onslaught against theirrights. Making sure a Labourgovernment is elected is theonly way to stop the erosionof vital workers’ rights beforeit is too late. n

ToryAttacks

HALF OF PEOPLE HAVE TO SAVE FOR SIX MONTHS TO EVEN START TO AFFORD THE FEEFOR ATRIBUNAL

~

~

n Fees of up to £1200 for takingemployment tribunals cases,making access to justice thepreserve of the wealthy.

n Court fees for claims at countyand high court rocket by morethan 600 per cent.

n Weakening health and safetylegislation which has been inplace since the Crimean War.

n A new rule in personal injurycases, which means the guiltyparty no longer picks up all thebill for their negligence.

n A new Tory government wouldinsist on a 40 per cent vote toauthorise industrial action.


FEATURE VOTING

and pork belly jumbobaguette I’ve had since theMillennium, having just readin the papers that the long-standing medical adviceabout fat has been wrong all along.

The scientists are nowsaying fat (milk, butter, eggs and cheese etc) is notonly not bad for you, it ispositively beneficial tohealth! I was delighted tohear it.

Two men are sittingside by side in aramshackle oldpeople’s homewatching a

flickering TV in the corner.One of them turns and says:“Do you realise that if we’dspent our time smoking,drinking and chasingwomen, we’d have missedout on all of this?”

The cartoon made mesplutter on the first dripping

Peter Carroll -

older people are

a priceless asset

Of course the very nextday other scientistsdisagreed and repeated the‘dangerous fat’ alerts theyissued 20 years ago, and Ifor one am more confusedthan ever.

But the cartoon doesraise questions about whatthe future holds for theincreasing number ofpeople who now reachgreat old age.

Improved health and

UNCLE KNOWS BESTActive! reporter Peter Carroll says we need to listen more to older people andmake sure we vote to preserve the public services they fought so hard to build

Image: Tyler Olson / Shutterstock.com


VOTING FEATURE

longevity are both keyindicators of humane and far-sighted societies whichplace a high value on healthcare for all.

The average lifeexpectancy in the 19thcentury was 48, partly due to huge levels of infantmortality and partly because of appallingexploitation, poverty pay,poor diet and lack of medicalcare and sanitation.

Today, the average lifeexpectancy is 77 for men and80 for women. This isstartling progress in such arelatively short space of time.

There’s no morecompelling evidence thanthese statistics of howproperly funded publicservices, decent pay andmedical care transform both individual lives andwhole societies.

We should celebrate this as a great triumph of thepeople, over manygenerations, to create a better way of life forthemselves and those whocome after them.

But now we are told thatthese great steps forward areactually a big and growingproblem: the old are tooexpensive to care for throughnational insurance andtaxation. They don’t makeprofits and they are a drainon scarce resources.

FAILUREMy uncle John is 90 this yearand is as vocal as ever aboutthe need for people to register to vote.

I don’t think he’s paid toomuch attention to RussellBrand and others urgingpeople, especially young

people, not to vote.He believes it is the very

failure of young people tovote which allows Tory-ledGovernments like the currentone to destroy the hard wonservices we have all createdtogether over many years.

When he was three Johnbadly damaged his anklewhile playing in the street.His mum and dad (a cleanerand a pick-and -shovelnavvy respectively) weretold by a doctor that theywould have to operate toshorten the injured leg, andthat their son would be fittedwith a surgical boot for therest of his life.

“They asked if there wassomething else that could bedone and were told‘possibly’ but it would beexpensive and they mightprefer the cheaper option,”he said.

“So they did a differentoperation and the ankle hasbeen fine ever since.

“But every Friday evening,a man would knock on thedoor to collect the twoshillings a week they owedfor the treatment. He didn’tstop coming until I was 15. It took 12 years to clear thedebt.”

That is why he and manyother older people, whosememories of the days beforethe NHS are so vivid andshocking, cannot believeyoung people are not fighting to save it.

BILLIONSAt the last General Election,65 per cent of the populationeligible to vote, did so. Butthat dropped to only 44 percent of 18 to 24-year-olds –with only 39 per cent of

women aged 18-24 voting.Yet these are the very

people who will in futurepick up the bill for thebillionaire tax dodgers andparty funders revealed in the HSBC scandal.

There would be no‘budget crisis’ if thecountless billions in unpaid tax were collectedand ploughed back into investment indemocratically accountableservices.

Stories of tax-evadingSwiss bank account holderspicking up bricks of usednotes to buy property forcash have not yet producedthe outrage whipped upagainst benefit ‘crooks’ bythe Tory press. Somehow the wealthy are above boththe law and any moralcensure.

Lord Mandelson has nowwarned Ed Miliband not torun a campaign of ‘us andthem’ saying: “You shouldnever use language, not even body language, thatyou are for or against anysection of society.”

So not only must you say nothing to the greedybullies ruining our economyfor their own vast gain, youmustn’t even look at them in a wrong way.

Our older generationfought against fascism andbuilt trade unions and public services for all.

Like in the cartoon Imentioned, our old peopleare still making good jokesand, mostly, still voting onthe issues that really matter.

They are not a net cost tosociety, they are our pricelessinheritance and we need tolisten to them carefully. n

SOMEHOW THE WEALTHY ARE ABOVE THE LAW AND ANY MORAL CENSURE

~

~

PAUL ROUTLEDGEPolitical columnist on The Mirror

The crisis in the NHS is the most pressing problem of our time. Independent watchdog the King’s Fund says billions of pounds

have been wasted on Cameron’s misguided reforms. We need a government with a gut feeling for the NHS to ensure its survival

THE NHS is in crisis virtuallyeverywhere, and theGovernment is in denial over it.Eighty per cent of hospital trustsare in the red, despite more than

£1 billion of bailouts from the Departmentof Health.

In the year to March 2015, six ofYorkshire's 15 hospital trusts are reportinglosses. The combined total exceeds astaggering £100 million.

Other trusts – and remember they aresupposed to be profit-makingorganisations controlling their own destiny– will only break even by raiding cashreserves or getting windfall payments.

Coalition ministers have promised anextra £2 billion emergency funding for nextyear, but this is a drop in the ocean andYorkshire will see very little of it.

This is what happens when you turn theNHS into a business, with the cavalierethics of the market and virtually nopolitical control of a £100-billion-plus ayear budget for the nation's health.

David Cameron's £3bn revamp is largelyto blame for the mess, says the King'sFund, an independent watchdog. “Billionsof pounds have been wasted on thosemisguided reforms,” it says.

Astonishingly, the Department of Healthremarks “We know the NHS is busier thanever. Every NHS service knows thatfinancial discipline must be as important assafe care and good performance.”

There you have it. Money comes beforegetting sick people better – and they stillcan't balance the books. Health experts saythat without urgent agreement among allpolitical parties on funding, “the NHS willreach a point at which finances could

collapse quickly.”This is a terrifying prospect, exacerbated

by an increasing reliance on agency staff inhospitals. The NHS spent £2.6 billion onoutsiders in 2013/14, a dramatic 22.9 percent rise on the previous year. In someA&E departments, half of all consultants,doctors and nurses are from agencies.

Margaret Hodge, influential chair of theCommons public accounts committee,says these are ‘mad figures’, pointing outthat it costs £400,000 for the NHS to train aconsultant but some disloyal docs walk offthe job and come back to earn £1,800 a day.

She argues that consultants should beobliged to commit themselves to the NHSfor 5-10 years after qualifying – like theArmy.

I say Amen to that idea but it onlyscratches the surface of the problem. Thecrisis in the NHS is the most pressingproblem of our time, and only agovernment that genuinely believes in itcan save it.

ETON WALL GAMECack-handed Chancellor Osborne came toYorkshire to try his hand at drystonewalling for the TV cameras. He'd make abetter Freemason than a stonemason.

DIRTY HALF DOZENSix private sector employers in Sheffield,Leeds, Barnsley, Wakefield and Ossettwere fined and forced to pay more than£12,000 wages owing after being ‘namedand shamed’ for failing to pay the nationalminimum wage.

It's a fair bet the workers had no union,but like all employees they can access theHMRC Pay and Work Rights Helpline.

EVERY NHS SERVICE KNOWS FINANCIAL DISCIPLINE MUST BE AS IMPORTANT AS SAFE CARE

~

~


THE COLUMN A TYKE’S EYE VIEW

You’ve got to believe in it to save it

HealthDepartment

Better still, if they are in employmentcovered by UNISON, they would have thestrength of the union behind them.UNISON has launched a campaign to‘name and shame’ care firms who areexploiting workers by paying them lessthan the minimum wage.

An estimated 220,000 workers aremissing out on their legal rights as theywork split shifts and don't get paid fortravel time.

UNISON has set up an on-line petitionto get justice for these workers. You cansign on http://bit.ly/1tLFuWi. Go to it!

PEAKY BLINDERS Police in West Yorkshire are giving up thetraditional bobby's helmet for peaked capsafter officers complained they are‘impractical’.

Impractical for what? I recall they onceproved very useful for hiding a rugbystreaker's tackle (wedding, not rugby).And they distinguish cops from trafficwardens, chauffeurs and suchlike.

Of course, top officers have always hadpeaked 'uns, to show off their silver braid.Maybe lowly PCs will also now haveswagger sticks, like chief constables. Notso much a uniform, more a fancy dress.

WELL-PLACEDAn eight-foot-high bronze bust of IronLady Maggie Thatcher has been unveiledon the Falkland Islands, 7,913 miles away.Very wise positioning. Any lower, ornearer, and it would have been vandalised,like the one in Westminster.

BUS FARCESometimes it's the little things about theCoalition cuts that bring home what'sreally happening.

South Yorkshire Transport bosses arescrapping paper timetables for buses,shutting information centres and reducingthe cleaning of shelters.

These measures might sound trivial, but they affect millions of passengers inSheffield, Rotherham, Barnsley andDoncaster.

People without computers to findschedules will he hard hit, and I don'tsuppose travellers will be happy standingknee-deep in rubbish at their local sheltereither.

The changes follow a 10 per cent - £7.6million - cut In the 2015/16 budget of thetransport executive made in the dying daysof the Coalition. A vicious sting in the tailof Dodgy Dave's five-year love-in withNick Clegg.

For the public, this is a damnedinconvenience. But for the workersinvolved it's much worse. About 50 jobswill go, halving staff levels of four yearsago.

The big picture is truly devastating.Leeds City Council is slashing 450 jobs after a £45m cut in the annual budget.Labour leader Keith Wakefield says“Leeds, Huddersfield, Bradford andWakefield are all at the brink of financialmeltdown.”

If Cameron gets back in, Things Can Only Get Worse.

I SNUB YOU SIR PAUL‘Sir’ Geoff Boycott, as his fans call him, felt snubbed at not being given a realknighthood in the New Year's HonoursList. He'll just have to make do with themodest title of Greatest LivingYorkshireman.

Quite why anyone needs a handle to their name is mystifying. Recognition fordoing a job, doing it well and getting theproper rate for it, should be enough.

Thankfully, a knighthood will never come my way. Thankfully, because after aslight, face-to-face contretemps with HerMajesty over the miners' strike in 1985, shemight ‘accidentally’ behead me with thesword of investiture. n

They’re creating amile-long joggingloop in Bradford'sCity Park, for thedelectation of localpeople and visitors.I'd prefer to see ajugging loop roundthe city pubs. It mightprevent so many ofthem closing.

Atten-Shun! PeterScrope (no, I'd neverheard of him either),a ‘top businessman intelecomms’, has beenappointed Vice LordLieutenant of North Yorkshire.

I don't suppose thishas anything to dowith the Vice Squad.Maybe he just holdshis boss's swordwhile he goes to thetoilet.

Whatever. One thingis certain: this gold-braided boloney, thisfarcical fol-de-rol,this dressing-up fornumpties, is a wasteof your money andmine.

Fancy a jug?

Scroping the Barrel



DEATH TOLL RISESLawyer Amanda Dixon of Thompsons’ Leeds office says ministers have failed intheir duty to road users and may be making the huge accident rate even worse

MORE THANHALF OFADULTSBELIEVEROADSARE TOODANGEROUSFORCYCLING

~

~

Amanda Dixon

- disturbing

accident figures

FEATURE ROAD ACCIDENTS

From our experienceof working withvictims of roadaccidents we knowthey can cause long-

term, severe, physical and psychological injuries.

Take the case of UNISONmember Jane Cannan, a civilenforcement officer ‘(trafficwarden) from West Yorkshire.She was walking down a roadin Otley when an elderlyman, who was parking hisLand Rover, lost control andmounted the pavement. Hehit her front on, pinning heragainst a wall.

Jane was taken to hospitalwith injuries to her lowerback, hip and severe bruisingacross her midriff. Shedeveloped a serioushaematoma, a solid swellingof clotted blood, that coveredthe right side of her lowerback to the top of her rightleg. The swelling took severalmonths to improve. When shereturned to work eightmonths later her back wasstill swollen.

FLASHBACKSFor months after the accidentshe was almost entirely house-bound, only leaving togo to physiotherapy sessions. In addition to the physicalinjuries, Jane was left withflashbacks about the accident.

She was forced to reduce her working hours, which had an impact on herfinances. Despite the pain she

was determined to continueworking. Thompsons wereable to secure Jane thecompensation she deservedfor her injuries and loss ofearnings.

HEARTACHEThe figures for road trafficaccidents in general aredisturbing. In the year endingJune 2014 there were 1,760reported road deaths, a threeper cent increase from 1,713in the previous year.

At the same time, theGovernment has overseen a 12 per cent drop in thenumber of officers policing the roads. These statistics hide the tragedy and theheartache behind them andare a stark reminder of howthis government has failed in its duty to make adifference for all road users.

Take cycling. Despite a clear boom in its popularity,funding from this Tory-ledgovernment is nowhere nearthe level it needs to be.

Nick Clegg made a lot ofnoise when he announced£214m of investment incycling infrastructure, but this is just a drop in the ocean. The Government willspend £24 billion on roadinfrastructure by 2021! Cycling infrastructureinvestment in the UK stillstands far below £10 perperson, the minimum amount that Parliament’stransport select committee

says is needed.When more than half of

British adults believe roads are too dangerous to cycle on, serious questions must beraised about a government that talked big but has failed torespond to the epidemic ofcycling accidents.

In fact, this government’spolicies risk causing even more injuries and deaths on Britain’s roads. Not only has it overseen falling trafficpolice numbers, it is alsofoolishly determined to increase the speed limit forHGVs on single track roads. n

SafetyFirst

Road accidents blight lives. But real(not phoney) political commitmentcan help reduce the suffering. A good start would be:

n The introduction of Labour’s road safety targets (scrapped bythe Tories and the Lib Dems);

n Tough new rules proposed byLabour to make sure HGVs arefitted with safety devices toprotect pedestrians and cyclistsalike;

n Making sure all new roadschemes are assessed forcycling safety. Every injury anddeath on our roads is a tragedyand government can and mustdo more to make the roads saferfor everyone.

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UNISON ELECTIONSPECIAL ACTIVE! · 2020-04-27 · offering voters genuine change for the better, characterised by the battle with David Cameron over MPs’ second jobs. He said: “He

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