Calling notice: Coventry & Birmingham Branch Meeting April 2014
Tuesday 8 th April 2014
Kahawa Cafe
163 New Union Street
Coventry
CV1 2PL
6:00 pm for 6:30 start
Any apologies to branch chair: tony@tonyadamsproductions.com
Agenda
1) Introduction by chair/those attending
2) Minutes of March meeting
3) Secretary/Treasurers reports
4) Branch reports
5) Up date on disputes
6) Any other business
Item in this message:
Stand Up For Education - Rally to Defend Teachers
Fair Pay Fortnight - West Midlands Wage Summit
Benefits Street or Scapegoat Street
What all journalists need to know about the Defamation Act 2013
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Stand Up For Education - Rally to Defend Teachers
Birmingham - Wednesday 26th march 2014
11:30 am to 12:4 5 pm
Victoria Square
Birmingham,
B1 1BD
The NUT needs your support to defend education and protect teachers. There is a national strike planned for This Wednesday March 26. there will be Picket Lines across Birmingham schools followed by a rally in Victoria Square @ 11:30am
Striking Against:
Excessive workload and bureaucracy
Performance related pay
Unfair pension changes
Pay: Destroying the national pay framework means tat in every school head teachers and governors have to worry about developing a pay system instead of focusing onf teaching and learning.
Workload: Government policies mean that far too much time is spent on bureaucratic box-ticking that stops teachers focusing on teaching.
Pensions: The NUT recognises that other workers are having their pensions squeezed. We believe that this is wrong too - everyone should be entitled to a decent standard of living in retirement.
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EDM 1207: Wage Levels And The TUC's Fair Pay Fortnight Campaign
That this House notes that living standards have been under pressure since the recession of 2008-09 and despite the recent recovery in growth are not yet picking up, and that real wages for the average full-time worker have fallen by £2,800 since 2009; further notes that the reason for the squeeze, the longest since the 1870s, is weak wage growth; further notes that even on the more optimistic forecasts, real wages for those in the middle and below will not return to their 2008 levels until around 2020, and that whilst more people are now in work and unemployment is falling, too many of the new jobs are low paid, insecure and precarious; believes that a real, sustainable recovery which benefits ordinary people will require real wages to rise, and that this would not only relieve some of the strains on living standards but provide a solid underpinning for rising household spending and economic growth; and therefore strongly agrees with the TUC that Britain needs a pay rise, and supports the TUC's Fair Pay Fortnight campaign beginning on 24 March 2014.
Sponsors: Lavery, Ian/ Morris, Grahame M / Mearns, Ian / Sheridan, Jim / Cryer, John / Clark, Katy - House of Commons: <> 20.03.2014
Fair Pay Fortnight - West Midlands Wage Summit
Friday 4th April 2014 - 18:30 to 20:30
Birmingham City Council Chamber
Town Hall
Victoria Square
Birmingham, B3 3DQ
Costs: Free
About this event: Working people in the UK are seeing their living standards squeezed harder and harder every year. The cost of energy, food and housing is soaring but pay isn't keeping up. On average, workers in the West Midlands have lost more than £2,500 since 2009 and many people are trapped in low-paid and insecure jobs.
Speakers:
Chair Rob Johnston Midlands TUC Regional Secretary
Joe Morgan GMB Regional Secretary
Cllr Stewart Stacey Birmingham City Council
David Gardner KPMG, Director of Public Policy
Jack Dromey Erdington MP & Shadow Police Minister
Mark New UNISON West Midlands Regional Organiser
Further speakers to be confirmed
A media campaign action will also be held at 12 noon outside Birmingham Town hall on 4 April
Inquiries/Further Information:
Michelle Kesterton <mkesterton@tuc.org.uk>
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Benefits Street or Scapegoat Street
Public Meeting
2:30pm Saturday 5th April
The Priory Rooms, Bull Street (off Corporation Street), Birmingham, B4 6AF
Speakers:
Chris Baugh, Assistant General Secretary, PCS
Robert Punton, Disabled Peoples Against the Cuts
Sandra Kane, Birmingham Benefit Justice Campaign
Organised by the Public and Commercial Services Union PCS
<> www.pcs.org.uk
*************************************************************
What all Journalists Need to Know About the Defamation Act 2013
This event is for NUJ members only
The Defamation Act 2013 is now in force and has introduced major changes which affect how journalists work.
Tamsin Allen and Athalie Matthews of Bindmans LLP will guide members through the changes. They will discuss:
what constitutes defamation;
what constitutes publication to third parties;
the various forms that defamation can take;
and the new defences introduced by the Act.
There will be time for questions and answers.
We expect places at the seminar will be in high demand, they will be allocated on a strictly first-come-first-served basis.
Wednesday 16 April 2014 / Headland House, 308-312 Gray's Inn Rd, London
Further details / contact information
Email: freelanceoffice@nuj.org.uk
This is the official blog for the NUJ Birmingham and Coventry branch.
Tuesday, March 25
Friday, March 7
Birmingham & Coventry NUJ Branch Meeting March 2014
Tuesday 11th March 2014
Carrs Lane Church Centre
Carrs Lane
Birmingham
B4 7SX
6:00 pm for 6:30 start
Any apologies to branch chair: tony@tonyadamsproductions.com
Agenda
1) Introduction by chair/those attending
2) Minutes of February meeting
3) Secretary/Treasurers reports
4) Branch reports
5) Up date on disputes
6) Any other business
Item in this message:
- State of the Union
- Migrant Workers in Qatar & the 2022 World Cup
- Rally and Demo Marking UN Anti-Racism Day
*************************************************
State of the Union
All figures are as at the last day of September each year
In the last five financial years membership has declined by 5,680
Membership Year on year decline Paying membership
2013 29,506 1513 25,189
2012 31,019 2053 25,987
2011 33,072 763 26,458
2010 33,835 1351 27,130
2009 35,186 28,337
Monies
2013 Surplus for year £1,752,260
2012 Deficit for year - £3,959,872
2011 Surplus for year £682,897
2010 Deficit for year - £313,082
2009 Deficit for year - £2,855,922
2013 Amount of general fund at end of year - £2,071,601
2012 Amount of general fund at end of year - £3,823,960
2011 Amount of general fund at end of year £135,912
2010 Amount of general fund at end of year £546,985
2009 Amount of general fund at end of year - £223,903
NUJ: Annual return for the years ended 30th September 2009/2013 as filed with the 'Certification Officer', available <> here . . . .
*************************************************
EDM 1095: Migrant Workers in Qatar & the 2022 World Cup
That this House notes that since Qatar won the bid to host the 2022 World Cup the country has experienced a construction boom; further notes that in the last two years hundreds of Indian and Nepalese migrant workers have died working on construction projects in Qatar; moreover is extremely concerned that in the build-up to 2022 hundreds more migrant workers will die due to unsafe working conditions; and calls on the Government, the international community and FIFA to act to urge Qatar in the strongest possible terms to drastically improve working conditions, review the migrant worker sponsorship scheme and properly compensate the families of migrant workers who have been injured or killed.
Sponsors: Mann, John / Betts, Clive / Durkan, Mark / Ritchie, Margaret / Russell, Bob
<http://www.parliament.uk/edm/2013-14/1095> House of Commons: 24.02.2014
*************************************************
Rally and Demo Marking UN Anti-Racism Day
Assemble 11:00am, Saturday 22nd March 2014
London: Parade from the Mandela Statue in Parliament Square to rally at Trafalgar Square
Organized by TUC & Unite
Transport from Birmingham:
8:15 am, Iron Man, Birmingham Town Hall, Victoria Square
Tickets £5 unwaged, £10 waged, £20 solidarity
To buy/book tickets call 07974 131966
UN Anti-Racism day
A day of action has been called for across Europe on 22 March to coincide with UN Anti-racism Day. With eyes on the European elections in May parties in most countries of the right, centre and even the traditional left are allowing politics and the media to be dominated by racism and xenophobia. Islamophobia and anti-Semitism and the scapegoating of minorities - immigrants, Roma, Black and Asian communities - have become the norm. In Britain the fascist and far right are seeking gains, but there is an even greater immediate threat.
No to Scapegoating Immigrants
That is the increasing tendency of mainstream political parties to tail-end the right-wing, populist UKIP. They are out-vying each other in calls for draconian 'anti-immigration' policies and generally promoting a 'Little Englander' anti-foreign, anti-European mentality, most recently seen with the hostility and racism whipped up towards the projected arrival of Bulgarian and Romanian migrant workers.
No to Islamophobia
In particular, it has become acceptable to promote fear and hatred of Muslim people and Islam as a religion. This racism creates a climate of Islamophobia, leading directly to more attacks on the Muslim population, including murder and violent attacks on mosques.
Remember Mandela - YES to diversity
In remembering Nelson Mandela we too should cherish "the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and equal opportunities." UN Anti-racism Day commemorates the victims of the Sharpeville massacre in 1960, when 69 peaceful demonstrators against apartheid were killed by South African police forces.
Many organisations and communities have come together to call for this parade and rally. Join us in rejecting racism and showing that migrants are welcome. Let's celebrate diversity by expressing our cultures and identities. Let's demonstrate our confidence in a future free of scapegoating, racism and hatred.
http://www.standuptoracism.org.uk/
Tuesday 11th March 2014
Carrs Lane Church Centre
Carrs Lane
Birmingham
B4 7SX
6:00 pm for 6:30 start
Any apologies to branch chair: tony@tonyadamsproductions.com
Agenda
1) Introduction by chair/those attending
2) Minutes of February meeting
3) Secretary/Treasurers reports
4) Branch reports
5) Up date on disputes
6) Any other business
Item in this message:
- State of the Union
- Migrant Workers in Qatar & the 2022 World Cup
- Rally and Demo Marking UN Anti-Racism Day
*************************************************
State of the Union
All figures are as at the last day of September each year
In the last five financial years membership has declined by 5,680
Membership Year on year decline Paying membership
2013 29,506 1513 25,189
2012 31,019 2053 25,987
2011 33,072 763 26,458
2010 33,835 1351 27,130
2009 35,186 28,337
Monies
2013 Surplus for year £1,752,260
2012 Deficit for year - £3,959,872
2011 Surplus for year £682,897
2010 Deficit for year - £313,082
2009 Deficit for year - £2,855,922
2013 Amount of general fund at end of year - £2,071,601
2012 Amount of general fund at end of year - £3,823,960
2011 Amount of general fund at end of year £135,912
2010 Amount of general fund at end of year £546,985
2009 Amount of general fund at end of year - £223,903
NUJ: Annual return for the years ended 30th September 2009/2013 as filed with the 'Certification Officer', available <> here . . . .
*************************************************
EDM 1095: Migrant Workers in Qatar & the 2022 World Cup
That this House notes that since Qatar won the bid to host the 2022 World Cup the country has experienced a construction boom; further notes that in the last two years hundreds of Indian and Nepalese migrant workers have died working on construction projects in Qatar; moreover is extremely concerned that in the build-up to 2022 hundreds more migrant workers will die due to unsafe working conditions; and calls on the Government, the international community and FIFA to act to urge Qatar in the strongest possible terms to drastically improve working conditions, review the migrant worker sponsorship scheme and properly compensate the families of migrant workers who have been injured or killed.
Sponsors: Mann, John / Betts, Clive / Durkan, Mark / Ritchie, Margaret / Russell, Bob
<http://www.parliament.uk/edm/2013-14/1095> House of Commons: 24.02.2014
*************************************************
Rally and Demo Marking UN Anti-Racism Day
Assemble 11:00am, Saturday 22nd March 2014
London: Parade from the Mandela Statue in Parliament Square to rally at Trafalgar Square
Organized by TUC & Unite
Transport from Birmingham:
8:15 am, Iron Man, Birmingham Town Hall, Victoria Square
Tickets £5 unwaged, £10 waged, £20 solidarity
To buy/book tickets call 07974 131966
UN Anti-Racism day
A day of action has been called for across Europe on 22 March to coincide with UN Anti-racism Day. With eyes on the European elections in May parties in most countries of the right, centre and even the traditional left are allowing politics and the media to be dominated by racism and xenophobia. Islamophobia and anti-Semitism and the scapegoating of minorities - immigrants, Roma, Black and Asian communities - have become the norm. In Britain the fascist and far right are seeking gains, but there is an even greater immediate threat.
No to Scapegoating Immigrants
That is the increasing tendency of mainstream political parties to tail-end the right-wing, populist UKIP. They are out-vying each other in calls for draconian 'anti-immigration' policies and generally promoting a 'Little Englander' anti-foreign, anti-European mentality, most recently seen with the hostility and racism whipped up towards the projected arrival of Bulgarian and Romanian migrant workers.
No to Islamophobia
In particular, it has become acceptable to promote fear and hatred of Muslim people and Islam as a religion. This racism creates a climate of Islamophobia, leading directly to more attacks on the Muslim population, including murder and violent attacks on mosques.
Remember Mandela - YES to diversity
In remembering Nelson Mandela we too should cherish "the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and equal opportunities." UN Anti-racism Day commemorates the victims of the Sharpeville massacre in 1960, when 69 peaceful demonstrators against apartheid were killed by South African police forces.
Many organisations and communities have come together to call for this parade and rally. Join us in rejecting racism and showing that migrants are welcome. Let's celebrate diversity by expressing our cultures and identities. Let's demonstrate our confidence in a future free of scapegoating, racism and hatred.
http://www.standuptoracism.org.uk/
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