We’ve Saved Our Steel

Following months of pragmatic campaigning TATA (formally Corus) Teeside has been saved.

TATA have announced (22 October 2010) that, subject to an agreement being concluded between TATA Steel UK Limited and Sahaviriya Steel Industries Public Company Limited (“SSI”) and Sahaviriya Steel Industries UK Limited (“SSI UK”), TATA are proposing to transfer their Teeside Cast Products Business to new ownership.

This deal will save steel making on Teeside and support jobs into the future.

The unions have campaigned vigorously for many months to retain a steel making capability at Teeside and through careful lobbying and debate, supported by the members, have played their part in attracting SSI to take over this facility.

A knee jerk reaction to the problems faced on Teeside would have ensured the end of steel making on Teeside; pragmatic campaigning has secured its future.

Congratulations to all those involved in the campaign.

Nomination Period: July/August 2010

Eligible Voting Membership registration date: 9th August 2010

Closing date for nominations: 12 noon on 6th September 2010

Closing date for Acceptance of Nomination; candidate messages for special candidates mailing and election addresses to accompany ballot papers: 12 noon on 17th September 2010

Special Candidates Mailing and email week commencing: 11th October 2010

Ballot enquiry services for Members opens: 8th November 2010

Ballot period: 25th October – 19th November 2010

Count: 20th – 21st November 2010

Declaration: 24th November 2010

For those that can remember the previous Tory governments, the sight of David Cameron welcoming Margaret Thatcher at the door of 10 Downing Street is a chilling reminder of the devastation inflicted on people and their communities when they last had power.

Margaret Thatcher was not welcomed back to number 10 for sentimental reasons; she was welcomed back to send out a clear message.

To the Tory hierarchy the message is that David Cameron has not lost his roots and remains committed to the Free Market philosophy of Milton Friedman and will continue where Thatcher left off.

To the Lib Dems the message is thanks for giving power back to us, now sit back, be quiet and watch you implode.

To the people of this nation the message is we will look after the few at the top at the expense of the many who are not as privileged.

The Tories need a crisis to push forward their ideology “Free Market Capitalism”.

As Milton Friedman wrote “Only a crisis – actual or perceived – produces real change.

Thatcher’s “crisis” was the Falklands War. Cameron’s “crisis” is national debt.

As with Thatcher, these Tories will argue that structural adjustment is required to save the economy from crisis and that will require transferring, in their view, inefficient public services into private hands.

This week the Chancellor, George Osborne, will deliver a tough austerity budget. They are already lining up the arguments to persuade us that things are worse than they thought and therefore the cuts that they were proposing will have to go deeper and over a longer period.

We are being lined up to believe that the economic problems that affect us are not the fault of the banks, who have quickly returned to their old ways; instead they will argue that it is the fault of the public sector.

We can anticipate that they will then lay out their initial plans to cut jobs and services in the public sector and we will have to listen to some very wealthy people telling us that public sector pensions are too generous.

I hasten to add that they will not say that the public sector pensions paid to MP’s are too generous.

This will just be the beginning of the attacks and we can anticipate that they will then roll out attacks on all working people and their families and communities.

We’ve already seen the Tories auction off BT, Steel and Public Utilities. Next up will be Royal Mail (Letters), Health, Education and other parts of the public sector that they have not yet got their private sector hands on.

Let’s make no mistake about it. The Tories have learnt from the past and have had 13 years to develop their strategies for pushing forward their “Free Market” dream.

As a union, we also must learn from the past and not be drawn into the errors that some trade unions made during the Thatcher years.

We will have at least 5 years of a Tory Government and it would be folly to even think about our initial response being to march the members up to the top of the hill and leaving them there and suffering a glorified defeat.

We need to develop our response to the attacks that are coming in a far more pragmatic way.

Before we contemplate responding to the attacks through a programme of action, we need to ensure that our members understand the politics behind the attacks, to articulate the arguments against the extension of the “Free Market” and persuade our members that there is an alternative.

The time for action, if it is to be successful, will only come when we have articulated the arguments to the stage where our members, their families and communities and the general public support the need for change.

Les Bayliss understands this and that is why his first task will be to unite all elements that go to make up our union and to ensure that we have an organisation that will support all members, officers and staff and that is why I am supporting him in the election for General Secretary.

  A UNITED UNION

“It’s not me – it’s us who will make a difference”

is a principle that I have set out during our election campaigns and one that I believe will help us to take our union into the future.

During the past months I have been in detailed discussions, aimed at building a strong, efficient and effective union, with Les Bayliss.

I can advise you that both Les and I have shared views and a shared vision on how to take our union forward with all the elements that go to make up our union united through the common objective of giving the best possible support and service to the members.

This will include giving the best possible support to our Workplace Representatives, Officers and Staff and have the structures in place to help them to develop their full potential.

We cannot escape the fact that the Conservatives have seized political power through their coalition with the Lib Dems to form a ConDem government and that worker’s and workers rights are set to be attacked in a way that we have not witnessed during the past 13 years.

Neither can we escape the fact that some may see this political change and the election for General Secretary as an opportunity to seize power within our union to fulfil their own narrow political objectives or to satisfy their own personal ambitions at the expense of the members.

The ambition that I hold is to ensure that we collectively do what is right for our union and our members.

The need for our union to be united has never been greater; the need for our union to be able to defend our members, their families and communities in the future could never be greater and the need for me to put into practice “It’s not me – it’s us who will make a difference” could not be greater.

Colleagues, I believe that Les and I have the vision, with your support and participation, to help make the difference necessary to unite our union and take it forward united and not divided.

It is for these reasons that I have decided to withdraw as a potential candidate in the election for General Secretary and will put my full support behind Les Bayliss.

I am confident that all those who share my views and vision for the future will also put their full support behind Les.

Best wishes and in solidarity

Paul

Our joint statement can be seen and down loaded from

below

 A Strategic Alliance

We at “unitegselection” have, on numerous occasions, mentioned that we need to reinvigorate the Labour Party so that it reflects the aspirations of our members within Unite. One way to do that is for our members to join the Labour Party and then become actively involved in both local and national politics.

Therefore, Unite members may wish to download a joining form here…Labour Party Joining form

Regards,

Elect Paul Reuter 4 Unite GS – A unifying candidate

You report “Bafflement over Post Office bank plans since one exists already” (21 May). What the Post Office has is a set of financial services which are popular and growing, but do not constitute a full bank – what we at the Post Bank Coalition have been campaigning for. The Post Office does not offer a full current or business account. Its financial services are not universally available. And because the Bank of Ireland provides most of the financial services, 50% of the profit of any transaction leaves the country. Further, the Bank of Ireland has its own difficulties which mean that the innovative expansion of financial services appears to be beyond it. The Post Office needs new revenue, more customers and a sustainable business plan. That’s why there is such wide support for a wholly publicly owned Post Bank which can sustain our post office network. Post Banks are a modern concept – New Zealand, France and Italy, among others, use and profit from them. We should have one too.

Andy Furey Communication Workers Union 

Robert Gray Countryside Alliance

Clive Davenport Federation of Small Businesses

Lindsay Mackie Nef

Dot Gibson National Pensioners Convention

Paul Reuter Unite

Despite strike action by the CWU at local and national level in Royal Mail Letters during 2009, the operating profit for Letters has more than doubled to £121 million (£58 million 2008-09). This is in despite of an overall fall in revenue and a reduction in the Groups headcount by almost 8,000 people in 2009-10 and with record target-beating performances being delivered by Royal Mail’s postmen and women in the spring of 2009.

Donald Brydon, Chairman of the Royal Mail Group said:

“These are good results achieved against a backdrop of harsh economic conditions and relentless reduction in the number of letters sent by customers, not just in the UK but around the world. However, huge challenges remain, including the need to find a resolution to our historic pension deficit, and the need to reach agreement with Postcomm on a regulatory regime more suited to today’s changing marketplace.”

So why would the ConDems want to privatise a very successful publically owned business?

We at “unitegselection” would suggest that there are two basic reasons why they would.

1. It follows the Friedman philosophy of “Public bad – Private good” a philosophy that led to the selling off of other publically owned businesses such as Steel, BT and Public Utilities by a non-Labour government.

1. Mail volumes around the world are falling and privately owned mail operators will soon have greater difficulty in competing with a publically owned Royal Mail that continues to modernise with increasing efficiency.

In other words, it is a decision that will underpin the class divide that is being reinforced by the ConDems, one that will benefit the minority at the expense of the majority.

So what else can we expect from the so called progressive ConDems?

All the signs point towards further privatisations and the contracting out/loss of public services, putting further pressure on jobs, pay, conditions and pensions – underpinned by a review of employment and workplace law that will make it even more difficult for people and their trade unions to defend themselves, their families and communities.

If the ConDems have their way, then we will have at least five more years of even greater freedom for private businesses to exploit working people, less fairness in the workplace, and our society and the public sector will be accused and used as a punchbag for the economic mess that the heads at the top of our global banking and financial systems have got us into.

We cannot sit by for the next five years waiting, as the far left will, for a revolution to appear. We need to elect a Unite General Secretary that will fight to free our members of the shackles that the ConDems will seek to tie them down with, for fairness in the workplace and our communities, and for the return of a listening Labour Government that will take their responsibility for all of the people seriously, one that will not act subserviently to a small minority whilst mobilising and using power against the majority.

All those who voted Lib Dem in the belief that it would keep the Conservatives from power must surely recognise how misguided they were, and they must now realise how the Con-Dem desire for political power is driven by class for the benefit of the minority and not for the majority.

Those who voted against the Labour Party, or did not bother to vote at all, will have to recognise that they will now have to shoulder some of the responsibility for the attacks on working people and our welfare and public services that will be now be unleashed by the Con-Dem’s.

The new government has already announced that it will start to cut the financial deficit immediately instead of later, as many financial commentators believe should be done in an effort to continue to stimulate the economy, and all this on a day when unemployment has risen yet again.

Some will benefit from a Con-Dem government. We can expect that those at the very top of our banking and financial institutions will continue to reward themselves with obscene bonus payments whilst those underpaid and under valued people who work long hours in our banks and financial institutions will continue to face job cuts or find themselves being on the receiving end of a disciplinary procedure being used to manage them out of the Company.

We can also expect CEO’s, the mere officials of companies, to continue to pay themselves vast amounts (they were paid 47 times the average wage in 2000, today they are paid 81 times the average and this is likely to rise) whilst cutting jobs, terms and conditions and the pensions of working people.

In addition, we can expect big cuts in the public sector, more contracting out of services and further privatisations, with possibly the Royal Mail being a principle target.

The challenge for our union is how we are going to react to a new political environment. A new political environment will require a new industrial response and new leadership.

It has been clearly demonstrated during the general election that both the electorate and our members have rejected the extremes of both the right and left.

We cannot be driven by socialism based upon an ideology. What is required is a leadership that has an understanding of society, leadership that will represent, defend, and fight for our members whilst considering and evaluating the circumstances that we currently find ourselves in.

Our role is to deal with the “now” in a pragmatic way and not to sit around waiting for a revolution that will not come, or to dream of the UK turning into a far left utopia sometime in the future.

We do not have the luxury to stay in the past; we need to organise and to play our part in rebuilding the Labour Party to ensure that it is fit for the future.

The political landscape of the nation has changed and as a union we will need to change to remain relevant, we need leadership, and a sensible leader that can help us take Unite the union into the future, a future where we will have to deal with the challenges that face us, our members, their families and communities.

Wake up its time for you do the sensible thing.

Nominate and support Paul Reuter.

“It’s not me – it’s us who will make a difference”

Paul joined the union as a 17 year old apprentice in 1969 working in a shipyard. He was first elected as a shop steward at the age of 20.

He continued his employment in the shipyard up until 1986 representing the union as a lay representative at all levels and was Convenor of the shipyard until he left to become a full time officer of the union in 1986.

In 1986 he became a Regional Officer of the union after being elected to that position in 1985, representing members both on a regional and national basis.

In 1998 he was appointed as a National Officer of the Union. Paul has represented members in many industries at national level including:

Ministry of Defence

Government Establishments

Confederation of Shipbuilding & Engineering Unions (Executive)

Rail, Buses and Ferries

Shipbuilding and Ship Repair

Aerospace

Chemicals

Pharmaceuticals

Information Technology

Federation of Professional Associations (FPA)

Administration, Professional and Managerial Staff

Communications

Royal Mail

Steel

Within his sphere of responsibilities he has had the privilege of representing members from a wide and diverse membership base, from labourer to senior manager. He is also responsible for managing staff and full time officers within the Union.

He has been active within the trade union and labour movement and dealt with union member’s problems for 38 years and during that time has built up and established a wealth of experience.

We face this election at a time of uncertainty. The global economic system is in crisis whilst bankers and CEO’s are continuing to reap rewards. Public Services are under attack whilst unemployment continues. Many of our members are experiencing job losses, wage cuts, wage freezes and attacks on terms, conditions and pensions.

Until the election for Unite’s General Secretary is finalised, there is uncertainty about the future direction of our union. Paul does not have a narrow political agenda. He knows that the diverse membership that we have is made up of women and men with differing political views, from different backgrounds and cultures and with different needs and expectations.

He also knows that it is those differences that make our Union the strong force that it is today and can continue to be in the future. We need a candidate that can lead us through these times of uncertainty, that can deal with issues efficiently and effectively and that has both the experience and time to make a difference and to unite our union.

We believe that the candidate who can best take up the challenges that lay ahead is Paul Reuter.

We seek your support in ensuring that Paul receives the requisite nominations to enable him to enter into this election.

Paul’ details are:

Membership No: 31561281

Branch: Portsmouth & District 0750

You may wish to send a message of support to Paul at

p.reuter1@ntlworld.com

Or visit his blog on

http://unitegselection.wordpress.com

All emails will be treated in the strictest confidence and will not be circulated.

Download a flyer click link below

Microsoft Word – General Secretary Election-Paul’s details

The National Steel Trade Union Co-ordinating Committee has issued the following statement:

“Due to a lack of progress and a lack of clarity over securing an alternative for Teesside we have begun ballot proceedings today. In view of recent legal actions against unions we are making legal and administrative preparations before the ballot opens.

“We were due to meet Corus today, but the company failed to turn up at the appointed time. This is symptomatic of the way Corus has treated the workforce in the past months.

“It is correct that this industrial action threat has been hovering for some time but it is our view that we cannot hold off any longer.  We have held off to give Corus the opportunity to deal with this issue with honesty and transparency but sadly this has not happened.

The ballot will commence on Teesside but other industrial relations issues may mean this could spread to other Corus plants in the near future. 

Paul Reuter, Unite National Officer said: “Regretfully, this is the only option left open to us as the business has closed all other doors.”