Put People First - G20

Put People First G20 Counter Conferences in London and in St Andrews, Scotland, Saturday 7 November.

Please see the following link to PCS website, providing more information about these Put People First Coalition events, being held simultaneously in London and St Andrews, Scotland:

Click Here

For the Counter Conference in St Andrews the fastest link is through the Put People First website here.

Support Your Local Postal Worker

Postal workers are fighting to defend
their rights and your postal service.

Support the CWU

The PCS North West Regional Committee have sent the following message of support to the CWU.

"22nd October 2009

Dear Carl

On behalf of 44,000 PCS members in the North West we offer our full support to CWU and its members in their dispute with Royal Mail.

PCS members recognise the attack on public services. The failure of Royal Mail to enter into ACAS facilitated negotiations speaks volumes about their approach to industrial relations.

PCS members would welcome the opportunity to show their support for CWU members. Please keep us informed of picket lines and other activities and we will ensure our members are asked to offer practical support."

Media Releases

The Independent have issued an article on the BNP that can be found here.

Another article published by the Guardian can be found here.

Hope Not Hate - Question Time

Despite widespread opposition Nick Griffin will be on Question Time this Thursday.

The BBC have made their decision - they are willing to let a leader of a fascist Party on their flagship show. Last week the BNP agreed to change its constitution for fear of being found guilty of having a racist and illegal membership policy.

On Sunday, Griffin attacked and abused his fellow panelists Bonnie Greer and Baroness Warsi for not being white, and yet the BBC still allow him on. Griffin's presence is a stain on the BBC - and many of you will share the widespread feelings of anger about this. So it is time to make a stand.

On Thursday afternoon HNH are going to the BBC to deliver the Question Time presenter, David Dimbleby, thousands of messages of hope from our supporters. Your stories, your experiences and your belief in an open and tolerant society will send the strongest possible rejection of the BNP's message of hate.

You can send your message of hope here.

The BNP's goal is to divide us. It's to whip up fear and hatred in our communities and then exploit the anger that they've induced. But we don't have to accept their hatred. At a moment like this we need to rally together to send a message of defiance against the BNP.

You the public are best placed to do this.

So why do you oppose the racist BNP? Why are you proud to live in our open and tolerant society? Or quite simply, do you have a message you want to send Nick Griffin?

Tell us here.

Whatever you write, whatever story you tell, your words will speak for the majority of Britons.

When thousands of us come together in this action we can send a unified message of hope to counter Griffin's fractured message of hate.

Please join us in this moment - whether you write a single word or an entire essay we will take them all to the BBC and present them to David Dimbleby. We can't make the impact we need without you.

Please send a message now

- your stories make our movement -

A Message from UAF

A message to you all from the North West Regional Organiser for Unite Against Fascism.

The Fleetwood and Wyre UAF coordinator would also like to add their own thanks to all of you who took part in the demo in Cleveleys. Well done everyone!!!

Please also see below regarding a protest outside the BBC studios, and if you haven’t already, please consider joining UAF with the form found here.

Thanks

"Dear All, I'd Just like to say a huge well done, and thank you, to all of you for your part in the hugely successful demo against the Fascist BNP in Cleveleys the other night.

We clearly showed the Nazis that they are not welcome and that anti-fascists are the majority.

Their behaviour towards black and Asian members of the public is a clear example of their real racist politics, and something which we will be highlighting in our campaign to expose the Fascists.

See Fleetwood Today here for a full report.

Thanks to all from Unite Against Fascism; Blackpool, Flyde & Wyre Trades Council; FBU; members of UNISON, USDAW, UCU; Labour Party members, Councillors; members of the local community and local youth; and everyone else who was there to join the protest.

Unite Against Fascism would encourage everyone from the protest to join UAF so that we can continue to build as strong an anti-fascist movement as possible to beat the BNP in the future. We are also asking people to come to the national protest against BNP Leader Nick Griffin when he tries to appear on Question Time on 22nd October."

Keep the Nazi BNP off Question Time

Protest at the BBC headquarters
Thursday 22 October
Called by Unite Against Fascism

Pickets from 9am.

Main demo from 5pm outside the BBC Centre, Wood Lane, London W12 7RJ
(nearest Tube White City or Wood Lane)

The protest will be followed by a Love Music Hate Racism social event featuring live music and an 'Alternative Question Time'

Venue: Ginglik, 1 Shepherds Bush Green, W12.

Doors open at 7.30pm starts 8pm.

Artists include South London singer Mpho and DJ Rugrat Entry £6/3
Supported by: BECTU, Anne Frank Trust , PCS, CWU, TSSA, Musicians Union, ASLEF and Love Music Hate Racism

The BBC has invited Nick Griffin, leader of the fascist BNP and a man with a criminal conviction for denying Hitler ’s Holocaust, onto its flagship Question Time programme on Thursday 22 October in London. The BBC says the BNP should be treated as if it were a democratic party. But there is nothing democratic about the BNP. It is a racist and fascist organisation dedicated to kicking every single black and Asian person out of this country.

Griffin himself wrote: “When the crunch comes power is the product of force and will, not of rational debate.” He isn’t interested in impressing people with his arguments — he wants to back up the BNP’s slogans with “well-directed boots and fists”.

The BBC has chosen to roll out the red carpet to racists and fascists. More airtime for the BNP will lead to more racist attacks on the streets.

If you’re disgusted, come along to the demonstration outside Question Time. Please bring family, friends and banners welcome.

http://www.uaf.org.uk/

unite@ucu.org.uk

Make a Donation to Unite Against Fascism
You can make a one-off donation via nochex by going to www.tinyurl.com/UAFdonate. Follow the onscreen instructions and type ‘Appeal Donation’ in the message box.

Also, what we really need is the regular monthly income that comes from standing orders. To make your contribution, please complete the membership form and return it to us at UAF, PO Box 36871, London WC1X 9XT.

Make cheques payable to Unite Against Fascism.

Fleetwood Weekly News BNP Meeting Report.

The Fleetwood Weekly News have issued an article reporting on the happenings inside and outside the Frank Townend centre in Cleveleys where the BNP held their recent local rally.

The following is verbatim, all credits to the Fleetwood Weekly News:

"Published Date: 15 October 2009

Inside view on the BNP

BURLY security staff in heavy, black coats guard the door while police pace outside the Frank Townend Centre in Cleveleys. It's not the usual midweek sight outside the Beach Road community centre where children go for dance classes and ladies meet for art and craft sessions.
But it's not every night the BNP holds a rally in the quaint seaside town. And it's certainly not often the press get invited to see what goes on behind those well guarded doors. So when Clive Jefferson, North West BNP regional organiser, ushered me into their meeting room, I was quite taken aback.

Going inside, I pass a passionate group of anti-fascist protesters waving placards and shouting.

One protester, Jane from Blackpool Trades Union Council told me: "We will fight wherever the BNP stand. If we stand together, we will oppose them quicker."

Then there's an army of bouncers, wearing BNP badges, to negotiate. I join around 40 people – BNP members and invitees – who have turned up to listen to the party's policies and their plans to form a branch in Wyre.

Stood in front of a large banner proclaiming "British jobs for British workers" with a Union Jack flag beside him Mr Jefferson said: "We are a legitimate party, we have a right to hold a meeting here. We want British jobs for British workers. We want the troops out of Iraq."

The audience – a few women but mainly men in their 50s and 60s – burst into applause. But what about their ideas for Cleveleys? James Clayton, candidate for next week's Jubilee ward by-election, said: "The major problems are anti-social behaviour and drug use in Cleveleys, needles being found on the Promenade, mess in the roads, grass cuttings and street lighting.

"A lot of people have shown interest in our party and this is our chance to show ourselves for who we are, which isn't the skinhead or thugs and yob image."

One member offers me a drink as he says: "We're not intimidating are we? We get a lot of bad press but we're not thugs." But I don't like what I hear next as around six people put their hands up to request an application form to become a BNP member. One convert shouts: "I'll have an application form, but not a coloured one!" It was greeted with laughter by most in the audience, and was a deeply unpleasant reminder of where I was. I had a distinctly uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach.

While inside the building the recruitment drive was in full flow, it was a different story outside as four people got turned away. All were either black or Asian. There were no members of the ethnic minorities inside.

As I left a security guard told me: "After a while it was getting full up so we decided it had to be members only." Strange that, as I was given a seat all to myself and I'm not a member. And I swear there was plenty of space.

Madhvi Chabba-Moudgil, 35, from St Annes, was one of those turned away, along with partner Vishal Moudgil and brother SK Chabba. She said: "Allowing a party that only allows certain people to join only goes towards a breakdown of relationships between all sections of the community and further leads to spoil the good work of people who work towards integration and good relations between different communities and classes of society. In this day and age, for a society of this kind to require police presence at a community centre, is a very sad statement in humanity. What hope is there for integration of society?"

Stephen Howard, 32, who is black and from Cleveleys, who was also turned away, said: "When I asked why, they said: 'what does BNP stand for?"

The refusals put Bernie Naughton off from going inside. The 42-year-old from Poulton said: "I came down to hear their opinions but then I saw they were not letting Stephen in I changed my mind."

Around seven police officers were outside to make sure the rally and protest passed off peacefully. Supt Richard Spedding said officers would be looking into the circumstances surrounding people being refused entry. He then praised protesters, including those from Unite Against Fascism, Lancaster Unity and Blackpool Fylde and Wyre Trades Union Council, for how they behaved during their demonstration.

Anti-fascist campaigners are planning a protest in London against the BNP leader's presence on BBC One's Question Time on October 22. Black writer Bonnie Greer will take part in a televised debate with far right party leader Nick Griffin. They will be joined by Justice Secretary Jack Straw – the first senior Labour politician to say that he was willing to appear on the show with Mr Griffin.

* The other candidates for the Jubilee by-election are: Roy Hopwood representing the UK Independence Party, Wayne Martin for Labour and Tory David Walmsley"

European H&S Week Stalls

PCS are holding events on the major Fylde sites for European H&S Week. There will be information on the stalls on various workplace health and safety issues.

The stalls will be staffed by trained PCS H&S Representatives so you can feel free to pop along and discuss any issues you have in the workplace relating to health, safety and welfare.

The venues, dates and times are detailed below:

Norcross Canteen (Block 5)

Monday 19th October 2009

11.45 am to 1.30pm

Tomlinson House Canteen

Monday 19th October 2009

11.45 am to 1.30pm

Warbreck House (Outside Canteen)

Tuesday 20th October 2009

11.45 am to 1:30pm

Peel Park (Deli Bar Phase 2)

Thursday 22nd October 2009

11.45am to 1.30pm

We hope to see you at one of the events!

LEAN - An Update

The purpose of this post is to provide an update on the roll-out of Lean across DCPU Ops and the planned roll-out of Lean into the Support Unit and Helpline. PCS met with Senior Management on 13th October 2009 to discuss the issues and concerns we had and of those raised by members.

DCPU Ops
The final stages of the Lean roll-out are approaching and Senior Management state that all DCPU Ops areas should have ‘gone live’ by 30th November 2009. Senior Management stated that they were currently looking to share ‘good practices’ across the Units with a view to standardising the work flow. We advised that we had received reports of areas scrapping the Lean processes and reverting back to the ‘old’ ways of working. We have concerns that this implies that Lean is not working as well as the employer would have us believe.

We reiterated our concerns in respect of the Health & Safety implications of the low level racking used. Despite PCS continually raising this concern with Senior Management since the start of Lean approx 18 months ago, the matter has still to be resolved to our satisfaction. The Senior Manager responsible for Lean, stated that no member of staff should be forced to use low level racking if they had any concerns about doing so, and that alternative arrangements should be made. However PCS want to remove the Health & Safety risk for all members, not just individuals.

Given that low level racking has resulted in a number of serious accidents (some of which are being taken forward as legal claims), and is also No1 on the Employer’s Top 10 list for Health & Safety risks associated with Lean, we do not believe that this is an acceptable resolution.

We do not believe Senior Management are taking the matter of low level racking seriously. We will continue to pursue this matter through the appropriate Health & Safety channels, as PCS do not believe that Health & Safety risks should be purposely built into working practices. However if Senior Management’s suggestion of using alternative arrangements is helpful to you then you should speak to your line manager to establish what alternative arrangements you can utilise.

DCPU Support Units
We discussed Lean being rolled-out into the Support Unit, in respect of the intention to roll out the Lean processes at the same time as the Lean awareness sessions were being run. Obviously we were concerned by this. Senior Management assured us that Lean roll-out would not take place until after staff have had the Lean awareness sessions. Senior Management also agreed to meet with PCS again after those sessions had taken place so that we could discuss any proposals they had with them.

Helpline
Roll-out of Lean into Helpline is still in the planning stages but Senior Management expect it to take place sometime between now and March 2010. Senior Management explained that some Helpline staff had been assisting the Lean Core Team by giving details regarding the type of calls/work Helpline staff do on a day-to-day basis. They stated that they would also be involving turret staff in this process. Senior Management assured us that any Lean processes implemented in Helpline would not be about cutting the call length by being less helpful to customers/ claimants; but that Lean was about making processes more efficient and therefore could result in the call length being increased, if that did in fact increase efficiency.

I hope that the above is useful. If you have any issues or concerns about Lean then please do not hesitate to contact the Branch Office on ext 61186.

Equality News

The Equality and Human Rights Commission has issued it's latest "newsletter".

This edition covers their finance inquiry, their action against the BNP, an update on our Strategic Funding Programme and more.

Click here to open the site in a new window.

PCS Women's Introductory Course

PCS in conjunction with Preston TUC Education Unit are running a Women's Introductory Course.

It takes place over three days, the 3rd, 4th & 5th November 2009 at Preston College, Trade Union Education Unit, 5th Floor Buckingham House, Glovers Court, Preston, PR1 3LS.

The course runs from 9.30am to 4.30pm each day and is designed for for new women reps.

The course aims to:

• Encourage the involvement of women
• Build skills and confidence
• Familiarise you with the policies of PCS

If you would like to attend this course, please complete and send an application form (these are available from Katya Lawder in Room C122A, Warbreck House) by Tuesday, 20th October 2009.

2009 PCS Proud Seminar - Glasgow

The 2009 PCS Proud seminar for members has been announced.

It is being held over the weekend commencing 20th November in Glasgow and you don't have to be a Proud member to apply, however, you must identify as being lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender.

More information can be found on the PCS Proud website here.

The required application forms can be found on the PCS HQ website here.

Application forms must be received by the Equality, Health and Safety Department by midday on Thursday 29th October 2009.

Protest Against the BNP - Cleveleys

PROTEST AGAINST THE BNP

Date: 6pm Tuesday 13th October
Location: Outside the Frank Townend Community Centre, Kensington Road, Cleveleys.

The BNP are holding a private meeting/rally in Cleveleys Jubilee ward in the run up to the local by-election.

Their event has been approved by Wyre Borough Council despite much opposition from Labour Councillors, local UAF and others.

The BNP meeting is being held at The Frank Townend Community Centre on Kensington Road, just off Beach Road at 7pm on Tuesday 13th October.

A protest demonstration is therefore planned for the same time outside the community centre.

Please pass this on to as many people as you can.

Let's have a large number of people outside protesting about this.

The BNP are a racist organisation who wish to divide the community, and a community centre is no such place for them to be holding a race hate meeting.

Please arrive early and in groups if possible.

Stay safe!

Stop the BNP meeting in Cleveleys

It has been brought to our attention that the BNP are holding a meeting (invite only as far as we are aware, although rumours have been heard that it is to be a public meeting) in the Frank Townend Community Centre in Cleveleys which is owned by Wyre Borough Council.

The meeting is taking place on 13th October 2009.

You are all urged to complain to Wyre Borough Council on 01253 891000 or by email and The Frank Townend Community Centre on 01253 863369.

The BNP is an extremist racist organisation that seeks to divide the community, and as such we feel that a community centre (especially a council owned one) that is supposed to serve the needs of the whole community is not the place for such a group to hold a meeting.

Please phone/email and ask them to cancel this meeting on the grounds that a community centre should be there to serve the whole community, and not to promote a group that seeks to divide and alienate whole sectors of the community.

If they do not cancel the meeting then the UAF will be arranging a demo outside the building.

Low Level Racking - LEAN “designs in” Problems

Negotiations To Resolve The Matter – Compensation Claims

Over the years we have witnessed problems with filing at Warbreck, particularly with staff filing in the “corridors” within the rooms. Unfortunately although the Department has a policy to “design out” Health and Safety risks, this is only a theory.

Since the introduction of LEAN techniques at Warbreck we have seen a proliferation of low level racking at Warbreck. This has resulted in serious accidents. According to the employer’s top ten list of Health and Safety risks associated with LEAN; low level racking appears at number 1.

We have tried at every turn over the past year to get the employer to see sense collectively and for them to restore proper racking and eliminate the low level racking. At the Warbreck Safety Committee on 30th September 2009 the employer acknowledged the scale of the problems and agreed to issue a statement to try and resolve the issues (or at least to start to take steps to improve matters).

Although the problems may be resolved in the near future, members who have suffered a medical detriment are now pursuing the issue through the legal channels.

Detriments to Health and Legal cases
So far it appears that there have only been half a dozen accidents associated with low level racking. This may be the tip of the iceberg.

Two of the members’ cases are being actively taken forward by the Lawyers. However there may be other members who have suffered a medical detriment as a result of the low level racking who would be interested in joining in a “group” action of claims through the Lawyers.

If you feel that you have suffered detriments that you may have been subjected to as a result of the low level racking then please contact me as soon as possible, in order that any claims can be considered by the Lawyers.