Support for NHSBT Organ Donation in 2019 & Law Change in 2020:

Further to LTB 475/18, as you may know, legislation to change the law around organ donation in England has passed through the Parliamentary process and the changes will come into effect from spring 2020. It is hoped that these changes will lead to more donors going on to save more lives. NHSBT (NHS Blood & Transplant) has written to us asking the CWU to help to make sure everyone understands what the change means to them.

Organ Donor Law Set To Change by 2020:

Following the announcement last year, the Law is set to change in England in 2020. A new opt-out system for organ donation will be in place by 2020 in England, as approved by the UK Parliament and under the plans, adults will be presumed to be organ donors unless they have specifically recorded their decision not to be and have opted out – rather than the current system where people have to opt in. The UK Government says this will save around 800 lives each year.

NHSBT Public Information Campaign To Launch in April 2019

In April 2019 NHSBT will launch a public information campaign to tell people that the law is changing and to explain that from spring 2020 everybody over 18 will be considered as a potential donor unless they ‘opt out’ or are in an excluded group.

NHSBT will be encouraging people to choose whether they want to donate their organs when they die, to record their decision and share it with their family. If they decide they don’t want to donate, they will need to register their decision on the NHS Organ Donor Register.

CWU Support

NHSBT has expressed their gratitude to the CWU for our Union’s valued support of previous organ donation campaigns, and we are more than happy to support the communication of this forthcoming change.

NHSBT are developing a partner toolkit that will be available for use from mid–April which the Health, Safety & Environment Department will utilise.

Further reports will be published in due course.

Yours sincerely

Dave Joyce
National Health, Safety & Environment Officer

19LTB178 Support for NHSBT Organ Donation in 2019 & Law Change in 2020

Cardiff City Hall Dog Control Conference – CWU Calls for Clamp Down on Bad Dog Owners Well Received. National Health and Safety Officer Dave Joyce delivers ‘key-note Speech.

See below reproduced report written on the above event.

Dog attacks on postal delivery workers and irresponsible owners were discussed at Cardiff’s major conference on dog ownership on 6^th March.

The event had a high profile list of speakers led by the Union’s National Health and Safety Officer Dave Joyce who was invited by the organisers Cardiff City & County Council to deliver the ‘key-note’ address. Other speakers were; Lesley Griffiths AM – Wales Government Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs, Councillor Huw Thomas, Leader of Cardiff Council and Penny Bowers of Cardiff Dog Action.

Politicians, animal experts, dog owners, victims of dog attacks, postal workers, CWU Reps and members of the public gathered in a packed City Hall for the event to hear evidence and suggestions geared towards making dog owners more responsible and holding to account those that flout the dog control laws and allow their animals to bite postal workers, children and members of the public.

What did the CWU Say?

Dave Joyce, National Health and Safety Officer for the Communications Workers Union (CWU) spoke on the danger of dogs to postal workers – particularly over Christmas and the school holidays when attacks peak – and the urgent need to toughen up dog control in Wales.

Dave said “One in seven of Wales’s 4,730 postal workers have been bitten and injured in the last 5 years with 850 casualties.”

“Some of these injured postal workers never fully recover physically and mentally from dog attack trauma and are not able to continue working in the industry due to their disabilities and disfigurement and mental anguish.”

The 200,000 strong CWU has launched its Bite-Back Campaign and is pressing the UK government to amend the Dangerous Dogs Act further but Dave Joyce added that Wales as a devolved administration can take the lead and the CWU are calling on the Welsh Assembly to:

1. Re-introduce Dog Licensing to generate ring-fenced funds for enforcement.
2. Introduce Dog Control Notices (DCN’s).
3. Introduce on the spot Fixed Penalty Notices to deal with minor offences and breaches
4. Enforce the Dog Tag Law of 1992 which requires all dogs to wear a collar and tag when in public with the owner’s details on it.
5. Utilise Public Space Protection Orders to ban dogs from specific areas such as children’s play parks and other designated public areas.Dave Joyce added that “Currently 77% of councils have never issued a Community Protection Notice (CPN) – CPN’s have been a total ‘failure’.

What did the Welsh Government say?

Lesley Griffiths AM – Wales Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs said that she was aware of inconsistencies with dog law enforcement and that there is a lot more they can do. She said: “I am very pleased to support the campaign – being a dog lover, promoting responsible dog ownership is a subject very close to my heart. Irresponsible dog ownership has a devastating impact not only on the dog but on individuals, their families and our communities.” Lesley said she had met Dave Joyce on several occasions and committed to further discussions with the CWU on the issues they have been raising.

What did Cardiff the Council say?

Councillor Huw Thomas – Leader of Cardiff Council, the largest Local Authority in Wales said: “I agree that there is no such thing as a bad dog only bad owners” and he re-affirmed Cardiff’s commitment to responsible dog ownership, supporting the issues raised by Dave Joyce and CWU.

What Did the Cardiff Dog Action Group Say?

Penny Bowers from the Cardiff Dog Action Group spoke about tackling antisocial dog behaviour and said “The council needs to have that top-down approach in dealing with this and we want Cardiff to be a dog friendly city.”

Going Forward!

The group (Wales Government Minister Lesley Griffiths, Julie Morgan Wales Government AM, Councillor Huw Thomas Cardiff Council Leader, Councillor Dilwar Ali Cardiff Council Cabinet Member and Dave Joyce CWU National Health, Safety & Environment Member) are planning to meet again in the near future to co-ordinate an approach to tackle these issues.

See attached Photographs from the Event.

End of Report.

Yours sincerely

Dave Joyce
National Health, Safety & Environment Officer

19LTB176 Cardiff City Hall Dog Control Conference – CWU Calls for Clamp Down on Bad Dog Owners Well Received

Doc1 (3)

TUC LGBT+ CONFERENCE – 4^TH – 5^TH JULY 2019

The TUC LGBT+ Conference 2019 is being held from 4^th – 5^th July 2019 at the TUC, Congress House, Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3LS.  The Conference sessions will be as follows:

Thursday 4^th July                11.00 – 18.00

Friday 5^th July                    09.30 – 17.30

The CWU are allowed a limited number of visitors to attend the above Conference and places will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.  Due to the need for extra security at all TUC Conferences, names and addresses of those wanting visitor tickets must be supplied and tickets are not transferable.

Anyone interested in attending will need to contact their Branch initially for funding, to include a £10 visitor ticket fee. The easiest way to pay the £10 fee will be for us to transfer it directly from your Branch’s account through the rebate system, therefore please contact Angela Niven on conferences@cwu.org with details of which Branch the individual belongs to on application.  Alternatively you can send a cheque (made payable to ‘CWU’) addressed to Angela Niven at CWU HQ with a covering letter.  Please note that places will not be reserved until the £10 fee is received.

Please let me know if you would like to attend the Conference as a visitor by no later than midday on Wednesday 10^th April 2019

Any further enquiries with regards this please contact conferences@cwu.org or Angela Niven on 020 8971 7256.

Dave Ward

General Secretary

19LTB 175 – TUC LGBT Conference – Visitors

THE U WORD DELIVERY WORKPLACE PODCAST – EPISODE 3 

Dear Colleagues,

Please see below a link to the latest episode of our workplace podcast. This month we have focused on the Unit Reps Briefings, doing the job properly, lapsing, pensions and pay.

Can all CWU Representatives share this link with members via social media, email, text and WhatsApp. We would also encourage Reps to bring the podcast to the attention of members during WTLL sessions or indeed any other any similar opportunity.

https://soundcloud.com/user-53225609/the-u-word-workplace-special-episode-3

Any enquires should be directed to the Outdoor Department, reference 535, email address: outdoorsecretary@cwu.org.

Yours sincerely,

Mark Baulch              

Assistant Secretary

19LTB170.19