Author: Kieran Crowe

Motion FROM BARNET UNISION: CLIMATE CHANGE IS A TRADE UNION ISSUE

#ClimateChange is a trade union issue.

It’s not enough to just demand a #ClimateChange Strike. We need joint trade union action to begin conversations with our members about how the causes of ClimateChange are already impacting on their health and well being.

Our branch has recently passed a motion which we already starting to implement .

Branch resolves:

  • To commit the branch into entering urgent negotiations with Barnet Council and other employers in order to identify the following.
    • The risks to the health and wellbeing of workers regularly exposed to air pollution.
    • What measures/protection can be put in place to mitigate the hard of air pollution?
    • What health checks can be made available to workers regularly exposed to air pollution?
  • The branch contacts our union to ascertain any possible legal claims for injury at work as a result of regular expose to air pollution.
  • To back the call for a climate strike on 20 September
  • To support the call by the UCU for the TUC to organise a 30 minute workday solidarity stoppage to coincide with the global school student strike on the 20th.
  • To call upon our national executive to support the UCU’s motion at this year’s TUC congress calling for a 30 minute workday stoppage.

For our branch to argue for and call a stoppage on the 20th September and for our branch to campaign for the maximum possible show of solidarity with school students 20th. It would be great if other trade union activists across London began similar campaigns to deal with the causes of #ClimateChange

You’re being gagged

On 30 July Tory councillors will vote to bar residents from speaking at council committee meetings. Tory councillors will vote to allow only two residents to raise one question each, in writing, on items on a committee’s agenda. After 30 July you, your residents’ association or interest group can no longer voice your concerns. Councillors will make decisions about bin collection and recycling, potholes, air pollution, development, libraries, schools, and care for the elderly and the disabled without listening to you.

What you and your friends can do now:

• E-mail your councillors to oppose this resolution

• E-mail your MP to oppose this resolution

• Go to your councillors’ surgery to oppose this resolution

• Sign the petition at http://chng.it/KgZ7gz7pk4

What you and your friends can do on 30 July: Come to Hendon Town Hall at 6pm to show your opposition to being gagged.

Who are we? Barnet Alliance for Public Services (BAPS) is a coalition of residents, campaign groups and trade unions defending public services in Barnet. We meet on the third Tuesday of each month at 6.30-8.30 at the Greek Cypriot Centre, North Finchley, 2 BritanniaRoad, London N12 9RU

Email: barnetalliance4publicservices@gmail.com

Support Barnet Stand Up To Racism

Here is the launch statement from Barnet Stand Up To Racism…. Please circulate and get your Labour Party branch/GC, Trade Union branch or Community Orgaisation to support the appeal. It has already got the backing of Chipping Barnet CLP, Barnet Trades Council and Southgate College UCU.
Contact for Barnet SUTR … sutrbarnet@gmail.com
Here is a suggestion for a motion:
This meeting notes the appeal from Barnet  Stand Up To Racism. We agree to support this local campaign and add our name to the appeal. We pledge to work for a mass movement to challenge racism in all its forms in Barnet and nationally. We will also support the anti-racism campaigning work of the Labour Party, Trade Unions, and of other organisations such as Hope Not Hate.

How you can help ‘stop and scrap’ Universal Credit

It is TUC policy to ‘stop and scrap’ Universal Credit. The implementation of the policy, alongside the cap on the up-rating of welfare benefits, has been shown to be causing immense hardship, and has been proven to be a substantial cause of the huge growth in the dependency of vulnerable people on foodbanks, and of evictions. 

Unite Community is organising a day of action against Universal Credit, 1 August 2019. More information and campaign materials are available at: 
https://unitetheunion.org/campaigns/stop-universal-credit/
#STOPUniversalCredit

Education unions condemn arrest of Sudanese teachers’ leader

The arrest and disappearance of Yassin Hassan Abdelkarim, president of the Sudanese Teachers’ Committee on 28 June has drawn strong condemnation from the University and College Union (UCU) and International Solidarity Officers in the NEU teachers’ union. Paul Cottrell, acting General Secretary of UCU wrote to the Sudanese ambassador calling for Yassin’s immediate release after hearing that armed men stormed his house in the early hours of 28 June and took him away to an unknown location.

Sudanese activists are extremely concerned that he could face torture or death in detention at the hands of the brutal militias affiliated with the Transitional Military Council who have already killed over 100 protesters during attacks on peaceful sit-ins after 3 June. The Teachers Committee is an independent union which has played a key role organising teachers’ strikes in recent years.

UCU calls for immediate release of Yassin Hassan Abdelkarim, president of the Sudanese Teachers’ Committee #StandWithSudan https://t.co/DzJvmZVJaM

— UCU (@ucu) July 2, 2019

International Solidarity Officers in NEU adopted a resolution on 1 July also calling for Yassin’s release alongside other political prisoners. Huge protests gripped on Sudan on Sunday, following a call by the Sudanese Professionals Association and the opposition Forces of Freedom and Change for further peaceful demonstrations and civil disobedience to demand the transfer of power to a civilian government from the ruling Military Council.

Statement by International Solidarity Officers, NEU

We, National Education Union International Solidarity Officers, condemn the arrest of our brother and colleague Yassin Hassan Abdulkarim President of the Teachers’ Committee in Sudan.

We support the struggle for democratic rights and civilian government in Sudan. We support the demonstrations called by the Sudanese Professional Association and note protestors have exercised non-violent civil disobedience in pursuit of their aims.

We condemn any use of force, including that used on June 3rd in Khartoum, against these peaceful protests.

In addition, the arbitrary arrest of civilians exercising their right to organise cannot be tolerated. We call on our government, trade unions and human rights organisations to demand the immediate release of Yassin Hassan Abdulkarim.

Original post.

MR REASONABLE: Barnet Council Plan to Gag Residents

Last week the Constitution and General Purposes Committee proposed significant changes to the public participation rules. Currently, up to 30 minutes is set aside at the start of each committee meeting for public comments and questions. You have to submit the questions by 10am 3 working days in advance of the committee meeting and you also have to specify which agenda item on which you wish to make a public comment.  At the meeting the resident gets 3 minutes to make their public comment and they can then be questioned by committee members. Questions are taken in strict rotation so everyone who has asked a question gets a chance to ask a supplementary question. Even if the questioners do not get the chance to ask a supplementary question there is a written response to their original question. This provides a useful audit trail when matters arise in the future.

Last week all those rules were changed.  Following ratification at the forthcoming full council meeting on 30 July public participation will be dramatically reduced. The Council’s proposals are as follows:

Questions and comments should be amalgamated. The number of words for each question/comment should be limited at 100 and must be submitted in writing by 10am 3 working days in advance of the committee meeting.
Residents may raise one question/comment on an agenda item. The question/comment must relate to the substantive matter to be determined by the committee. No more than two questions from residents will be allowed per agenda item taken in the order of receipt by the Governance Service. These changes means the public will no longer be able to address the committee in person and councillors will not be able to ask the member of public about their comment. When reports run to many pages, summarising a single question or comment in 100 words will severely restrict what people can say. Residents will only be able to make one comment or one question on an agenda item but if more than two residents ask a question or make a comment on an agenda item, no other questions or comments will be accepted.  Barnet say this is about saving money and giving more opportunities to residents. It will do neither especially, if residents are forced to submit multiple FOI requests to get important answers. It seems clear that Barnet do not like residents scrutinising decisions such as the Council’s £22.9 million loan to Saracens Rugby to build a new stand at their stadium or asking questions about the £2 million fraud carried out by a Capita employee which went undiscovered for more than a year. Capita’s performance in areas such as Highways and Pensions Administration have been dismal but public scrutiny of their performance and why they are being allowed to continue to provide such a poor service will now be all but eliminated. The Council are also making major cuts to services such as libraries and are changing the rules to force disabled people who receive in-home care packages to move into residential care simply because it is cheaper. The ability to question these changes will be dramatically reduced, allowing the council to rubber stamp decisions without any meaningful engagement with the public. Barnet residents have a right and a need to scrutinise the Council and these changes will eliminate that scrutiny. I admit I do ask quite a few questions but that is simply because I believe committees are failing to provide adequate scrutiny. Conservative councillors keep saying the questions are political. The questions I ask are almost always about money and performance. With £20 million of budget cuts this year and a further £47 million of cuts over the next four years it is important that Councillors at least listen to the concerns of residents. If you think the Council’s proposals are wrong, please sign the petition here or go an visit your local Conservative Councillor before the Council meeting on 30 July. Details of all their councillors’ surgeries are on the Barnet Council website but I have summarised them here for your convenience.

ORIGINAL POST

international conference to combat racism and fascism: Sat 19 October

Trump in the White House…. Far Right growing internationally… Hate crime at epidemic proportions… Political crisis in Britain…

BOOK NOW

How do we stop the racist right?

The racist and fascist right are experiencing their biggest growth in their support across Europe since the 1930’s.

Inspired by the likes of Donald Trump in the white house racism, Islamophobia and antisemitism are on the rise everywhere. Hate crime has reached epidemic proportions, and the horrific attacks in Christchurch and Pittsburgh represent a new level of threat from far-right terrorism.

In Britain the toxic debate around the Brexit crisis has seen populist racists like Boris Johnson, Jeremy Hunt and Nigel Farage come to the centre stage of politics.

Hunt backed Trumps’ attacks on London mayor Sadiq Khan and his “Londonistan” retweets. Johnson described Muslim women as “letter boxes”. Farage built his reputation by attacking immigration to the UK.

Although fascist Tommy Robinson and far right UKIP were humiliated in the EU elections, thanks to mass campaigning work by anti-racists Johnson, Hunt and Farage will play the politics of divide and rule, scapegoating migrants and refugees and targeting the Muslim community with Islamophobic attacks.

It doesn’t matter whether you voted “Leave” or “Remain” everyone must oppose their racist agenda.

And whoever wins the Tory leadership election race the hostile environment for migrants that led to the Windrush scandal remains at the heart of government strategy and the reality of institutional racism continues.

On Saturday 19 October anti-racists activists will gather in London from across Europe and the US at the Stand Up To Racism international conference to debate how we build an international movement against the racist and fascist right and how we drive back the populist racism of the Tories and Farage.

Saturday 19 October, 10 – 4pm, Friends Meeting House, 173 Euston Road, NW1 2BJ London

Previous speakers include: Jeremy Corbyn, Diane Abbott, John McDonnell, Emma Dent Coad, David Lammy, Catherine West, Claude Moraes, Sabby Dhalu, Shahrar Ali, Mohammed Kozbar, Weyman Bennett, Maurice Wren, David Rosenburg

Workshops and plenaries include: Combating the “Hostile environment”, fighting for justice – Solidarity with refugees – The battle against Islamophobia in the age of Trump and Johnson – How do we stop the far right in Europe – Solidarity with refugees – Climate refugees and the climate crisis

Stand Up To Racism Barnet LAUNCH STATEMENT

There is no doubt that the far right is manipulating current political issues to further an agenda of division and hatred. We are seeing a well-documented rise in populism and xenophobic versions of nationalism.

Empowered by Donald Trump, far right parties have made electoral gains throughout Europe and beyond. There has been a worrying rise in racism, Islamophobia, antisemitism and anti-migrant hostility both abroad and within the U.K, where there has been a serious attempt by fascist “Tommy Robinson” and other far right figures to build racist street movements.

In London there has been a big rise in racist attacks and abuse. Specifically in Barnet, the number of Racist and Religious Hate Crimes reported in 2018/2019 Q2 has increased for the second consecutive quarter and is up from 667 last year to 711 this year.

Given the strong tradition of anti-racism here in Barnet we believe that we need to come together to marginalise the racists and those who would divide us. We pledge to stand with our diverse community in Barnet against racism, discrimination and injustice.

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