This Friday night the International Brigade Memorial Trust are having a fund raising concert at Chorlton Irish Club starting at 8PM.

Please see the embedded flyer below for more details.

Click here to Download (PDF, 95.74KB)

A number of Schools-based members have raised a query with regard to the Bank Holiday for the Queen’s Jubilee this year. The Manchester Local Authority has already incorporated this Bank Holiday within the School calendar as they have allocated 189 school teaching days instead of the obligatory 190 days in this current academic year. This means you will be entitled to the same day off as other MCC employees and you do not need to use up additional leave.

Education Newsletter May 2012

Please see the embedded PDF below of the latest Education Newsletter containing news and articles relevant to our members based in Schools and Academies. You can browse through the document online or download a copy for printing at home if you prefer.

Click here to Download (PDF, 984.98KB)

You might have already heard the news but I thought I would tell you that every BNP candidate who stood in yesterday’s elections has lost. This includes those BNP councillors up for re-election.

This is a fantastic rejection of their racist politics.

We have created a HOPE Wall for you to tell us what you think of this news?
http://action.hopenothate.org.uk/bnp-beaten

The BNP defeat means that there is no BNP councillor in Burnley for the first time in ten years. Other previous BNP strongholds like Calderdale, Rotherham, Amber Valley, Nuneaton & Bedworth, Three Rivers and Epping Forest are also now BNP free zones. This leaves the BNP with just three councillors, down from a high of 57.

Tell us how that makes you feel?
http://action.hopenothate.org.uk/bnp-beaten

A special thanks must go to the hundreds of people who got involved in our campaign this year and also the unions and individuals whose donations made this campaign happen.

In total, we delivered over 750,000 newspapers, leaflets and direct mail letters in these elections and none of this would have been possible without you – our supporters – who have made this campaign what it is.

In these difficult economic times it is only a matter of time before the racists – in the guise of the BNP or some other party – once again pose a threat. But today is one to celebrate. HOPE has defeated hate and voters have waved Bye Bye to the BNP.

Please leave your message on our HOPE Wall.

Many Thanks

Nick Lowles
Hope not Hate Co-ordinator

This Government is responsible for a raft of ill-informed, counter-productive and frankly dangerous policies.

Take your pick from a growing list that includes austerity for the many and tax cuts for the wealthy, plans for aircraft carriers without any aircraft, levying a tax on hot pasties, encouraging people to store petrol at home, privatising the NHS and reducing charities’ income.  In local government, its latest wheeze is to ignore the really big problems affecting cities like Manchester, such as growing unemployment, especially amongst our young people, at the same time as it continues its massive and damaging onslaught on public services.

London and the South East continue to enjoy the lions’ share of Government resourcing, with economic policy being dictated by London bankers to meet the requirements of the finance sector who caused so much damage.

Yet instead of dealing with the real problems, the Tory led Government is forcing cities like Manchester to waste money on a referendum on whether to have an elected mayor.

We have always had a Lord Mayor, chosen by the elected and accountable Council, who represents the City in a non-party political role which has been good for Manchester.

However, an elected mayor will be bad for Manchester and bad for local democracy.    

Power is concentrated into the hands of just one individual, creating a politics of personality, not of substance. The role of local ward councillors would be diminished, reducing their ability to influence things in light of their community’s views, as an elected mayor will take all the decisions without much need to consult councillors.

Once elected they can do what they want for years and can only be challenged by a two thirds majority of the Council.

It’s less democratic than the current system and could easily lead to corruption.

An elected mayor will not get any additional powers or resources.  What is proposed is nothing like the London Mayor and Assembly model, where the London Mayor has real power over transport, planning and development across London.

Manchester does not need an elected mayor. It would be an unnecessary cost to residents, would concentrate power in one person and completely undermines democracy and accountability.

This referendum matters. Referenda for an elected mayor have been agreed in some areas where there was a very poor turnout.

If you have a vote in the Manchester referendum, please use it.

Defend our city and reject this Government con trick.

Vote for the leader option.

Electing mayors is not only dangerous but dictatorial

Elected mayors not wanted by two thirds of voters. Guardian/ICM poll: 61% across regional, class and party lines say they would prefer to stay with council system

The April edition of the Mancunion is now available to download by opening this post, then clicking on this link.

The nominations for the 2012 elections are now in, writes Nick Knowles,  Hope not Hate Co-ordinator,  and almost 300 far right candidates are standing across the country. Most are standing for the British National Party, but there are also significant numbers standing for the National Front and a splattering of others for smaller racist parties. Hope not Hate is also targeting the 91 candidates standing for the English Democrats, almost half of whom belonged to the BNP just a few months ago.

The HOPE not hate campaign is prioritising those wards where BNP councillors are up for re-election and if we defeat them in these we could reduce the BNP to just two borough councillors. But we are also keen to limit their vote everywhere – and for this we are hoping you will help.

We have produced leaflets targeting the BNP, the NF and the English Democrats. If you would like to get together with other HOPE not hate activists to distribute some where the far right are standing, please sign up here.

This weekend we are focusing on our top priority areas, places such as Burnley, Rotherham, Amber Valley and Nuneaton, but over the following two weekends (21/22 and 28/29 April) we want to spread our campaign across the country. We want to show the racists that wherever they spread their hateful poison we will be there.

There are far right candidates in 70 out of the 184 councils with elections this year. The chances are there is someone standing near you. What we want to do is to put people who want to help in touch with each other and then we will build an activity around that. It might be a public activity, in which case we will advertise it to other HOPE not hate supporters near you, or perhaps you would just prefer us to send you some leaflets and you can do it quietly in your own time. Whatever suits you is good for us.

I’d like to spread a message of HOPE.
You can find a list of far right candidates here.

Over the last few years the BNP have been beaten back in many areas of the country. Please help us ensure we add your local area to this list.

Thanks

Nick Knowles
Hope not Hate Co-ordinator

Beyond the Frame is an exhibition of contemporary Cuban art taking place in London and Glasgow to raise support for the campaign for justice for the Miami Five – 5 Cubans unjustly imprisoned in the US for 13 years.

In Manchester on Friday 4th May, at the Anthony Burgess Centre, you have the opportunity to meet two exhibiting Cuban artists – Lesbia Vent DuMois and Gustavo Diaz Sosa – and to view a travelling exhibition of prints by artist Eduardo Roca Salazar (Choco) and photographer Nelson Ramirez de Arellano. All proceeds will go to the campaign for justice for the Miami Five.

From 12.30 – 5.30pm the exhibition will be open to the public (no entry fee) and at 6pm there will be a buffet reception. The evening event (7 – 10pm) will include talks by visiting Cuban artists Lesbia Vent DuMois, Gustavo Dias Soza and Geoff Bottoms talking on the Miami Five.

Tickets for the evening event are £5/£3 (concessions) to reserve tickets please contact:

Website: cubasolmanchester.blogspot.com
Email:   csc.mcr@poptel.org
Phone:  0161 292 0956

You can also find out more by referring to the flyers below.

Click here to Download (PDF, 588.19KB)

Click here to Download (PDF, 151.01KB)

International Workers Day is taking place on Monday 7th 2012 and we invite you all to join us in celebration.

There will be a march and rally on the day along with a number of speakers from local, national and international campaigns. In the afternoon there is entertainment planned with food and activities for children so there will be something for the whole family to enjoy.

Please see the flyer below for details on the order of events and we hope to see you there.

Click here to Download (PDF, 64.48KB)

The Branch often gets requests for short informal learning and training courses aimed at the following types of people:

• Contacts and activists who come forward during organising campaigns
• Workplace and ‘postbox’ contacts
• Reps and Officers who have just been elected but who haven’t yet taken their formal training
• Staff members who are new to UNISON

We are planning to run pilots of Getting Started in UNISON on Saturday 26 May and Tuesday 19 June at the UNISON North West Office, Arena Point, near Victoria Station, in Manchester from 10.30 to 3pm.

The basic aims are to give members an introduction to:

• UNISON’s organising ethos
• Information about UNISONdirect, our national and regional websites, branch structures and other information sources
• Development and Support mechanisms for reps and staff in UNISON

If you or someone you know may be interested in an informal and useful day of Getting Started in UNISON, then please contact the Branch on 0161 254 7500 or email unison@manchester.gov.uk

This is an important time for us as UNISON members in the North West region. 

Most of our Branches are facing savage Government cuts to our funding which is resulting in the awful job losses we have seen in Manchester,the effects of which we are going through at the moment, as well as attacks elsewhere in the Region on our members terms and conditions and trade union facility time. 

The Government is also trying to make us all work longer, pay more and get less in our pensions.

It is vital, therefore, that our union has the right leadership to steer us through these turbulent and difficult times. 
 
The Service Group Executive (SGE) elections are happening very shortly and our Branch members will soon be receiving voting papers to elect the people who will be representing members views in how we respond to all these important challenges. 
 
All members are urged to vote in this election in order to get the right people who can best represent our members views.
 
Our branch has nominated
Brenda Hall (Women’s Seat) and Glen Williams (General Seat) for these positions to represent our Region and our Branch members.

Please take the time to read the election addresses of the candidates.
 
If a Ballot Paper has not arrived by April 17th members should call 0845 355 0845 to arrange for a replacement to be issued.