LYCH Bulletin July 2017

Issue 10

Your Briefing

July 2017

Welcome to your Leeds & York Community Health Branch briefing

Welcome to our new branch activists In the past few months we have had a number of people express an interest in becoming more active in the branch - which is great news!

We ratified four new activists at the branch meeting in July and they will receive their training soon.

Is being a Steward or Health & Safety Rep something that you are interested in too?

We would love to hear from you.

Full training is provided and we will negotiate time off work to attend it.

NHS England - Siobhán Clibbens I’ve worked at NHS England for 4 years. I’m part of the Business Intelligence team for North region Specialised Commissioning. I currently work with our mental health providers to improve their data compliance. I’ve also worked as part of the central team, in the corporate PMO and Partnerships. When I am Quarry House (usually 12 days a week) I can be found on the 6th floor.

New UNISON organisers - NHS National Bodies UNISON has recently recruited two dedicated organisers to work with NHS national bodies in the north. Heather and Paul are based at the UNISON’s regional office in Leeds, and are here to assist activists and members in building a strong and effective union presence. They hope to build local capacity and provide support for UNISON members to represent yourselves in your workplaces, and create a programme of events and campaigns to engage with all staff within the NHS National Bodies.

They would love to hear from you.

Heather Blakey Paul Jenkins

h.blakey@unison.co.uk p.jenkins@unison.co.uk

07432 735183 07932 553928

UNISON Resource Centre, St Mary’s Hospital, Greenhill Road, Armley, Leeds, LS12 3QE Website: www.unison-lych.org.uk Telephone: 0113 855 5168 Facebook: UNISON LYCH Twitter: @UNISONLYCH Email: contact@unison-lych.org.uk

In remembrance of our Past Masters…celebrate with me: Malcolm X TO COMMEMORATE what would have been the assassinated icon's 92nd birthday year.

On Feb. 21, 1965, the former Nation of Islam leader Malcolm X was shot and killed as he was about to address the Organization of Afro-American Unity at the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem. He was 39.

The legendary human rights activist inspired the world and listed are some inspiring quotes that still ring true today.

ON EDUCATION - "Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today."

ON TRUTH - “I'm for truth, no matter who tells it. I'm for justice, no matter who it is for or against.

I'm a human being, first and foremost, and as such I'm for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.”

ON SELF-WORTH - “We cannot think of being acceptable to others until we have first proven acceptable to ourselves.”

ON SUCCESS - “If you have no critics you'll likely have no success.”

ON POSITIVITY - “We need more light about each other. Light creates understanding, understanding creates love, love creates patience, and patience creates unity.”

ON EQUALITY - “I believe in recognising every human being as a human being - neither white, black, brown, or red; and when you are dealing with humanity as a family there's no question of integration or intermarriage. It's just one human being marrying another human being or one human being living around and with another human being.”

ON FREEDOM - “Nobody can give you freedom. Nobody can give you equality or justice or anything. If you're a man, you take it.”

ON UNDERSTANDING - “One day, may we all meet together in the light of understanding.”

I hope that ‘all we as activist’ remain inspired by those who have proved to be our Past Masters.

Stay Inspired Until Then One Love and Peace Always Milton Allen UNISON Black Workers Representative

Reporting A Health and Safety Concern If you see something in the workplace you think is unsafe or even breaking health and safety law and is likely to cause potential or serious harm, you can report it to your organisation.

The best way to do this is to report it to your manager or alternatively if you don’t feel comfortable doing this then speak to Paul Bullivant your UNISON Leeds and York Community Health Branch Health And Safety Officer on 0113 85(55120).

Leeds Pride is taking place over the weekend of the 4-6th August 2017.

Running since 2006, Leeds Pride is the largest Pride in the UK to still be a completely free event with over 40,000 people attending over the weekend. The celebrations are run by a skilled team of volunteers with close links to local Leeds LGBT+ community.

Leeds Pride main event is taking place on Sunday 6th August and will include two hours of entertainment on the Sainsbury’s Stage in Millennium Square, a parade through the city centre with over 60 floats and five hours of entertainment on the first direct bank main stage on Lower Briggate.

In the Lower Briggate event space you will also find the Asda Children’s area, a dance zone, community market place, outside bars, a fun fair and much more.

For more detailed information and a timetable look on:http://www.leedspride.com/

Could you update union information in your work area?

In these days of information overload – an email only goes so far.

Please let us know if you would be willing to put up occasional posters, and / or restock leaflet containers in your local work area. We won’t ask you to take care of more than your own local area, but the value of a very local contact who knows what’s going on, and can help spread the word – is huge.

Please get in touch with the branch if you think this is something you might be able to do from time to time.

Mental health services across the UK are in crisis.

This is having a massive effect on both service users and staff.

UNISON, the largest union in the NHS, believes this has to change and is calling for:    

fair government funding for mental health services improved training for mental health workers support for the mental health and wellbeing of staff a commitment to tackle stigma around mental health

Find out more about the issues and how to get involved at unison.org.uk/mentalhealth

Help stop the sale of NHS Professionals

UNISON backs We Own It campaign against sell-off – you can help by signing the petition and urging your MP to back the Early Day Motion 152

The government has announced plans to sell of 75% of NHS Professionals, the publicly owned NHS staffing agency, and UNISON is urging members and branches to support the campaign to stop the sale, which is being organised by the We Own It campaign group. You can help the campaign by signing the petition against the sale on the group’s website.

Click here to Sign the petition now And you can contact your MP to get them to back Early Day Motion (EDM) 152 opposing the sale in the House of Commons. So far, it has been signed by 29 MPs from Labour, the Green Party, the SNP, Plaid Cymru, the DUP and an independent unionist. EDMs are a good way for MPs to bring up issues that wouldn’t normally be debated. If they get enough signatures, it is clear to the government that their actions are unpopular.

Click here to read the EDM and see who’s signed it so far The We Own It website has a dedicated page on the EDM, which you can use to find out who your MP is if you don’t know and contact them.

NHS Professionals was set up to save on the high costs of using private staffing agencies and saves hospitals more than £70m a year by supplying 88,000 agency doctors, nurses and other health professionals to doctors across the UK. All profits made by NHS professionals is reinvested into the NHS.

Dear Member As you may be aware, I am now supporting the Serrekunda Hospital Project in the Gambia. To this end, I am requesting the donation of items to be transported by container to the hospital.

Should you wish to donate any items, e.g. towels, bed linen / blankets, plastic cups / plates etc., they would be gratefully received.

Should you wish to make a cash donation, please make cheques payable to the ‘Gambia Bijilo Project’ and send to Jim Bell/Julie Sugden, c/o UNISON, Yorkshire and Humberside Regional Office, Commerce House, Wade Lane, Leeds, LS2 8NJ. Thank you for your assistance.

Yours in international solidarity.

Jim Bell Project Organiser

Help UNISON campaign for equality Take the UNISON equality survey – you could win three nights for two people at Croyde Bay Holiday Resort.

Last year, nearly 5,000 UNISON members took part in our equality survey – one of the biggest responses to any survey ever run by UNISON. We used the results to brief our service groups and self-organised groups on key equality issues for their bargaining and organising agendas.

It takes 5-10 minutes to complete. You can complete it anonymously if you want – but please note you can’t be in the prize draw if we don’t know who you are.

The survey closes on Monday 7 August.

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/2V868JJ

A trade union is a group of working people who have joined together to achieve better pay and working conditions and a safer working environment.

Trade unions negotiate with employers on behalf of union members to agree wages, work rules, complaint procedures, rules governing hiring, firing and promotion of workers, benefits, workplace safety and other policies.

Who is in a trade union?

Ordinary working people like you – nearly seven million in the UK – are in a trade union, doing all sorts of jobs.

They include nurses, school meals staff, hospital cleaners, actors, professional footballers, shop assistants, teaching assistants, bus drivers, engineers, social workers and apprentices.

UNISON represents people who work in our vital public services like health, education and local council services, keeping our children safe and caring for the vulnerable in society.

Why join a trade union?

Members benefit from the strength and security that comes from people working together to tackle problems. In UNISON, as well as getting support when you need it at work you will have access to a wide range of help and benefits including: legal services for you at work and your family at home*, financial assistance and debt advice in times of need, our helpline open until midnight, compensation for accidents and injuries at work, member discounts on things like insurance and new cars – including up to 50% off holidays, education, training and support.

Unions also campaign and lobby to persuade the public or government of their point of view.

Trade union successes

In recent years, unions have campaigned for and won: a national minimum wage; improved parental leave provisions; equality legislation; laws on reasonable working hours; minimum holiday and sickness entitlements; health and safety in the workplace; pension provision ...as well as many thousands of local agreements on issues affecting particular workplaces.

How do trade unions work?

Union members agree a common aim of what they want to achieve. This might be about pay or bullying at work or challenging unfairness, for example. Representatives from the union gather evidence about the issue and present it to their employer. They discuss the matter with the employer to reach an agreement.

If the employer refuses to reach an agreement, union members can broaden their campaign to win wider support in the workplace. This may be with the public or at a national level with MPs and in government, or, as a last resort, taking strike action.

Trade unions also provide legal representation for workers, for example to win compensation in the event of an accident or injury at work. Many trade unions also provide other benefits and discounts on services for their members. You can think of trade unions as your insurance policy for work. *qualifying period and exclusions apply

Your Name: ___________________________

Membership No: _______________________

£5 for every member you recruit

Forms to be returned to: UNISON Resource Centre St Mary’s Hospital Greenhill Road Armley Leeds, LS12 3QE