PRESS RELEASE: PRESS RELEASE: 5/11/09

Low-paid Workers Pay The Price For “Fat Cat” Banking Crisis

Royal Bank of Scotland releases its quarterly results to the city after two shocking days for the workers where earlier this week RBS announced that 3,700 jobs are to be cut from UK branches.

Whilst large areas of the business are to be separated and sold off, including insurance, card payments, and over 320 branches, with no guarantees for the jobs of the tens of thousands of employees involved.

This is in addition to the 9,000 global job losses announced in April across RBS’s manufacturing division – the “back-office” operation of call centres, data processing and IT.

4,500 of these losses will be in the UK, and 600 have already gone in the UK IT department (roughly 20% of staff).

Piling on the pain, RBS’ decided in August to freeze the value of its “final salary” pension scheme at current levels of pay. With negligible recognition of any future pay rises.

This has been what the Government’s £45.5 billion bail-out has meant for call-centre agents, processing clerks and operational staff. Despite the bank’s image, the vast majority of the workers impacted by these attacks are low-paid and vulnerable.

Where has the money gone? Most of the money has been used to stop RBS going bankrupt, by improving liquidity and providing reserves of capital to offset against bad debt.

Yet the Government has stubbornly refused to intervene in the running of the bank, to leverage their 84% stake to make the bank serve society’s interests through and beyond the recession.

Even now, Alistair Darling will not guarantee that the Government’s modest targets for lending to families and small businesses will be met.

It is less well known that RBS plans to spend £10 billion over the next 5 years in a huge and highly risky investment programme to reduce operational costs through further job losses. RBS is targeting cost reductions of £2.5 billion per year, and it would seem to be our public money that is funding this aggressive attack on vital jobs, at a time of high and growing unemployment.

Jerry Hicks said “It is RBS’s workforce who are paying the price for the banking crisis, not the banking ‘fat cats’ who are already popping champagne bottles across the City again, while their staff will have to fight to protect their jobs, pensions and conditions.”

Unite is calling for a “Yes” vote in a consultative ballot over industrial action to stop the pension freeze, following on from a 98% vote amongst Barclays staff to protect their own pensions.

Jerry Hicks calls on the Government to “stop this jobs massacre by nationalising the bank, making it a public utility to serve the public interest, and one that continues to provide employment across the community. It has never been more obvious that we need a bank driven by social need rather than private greed.”

High Court defeat leaves Scottish & Southern Energy

‘Shocked and stunned’

The High Court yesterday (Wed 21st October) rejected an injunction against a building worker, which had been brought against him under Terrorism legislation.

 Scottish & Southern Energy (SSE) had sought the injunction against Steve Acheson claiming his actions were a potential threat to the National Grid and national security. Even though he has never attempted to enter the power station, or disrupt generation, or block the entrance to the site since his unfair dismissal by contractors in December 2008.

Mr Acheson, an electrician is a Unite union member, who has been peacefully protesting against his dismissal and subsequent denial of a grievance process from the Fiddlers Ferry power station in Warrington,

The dispute at the power station started in December 2008, when Steve Acheson was dismissed from the project. Steve complained that he was deliberately being victimised because he was an active trade union member and began to picket the site to regain his job.

In March 2009, the Information Commissioner uncovered an illegal blacklist operating in the construction industry on behalf of 44 of the largest construction companies. After receiving his own file, documentary evidence now fully supports Steve Acheson’s claim of deliberate blacklisting from the site. But rather than admitting their obvious guilt and re-employing Steve, SSE unsuccessfully tried to stifle his protest.

At the High Court on Wednesday a legal representative for SSE made a various vague references to Mr Acheson posing a danger to the National Grid! Stretching even the most vivid of imaginations

During his summary, Lord Justice Mann used somewhat dramatic language when he described the SSE legal case as “lacking any evidence at all” and as “fanciful bordering on paranoid”. Lord Justice Mann when rejecting the injunction awarded full costs against SSE.

Jerry Hicks who along with many others was at the hearing to support Mr Acheson said…. “This would be laughable if it was not so serious. SSE were totally humiliated, their case was ludicrous but it proves the lengths employers will go in their attacks on union members”.

Jerry also argues that there should be a demand that all the contractors implicated in the blacklisting scandal should be banned themselves from tendering for any government contracts until they offer jobs to the 3000 constructions workers who have been blacklisted.

The very real threat are the big contractors who, by blacklisting trade unionists are ruining workers lives and those of their families. It should be the construction companies in court.

After his victory Steve told supporters: “I have been boosted by the support I have received from so many people. If this Injunction had gone through it would have had a devastating impact upon trade unions ability to organise This is a defeat for corporate bullies and a victory for peaceful protest. Tomorrow I will be back at Fiddlers Ferry, fighting the blacklist and fighting to get my job back”

Contact Jerry on 078 178 279 12 or email blacklistsg@googlemail.com

Unite behind the ‘Postal Workers’

 Royal Mail Managers across Britain are being used in an effort to weaken the postal workers and their CWU union in the run-up to national strikes.

It may surprise many to know that a lot of these managers are members of the union Unite in the CMA section and have been advised by their National official only to “work normally” and not to “transgress upon the dispute”.

However, managers are travelling hundreds of miles in order to do work that is proper to CWU members and to attempt to drive down the backlog of post that has built up during the regional strikes. At the beginning of October, for example, managers from Belfast were working in Bristol. Swindon Managers were in London, and Scottish Managers were clearing packets in East Anglia. Managers are also co-operating with Royal Mail’s plans to set up ‘strike breaking centres’, and are bullying and harassing postal workers, and refusing normal union facilities.

As a member of Unite myself I say it’s a scandal some Unite-CMA members are volunteering for these anti-union activities.

I stand 100 percent with the CWU against Royal Mail and condemn Royal mail management for organising scabbing and attacking postal workers and their union.

This is a key issue for our union and the movement organised scabbing by Unite members is outrageous. All Unite/CMA members who are volunteering for scabbing should stop immediately.

It is likely that there are many managers who agree with the CWU’s strike to defend our public postal service but are being put under pressure themselves Unite should defend any CMA member who refuses to participate in the scabbing operation and shows solidarity with CWU members in dispute.

I further believe that Unite nationally should publicly condemn CMA members who volunteer for scabbing and, with those who intimidate and bully postal workers should be expelled from the union.

IT’S NOT WHAT YOU SAY IT’S WHAT YOU DO THAT COUNTS

One problem that towers above all others in Unite the one of the massive disconnect between the union and its members. The leadership have failed to touch the hearts and minds of members. 90% of the membership never felt connected enough to vote for the National Council. Only 17% felt it of worth to vote for the merger to create ‘Unite’ the country’s biggest Trade Union and only 15% in the election for Joint General Secretary.

When rhetoric fails to measure up to reality there is a crisis of credibility. When the union say the right things even bang the right tables only to walk away it creates a huge problem for us. The result being the government ignores us. Employers confident enough to cut jobs, break agreements, impose pay freezes, and come for our pensions. Leaving members isolated.

 In May we were subjected to something quite humiliating, Digby Jones at the front of our demonstration in Birmingham on the ‘March for Jobs’. The unelected former head of the CBI, the man who said 1 in 3 public sector workers were surplus. Did the union tell him it was a March for Job Losses! How did it ever come to be? Like the King with no clothes – no one in senior positions in our union had the courage to speak out.

Then there was Vestas on the Isle of Wight a very profitable company – 625 workers – not unionised (though 20 or so are in Unite) producing blades for wind turbines ‘Green’ energies needed to Save the planet. Vestas talked about investment then announced a closure.

No doubt inspired by the factory occupations at Waterford Glass, Visteon plants in Belfast, Enfield and Basildon and the unofficial strikes at Lindsey oil refinery along with the illegal solidarity walk outs. Vestas workers fought back.

An occupation, demonstrations, calls for nationalisation, national and international media attention, a boss maximising profit, chucking people on the scrap heap. It could have been, should have been a defining moment. Where were we? Nowhere to be seen!

In these times judgement is crucial you either ‘Seize the moment or rue the day’ we missed the mood, missed the moment and missed the boat!

The leadership of Unite either agreed with this or they were indifferent to it – either way they went along with it. How hypocritical of our union in having a tent at Tolpuddle commemorating the bravery of the past, only to cower at the law and repudiate in the present. I support unofficial action and solidarity action. Workers should be able to decide what to do, when it needs to be done and not be criminalised for making those decisions.

 Repeal of all Anti Union Legislation brought in by the Tories, left unchanged by New Labour, unchallenged by the TUC and our union has to be a priority.

I believe that fundamental change is also needed in our union’s relationship with New Labour which is one of being – too close – too cosy – paying too much – for far too little. £13 million since 2005 and supporting over 100 Labour MPs has not even achieved the basic right to re-instatement when unfairly dismissed. PFI hospitals the proliferation of academy schools and we have the 2^nd lowest state pension in Europe.

But criticism, however strident, in whatever amounts means nothing and no change. We should support only MPs or councillors, current and prospective, who support our policies.

The union run like a business, not a service to members, has caused a divide that has become a chasm between the leadership and its members it can be bridged by returning ownership of the union to where it belongs – with the members. They decide, the Union provides.

We must move to ‘Election of all officials’, elected by members not appointed by the General Secretary. Elected by the members available and accountable, to the members.

We will need to fight for a ‘Public works programme’ building schools, hospitals and council houses creating 100,000 new jobs for construction workers starting with offering the first 3000 jobs to those on the blacklist. To fight for renewable energies, wind, sea and solar, providing up to a million jobs design, manufacture and construction reducing our reliance on nuclear and oil. The arguement that nuclear power will create jobs is a wholly bogus one and forgets to mention the legacy of thousands of years of waste. The question is “Which would you rather have, one million jobs or 10,000 jobs?”

 Where’s the money coming from? Scrap Trident, there’s £75 billion spend that on, £25 billion for schools, hospitals and housing – £25 billion for Renewable energies – £25 billion for State pensions. Bring the troops home from Afghanistan and Iraq’ saving thousands of lives and £ billions. Tax Businesses most of which are still making huge profits. Tax on bosses bonuses in banking, not the counter staff. Tax the wealthy, those completely unaffected by the recession.

If we are brave and audacious, if we have a clear set of priorities, if we hand the union back to our members, if at the head of the union we have someone who when a Minister, an employer or any one of our members who look into their eyes they believe them.

These are worrying times even scary times but these are the times when we must come to the fore. We are faced with a massive challenge but also an opportunity. Workers’ rights, trade union freedoms, decent state pensions, pay and conditions and public ownership of utilities are what is required, especially now during the chaos that the free market has created.

There’s a mood for real change, more of the same will not inspire or reinvigorate our union. A General Secretary living a lifestyle nothing like that of any of our members rightly feeds members’ disrespect. I would only take the average wage of a skilled worker.

Unfortunately the election for the Unite General Secretary may well be held under a Tory Government. George Osbourne told a meeting of business leaders “after 3 months in office we will be the most unpopular Government since the war!” Cuts and attacks staring us in the face in every section, every region, every workplace, employed and unemployed, retired or not. Our union leadership have failed to face up to Labour can our members be confident that they can face up to the Tories if they get in?

I have been a fierce critic of Derek Simpson, but there has to be a collective responsibility, we have 11 assistant general secretary’s all appointed, not one elected to that post. Some will be candidates in next years election. Describing problems and their own solutions with plenty to say now yet have barely uttered a critical word over the last 12 years.

The hearts and minds of our members will not be won at any fringe meeting of the TUC. They will be won in the workplaces, on the dole queues, on the picket lines and on the roof top demonstrations. That’s where I intend to be whenever I can. It’s not just what someone says, it is what they do that counts:

On Monday 20^th July workers began occupying part of the Vestas wind turbine plant at Newport on the Isle of Wight in protest against threatened closure at the end of the month. 600 jobs would be lost.

Vestas is the world’s biggest wind energy group and recently reported a quarterly sales rise of 59%, up to €1.1bn (£0.95bn). They’re coining it in. They obviously think they can play around with jobs all over the world and don’t have to be held to account for ruining workers’ livelihoods.

The workers want Gordon Brown to step in as if it was a troubled bank and save the jobs and the production of wind turbine blades. He gave the bankers trillions.

Jerry Hicks said

” Politicians generate enough hot air to power a thousand wind farms. Now it’s time to put words into action. The government say they care about climate change and talk about creating 40,000 ‘green jobs’. The first step should be protecting these 600 by taking the factory into public ownership.”

There is a large picket of support starting outside the factory. This will be crucial in giving confidence to the people inside. The Vestas workers will no doubt have been inspired by the victory of the Lindsey oil refinery strikes which set a fine example in protecting conditions and creating jobs and by the occupations at the Visteon plants in Basildon, Belfast and Enfield which all succeeded in winning better severance payments.

The entire labour and trade union movement should offer the Vestas workers total solidarity. Groups such as the Campaign Against Climate Change are also on the case. They are calling a demonstration on Wednesday 22^nd July at 6pm outside the Department of Energy and Climate Change offices in central London. There is a support meeting in the Methodist Hall, Newport on the Isle of Wight 6.30 to 8.30 on the same evening.

“Save jobs and save the planet!” is the Vestas workers’ rallying cry. And quite right too. The government is forever going on about encouraging wind and wave power and curbing our carbon emissions. Well, that’s what these people do for a living and now they’re facing unemployment.

Support the occupation!

(Like a spaghetti western) ‘The Good the Bad and the Ugly’.
D Simpson: 60,048
Jerry Hicks: 39,307
K Coyne: 30,603
P Reuter: 28,283
What a remarkable result!
Thank you all those who nominated, those who campaigned and those who voted for me in the election for General Secretary of Unite / Amicus.
It was due to your efforts and generosity that our campaign was able to reach out and touch and win the hearts and minds of tens thousands of our members who returned this magnificent vote.
Our message was clearly and proudly taken into workplaces and homes, across every industry and in every part of the country and inspired, motivated and gave hope to the many thousands who heard it and responded to it. The result is a clear vindication of the relevance of the election and appeal of our policies.
The turnout was low at 15 percent, reflecting as we always said the, disconnect and yawning gap between the union and our members, but the result was extraordinary. It wasn’t so much a battle of ideas as a battle between no ideas, and our idea of what the union needed to do.
When I began my campaign it was in a minority not far short of one as a grassroots rank and file member with no access to the union’s resources, and pressing the case single-handed for an election to take place. So coming second, with nearly 40,000 votes, well ahead of the other two candidates both full time officials, (Reuter was routed and the penny dropped with Coyne!) is a magnificent achievement.
The 15% turn out of our one million members and Derek Simpson’s failure to win more than 38% of the vote is a terrible indictment of his 6 years in office.
All this in spite of the use and abuse of the union’s resources: a letter to every individual member at a cost of £250,000 proclaiming the successes of Derek Simpson, the Spring issue of the union magazine that came out in February and even before the daffodils. Also the outrageous inclusion of the document with the ballot paper, wrongly accusing me of lying in my election address.
Amongst the many questions during the election, one that kept being screamed out was “why Unite keeps throwing tens of £millions at the Labour Party”, and getting nothing back. CWU members, UNISON members and many more across the country must be asking just the same.
Of all the moments three in particular stood out: ‘The good’ ‘The bad’ and ‘The ugly’
First there was ‘the Good’ which was the eruption a few weeks ago of the rumbling volcano of anger in the construction industry, with the unofficial strikes at the Lindsey oil refinery; a very clear example of the frustration within the membership that I was raising at every meeting I attended.
As the construction workers ratcheted up their demands for action, the inadequacy of the union leaders became even more obvious. The Lindsey strike was unofficial – because after three terms of a Labour government the Tory anti-union laws are still in place: but within five days, the members achieved more than they had in five months of delaying tactics from national leaders.
Then there was ‘the Bad’ where I attended a meeting of union members at the Royal Bank of Scotland headquarters in Aldgate in London. On the agenda was a newsletter for members and the election for General Secretary. This was on the very day the RBS bosses were being put through the wringer in Parliament. The members newsletter headline was “Why should we pay for their mistakes?” – but the union officials would not let them put it out because it might compromise negotiations. So our members never received it and had to read about what was happening to them in the mass media rather than hear from their own union.
And then ‘the Ugly’ where at Cowley’s BMW plant, the management sacked four shifts, 850 temporary staff – at an hour’s notice, with no redundancy pay. When the management left the building after making the announcement, furious members pelted the union reps with tomatoes, seeing the union as part of the problem instead of the solution.
How could it get to this? How is it that after three terms of a Labour government, workers some who had worked for BMW for 4 years can still be treated like that?
Now more than ever before, we don’t just need a “campaigning union” we need a fighting union, one that instils a confidence in members to resist employers’ attacks.
Ours was absolutely a left campaign calling for people before profit, public ownership not privatisation, and a green campaign.
Discussing with our members why it’s wrong for Unite to support more nuclear power stations simply in the name of some jobs when green energies, Sea, Solar and Wind could produce ten, twenty, thirty times as many jobs without leaving a thousand years of toxic waste!
Debating with construction workers that Unite had been wrong to declare support for a third runway at Heathrow – and that investment in public rail transport would create even more jobs with less cost to our environment.
As the campaign progressed so did its support and optimism. By the end we had a real coalition of individuals, branches, committees and almost every left group. The stuff that dreams are made of we were living in reality.
I travelled over 4,000 miles to attend meetings, take part in demonstrations and to give out leaflets at workplaces. All this along with every other cost was funded by generous donations from a few committees and so many individuals.
Everyone who was a part of this campaign got something positive from it. You yourselves will know the people you met or contacted, the places that you leafleted.
Me – You – Us – We were all so close to making history. It has given us a glimpse of what is possible.
Apart from the disappointment of not actually winning the election, a great disappointment has been the failure of sections of the left to recognise and grasp this opportunity for what undoubtedly would have been an historic breakthrough.
The Morning Star urged its readers to vote Simpson (Pro Nuclear, Pro Heathrow, Pro Gordon Brown) on the false pretext of “Vote Hicks, Get Coyne”. This was never going to happen and if it was genuinely believed, was a gross misjudgement.
Unfortunately other left groups couldn’t break with their bureaucratic and sectarian attitudes, and instead of backing me, to begin with threw their weight behind Lawrence Faircloth a right winger, who when he failed to win as many nominations as me, dropped out of the race and recommended a vote for Derek Simpson.
This confirmed the suspicions of many who had always regarded him as a stooge set up by Simpson to prevent the emergence of a genuine left wing challenger.
Even then after that debacle, those sections of the left did little or nothing in the contest for the one clear left candidate.
Madness is making the same mistakes over and over again but hoping for a different outcome.
In Unite we now have an amazing network of people who care and want something better for us. During the campaign I have, promised, pledged and said many things.
To all of those who want to listen and even to those who don’t I promise that this is not the end but the beginning.
The bureaucracy will hang on in there until we build a movement strong enough to move them. But if you fight hard enough, with enough confidence, all things are possible.
Finally I intend to make a complaint as to the legitimacy of the election given all the dirty tricks and wrong doings, especially the letter sent out with the ballot papers.
Expect the unexpected! Keep on keeping on
Kind regards to all.
Yours, Jerry.

In the final few days of the election I have been full of mixed emotions.

We are surrounded by wholesale job cuts, short time working and attacks to pay and conditions. The union seems a mile off the pace, reduced often to platitudes and hollow demands.

Yet, despite these extremely difficult times I continue to receive messages of support, offers of help and requests for election materials. The election campaign has been a very exciting experience but also a humbling one.

The almost daily revalations in the press regarding the waste and expenditure in the union, albeit mostly the right wing press who would have a very different agenda to us. Highlights what we have been saying for the last ten months when we first launched the challenge (though others remained silent until recently).

I believe that there will be much more scrutiny in future and that members money will be better
In a change to the arrangements for the count, it is now believed that, by adjustment to staffing levels and working hours, it should be able to open the envelopes and sort and count the ballot papers they contain in one day. (I hope the employees are being properly paid for this short notice change).

At 8 am on Saturday 7th March the ballot envelopes will be opened and the process will begin. It is not expected that the count will be completed until late afternoon at the earliest, but that the result will be known at some point on the Saturday.

In the event of a recount then this would have to take place on Sunday 8th commencing at 9 am I will be in attendance and shall endeavour to convey the outcome as soon as I can.

There may yet be even more twists and turns but whatever the result we have done at least three things.

1] Given the union and its members the opportunity to discuss and debate the pressing issues and what we need.

2] We have made this election happen, which enables the union and its members to decicide who they want as General secretary.

3] Our campaign, the policies and principles have given the union and its members a chance for real change rather than more of the same.

Expect the unexpected…………………’Keep on keeping on’

Shop stewards and trade union activists find it is hard enough as it is to get a job in the industry because of the black listing by the employers. It is a way of reducing their costs and attempting to break union organisation on the major projects.

Rank and file members are preparing for mass disruption on projects throughout the country that refuse to recognise union national agreements. There will be organised demonstrations strikes and mass disruption. We are preparing for a battle to defend our jobs.

Jerry Hicks a candidate in the coming election for General Secretary in the UK’s biggest union Unite-Amicus is supporting the action. He was present at a recent protest at Staythorpe power station where he sustained a fractured leg, having been assaulted by the police.

He said “This should come as no surprise to anyone. The employers have deliberately and actively been looking for ways to exploit cheap labour while covering their eyes and ears to the growing rage of discontent and ignoring all the warning signs, it’s outrageous”,

He went on to say, “To its shame the union leadership failed miserably to grasp the nettle months ago when the dispute was a crisis in the making. The union needs to confront the employers and organise a national campaign for industrial action.”

The employers watch and listen to everything we say and do. If the union does little and says even less they drive the boot in harder and our situation gets worse.

This is not about race or prejudice it is about the exploitation of labour, playing one worker against another. It is about the employers trying to break nationally agreed arrangements and in doing so it is an attack on the union.

Gordon Brown, who at the last Labour party conference said ‘British jobs for British workers’, has created a huge problem all of his own making. He can no longer simply sit on his hands waiting on the sidelines.

Meanwhile, other energy companies are observing what happens next as they seek to further exploit the cheap foreign labour market.

This issue is as a result of the Employers deliberately exploiting a situation, the union leaderships woeful lack of response and Browns pronouncement, Now they act like the like the three monkeys. Hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil.