Community • Stronger Together 19

Issue 19 | Winter 2011 stronger together

Community

Geoff Waterfield1968–2011

2 Community Winter 2011

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Community Winter 2011 3

Dear member,

Welcome to the latest edition of Stronger Together. Recent months have brought more economic doom and gloom and the Tory-led government is making it increasingly clear that we are not all in this together.

Community is dealing with increasing numbers of disagreements with employers over pay and conditions, with perhaps the most high-profile being the pensions strike on 30 November. Community members in the National League of the Blind and Disabled, who work in supported employment workplaces and are members of the Local Government Pension Scheme, voted overwhelmingly to strike in defence of their pensions. As we went to press they were joining picket lines and marches across the UK, along with hundreds of thousands of others, many of whom had never been on strike before.

Industry is still feeling the effects of both government policies that have choked-off economic growth at home and the impact of the eurozone crisis abroad. It is encouraging that, despite the economic problems, Tata Steel continues to announce investments that will be vital to the long-term future of UK steelmaking. Thankfully, we also have the silver-lining of SSI in Redcar, where recruitment has begun ready to restart steelmaking. But this positive development was overshadowed by the tragic news of the death of Geoff Waterfield, the Community branch secretary who led the Save our Steel campaign on Teesside.

In September, I was proud to preside over the Trade Union Congress, where the union movement set out its alternative to the evolving economic crisis. It was clear that all unions and their members were preparing for harder times ahead. Community believes that part of the alternative must be working towards winning for Labour.

Community has always been committed to supporting our members and their communities when they need us most. To develop this commitment we have enclosed a survey about young adults and their access to training and employment. Please take a few moments to fill it out and you will be entered into a prize draw for an Apple iPad computer.

May I take this moment to wish you and your family a peaceful Christmas and a happy New Year.

Yours in Unity.General Secretary

Michael J. Leahy OBE

Support in hard times

stronger together

INSIDE …News 4Use your skills March on Conservative conference Tata agency jobs Digital learning Jimmy Brandon centre

Geoff Waterfield 6Remembering the driving force behind the Save Our Steel campaign

Swaziland 7Why trade unionists should be more aware

Supported workplaces 8Bill Hardman’s powerful plea for an end to the hypocrisy

Branch officials 10Learning from each other at third national course

Agency workers 10New rights outlined

If you have any comments or suggestions for the next edition please contact the editor on [email protected] or on 020 7420 4000

Stronger Together. Winter 2011Editorial Office: 67/68 Long Acre, Covent Garden, WC2E 9FATel: 020 7420 4000 email: [email protected]

Printed by The College Hill Press www.collegehillpress.co.uk


MAXIMISING SKILLS AT RSBISINCE 2009, RSBi has been involved in the recycling of white goods (such as cookers and washing machines) at its Springburn factory.

One electrical technician noted that many appliances were failing tests for minor reasons and were being scrapped and sent to landfill. This staff member was confident of his ability to repair and recycle some of these goods, but he did not hold the relevant qualifications.

Community’s ULR sourced a course that could

provide this training and a group was established to oversee a skills utilisation project, facilitated by Community. Funding was secured from Scottish Union Learning for two staff to undertake the training.

The project highlights the impact of commu-nication, and of listening to the ideas of workers who understand how and where improvements and change would be effective, and also the importance of widening discussions on operational issues to include others within the workplace.

COMMUNITY MEMBERS MARCH ON TORY CONFERENCE COMMUNITY MEMBERS gave up a Sunday to join tens of thousands in Manchester for a march and rally ahead of the Conservative Party Conference.

The event was organised by the North West TUC as part of the campaign for an alternative economic strategy. With a background of rising inflation, rising unemployment and no growth, calls for Cameron, Clegg and Osborne to produce a Plan B have begun to gain more backing.

A number of Community branches were represented on the march of 35,000 in Manchester. One of our banners was prominent in the march.

One Community member said afterwards, “It is important to show our support, but just as important is the feeling you get when you do attend. To be part of this huge demonstration of workers’ opposition to these terrible government policies reminds you that you are not alone. It reminds you how important trade unions are in organising workers to protect their jobs and futures.”

Make the most of yourselfCOMMUNITAS IS currently involved in a Scottish Union Learning (SUL) Development Fund project focusing on skills utilisation. This means that employees can make the best use of their qualifications, skills and experience in the workplace.

Improving skills utilisation has become a priority for the Scottish Government, in its strategy on sustainable economic growth and recovery, and has become a key feature of Community Union’s learning strategy in Scotland.

Community was one of three unions

involved in the Skills Utilisation Project which considered the role of trade unions in improving skills utilisation in Scotland with a case study approach, piloting the project at the RSBi factory in Glasgow.

Following this success, Community is rolling out the project to other workplaces and engaging with employers to raise awareness about the benefits of, and the business case for, the effective use of skills, and establishing workplace structures such as Joint Learning Committees which can identify skills gaps and organise learning activities.

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NEW REPS TO TAKE LEARNING TO WORKCOMMUNITY IS passionate about how lifelong learning can transform people’s lives. Crucial to our success is our network of Union Learning Representatives, who are trained to support other members and develop learning and skills oppor-tunities in the workplace. Pictured are the latest trained ULRs, who recently completed a course at our Bramley offices.

JIMMY BRANDON LEARNING CENTRE REOPENSMARGARET BRANDON, was the VIP guest at the re-opening of the Jimmy Brandon Learning Centre, named after her late husband. Based in Community’s Motherwell office, it provides a range of learning opportunities for Community members, their families and the local community. Margaret Brandon is pictured with STUC General Secretary Grahame Smith, left, and General Secretary Michael Leahy.

New Futures with digital learning in ScunthorpeCOMMUNITAS IS running a new project in Scunthorpe providing IT drop-in sessions for Community members and local people.

If you want to learn how to use the internet or e-mail, or even how to look for a job ‘on-line’, then why not come along and learn in your own way, and at your own pace?

Even if you’ve never switched on a computer, there will be help from our friendly tutor to get you started, and advice on what you can do next to gain more experience and confidence.

You will be able to learn practical new skills, from the basics of using a keyboard and mouse, and the sessions are informal, fun and FREE! You can also bring a friend or family member.

The project has been funded by the Skills Funding Agency.

■ For dates, times and locations, contact Pauline on 07736 167664 or email [email protected]. You can also find out more at www.communitas.org.uk/scunthorpe.

Talks over Tata agency jobs dealAS THE banking crisis hit UK manufacturing Tata Steel cut thousands of jobs but when the recovery kicked in, rather than hiring new permanent employees the company wanted to take on temporary/agency workers to cover what have traditionally been considered core jobs.

At the time Community reps entered talks with local manage-ments and secured local deals whereby agency workers would receive appropriate training and the possibility to progress.

The agreement was that should the workers be deemed to have met the required standards, they would be taken on after 12 months. Local officials also ensured that agency workers had the chance to join Community to give them a voice at work.

Due to the current economic

circumstances, the agreement is not being fully implemented at most sites, which is of concern. Discussions are now taking place at local level to resolve the issue.

On a positive note the agreement reached by Community at the Speciality Steels business in Rotherham has been honoured. Approximately 400 agency workers have success-fully completed the training and achieved the standards required, so they’ve been taken on as permanent employees.

■ Find out more about the new rights for all agency workers on page 11.

As we went to press Tata Steel announced the mothballing of the Llanwern Hot Mill impacting on 115 temporary, agency and contractor jobs. Reaction on our website.


Tributes poured in following news of the death of Geoff Waterfield

GEOFF WATERFIELD, who died tragically aged just 43, was the voice, face and driving force of the Save our Steel campaign on Teesside.

As a Community branch official and chair of the Teesside multi-union committee Geoff led the fight to save Teesside steelmaking, from the moment the consortium broke their contract with Teesside Cast Products up until his death on August 31st.

Tributes poured in from shocked friends and colleagues and from those, such as the Archbishop of York, who met Geoff during the two years of the Save our Steel campaign.

General Secretary Michael Leahy said Geoff was “a committed and active member of Community” and that “he brought vital leadership, energy and passion to the Save our Steel campaign on Teesside.”

“It is of particularly great regret that Geoff passed before seeing the realisation of his dream to restart steelmaking on Teesside, which we all share.”

This sentiment was echoed by many, such as former Redcar Labour MP, Vera Baird, who said of Geoff “relighting the furnace without him will be a very poignant occasion”.

Other MPs also paid their tributes such as Tom Blenkinsop MP who said Geoff will

“always be remembered as a truly great Teesside man” and Nick Brown MP, former Minister for the North East, who said Geoff “put all his heart into the campaign for his friends, his neighbours and his workmates.”

Jon Bolton, who was director of TCP when it was mothballed, said “we went through some very difficult times in 2009 and 2010 when we

news

Geoff Waterfield: Exceptional

‘When I see a blast furnace, I see a thing of beauty’

were trying to find a survival plan for TCP. I will always remember Geoff ’s determination during that difficult period to save Teesside steel-making. It was a passion which infected us all. It is incredibly sad that he will not be able to see the Redcar blast furnace re-lit.”

Current TCP boss, SSI CEO Phil Dryden, said: “We are all very much aware of the enormous contribution that Geoff has made to the steel industry and especially for his leadership and tireless commitment in recent years to help bring steelmaking back to the Teesside site.”

The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, observed Geoff “would be the first to say he had a wonderful team of comrades with whom he worked and because they carried him, that’s why he managed to achieve what he achieved.”

Geoff ’s multi-union colleagues Paul Warren, Community Branch Secretary at Redcar Coke Ovens, and Steve Readman, GMB, described Geoff as ‘an exceptional captain’ of the Save our Steel team and said that “some things may not well have been possible without him”.

Many people will remember the passionate way that Geoff spoke about Teesside’s steel industry and the inspiration his words offered to people across the community and across the union to join the campaign to Save our Steel.

His own words sum up what drove him and will hopefully echo the legacy that he left behind.

“When I see a blast furnace, I see a thing of beauty … I see something that has given thousands and thousands of people a way of life, a good, honest wage, the ability to pay their mortgages, go on holidays and bring up their families. That to me is fabulous, that is a beautiful thing. When you come to Middlesbrough and see that skyline … That blast furnace is the heart of Teesside. As long as it pumps, there is life in Teesside.”

Geoff is survived by his partner Sheryl and his 11-year-old son Wills.

‘Relighting

the furnace

without

him will

be a very

poignant

occasion’


Swaziland

SWAZILAND IS a small country of less than a million people located between Mozambique and South Africa.

As a delegate on a recent ACTSA (Action for Southern Africa) visit to southern Africa what I saw in this beautiful country shocked and saddened me. Seventeen years after the overthrow of apartheid, another people in Southern Africa is suffering under a brutal tyranny.

Swaziland is an absolute monarchy ruled by King Mswati since 1986. The Forbes rich list names him in the top 15 of the world’s richest royals with a personal fortune that is in excess of $100 million enabling him to provide palaces for his 14 wives.

In stark contrast, two thirds of his people survive on less than $1.25 a day. Swaziland has the world’s highest HIV rate and half the population dies before 40. Perhaps the saddest statistic is that 1 in 12 of all Swazi are orphaned children. This is compounded by a growing economic crisis. The government threatens to cut 7,000 jobs, pushing thousands deeper into poverty, while spending increases on the king and his friends.

The bedfellow of this poverty is political tyranny. Swaziland has the unenviable achieve-ment of having a worse record on political rights than Zimbabwe. Maxwell Dlamini, President of the NUS and Musa Ngebuni of the Swaziland Youth Congress (SWAYOCO) are still behind bars awaiting trial, arrested ahead of protests held in April.

Women are subjected to horrendous levels of gender-based violence. A 2009 survey revealed that almost one third of women and girls aged 13 to 24 had experienced sexual

Land of the forgotten despotGeraldine Donnelly explains why trade unionists should be more aware of Swaziland

Action for Southern Africa, the successor organisation to the British Anti Apartheid Movement is one of the few organisa-tions campaigning for democracy and rights in solidarity with the people of Swaziland.

■ If you want to get involved in supporting the fight for democracy in Swaziland contact ACTSA www.actsa.org

violence before their 18th birthday. The law provides no protection for women from domestic violence and rape by their husbands.

But the people of Swaziland have continued to struggle for democracy. The trade unions, despite their leaders being regularly arrested and harassed, have held regular strikes and protests. Women and students have formed groups to campaign for democracy and rights and an underground pro-democracy party PUDEMO was formed in 1983. Constant harassment included the arrest of one leader,

Sipho Jele, for wearing a protest teeshirt. He died in custody in May 2010. But the party has grown in strength.

In 2008 King Mswati held lavish celebrations costing millions of dollars to mark his 40th birthday and 40 years of independence, but the people of Swaziland responded by organising the country’s biggest pro-democracy protests with 10,000 crowding the streets of the

capital Mbabane. The pro-democracy movement in

Swaziland has called for sanctions including the denial of international travel for the royal family and their lackeys, a ban on investment in companies controlled by the regime and an embargo on military sales to Swaziland.

More and more voices across the world are beginning to speak out. Swaziland needs our solidarity now; the voices of the Swazi people’s struggle must be heard as their country is still the land of the forgotten despot.

The international labour movement must support them in their continuing struggle for political and economic freedom and strengthen the trade union and pro-democracy movements.

Geraldine Donnelly in southern Africa

Beira

CapeTown

Maputo

Windhoek

Bulawayo

Durban

Port Elizabeth

Johannesburg

Bloemfontein

Gaborone

SWAZILAND

N A M I B I A

M O Z A M B I Q U E

LESOTHO

ZIMBABWE

SOUTH AFRICA

B O T S W A N A


IF NOTHING is done, supported workplaces are, l believe, on the point of extinction. Whatever your point of view on supported workplaces, I believe there is a function that the workplaces fulfil unlike any other can or would be able to.

The National League of the Blind and Disabled (NLBD, part of Community) and Remploy are under sustained attack from a relentless government without a humanitarian bone in its body.

Supported workplaces are outdated, the government would have you believe. Nobody wants them, they are not needed and they are not in the best interest of disabled people. They shout their hypocrisy from the rooftops in the hope that people not understanding the work supported workplaces do will get on the bandwagon and say: “Oh yes, this must be right”.

But it is not right. If people took the time to look at the situation with a bit of forethought they would come to realise that supported workplaces do play an important part in the society we live in. Not only do they provide a job but also, nine out of ten times, it is a highly skilled job. They give a disabled person the dignity of earning a wage at the end of the week. They give a person the dignity that only work can give.

Not only that, but the feeling that they are not free-loading off society by the very nature of paying in to that society through their taxes and their national insurance contributions. Many disabled people also have pensions as a result of their workplaces also making sure they will not be a burden on the state later in life.

Just look at Remploy. It is not the workers that have ruined it but the management who

Remploy Bolton

Branch Secretary

Bill Hardman,

shares his

personal and

hard-hitting

perspective on

the future of

supported

workplaces

End this hypocrisy

Bill Hardman, front row left, with Remploy colleagues petitioning people in Bolton, including Yasmin Qureshi MP, front row right

supported workplaces

have raked in millions in bonuses while sitting on their backsides and doing precious little. Expense accounts, company cars and expensive hotels are just a few of their perks.

When I started in 1979, Remploy was a Company employing over 10,000 disabled people across the length and breadth of the United Kingdom. In its heyday, its range of products and services generated sales

of more than £175 million. It was a highly successful company, investing in the latest systems and technologies to win new business in Britain and overseas. With political will and the right support it could be successful again.

Please help us to fight this onslaught from this oppressive and dictatorial government. We are now fighting for our very existence.

Please help us to fight this onslaught from an oppressive and

dictatorial government


COMMUNITY BACKS AIDAN’S GOALAIDAN MCAVOY is a remarkable two-year-old who lives in The Murray, East Kilbride, Scotland. He was born 12 weeks prematurely and suffers from chronic lung disease – he had to undergo major heart surgery when he was only five weeks old.

Aidan has been diagnosed with spastic hemiplegia, a form of cerebral palsy. This affects the left side of his body causing increased muscle tone which results in Aidan being unable to walk properly.

However, with the help and support of friends, family and the local community, there could be hope for Aidan after all as surgery is available which would change Aidan’s life forever. The procedure costs approximately £40,000 and is only available at a hospital in Missouri in the USA.

Aidan’s uncle Denis is a member of Community and his branch has donated £100 to Aidan’s fund. If you want to help visit www.aidansgoal.org

PUBLIC PROCUREMENT IS THE KEYTHE SAYCE Review, written by former Radar Chief Executive Liz Sayce, was commissioned by the Tory-led Government to look at support for disabled people at work.

It reported earlier this year and organisations such as Community have been consulted. Everyone is now awaiting the Government’s response.

The review proposed an end to central Government support for ‘non-viable’ supported workplaces that specialise in providing jobs for disabled people, including Remploy factories. Instead, it suggested that Remploy focuses on its Employment Services Division and that funding should follow individuals.

Community believes that, with the right business model and the correct funding and political support,

supported workplaces can have a future.

Key to the future of supported workplaces is to maximise the public procurement that they can secure. Community has been campaigning for greater use of Article 19 powers which allow public authorities to give preferential treatment to workplaces that employ a high-proportion of disabled people.

There are examples of successful and sustainable supported workplaces but in recent years we have also witnessed the devastating impact on our members when their workplaces have closed.

Community is convinced that there can be a sustainable future for supported employment. Our greatest fear is that the Tory-led government won’t bother to find out.

Dalzell branch member Denis Maguire (right) receives a cheque towards Aidan’s goal from Dalzell branch secretary Ross Clark.

GROW OLD ACTIVELYCOMMUNITAS HAS partnered the General Federation of Trade Unions in a successful bid for European funding. The Supporting Active Ageing through Training project will address the European 2012 Year for Active Ageing by identifying best practice in relation to active ageing policies and preparation for retirement. It will also identify and explore approaches to addressing the specific health, safety and welfare issues facing older workers. The project has partners in Italy, Greece and Finland and will generate an income of almost £8,000 for Communitas.

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Learning from each otherCOMMUNITY’S NEW conference facilities at The Grange, Earls Barton in Northamptonshire were the venue for the third National Branch Officials Course.

Students came from all over the UK and from different sectors. There were members from Scotland, Wales and the north and south of England as well as new branch officials from the NSPCC, Tata Steel, Vaillant Boilers, Bridge of Weir Leather, IMS Tube City, Mir Steel, Tyco, Thamesteel, SSI and our NLBD sector.

One student commented that he didn’t know Community had such a diverse membership, adding: “It was really eye-opening getting to talk to people who work in the leather industry, social workers, people involved in workshops for the disabled and steelworkers from across the country. Hearing all the different

regional accents made me realise this really was a national union.

“But it was funny, because as the week went along I came to understand that despite coming from different

areas and workplaces what united us was stronger that what divided us. Whether you’re a blue or white collar worker, steel or leather worker, whatever, you want the same thing – decent terms and conditions. This course helped me gain skills and access information to help members

back at the branch.”“This was a fantastic course,” said a

student from South Wales. “The tutor was great and I learnt a lot about our rights at work. But I think I also learnt a lot from the fellow students too.

“I work in a small workplace and sometimes feel isolated. But this week I got to meet other members from around the country who work for the same company as me. We need to build up on this, to create links and share knowledge. It has been a real week to remember.”

National Officer Roy Rickhuss explains that Community has invested “significant resources” to ensure the union’s education programme is a success. “The new facilities at The Grange are absolutely first class. As a trade union I think we are second to none in providing superb learning opportunities to our members. That is

FOLLOWING years of campaigning by trade unions, including Community, hundreds of thousands of agency workers across the UK now benefit from improved rights at work. Until now, agency workers have not had the same rights as directly employed staff working alongside them.

The Agency Workers Directive, which came into force on 1 October 2011 changes this. It gives equal rights to employees who have been with the hirer for 12 continuous weeks in a given job. The agency worker will be entitled to at least the same basic working and employment conditions such as pay and working time as the hirer’s own employees.

WHO IS COVERED BY THE REGULATIONS? The regulations cover agency workers supplied by a temporary work agency hirer. This includes most agency workers that people refer to as “temps”. The regulations also cover agency workers supplied via intermediaries. To establish the rights in these

regulations, the agency worker needs to be able to identify a comparative employee.

WHO IS NOT COVERED? The regulations do not cover the genuinely self-employed, individuals working through their own limited liability company, or individuals working on managed service contracts.

WHAT NEW RIGHTS WILL AGENCY WORKERS HAVE?From day one of their employment, an agency worker will now be entitled to:

■ The same access to facilities such as staff canteens, drinks machines, childcare and car parking as directly employed staff.

■ Receive information about internal job vacancies, and be entitled to apply.

■ After a 12-week qualifying period, an agency worker will be entitled to the same basic conditions of employment as if they had been directly employed by the hirer on day one

of the assignment, specifically: ■ Pay – including any fee, bonus,

commission, or holiday pay relating to the assignment. It does not include redundancy pay, contractual sick pay, and maternity, paternity or adoption pay.

■ Working time rights – for example, including any discretionary annual leave above what is required by law.

Agency Workers (regardless of their employment status) will also be entitled to paid time off to attend ante-natal appointments during their working hours.

DOES THE 12-WEEK QUALIFYING PERIOD HAVE TO BE CONTINUOUS? No, but breaks between or during an assignment to the same job that are less than six weeks in length will pause the accrual of the 12-week qualifying period. Most breaks between or during an assignment to the same job that are six weeks

NEW RIGHTS FOR AGENCY WORKERS NOW IN FORCE

Whether you’re a blue or white collar worker, steel or leather worker, whatever, you want the

same thing – decent terms and conditions

branch officials


label

only right – because the lifeblood of the union is our lay officials.

“So, if you’re a newly elected branch official or a long standing activist who has not yet been on a course, please give some consideration to applying.”

The courses now run four times a year and are residential. Transport

costs, food and accommodation are met by the union. As the feedback from students suggests, the courses are not just educational but also enjoyable.

“Every penny we invest in education is well spent,” says Roy Rickhuss, “because what people learn is taken back to the workplace to support our members and grow

the union.” ■ If you are interested in our

education programmes or becoming a branch official, contact your branch secretary or the Member Service Centre on 0800 389 6332. The fourth course has just completed but new courses will be developed for next year.

or more will mean that the qualifying time clock is re-set, and the worker has to start from scratch to accrue the 12-week qualifying period.

The accrual of 12 weeks qualifying period can be paused by:

■ Absences for sickness and jury service (for up to 28 weeks)

■ Annual leave, shut downs (e.g. factory closures and school holidays) and industrial action (for the duration of the absence).

■ Pregnancy and maternity-related absences, maternity leave, paternity leave and adoption leave will not pause the 12-week accrual at all – instead the 12-week accrual period will continue throughout the duration of the absence and include these weeks as those counting towards the 12-week total and the entitlement to additional employment rights.

The legislation is not being applied retrospec-tively, so any time an agency worker has already

spent with the hirer does not count towards the 12-week qualifying period. The earliest that any agency worker will be able to qualify for the same rights as direct employees will be 24 December 2011.

WHAT IF AN AGENCY WORKER IS ON MORE THAN ONE ASSIGNMENT? If an agency worker is working on more than one assignment they will need to accrue the 12-week qualifying period for each one. In other words, if an agency worker has assignment A and assignment B, they would need to work for 12 weeks on assignment A before their rights apply to assignment A and 12 weeks on assignment B before their rights apply to assignment B. But, the regula-tions require that a new assignment would need to comprise “substantively different work or duties” for the qualifying period to have to start again.

WHAT IS A ‘COMPARATIVE EMPLOYEE’? The regulations aim to ensure an agency worker is employed on the same relevant terms and

conditions as a “comparative employee”. In other words, the terms and conditions that would have applied to them, if they had been directly recruited by the hirer to do the same job.

A comparative employee is therefore someone directly employed by the hirer to the same, or broadly similar work as the agency worker.

Both comparative employee and agency worker should work for and under the supervision and direction of the hirer.

Both comparative employee and agency worker should be engaged in the same or broadly similar work (this could include an examination of qualification and skills).

The comparative employee should work or be based at the same establishment as the agency worker (the employee can work or be based at a different establishment but only where such an employee cannot be found working or based at the same establishment).

NEW RIGHTS FOR AGENCY WORKERS NOW IN FORCE

Delegates at Community’s national school in September

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Community • Stronger Together 19