Defend Council seeking testimonies for All-Party Parliamentary enquiry

 

Defend Council seeking testimonies for All-Party Parliamentary enquiry

Defend Council Housing (DCH) wish to speak to rural households stuck on the ever-growing rural social housing waiting lists that reached 197,894. The testimonies gathered would be fed into an All-Party Parliamentary Group enquiry into the need for council housing.

Lord Best, who led the Joseph Rowntree Foundation for many years, has written extensively and chaired many commissions on housing. “As the National Housing Federation (NHF) has revealed the national position for rural housing has worsened quite dramatically in recent years………….trends (include) pricing out locals… (and) a fall in availability of private rented accommodation. In Devon the County notes a 50% decline and in North Devon alone a 67% fall in just 2-3 years.”

The NHF figures show that 46,318 additional households were added to the national social housing waiting list in rural areas between 2019-2022. And with just 5,953 new social rent houses constructed rurally over the same period then the crisis is growing at a rate 10 times that of towns and cities.

Best sees the answers lying in national and local government action. “We need to enable councils to stop the loss of longer-term lettings to Airbnb-style lets through a planning consent requirement and we need to embark on a major programme of social housing, not least for rural communities where so much council housing has been sold under Right to Buy.”

Best chairs the Devon Housing Commission that has already had 170 submissions, mainly from rural and coastal communities, from those facing severe housing difficulties.

A similar national enquiry is now being organised by Best’s parliamentary colleagues that comprise the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Housing and Social Mobility whose purpose is ‘to champion social housing providers that support communities to secure sustainable livelihoods’ by ‘examining evidence led insights.’

DCH is providing secretariat (administrative) support to the APPG that is co-chaired by MPs Peter Aldous (Tory) and Liz Twist. (Labour)

DCH is keen to collate the experiences of rural households stuck on long waiting lists for social housing and would welcome the assistance of Unite members in rural communities to make this possible. The group has already set up meetings in urban areas including Rochdale but wants to reach out into countryside communities.

According to Eileen Short “we are seeing the return to the slum, overcrowded, insecure living conditions of the 19th century that drove the mass council housing movement in the first place.

“Whether you are in housing need yourself or deeply concerned for future generations, help build a movement to address the housing crisis.

“This initiative could help reveal the facts about the present state of housing and detail how to mend the housing crisis. Please make contact if you can assist.”

 

In conjunction with Homes for All, DCH has put forward a 5 Point Plan which aims to provide concrete proposals to help solve the housing crisis.

1. Government investment in a mass council housing building programme, including requisitioning of empty homes and abolition of ‘right to buy’
2. Rent controls and secure tenancies in the private rental sector. Robust regulation of housing associations
3. New funding to repair and refurbish existing council housing – do not demolish
4. Adequate funding for fire safety, and for retrofitting and thermal insulation
5. Planning for the people and the planet, and not for developers’ profits

To contact Defend Council Housing ring 07342 098440 and at info@defendcouncilhousing.org

See also Homes for All website at www.axethehousingact.org.uk

 

 

 

British cocoa companies continue exploiting trafficked children

 

British cocoa companies continue exploiting trafficked children

Having represented until recently Unite on the Young Workers’ Committee of the International Union Federation (IUF) then Istvan Imre, who arrived in the UK from Romania in 2015 at aged 24, wants action to eliminate child labour everywhere but especially in the agriculture sector where it increased between 2016-2020.

There are now 160 million children working worldwide of which 112 million are working on small farms on plantations, often in hazardous conditions.

Istvan was behind the successful resolution from the IUF-Agricultural Workers Trade Group, which unites agricultural and plantation workers worldwide, to the IUF conference in June 2023 that noted: ‘that progress on eliminating child labour has slowed and at the heart of which is the poverty wages being earned by parent’s such that they cannot afford to cover the basic needs of their children, including food and education.

‘That avoiding poverty requires strong and effective trade unions in order to organise agricultural workers. This will pull them out of poverty through bargaining for better conditions and wages and access for education for their children.’

Affiliates to the IUF, which has ten million members globally in food, farming and hotels, were called upon to commit to promoting the use of the IUF leaflet that places a number of demands on agriculture companies, businesses sourcing agricultural products and governments. 

In moving the resolution Monique Mosley noted that nearly one in ten children are child labourers: “The numbers of child workers in agriculture is staggering……….in every continent, and in businesses of every size… trafficked children working in cocoa plantations have gone to court to hold big companies to account – Cargill, Mondelez, Barry Callebaut, Mars, and Nestle – Nestle’s cocoa supply chain leads from West Africa to their headquarters at the other end of Lake Geneva.”

Istvan is personally very aware of how key trade union organisation is to improve working conditions for children and young workers. Seeking a better life in the UK he began working on arrival at the Two Sisters poultry factory in Sandycroft, North Wales. “I had no idea what a trade union was.” That changed dramatically when Unite organisers from Liverpool arrived at the factory and began talking direct to the many migrant workers there in the months leading up to the pandemic.

The daily site visits paid off and when Istvan and his friends, now aware of their rights, agreed to take multi-lingual leaflets to other workers the 20 completed application forms one day rose regularly to peak at 200 over five hours on one occasion. “Management was forced to adopt a more conciliatory approach. We feel more human and less like a slave. No one is pretending wages and conditions are perfect but overall things have improved a lot.” Istvan became a Unite rep in 2020 and is today the deputy convenor at the factory.

“Workers need help getting organised. June 12^th is International Child Labour Day. It might seem a long time away but I’d urge Unite members to seek to mark it in some way and if they work in companies that rely on agricultural products from abroad, please try to ensure it is not produced by child labour.”

BOLTON TRADES COUNCIL: FUND RAISING APPEAL TO HELP PRODUCE A DOCUMENTARY FILM ON THE REMARKABLE BETTY TEBBS

 

BOLTON TRADES COUNCIL

FUND RAISING APPEAL TO HELP PRODUCE A DOCUMENTARY FILM ON THE REMARKABLE BETTY TEBBS

An appeal to the labour movement to raise £6,000 to make a documentary film on Betty Tebbs

Following the publication in 2019 by Unite of a booklet on Betty Tebbs remarkable life, Bolton Trades Council are aiming to raise £6,000 to make a 30-minute documentary film on BETTY TEBBS – A radical working class hero.

For those unaware of Betty then read what Maxine Peake has to say:-

Betty Tebbs (1918 -2017) was a great friend and comrade.

I first met Betty when I had the honour of reading extracts from her memoir at an event at The Working Class Movement Library, Salford. We became firm friends. Her passion for social justice and her courage were immediately apparent and had not dimmed in the slightest. Betty’s story was inspirational.

At 14 she left school and started work – working 53 hours a week for 10.6d. Some fifty years later, after a lifetime of trade union and labour movement activism and peace campaigning, she spoke at the Lenin Stadium in Moscow before a 10,000 strong crowd about halting the proliferation of nuclear weapons.

In between she represented workers, especially women, at East Lancashire Paper Mill as they became the highest paid women in the papermaking industry, co-founded a women’s refuge in Warrington and fought tirelessly for equal pay for women, often in the face of opposition from fellow trade unionists.

In retirement, she became Chair of the National Assembly of Women and continued her work for peace across the world, meeting along the way such women as astronaut Valentina Tereshkova and Angela Davis. At 88, she did her first lock-on to block the road at Faslane nuclear submarine base in Scotland. She was arrested. When comrades became disheartened Betty always gave the same answer: “We have to carry on the struggle. It is up to us.” For Betty it was the only answer. Her story is a guiding light for all of us in that struggle.

“I was delighted when Unite published a biography by Mark Metcalf of Betty’s remarkable life.”

The production of the film would be undertaken by Francesca Platt, production manager of the Bolton based arts project The Videobox at https://www.thevideobox.tv/contact-us/ alongside writer Mark Metcalf, who has produced a number of works under the Rough Jersey logo.

The pair recently collaborated on a well-received 30-minute documentary film BREAD NOT BAYONETS – Halifax 1842 on the uprising, part of the 1842 General Strike, in the West Yorkshire town in 1842. This can be viewed at: - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0UxMadnIEAt

Funds for this work were donated by a number of trade union branches.

The work by Francesca and Mark will consist of additional research, on screen interviews, site visits, sourcing music, photography, editing and production. There will be a number of costs associated with the work.

There will be a public screening of the completed works and it will be available free to labour movement organisations and community groups. The work will go online and will be available to show at labour movement events.

Copies of the Unite publication on Betty Tebbs can be downloaded at: -

https://markwritecouk.files.wordpress.com/2020/02/6328-betty-tebbs-web.pdf

See also Maxine Peake and Mark speaking at the WCML about Betty: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJzlvL4G1Gw

Hard copies still exist – contact Mark Metcalf on 07392 852561 or email him metcalfmc@outlook.com

Former Unite general secretary Len McCluskey also speaks very highly of Betty.

Born at the end of WWI, Betty became an activist in one of Unite’s legacy unions, the National Union of Printing, Bookbinding and Paper Workers, which eventually became the GPMU.

During the WWII she worked as a crane driver at Mather & Platt. Her first husband was killed in action. Afterwards she became politically active in the Communist Party and a committed peace campaigner having seen the devastation caused by the atom bombs dropped on Japan. Betty later became a hard working Labour Councillor. She also worked in different jobs becoming an activist in the shop workers union, USDAW. She was a delegate to SOGAT conferences where she campaigned for equal pay and she attended many international conferences campaigning for world peace.

She was honoured for her work with SOGAT’s Gold Badge. At age 89 she was presented by Manchester City Council with the Elizabeth Gaskell Women’s Award. I was privileged to share a platform with Betty at the 2016 Labour Party Conference Even in her 90’s she was a marvellous speaker and she received a long and rousing standing ovation following her speech.

 

Draft resolution

This branch agrees to support the appeal by Bolton Trades Council towards the costs of a documentary film on Betty Tebbs. We agree to donate……………..

All donations can be sent to:-  Bolton and District United Trades Council, Account number 59020222 Sort code 089018

A series of short labour movement documentaries up till 20th October 2023

 

A series of short labour movement documentaries co-ordinated by Mark Metcalf, a member of the NUJ and Calderdale Trades Union Council

As of 23^rd October 2023

Mark Metcalf - Fighting Talk short documentaries

@markmetcalf07 metcalfmc@outlook.com 07392 852561

‘Bread not Bayonets’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0UxMadnIEA

The story of Halifax in August 1842 when local workers downed tools to join a nationwide general strike for better pay and extended voting rights and

found themselves ruthlessly suppressed with many killed and injured.

32 minutes long

Directed and edited by Francesca Platt and produced by Mark Metcalf.

Remember the Dead, Fight for the Living

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLyeMYnpVjo

Highlighting how work can kill and why joining a trade union and getting organised is the best form of self-defence.

2 minutes long

Not so Happy Valley

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdcrdIlxs60

What happened to orphan children from Liverpool who were moved from 1879 onwards to Halifax to work for nothing?

5 minutes

Andrew Watson Halifax's Black Footballing Pioneer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvYf6kZn_7A

A call for a plaque to be mounted at the Halifax school that the first black football international attended in the late 19^th century

 July 2023

Remembering Ellen Strange - Memorial Walk for Domestic Violence Victims

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0_uhqtIuoI

9 minutes

July 2023

Keep Our NHS Public Leeds - 75 Years of The NHS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2GVgLQVGDA

11 mins 19 seconds

June 2023

Pay Up to Save The NHS - The Junior Doctors Strike

 Why Junior Doctors are taking strike action and how without a victory in their pay battle the NHS faces even more problems in the future in recruiting staff. 

 https://youtu.be/AA23wwcQTjY

Halifax Chartist Hero Remembered: Benjamin Rushton

On Friday 23rd June, 50 people attended a Calderdale Trades Council Benjamin Rushton commemorative event in Lister Lane Cemetery, Halifax.  

Fourteen minutes of highlights of the event at:- 

https://youtu.be/fp4mth4LfwY

 

 

Download for free Mick Jenkins' book on the 1842 General Strike

Download for free Mick Jenkins' book on the 1842 General Strike at:- 

https://markwritecouk.files.wordpress.com/2023/09/1jenkins_mick_the_general_strike_of_1842.pdf

IDF leaflet dropped in Gaza a direct death threats to all Palestinians(GOOGLE TRANSLATE)

 These red leaflets bear the logo of the Israeli army and the 

words “Urgent Attention” in Arabic. We had the

 text translated by an Arabic-speaking reader,

 and it concerns pure and simple death threats against civilians.

This is what is written: “Your presence north of Wadi 
Gaza places your life in serious and 
imminent danger.” Wadi is a river located 
in the center of the Gaza Strip. 
This is the limit set by the Israeli 
army: the entire north of the Wadi must be 
completely emptied of its inhabitants, which is impossible. 
The city of Gaza City represents 700,000 inhabitants. 
For comparison, it would be like demanding that the city of Lyon 
be completely emptied down to its last inhabitant in a few days, 
babies and old people, hospitals and schools.

A black box contains this text: “Anyone 
who does not evacuate Gaza to the south 
will be considered complicit in terrorism.” 
This leaflet prepares the ground invasion of Gaza, 
during which Israeli ground troops intend to 
shoot everything that moves.

https://contre-attaque.net/2023/10/21/un-tract-menace-de-mort-les-habitants-de-gaza/

Howard Wilkinson to join Roy Massey on special occasion in Sheffield on 27th October

 

RIVERSIDE CAFÉ 6.30pm on Friday 27^th October

Two of England’s great coaches to speak in Hillsborough on a unique Sheffield evening

Opponents on the pitch in the 1960s, South Yorkshire lads Howard Wilkinson and Roy Massey were to play key roles off it in a football revolution that meant professional clubs began recruiting youngsters as young as eight to join Academies in 1998. The impact has been to raise standards to levels previously regarded as unimaginable.

Now, on 27th October at 6.30pm at the Riverside Café – Bar and Terrace – just 100 yards from Hillsborough – both men will be coming along to speak about their work and answer questions about the coaching of young footballers and football generally. Also on sale will be Roy Massey’s autobiography:  A Life in Football and a coach to the stars.

In the late 60s Howard Wilkinson, who had obtained his full FA coaching badge at 21, and Roy Massey faced each other when Brighton clashed with Leyton Orient.

Wilkinson was to go on to manage Notts County and Sheffield Wednesday, for whom Massey’s grandad Jimmy won the FA Cup in 1896, and Leeds Utd where he won and became the last English manager to win the League Championship. In 1997 the Football Association appointed Howard Wilkinson to be the FA’s first ever Technical Director tasked with the challenge of creating a new and revolutionary youth development system. Howard is now chairman of the League Managers’ Association which Graham Taylor and he created in 1992.

Cynics proved wrong

Howard introduced the FA’s ‘Charter for Quality’, which revolutionised youth football in England. Clubs – as had been the case in Europe for decades could recruit and develop young players from the age of eight. Cynics at the time said the plan was doomed to failure. However, he persisted and devised the plan to create and develop some of the best players in the world.

The benefit of having that plan and sticking to it has led to some of the best youth developers and some of the best players in the world.

Massey enjoys 16 years of success at the Arsenal Academy

Regulations for the academies were duly drawn up. Massey was asked in March 1998 by Liam Brady, head of youth development at Arsenal, to oversee the recruitment, coaching and managing of 8 to 12-year-olds at the new Arsenal Academy.

Massey, who had qualified as a PE teacher before becoming a professional player, was to enjoy great success over the next 16 years and helping to bring through a large number of players such as Jack Wilshere that made it to the very top. Massey had earlier helped in a series of part time roles bring through a number of stars at Colchester United and Norwich City.

The event, which is free, is open to accompanied young people. The doors open at 6.30pm and is at:-

Riverside Cafe, 88 Catch Bar Lane S6 ITA.

Roy Massey’s autobiography is £20 and will be available on the night.

For further details ring Mark Metcalf 07392 852561 metcalfmc@outlook.com