UNISON press release here "The Local Government Association (LGA) and trade unions have today announced the outcome of their negotiations on new LGPS proposals (for England and Wales) to take effectread more
The long-awaited proposals for the future of our Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) have been published online at http://www.lgps.org.uk/lge/core/page.do?pageId=15431012.
UNISON activistsread more
: SEARCH Blog Journalism Books Film Radio Toby's School Thursday 31st May 2012 The day I was invited to tea with the Queen It’s not every day the Queen invites you to tea . Admittedly , I’m not along in being granted that honour . At the Royal Garden Party I went to last week , I was among several thousand dignitaries craning their necks to get a glimpse of Her Majesty . But it was still a lovely day out more deeply affecting than I thought it would be . To read more , click here COMMENT COMMENTS SO FAR : 1 FIXED LINK EMAIL TO A FRIEND afneil Plenty of buckshot , no bullets . Nervous at first , but finished strong 39 minutes ago Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Wikipedia IMdb Email BEST OF THE WEB Fixing Britain's character flaws by Anthony Seldon telegraph.co.uk The shame of Britain's public
NUJ general secretary Michelle Stanistreet will speak about the union’s finances at a meeting in London next week. The general secretary is addressing the NUJ’s PR and Communications...Picture from this morning's UNISON London Regional Council of Laurie Heselden from SERTUC briefing delegates on the emo.
The TUC are planning a major national demonstration in London on Saturday 20 October. The march will be called "A future that works" and its focus will be to end the...
Last Thursday I went to a seminar by the President of the Australian Congress of Trade Unions Geradine (Ged) Kearney t ongress House. The event was sponsored by TUC international office and Unions21.
Ged has a nursing background and gave a honest and articulate appraisal of the Labour...
It was another bad week for employees last week. At around the same time that the Conservative hedge fund multi-millionaire and sponsor, Beecroft, published his report recommending that companies should be able to sack their employees if they don’t like them, Molins, a FTSE listed UK engineering...
The fight against Polio (poliomyelitis) received a boost last week with the launch of an ‘emergency action plan’ by the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI). The news follows recent fears about the resurgence of the disease in countries such as the Congo and China where the disease was thought to have been eradicated. Continue reading →
Off message but went on marvellous walk today along the Thames Estuary. Weather was hot and sunny but there was also a erfect reeze. This is not an entirely "pretty" country walk. There is a constant contrast between the industrial heritage and natural marsh land beauty. It is also very...: SEARCH Blog Journalism Books Film Radio Toby's School Sunday 27th May 2012 Plan B's two-hour party political broadcast for the Conservative Party I went to a screening of Ill Manors this week , the new film directed by British rapper Ben Drew . Reviewers have described it as a defence of the rioters and an angry diatribe against David Cameron’s broken Britain” , so I was curious to see it . Would the controversial musician and winner of Best British Male at the 2011 Brit Awards really take the side of the feral gangs who set England’s cities ablaze last summer The answer , I’m happy to report , is no . To read more , click here COMMENT COMMENTS SO FAR : 0 FIXED LINK EMAIL TO A FRIEND RT JananGanesh Total accumulated electoral impact of hacking Leveson will be nil . Most don't care andWell done and another great victory for the local UNISON Health branch at St George's Hospital. In 2008 they secured a living wage for cleaners employed by ISS (see here and photo) . Now they have done the same after years of campaigning for cleaners employed in the Medical school. See press...
I was contacted by Inside Housing" (trade magazine for Social Housing) his week about possible significant increases n pension contributions for members of the Social Housing Pension Scheme (SHPS). What I told them is hardly rocket science, but after years of below inflation...
We are delighted to announce that a European parliament Written Declaration has been passed after reaching, and exceeding, 378 MEP signatories. The Declaration is currently standing at 398. You can watch a video of the declaration being passed here Continue reading →WHAT IS THE SPIRIT LEVEL?
“The Spirit Level” is an award-winning book which uses rigorous analysis of 25 years of research to show how a more equal society is better for all of us, including the rich. It shows how nearly all social ills - stress, poor educational performance, high crime rates,...
This was very informative and well organised conference taking place during an absolutely crucial time for the future of the local government pensions scheme (LGPS). I was there as a Councillor and member of the Borough LGPS Investment and Accounts committee.
I id “twitter” (in my...: : SEARCH Blog Journalism Books Film Radio Toby's School Wednesday 23rd May 2012 Allan Bloom : Prophet of Doom Allan Bloom’s famous book , The Closing of the American Mind , opens with the following sentence : There is one thing a professor can be absolutely certain of : almost every student entering the university believes , or says he believes , that truth is relative . In the twenty-five years that have passed since the book's publication , that belief has become , if anything , even more ubiquitous . It’s not simply true of American universities , it’s true of British universities as well . Indeed , this all-encompassing relativism which Bloom says is regarded as a moral postulate , the condition of a free society” is shared by the educated and uneducated alike . The only people in
Early on Friday last week I went on a guided coach tour of the London Olympics 2012 site. This is the 3rd tour for Newham Councillors I have been on I think since I was elected in May 2010.
The change in the last 2 years alone has been remarkable. I also use to run/cycle into work and back through...
This picture is from the UNISON Community Service Group Executive meeting earlier this month at the UNISON Centre. In the middle is Stephen Brown, who was ur first ever Chair of what is now the 3rd biggest Service Group in UNISON. Stephen was our senior lay activist who did more...: SEARCH Blog Journalism Books Film Radio Toby's School Sunday 20th May 2012 Today's Sun column Should it be against the law to make an offensive joke On Friday , I got involved in a Twitter spat with Mehdi Hasan , a senior editor at the Left-wing New Statesman magazine . He’d appeared on a politics programme the night before in which he’d been filmed on a private jet and I thought I’d tease him about it . Odd to see you on a private jet last night , but not in an orange boiler suit , I tweeted . Next time , eh To read more , click here COMMENT COMMENTS SO FAR : 2 FIXED LINK EMAIL TO A FRIEND b16tnk Thanks 2 hours ago Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Wikipedia IMdb Email BEST OF THE WEB Fixing Britain's character flaws by Anthony Seldon telegraph.co.uk The shame of Britain's public school elite: : SEARCH Blog Journalism Books Film Radio Toby's School Sunday 20th May 2012 Leveson : The musical COMMENT COMMENTS SO FAR : 0 FIXED LINK EMAIL TO A FRIEND Lead story in the Obsever says Ed_Miliband is on verge of committing Labour to an In Out EU referendum link 7 hours ago Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Wikipedia IMdb Email BEST OF THE WEB Fixing Britain's character flaws by Anthony Seldon telegraph.co.uk The shame of Britain's public school elite by Matthew Norman telegraph.co.uk Archbishop Cranmer responds to ASA assault on free speech archbishop-cranmer.blogspot.co.uk In defence of Murdoch by John O'Sullivan nationalreview.com In politics , you're either up or down by John Kampfner independent.co.uk James Lovelock recants Daily Mail Let's give Polly Toynbee the Britain she wants by Tim
"Over the past decade, while executive pay has grown by over 323%, the average UKearnings have grown by a mere 54%. Across the nation, ordinary workers have felt outraged by the continuing gap between the lowest and the highest paid earners but felt powerless to do anything. This growing inequality...
Last night (Thursday 17 May) was the London Borough of Newham Annual Council meeting. It was held in our historic Stratford Town Hall.
It opened with live classical music from some of the 7000 Newham Primary school pupils who had benefited from the Council's "Every Child a Musician" programme"...
A number of prevention strategies have been implemented in recent years in an attempt to halt the spread of HIV, from voluntary medically supervised adult male circumcision, prevention of mother-to-child transmission and treatment as prevention. These interventions have undoubedly prevented … Continue reading →"Muhammad Shahid Nazir works on a fish stall in Queen’s Market, near to the Olympic Stadium.
More than 1m views on the video sharing site show people love his tune, “come on ladies, come on ladies, one pound fish… Have a have a look, one pound fish.”
He is now in talks with a record label and has...
We are delighted to announce that a European Parliament Written Declaration that is currently under signature has passed 300 signatories. Continue reading →
Will Crooks: A celebration. Tuesday 29th May, 6:30pm - 8:30pm at St. Matthias Community Centre,
This event will celebrate the 160th anniversary of the birth of Will Crooks:- rade Unionist, he ourth Labour ember of Parliament and first Labour Mayor of Poplar.Speakers...
If you have a heart attack then the best chance of you not dying on the spot is if someone can get a defibrillator to treat you within 5 minutes. For every inute after an attack your chances of survival without such treatment rops by 14%.
CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) and "mouth...
Executive Remuneration – free seminar for pension fund trustees
Co-hosted by the TUC and Fair Pensions 2.00 – 3.30pm, Monday 21 May, Congress House with speakers:
Frances O’Grady, TUC Deputy General Secretary
Iain Richards, Head of Governance and Responsible Investment, Threadneedle...
Two weeks ago I was in a traditional cafe in Tower Hamlets, East London meeting one of my trade union members who s off sick from work. While we were discussing his situation I was vaguely aware that some sort of disturbance had broken out in the street outside the cafe. ouths on push...
I've been meaning to post on this for a while. Last month I went on a bus tour of Newham Conservation areas and listed buildings with other Councillors.
Newham has 9 conservation areas and 114 listed buildings or groups of buildings. The oldest dating from the 12th Century.
Pictured in the...
Guest post from Comrade Eitingon. "Dear John's Labour blog. This letter (see scans left - double click to bring up detail) was recently sent to ll members of a rade union branch.
I was surprised to read that it was from its branch secretary, who announced that ince his...
I've just been trying to work out what on earth my 60 actually means? o any non-Brits looking at this post, every year in the UK if you are employed your mployer should send you a legal certificate howing your salary and how much you have paid in income ax and national...
Hat tip to the President of the National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers lex Gordon!