Comments on the Bolton Fire

— Grenfell United (@GrenfellUnited) November 16, 2019

The Pressure Group Grenfell United said the fire in Bolton 'brings back memories' of the Grenfell Tower fire, which claimed 72 lives in 2017, and called for Government action.
“Devastating to see images of such quick fire spread last night in #Bolton,” tweeted the group, which represents bereaved and survivors from the fire.

Matt Wrack, general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) said it was “deeply troubling” to see fire spread rapidly up a building’s exterior again and called for a “complete overhaul” of fire safety in the UK.

***********

INTERNAL TRADE UNION DISCIPLINE

Union Disipline, Free Speech & Dissent? *
by Brian Bamford

PAUL EMBERY, has been a trade union member since he was 16, but Andrew Penman in the Daily Mirror on 27 JUN 2019 wrote that he:  'was kicked out after speaking in favour of Brexit at a Leave Means Leave rally.  The official policy of the FBU is to oppose leaving the EU.'

Paul, who represented the London region of the FBU on its national executive, seems to have paid a high price for publicly disagreeing.


Now the London Regional Committee has issued a statement saying his sacking from the national executive “is wrong and goes against the entire ethos of our union” and has demanded his immediate reinstatement.

'Having considered the evidence, it is clear to us that Paul has been debarred from office because of the content of a speech that he made at a pro-Brexit event organised by Leave Means Leave on the evening of 29 March 2019,' it wrote:
'People are, of course, free to agree or disagree with Paul's personal opinions on this and other matters, but the London Regional Committee recognises the right of all officials to hold and express political views that are not necessarily the views of the FBU.'

And it quoted the FBU general secretary Matt Wrack previously claiming to support free speech, saying:  'To address the huge challenges our movement faces today, we need to build a culture of debate and democracy which accepts that there will be different views and sharp difference of opinion. Democracy must include the right to express those differences.'

Andrew Penman writes:  'That sentiment does not seem to apply when it comes to his members who oppose the EU.'

To be consistent in its support of freedom Northern Voices supports this statement although I do prefer the remain option mainly because I identify with Europe as my eldest lad was born there in the 1960s.   I also believe that the UK will be drawn into the orbit of NAFTA and the USA if it is not inside the EU.

******************

*  INTERNAL UNION DISCIPLINE – EXECUTIVE COUNCIL MEMBER: BROTHER PAUL EMBERY

It is not usual for the Union to report matters in respect of an Internal Union Discipline case via an All Members’ circular, but I feel on this occasion it is necessary to provide some limited information in order to ensure that the members are provided with accurate details. This is because Head Office has been in receipt of a number of email communications from members, the content of which indicates that the material that has been circulated is resulting in a false perception of what transpired at the hearing.

An Executive Council-level Internal Union Discipline hearing took place on Wednesday 12 June 2019 to consider a report concerning Executive Council member Paul Embery, where the standard process of presentations and deliberations took place before decisions were made. Evidence in respect of six complaints was heard in accordance with the rules, over a period approaching 12 hours. The outcome was the award of a range of penalties in respect of a total of four complaints by the Executive Council. In the case of one of those complaints, it was resolved to award a debarment lasting two years.

As was explained when making this finding known to Brother Embery on 12 June, the rules allow for an appeal to the Union’s conference which may be an ordinary meeting or an especially recalled conference. It was made clear that the rules require that the sanction, i.e. the debarment, shall not be implemented until:-

• Either, where there is no appeal e.g. the date of the period for the appeal to be lodged has expired;
• Or, where an appeal is lodged, the outcome of the appeal has been determined.

Finally, it was made clear that the rules require that in the meantime, Brother Embery’s suspension from office, which took effect in May, shall remain in place until:-

• Either there is no appeal to be heard;
• Or, where an appeal has been lodged, the findings of the appeal have been determined.

The period for an appeal to be lodged is 14 days from the date on which the letter confirming the outcomes of the first hearing was sent to the Brother Embery.

This is a factual account.  We do not intend to make further comment.  We intend to respect the due confidentiality required by the process and indeed, Brother Embery has asked for such confidentiality to be observed.

Yours fraternally

ANDY DARK
Assistant General Secretary                                                                                                              

Unions meet Sir John Mitting on blacklisting!

On Wednesday 11th July, blacklisted workers and lawyers representing the FBU and UNITE the union held a 2 hour private meeting with Sir John Mitting, the judge in charge of the undercover policing public inquiry. There are legal restrictions on what can be disclosed about the discussions. 

Dave Smith, Blacklist Support Group co-secretary commented:

'We had a frank exchange of views about the future direction of the public inquiry. We hope that Mitting is now fully aware of our serious concerns about a number of issues that we feel will impede the truth about the activities of the UK's undercover political police units being fully investigated. We continue to have fundamental disagreements with many of the decisions being taken by the Chair and believe that the Home Secretary should set up a panel that will allow for a greater understanding of issues such as sex, race and class bias that are at the heart of the public inquiry. However, for a number of our specific concerns relating to state spying on trade unions, we were given assurances that we view as positive. But the proof of the pudding is in the eating and until we see concrete action rather than fine words, our view of the public inquiry remains highly skeptical.'  

Blacklist Support Group

book: http://newint.org/books/politics/blacklisted-secret-war/

video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNcgrNs6pB8

facebook: http://www.facebook.com/groups/blacklistSG/

blog: www.hazards.org/blacklistblog

Justice for Grenfell

Public Meeting:

Justice for Grenfell
We need answers!

WE DEMAND SAFE, SECURE HOMES

6 pm on Tuesday 22nd of August
Salford Arts Theatre, Kemsing Walk (off Liverpool St), Salford M5 4BS.

Speakers from:
Justice4Grenfell Campaign
Mark Rowe, FBU North West Regional Secretary
Hilda Palmer, GM Hazards Campaign
Salford City Unison

All Welcome

For more information contact Salford City Unison Branch Office on 0161794 7425 or got to http://salfordcityunison.org.uk/justice-4-grenfell/

How is it that the police can destroy evidence?

Ricky Tomlinson holding a copy of Northern Voices at a Conference of the FBU

YESTERDAY, Brian Reade wrote a piece in the Daily Mirror about Ricky Tomlinson's claim that Richard Whiteley was a spy for MI5.  We produce an excerp below:
'Not convinced? Neither is veteran Shrewsbury 24 researcher, Eileen Turnbull, who believes Tomlinson may have been duped: “I don’t know why Ricky is saying this,” she said.
Well, having recently spoken at length with Ricky, I think I know why. The 77-year-old realises he hasn’t got too many fighting years left, and the lack of a pardon for him and his fellow strikers in the face of overwhelming evidence that they were framed, could be driving him to distraction.
In 1973, Ricky was jailed for two years at Shrewsbury Crown Court, and 23 others convicted, after being found guilty of arcane public order offences during a national building strike against poor pay and Victorian working conditions.
For 44 years, campaigners have insisted the convictions were instigated by Ted Heath’s Tory Government who feared the rise of trade union power.
They have documents suggesting police destroyed witness statements and framed testimony to convict the activists, and that crucial papers are being withheld because they are too damaging and embarrassing to reveal.'
The Royle Family starhad said:
'... had he know of his alleged involvement in the plot when he appeared on Countdown he would have throttled him.'
It looks like Ricky is keen to get this issue of the Shrewsbury Pickets out into the public domain. 

Joint Trade Union Statement on Police Spies

Joint Union Statement: 

We the undersigned are outraged at the news that despite court orders to the contrary, the Metropolitan Police Service has destroyed evidence required for use in the Undercover Policing Public Inquiry. State spying on trade unions and political campaigns is a human rights scandal that affects millions of British citizens.  

Despite continued reassurances, the Pitchford Inquiry has failed to secure the documents that will be central to the investigation. Trade union core participants are beginning to question whether the Inquiry team has the ability to stop the police from obstructing the pursuit of justice. Lord Justice Pitchford needs to act now to restore our faith.  

We are calling on Lord Justice Pitchford to announce an urgent Inquiry hearing to examine the destruction of evidence by the police. The Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe should be forced to give evidence under oath to explain why, how and under whose authority documents have been destroyed. 

Lord Justice Pitchford needs to take immediate measures to secure all documentation held by the police, in order to prevent future destruction and avoid the entire inquiry descending into a hugely expensive cover-up on the part of the Metropolitan Police.  

SIGNED:

Len McCluskey (General Secretary) and Gail Cartmail (Acting General Secretary) UNITE the Union, incorporating UCATT 

Matt Wrack (General Secretary) Fire Brigades Union

Chris Kitchen (General Secretary) National Union of Mineworkers

Tim Roache (General Secretary) GMB union 

Mick Cash (General Secretary) Rail Maritime and Transport union 

Michelle Stanistreet (General Secretary) National Union of Journalists 

Dave Smith and Roy Bentham (joint secretaries) Blacklist Support Group

Conference on Bullying & Blacklisting

by Brian Bamford

ON my way to the University of Greenwich for the conference organised by the Blacklist Support Group, I picked up a copy of the Morning Star with a leading story about an undercover policeman who had used the alias Carlo Neri, who had successfully seduced three women to infiltrate the RMT  trade union and other leftist organisations in the early years of the 21^st century.  When I got to the conference a lass he targeted who used the name 'Andrea' described how he won her over with his plausible Italian personality. 

More revelations of the involvement of the security services and the police in the practice of blacklisting trade unionists and spying on radical organisations have been documented in the 2^nd  edition of 'Blacklisted:  The Secret War Between Big Business & Union Activists' authored by Dave Smith and the journalist Phil Chamberlain.

The Blacklisting conference itself which lasted for two days last weekend, was attended by well over 200.  The Conference Programme was populated by many academics like Pro. Sian Moore (University of Greenwich), Dr. Jack Fawbert (Anglia Ruskin University), Pro. Keith Ewing (Kings College London) and Pro. Phil Taylor (Strathclyde University); trade union leaders like Gail Cartmail of Unite, Amanda Brown (Assistant General Secretary of the NUT), Roger McKenzie (Unison) and Matt Wrack of the FBU; legal advisers like the barrister David Renton and Shamik Dutta; and activists like Helen Steel of the 'McDonald Two' and a participant in the Pitchford Enquiry.

Issues such as bullying at work; the tragedy of modern performance management and its consequences for the workforce; Edna's Law; protection for whistle-blowers; the campaign opposing police surveillance; 'Angry Women' and the Pitchford Enquiry were all discussed at the conference.  All in all I told Dave Smith in the interval that this was another triumph for the London based Blacklist Support Group, and as a proud northerner I don't give my praise to Cockneys that easily.

www.northernvoicesmag.blogspot.comFreedom Collective Statement!  on this blog 09/08/2016

General Strike anniversary

90 years since the 1926 General Strike – learn the lessons to fight back!

NINETY years ago today, millions of workers were taking part in the General Strike to defend the miners from a brutal Tory government.  The NSSN along with militant unions has championed the idea of generalised strike action to face down Tory austerity and their planned anti-union laws. 

The PCS National Vice-President John McInally celebrates the 1926 General Strike and draws out the lessons for today’s generation of trade union fighters:

'The 90^th anniversary of the general strike of 1926 allows us to reflect on the potential of the working class through their own organisations - the trade unions - to organise and fight back against attacks on their terms and conditions.

'But the current generation of conservative union leaders will also no doubt use this anniversary to expound a defeatist narrative, best expressed at the 2012 TUC Congress during a debate on the feasibility of calling a general strike, that “..we tried that once and it didn’t work”.  This cynical, ignorant statement seeks to re-write history as a series of defeats to prove industrial action is pointless and that gains made through generations of struggle were actually gifted to us by a munificent ruling class.

'In fact in 1972 the very threat of a general strike forced the government to resurrect archaic legal procedures in order to release jailed Dockers from Pentonville prison.  In 2011 public sector workers saw a glimpse of their massive latent strength during the two million strong N30 pensions strike that was sold out by cynical “leaders” who choreographed a “settlement” with Tory ministers that robbed them of pension rights.  The 1984-85 Miners strike is also cited as “proof” that struggle is useless and only “diplomatic” entreaties can restrain the bosses from implementing the worst aspects of a never-ending race to the bottom.  But with solidarity action from the rest of the union movement, Thatcher could have been defeated then.

'Leadership now as then is critical.  In 1926, the Daily Mail accurately described the  general strike as a “revolutionary move” but with the purpose of frightening the Labour Party and union leaders, which it did.

'Jeremy Hunt’s imposition of unacceptable contracts on junior doctors is a key stage in privatising our National Health Service and he seeks to intimidate them but also warn off right-wing union leaders by claiming the strikers aim to overthrow the government.

'My union PCS along with the Fire Brigades Union called on the TUC general council to call a day of action in support of the junior doctors. The TUC must, as a matter of priority, reconsider their decision not to support this call.

'The real lesson of the general strike is not that we can’t win but with determined leadership, workers can secure priceless victories.'