Greener Jobs Alliance (GJA) Newsletter No. 43 – December 2022:

Introduction

The Greener Jobs Alliance (GJA) came into existence as a result of funding from Battersea and Wandsworth TUC. The GJA was launched to promote skills training and job creation to meet the needs of Britain’s rapidly growing low carbon sectors and to green the whole economy. The transition to a low carbon and resource efficient economy can drive sustainable economic recovery and job creation in every part of the country as well as making existing jobs more secure. But this requires a more strategic national and local approach to deliver the workforce skills needed and to stimulate demand for clean energy and energy efficiency services.

The Greener Jobs Alliance liaises at a national and local level to build the broadest possible support for the policies, investment, partnerships and commitments needed to drive the transition to a low carbon economy.

The Greener Jobs Alliance liaises with training bodies, colleges, universities, employers, local and national Government, trade unions, housing associations, campaign and community groups – to build the policies, investment and partnerships needed to drive the transition to a low carbon economy.

GJA ‘Free’ Courses:

The GJA runs a number of ‘free’ courses on the environment for Trade Union Reps in different parts of the UK which have been attended by a number of CWU Reps with details published in the newsletter.

The GJA now offer three ‘on-line’ courses as follows:

1. Climate Change Awareness

This short introductory course is aimed at trade unionists and anyone wishing to develop their understanding of the issues around climate change.  The course is divided into 4 modules.  The modules contain background information, short videos, graphs and illustrations.

• Module 1: Climate Change Explained
• Module 2: International Responses
• Module 3: Trade Union Responses
• Module 4: Getting Involved

At the end of each section, there are references and links to additional materials if you want to go further. There are no formal tests and you can work through the materials at your own pace but there are optional quizzes to check your understanding at the end of modules 1, 2 and 3.

2. A Trade Union Guide to Just Transition

Social justice must be at the heart of the development of a net-zero carbon economy. The course covers:

• The meaning and history of the term just transition
• Why it should be a priority issue
• UK and international policies and case studies
• Ideas for developing an action plan

It is aimed at trade unionists and anyone wishing to improve their understanding of why just transition should be central to climate change policy.

3. Air Quality – a trade union issue

The following issues will be explored in this free online course. It is made up of 3 modules,

• Module 1: The Causes and Health Impacts of Air Pollution
• Module 2: The Law and Government Policy
• Module 3:  Trade Union Responses and Campaigns

Link to GJA on-line Courses:https://greenerjobsalliance.co.uk/courses/

GJA Founder Graham Petersen:

The founder GJA Secretary and Newsletter editor was Graham Petersen who is well known to the CWU and has a long standing working relationship with the Union. He is a former TUC tutor and course designer who created safety reps training courses and the successful TUC Occupational Health & Safety Diploma Course. He was the head of the Trade Union Studies Centre at South Thames College before retirement from the post and has been a visitor and guest speaker at CWU events and meetings. After 30 editions, Graham stood down at the GJA AGM and handed over to Paul Atkin as newsletter editor and Tahir Latif as GJA Secretary. Graham remains a GJA Steering Group member and is now working part time for the Wales TUC having recently written a publication for them ‘Greener workplaces for a just transition – a Wales TUC toolkit for trade unionists’ which was circulated by the CWU Health, Safety and Environment Department.

Paul Atkin Editorial GJA Newsletter Issue 43 – ‘After the COP, now what?’

In this month’s editorial Paul Atkin is critical of the COP process where the fossil fuel companies have their roots and interests embedded in government delegations as demonstrated at last year’s COP when the Saudi Foreign Minister, said “we don’t see this as a discussion about fossil fuels’’ and a proposal from India to extend the policy of reducing coal use to cover all fossil fuels was blocked and, ‘natural gas’ was affirmed as a “transition fuel” which allowed a “dash for gas” and for the exploitation of Africa’s resources, with many gas deals sealed at the conference. Paul adds that next year’s COP28 will be held in the oil rich producing United Arab Emirates(UEA), which is like holding an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting in a pub. Progress on cutting pollution now depends on the most polluting countries upping or exceeding their emission reduction targets. The EU has upped its 2030 target for renewable energy generation from 22% to 45%. China has already gone beyond its 2025 target for EVs and looks set to hit its 2030 renewables target by 2025 or 6. Australia now has better targets following the fall of its climate change denying government in the spring. Paul adds that Oxfam have exposed the fact that the rich and wealthy are increasing emissions whilst the working class are reducing emissions. He rightly adds that the current wave of strikes is about workers all having enough to live on with dignity and self-respect whilst the media attack the workers calling the pay claims as ‘unaffordable’ whilst saying nothing about the rich and powerful who share out massive profits and share dividends! Part of the struggle for a sustainable society is to turn that framing inside out and put it the right way. (GJA Editor Paul Atkin).

Contents Newsletter 43

• Editorial – After COP now What?
• Supporters Meeting
• COP roundup
• View from the Green Zone
• The ITUC view
• Climate protesters jailed & reporters arrested
• 2022 Dorje Khatri award
• Cities and Just Transition
• Magic retrofit ingredients
• National Homes
• Retrofitting Taskforce
• The Cost of Living
• Warm homes and insulation campaigning
• Union Green Rep Networks
• Former Coalfields Education Project
• DEBATE: A Just Transition beyond Growth?
• Films Notebook
• Review: The Atom: A Love Affair
• Film Premiere: The Loud Spring
• Green Bites

Note: COP28 is the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference. The conference is formally known as the ‘United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties’ and this is its 28th iteration. Given that the official title is a mouthful, it is shortened to COP28 which is short for the 28th Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC. It’s will be held from 30 November until 12 December 2023 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).

GJA Supporters Meeting Tuesday 13 December 2022 12.00-13.30 – Greener Work: the work of the Green Bargaining Officer

Speakers include:

• Jenny Patient (Yorks and Humber TUC)
• Ryan Morrison (FOE Scotland)
• Lara Skinner (Climate Jobs National Resource Centre, New York)
• Wales TUC speaker.

Plus COP27 Report back – Jenny Cooper (NEU Executive and ITUC delegate)

And Retrofit workshop report – Linda Clarke (UCU/GJA)

This is an Online event: Contact tahirlatif51@icloud.com to register.

Film Premiere “The Loud Spring” (62 mins – labournet.tv)

Venue: The Brady Arts and Community Centre, 192-196 Hanbury St, London E1 5HU on Saturday 17 December 7:45 pm

Starring Julia Steinberger, Andreas Malm, and the Angry Workers collective, labournet.tv’s new hybrid documentary/fiction The Loud Spring, explores what change is needed to avert a climate catastrophe and why we need a powerful workers’ movement. With COP 27’s ‘failure’ and the cost of living crisis, in a situation where public awareness of the drastic consequences of climate change is growing, the film draws attention to the elephant in the room: where does the political power to change things come from? Is it direct action by a dedicated few? Is it the angry masses in Chile, the so-called Arab Spring, and the Yellow Vests in France? These movements have had significant victories, but they still have not managed to change society in any fundamental way. The Loud Spring, by using animation to imagine a possible social revolution in 2024, makes a bold step forward in helping us visualise the end of capitalism rather than the end of the world. Interviewing academics, workers, and activists, from Mexico to Sweden, the film does not present us with a blueprint or a utopia, but the basis upon which we can discuss the challenges of emancipation in the 21st century. The film screening will be followed by an open discussion with the filmmaker, the Angry Workers Collective, and Andreas Malm (Author of ‘The Progress of this Storm’ and of ‘Fossil Capital’, which won the Isaac and Tamara Deutscher Memorial Prize).

Tickets can be booked here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-loud-spring-uk-premiere-tickets-465692628187

You can watch a short Trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAWekV0Bvoo

Quote of the Month:

“We were the ones whose blood, sweat and tears financed the industrial revolution. Are we now to face double jeopardy by having to pay the cost as a result of those greenhouse gases from the industrial revolution? That is fundamentally unfair.”

(Mia Mottlet PM of Barbados)

Attachment:

• GJA Newsletter 43 for December 2022.

Yours sincerely

Dave Joyce
National Health, Safety & Environment Officer

22LTB505 Greener Jobs Alliance (GJA) Newsletter No. 43 – December 2022

GJA-Newsletter-43-Dec-2022

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TUC Health & Safety Reps Survey 2022:

The TUC has launched the 2022 survey of union health and safety representatives, which the TUC carries out every two years.

This is the fourteenth biennial TUC survey of health and safety reps. It is designed to provide the TUC and individual unions with information about who health and safety reps are, and what their experiences and needs are.

This information is needed so that the TUC and unions can do more to help safety reps, and so that trade union safety reps’ views and experiences are better reflected in public policy debates and the work of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). The responses are valuable to the TUC and indicate the issues safety reps are dealing with, and what work the TUC and affiliated member unions like the CWU should prioritise and campaign on in the years ahead.

The TUC will publish the results, and use them to campaign for better health and safety standards at work (including more rights for health and safety reps).

Safety rep responses are crucial to ensuring that this survey provides the information the TUC is seeking. Please answer as many questions as you can – but if they seem irrelevant to your experiences, ignore them.

This survey covers the last two years (from December 2020 to December 2022). Please answer as many questions as possible. The survey is looking at your health and safety work in general over the whole period and includes survey questions specifically about your experiences during the Covid-19 pandemic. Responses will help shape the future health and safety priorities of the TUC and refine how the TUC and affiliated unions support safety reps in future.

This survey is now on-line as it has been for the last few years and will take approximately 5 minutes to complete. Your contribution is incredibly valuable, and it can only be used if you reach the end of the survey and press the submit button.  All responses are anonymised in the final report write-up.

Survey Respondents will have the chance to be added into a prize draw which you can opt in to and the end of the survey.

• 1^stPrize – £200 supermarket voucher
• 2^ndPrize – £100 supermarket voucher
• 3^rdPrize – £50 supermarket voucher
• 4^thPrize – A year’s subscription to Hazards Magazine (all other winners will also receive this)

Collating the responses to this survey will be a time-consuming and expensive task, so the TUC cannot enter into correspondence arising from the survey. However, the TUC does want to know about any successes health and safety reps have had in improving health and safety standards and there is a section in the survey for safety reps to provide details if they wish.

The 2022 biennial TUC Survey of Health and Safety Representatives is now online so please complete the survey at:

https://www.tuc.org.uk/news/we-want-hear-union-health-and-safety-reps

Please complete the survey by Thursday 2 February 2023 when the survey will close.

Yours sincerely

Dave Joyce
National Health, Safety & Environment Officer

22LTB504 TUC Health & Safety Reps Survey 2022

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ROYAL MAIL GROUP DISPUTES – RMG STATEMENT ON NO COMPULSORY REDUNDANCY

Last night RMG published an open letter to employees on job losses and Compulsory Redundancies.  As everybody knows, the Union has been demanding job security commitments for members as part of the resolution to the disputes and we welcome the following statement highlighted in their letter:

“The changes we need to make to this business will NOT involve ANY compulsory redundancies.  Royal Mail has not used compulsory redundancy before. And we’re not going to start now.”

Given RMG wrote to the Union on 28^thNovember seeking our agreement on the criteria for Compulsory Redundancy, the above represents a major shift in RMG’s position which has only come about as a result of our members continuing to show rock solid support for strike action.  This is also proven by the company’s previous “best and final” offer of 22^ndNovember, published to members, stating:

“Royal Mail are prepared to guarantee there will be no compulsory redundancies up to 31^st March 2023. There will be a review of this position at this time.” 

For their no Compulsory Redundancy statement to become a reality, it must form part of a final overall Agreement including the wider Job Security commitments we require in relation to future resourcing models, terms & conditions and working practices.

Notwithstanding the above, the Union remains opposed to the overall scale of job losses linked to unacceptable change.  We also stand by the fact that RMG’s current plans will result in significantly more than the 10,000 job losses announced on 14^th October due to RMG’s expanded plans to “right-size” the company through further major change – confirmed in front of Acas.

It is evident RMG has modified its position on no Compulsory Redundancies, which everyone will welcome.  However, if RMG wants to resolve all issues in dispute, they must act with greater integrity by engaging in meaningful negotiations, rather than making unilateral announcements through an open letter designed to avoid an Agreement.

Yours sincerely

Dave Ward
General Secretary                                                                 

Andy Furey
Acting Deputy General Secretary (P)

LTB 503/22 – ROYAL MAIL GROUP DISPUTES – RMG STATEMENT ON NO COMPULSORY REDUNDANCY

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POST OFFICE: PAY DISPUTE 2021/22 & 2022/23 – NOTICE SERVED FOR ACTION SHORT OF A STRIKE CROWN OFFICES AND ADMIN UNITS

Branches are advised the Postal Executive has authorised action short of a strike for all of our Post Office members working in Crown Offices and Admin Units.  The two-week legal notification has been served on Post Office today as follows:

Industrial action consisting of action short of a strike (specifically a sales boycott in Crown Offices and work to rule in Crown Offices and Admin Units) as follows:

• The sales boycott and work to rule will cover all Crown Office (DMBs) and Admin Unit duties (for the entire duration of the scheduled duty) commencing at or after 07.00 on Thursday 29th December 2022 and before 19.00 on Saturday 14^thJanuary 2023 inclusive.

Summary of all strike action/action short of a strike for PO members

We have now served notice for the following:

Strike Action 

• Crowns – Saturday 24th December
• All members across Admin, Crowns and Supply Chain – Wednesday 28th December.

Action Short of a Strike

• Overtime and Scheduled Attendance ban across Supply Chain from Monday 26th December until Sunday 15th January inclusive.
• Sales Boycott in Crowns and Work to Rule in Crowns & Admin – from Thursday 29th December until Saturday 14th January inclusive

Further developments will be reported.

Yours sincerely

Andy Furey
Acting Deputy General Secretary (Postal)

Attachment 1: 22LTB501- Post Office – Pay Dispute 2021-22 & 2022-23 – Notice Served for Action Short of a Strike – Crown Offices and Admin Units

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Royal Mail Group Disputes 2022 – ‘Grounds of Complaint’ for Individual Claims against the company due to Unlawful Deduction of Sick Pay

The department have received enquiries from Representatives, Branches and Members about what seems to be a vindictive policy from Royal Mail to stop sick pay for any members who have been / are taking strike action.

The reports we have received have included members who have been stopped sick pay for many instances including, preparing for operations as requested by their hospital / surgeon, being sick with an asthma attack, members who are sick with COVID, some have even stated they have had to come to work with COVID as they were threatened by their manager, members who have had accidents on duty, plus people who were already off on sick leave who have had the whole absence deducted.

We have made representation to Royal Mail and have been told there is no central policy, however, there seem to be too many cases for there not to be some sort of coordination.

Royal Mail did put out a communication yesterday stating the normal sick pay rules apply. However, if this was the position previously, we don’t understand why some managers have gone to the lengths they have to stop sick pay and therefore don’t believe this will cease.

The actions of Royal Mail are also breaking their own guidelines. They produced a document – Managing IA People Guidelines. Within this document it states: –

“We want to treat everyone fairly, so if you’re in any doubt, please take further advice before acting.”

“Of course, we must make sure we pay everyone who comes to work, is on a rest day, on holiday or off sick.”

“Normal procedures apply. For those employees already on self-certificated or medical certificated sick absence, it should be regarded as continuing absence.”

“If an employee is already on certificated sick absence on the first day of industrial action such absence should be regarded as continuing until the final medical certificate expires.”

As stated above, we don’t believe the communication from Royal Mail will cease this practice and we are now calling on all members who have been stopped sick pay to put in a grievance and also use the online claim form for detriment of being associated with a Trade Union and unlawful deduction of wages using the link below. The form takes less than 5 minutes to fill in.

https://www.cwu.org/rmg-ia-claim

Should you need any assistance with the process / filling out the form, this is laid out in Letter to Branches 379/2022 and 383/2022. The responses will be gathered from these forms centrally and then circulated to Branches. The Branch Secretary or Legal & Medical Secretary will then need to submit the details gathered to Acas for early conciliation as soon as possible. All the details required for Acas will be provided on the form. Postal Executive members Rob Wotherspoon, Saf Khan and Luke Elgar will be acting as the liaison points between the DGS(P) Department and Branches, and providing assistance where required.

We will continue to make representations to Royal Mail on this matter and any further developments will be reported.

Any enquiries about this LTB should be addressed to the PTCS Department quoting reference 401, email: khay@cwu.org.

Yours sincerely,

Carl Maden
Assistant Secretary

LTB 500.22 Royal Mail Group Disputes 2022 – ‘Grounds of Complaint’ for Individual Claims against the company due to Unlawful Deduction of Sick Pay

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https://youtu.be/8L1dzozUTDw

POST OFFICE: PAY DISPUTE 2021/22 & 2022/23 – NOTICE SERVED FOR NATIONAL INDUSTRIAL ACTION

Further to LTB 493/22 dated 12^thDecember, Branches are advised the Postal Executive has authorised national strike action for all of our Post Office members working in Crown Offices, Admin Units and Supply Chain.  The two-week legal notification has been served on Post Office today as follows:

• The strike will cover all duties (for the entire duration of the scheduled duty) commencing at or after 00.00 on Wednesday 28^th December 2022 and before 23.59 on Wednesday 28^thDecember 2022.

Whilst informal talks are still being held, the Union remains available for formal negotiations, either directly with Post Office or via Acas.  Hopefully Post Office will agree to meaningful negotiations, which is evidently required to resolve this dispute.  As members would expect, we are treating this as a priority.

It should be noted that the action described above has been discussed with our full-time IR Reps who fully support the strategy of combining strike action with action short of a strike tailored to the different grade groups.

Further developments will be reported.

Yours sincerely

Andy Furey
Acting Deputy General Secretary (Postal)

22LTB499 – Post Office – Pay Dispute 2021-22 & 2022-23 – Notice Served for National Industrial Action

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Ahead of the strike action by RMPFSL members tomorrow here is a vital update from national officers Mark Baulch and Carl Maden.

Please make sure all relevant members in your branch and office have watched it.

Facebook https://fb.watch/hpJPHotDny/

YouTube https://youtu.be/uHGxad-XZAU

ROYAL MAIL PROPERTY FACILITIES SOLUTIONS LIMITED (RMPFSL) – DISPUTE ON PAY AND ASSOCIATED ISSUES

Further to LTB (Letter To Branches) 486/22, issued on 7^th December which updated Branches, Representatives, and Members alike on the union’s attempts to seek further talks to progress an acceptable resolution and agreement to the dispute with Royal Mail Property & Facilities Solutions Limited (RMPFSL).

As a further update, talks did indeed take place today in the hope that RMPFSL management would formally set out a further improved offer that reflects what the union had believed was progress at the meeting held on the 7^th December. Sadly, this was not the case and RMPFSL is yet to formally set out an improved offer against what they labelled as their ‘full and final offer’ which was outlined in LTB 434/22, issued on the 4^th November.

Whilst the failure of RMPFSL to seek to use our meeting today as a genuine attempt to seek an acceptable mutual agreement which can be placed in front of the members is disappointing, the union has still provided RMPFSL management with the opportunity to bring forward an improved offer and made ourselves available for further negotiations, building on the talks which were held on the 7^thDecember.

However, given the current position with no acceptable agreement, the strike action planned for our members employed by RM Property & Facilities Solutions Limited will go ahead as planned on the 15^thDecember.

In order to provide our members and representatives with a more comprehensive and fuller update we are in the process of arranging a Facebook Live session which all RMPFSL members are encouraged to join via a link the details of which will be communicated shortly.

Any queries regarding the content of this LTB should be addressed to the PTCS Department quoting reference number 312 – email khay@cwu.org or the Outdoor Department, quoting reference 120.12 email address: njones@cwu.org

Yours sincerely,

Mark Baulch                                                         Carl Maden
CWU Assistant Secretary                                          CWU Assistant Secretary

LTB 498-22 Dispute on Pay and Associated Issues

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Update for Royal Mail Group members ahead of strike action #StandByYourPost for those who were unable to watch live tonight

https://fb.watch/hoyvJiOcPC/