Leadership Ballot – Supporting Nomination for Ed Miliband

UNISON’s national political committee has given Ed Miliband its backing in the forthcoming ballot for Labour leadership. The decision was taken after consultation throughout the affiliated members of the union. Hustings at UNISON’s national political conference, attended by 200 UNISON Labour Party members representing the regions, were held in early July. All the candidates were present and the hustings were broadcast over the union’s website.

The process to be followed in UNISON’s member ballot to determine how we cast our vote in the Labour leadership election is as follows: All Labour Link levy (APF) payers will receive a ballot envelop with the U magazine at the beginning of September ( the non affiliated members mailing of U mag will take place earlier in August).

SAVE OUR SCHOOLS (Academy Information)

Keep Our Schools as a Local Community Service

 

207 schools across the region have expressed an interest in becoming academies (a list is attached).
Word document (28176 bytes)

 

Of those 130 have an ‘outstanding’ Ofsted status which means that they are ‘pre-approved’ and will not need to secure a sponsor to convert to an academy. Should the Academies Bill get through parliament this week – some of these ‘outstanding’ schools could be academies by as early as September!

 

There has been a lot of coverage in the media in the last few days regarding the governments rush to get the Academies Bill through parliament this week. UNISON is fighting this every step of the way – lobbying MP’s, consulting solicitors on the legality of the Bill and encouraging staff, parents and the local community to campaign locally against schools becoming academies.

WHY?

UNISON in Schools – Summer 2010

The latest schools newsletter can be downloaded here - Acrobat PDF (536218 bytes)

Elections For Labour Party London Mayoral Candidate

All Affiliated Political Fund (APF) levy paying members will have the opportunity to vote in the UNISON ballot for the selection of the London Mayoral Labour Party candidate. The Labour Party has shortlisted two candidates who are: Ona King (former MP in Bethnal Green and Bow) and Ken Livingstone (former Mayor of London from 2000-2008). The ballot will commence on 23 August and ballot papers will be sent to APF levy payers via the U Magazine.

Academies Bill Campaign

UNISON is continuing to campaign vigorously against the Academies Bill which the coalition government is seeking to rush through Parliament before the summer recess. The Bill is seeking to fast-track schools without local consultation towards Academy status which is outside all local authority oversight, education regulation and national pay and conditions agreements.

A UNISON briefing on the Academies Bill is attached for your information and a range of joint union information and campaigning materials can be downloaded from the UNISON website - http://www.unison.org.uk/education/schools/campaigns.asp. This includes a model letter to send to Governors, frequently asked questions for staff and parents and also a petition.

UNISON Equality Reps

A short animated film on how UNISON equality reps make the workplace better for all. Equality reps are trained to recognise discrimination and help members get the support of their union if things go wrong for them at work can be found below.

http://www.unison.org.uk/video/video.asp?did=10858

For more information on UNISON Equality Reps please go to www.unison.org.uk/equality

UNISON Welfare News - Spring 2010

UNISON Welfare News - Spring 2010 A copy of the latest news from UNISON Welfare can be downloaded below.

Defeat the BNP in Barking & Dagenham

The British National Party (BNP) has 12 Councillors on Barking & Dagenham Borough Council. Their ambition is to take control of the council in May 2010 when all council seats are up for election. Added to this, Nick Griffin, Leader of the BNP, is challenging Margaret Hodge MP, to become the Member of Parliament for Barking.