Say NO to Fire Service Cuts: Sign the petition!

East Sussex Fire Authority are consulting with the public on plans that will decimate local Fire & Rescue Services in East Sussex.

Planned cuts include:

• Remove 10 fire engines from towns and villages across the county. Affected stations are Bexhill, Battle, Crowborough, Lewes, Newhaven, Rye, Uckfield, Seaford, Heathfield and Wadhurst.
• Cut dedicated crews for aerial appliances in Hastings.
• Cut wholetime jobs at Lewes, Newhaven, Uckfield, Crowborough, Battle and Bexhill.
• Downgrade The Ridge fire station from 24hr immediate response to only daytime immediate response.
• Cut staffing levels of wholetime firefighters at all shift stations across the county.

These will impact heavily on a critical lifesaving service. They will negatively impact public safety as well as firefighter safety and will also impede firefighter's ability to respond quickly to emergency calls. 

The FBU point out that these plans were drawn up before the Covid-19 crisis, and do not take into account the different situation we will face when lockdown is finally over.   Firefighters locally and nationally have taken on significant extra duties as part of supporting communities during the crisis. 

Ten years of austerity cuts saw 11,500 firefighter jobs lost nationally.  The service is already overstretched!

Eastbourne is represented on the East Sussex Fire Authority by Meads Tory councillor Barry Taylor, and Lib Dem Leader of Eastbourne Borough Council, David Tutt.  Shamefully both voted for the cuts package. 

Please sign the petition here, download and print the FBU's information leaflet by clicking here,   and spread the word: Fire Cuts Cost Lives!

Shearings Collapse is Massive Blow to Eastbourne

The announcement this evening of the collapse of Specialist Leisure Group Ltd. is a massive blow to Eastbourne's already vulnerable tourism and hospitality industry. 

The group includes Shearings Travel, Wallace Arnold, Coast and Country Hotels and a number of other brands.

The Bay Hotels subsidiary owned and operated the Burlington Hotel  and the Majestic Hotel on Eastbourne seafront.  Dozens of staff at these hotels will now be made redundant- some of whom have many years service.

We are not aware of any formal union recognition agreements within these hotels, but we know that a number of SLG staff are members of GMB and Unite- and they should contact their union, without delay, for support.

Information from the Receivers can be read here.

We will post more information as it becomes clear.

Covid-19 Scandal at Cavendish School

The NEU and GMB were very concerned to discover that there has been a confirmed case of Covid-19 at the Cavendish Hub where a staff member tested positive last weekend (9-10th May). The Cavendish School  Hub has had children in from Cavendish School, Stafford and Roselands ESCC schools as well as smaller numbers from other Eastbourne schools. 

East Sussex NEU Branch said:

"Thankfully we understand the member of staff is not seriously ill but the potential infection that may have taken place given the size of the hub represents a serious and imminent threat to heath.

We are particularly concerned as despite this being known by some of the senior leadership on Monday 11th May all staff and parents were not made aware until late Friday 15th May. This was only disclosed at all after the unions were informed of the case on Friday 15th May and contacted management to say we would tell staff and parents if they did not.

Allowing staff and children to attend the hub for a whole week without informing them, shutting, allowing testing to take place, and doing a full school deep clean is unacceptable. There has clearly been a series of failures here and as advice was sought by leadership from East Sussex County Council and Public health England it raises serious questions about the quality of that advice.

The NEU has met virtually with its members across Stafford, Roselands and Cavendish to give advice and discuss the situation. It is clear that there are extremely serious questions to be answered: 

• Why were all staff and parents not told of a confirmed case and what advice was given to the leadership? 
• Given the unions had already been raising concerns with ESCC that the hub was too big how will the council and school leadership respond to having potentially having Covid-19 present in a building which had up to 100 people present in it? 
• How quickly can tests be provided for all those who have been on site and families? Why was such a large hub allowed to open and what assessments of the risk were done? 
• How is a school wide deep clean on Monday 18th be sufficient response to a case identified on Monday 11th when people have been in the building all week potentially spreading the virus?
• How can a reopening of the hub on Tuesday be justified? 

Indeed, how can there be faith from school staff and parents that any East Sussex schools can open more widely from 1st June when even with limited opening an outbreak in a school has been handled so badly?   The National Education Union will be continuing to advise its members directly and will be looking for an urgent meeting with East Sussex County Council and school leaders."

You can also read the press statement from the GMB by clicking here.

May Day Greetings!

Eastbourne Trades Council proudly organises the annual May Day march and picnic  to celebrate trade unionism and working people's organisation in Eastbourne.  Sadly, the lockdown means that this year it wasn't possible to do this- but see below for a selection of pictures from the past three years.  We'll be back in 2021!

Workers' Memorial Day 2020

April 28th is International Workers' Memorial Day, when we remember those who have lost their lives in the course of doing their job. 

Workers' Memorial Day has always been to "remember the dead: fight for the living" and unions are asked to focus on both areas, by considering events or memorial to remember all those killed through work but at the same time ensuring that such tragedies are not repeated. That can best be done by building trade union organisation, and campaigning for stricter enforcement with higher penalties for breaches of health & safety laws. Workers Memorial Day is commemorated throughout the world and is officially recognised by the UK Government.

Marking Workers Memorial Day in 2018.  Unite's Phil Mills,
Unison's Roy Noble, Ann Iordan from Unite Community and
Dave Brinson from National Education Union. 

In previous years, Eastbourne Trades Council has always had a visible street presence on WMD, raising awareness and asking the people of Eastbourne to remember.  In these difficult times, we will not be able to do this for 2020, but there is a great deal we can do to commemorate those who have lost their lives.

In particular this year, let's honour those NHS staff who have died from Covid-19, some of whom returned to work from retirement to help others during the crisis. And fight like hell for other staff in the NHS and Care sectors to get the proper PPE they need.

Please support the TUC's call for a minute's silence to remember those who have lost their lives in the course of doing their job. The Government is supporting this initiative, and many open workplaces are doing so too.

You can find out more about International Workers Memorial Day at the TUC's Website here. 

Corona Virus: What can trade unionists do?

Although the trades council, and most union branches will not be meeting at the moment, there is a lot that can be done to support union reps, members and other working people at this time.

The TUC has published detailed guidance for trade unionists on many aspects of the Covid-19 Coronavirus situation- including information for workers on zero-hours contracts.  You can read and download the guidance here.

Other unions have provided guidance specifically tailored to their members.  Unite the Union here; UNISON, here;  GMB here;  RMT here,

PCS have secured assurances that no civil servant will suffer a pay detriment as a result of following government health advice for managing the virus. However, many PCS members and potential members are employed by outsourcers on precarious employment contracts which do not provide them with the same protections as civil servants, and the union is seeking urgent talks with these employers.  More information on this here. 

Shop Workers' union USDAW has hundreds of thousands of workers on the front line, and sadly, many of those have faced abuse and threatening behaviour in recent days.  Labour and Co-operative MP Alex Norris brought foreard a Bill last Monday to legislate for additional protection for frontline retail staff- read about it here.

The creative industries will be hit hard: many arts companies will not survive without external support, and many Equity members will face hardship- especially those working on a gig-by-gig basis.  Detailed advice and support from Equity can be accessed here.

Megaphone.org.uk are hosting a petition to call for increased sick pay, and its extension to all workers, including the self-employed.  At just £94.25 a week, statutory sick pay in the UK isn't enough to live on - and 2 million people don't earn enough to qualify.  Click here to sign and share the petition.

Change.org has an equally important petition, highlighting the absurdity of the fact that NHS frontline staff are not being tested for Corvid-19.   The petition's author, hospital doctor Rebecca McCauley states that she has set up the petition "for prioritisation of testing for NHS staff... so that those who need to stay away do so, with a clear conscience, and those who can work can do so, with a clear conscience!"   Sign the petition here: 

POSTPONED: Trades Council AGM

The 2020 AGM of the Eastbourne Trades Council will be rescheduled when further information about prevention and management of the Corvid-19 virus is known.

A G E N D A 

1. Introductions and apologies for absence

2. Minutes of the AGM from 2019

3. Adoption of Rules for 2020 (proposal is same as for 2019) and new affiliates.

4. Officers' Reports and Accounts

5. Election of Officers for 2020-1 (following a resolution of the 2018 AGM, nominations for officer positions must be received before the meeting. Deadline will be 15th March)

a) Chair
b) Vice Chair
c) Secretary
d) Assistant Secretary
e) Treasurer
f) Additional non-officer members of the Executive Committee, if required

6. External Affiliations for 2020  (Last year:  East Sussex CATC, National Pensioners' Convention, Cuba Solidarity Campaign.)

7. Guest Speaker: LAURIE HESALDINE, London and South East Region of the TUC. 

8.MAY DAY PARADE, WORKERS' MEMORIAL DAY and EASTBOURNE PRIDE: to briefly update preparation for these events and agree any arrangements and funding.

9. Trades Councils Conference 2020

10. Dates of meetings for 2020-1

10. Presentation of the Len Caine Award to Bill Ball

Free Film Showing for LGBT History Month

Eastbourne Trades Council is proud to mark LGBT History Month 2020 with a free showing of this important piece of Cuban LGBT history, 25 years after it became the first Cuban film to be nominated for an Oscar. We are also proud to be the first film showing in the newly re-opened Grove Theatre. 

“Diego, a cultivated, sceptical young gay man, falls in love with a young communist full of prejudices and doctrinal ideas. First comes rejection and suspicion, but also fascination. Fresa y Chocolate is a coming-of-age story, told through the development of a great friendship, which overcomes incomprehension and intolerance.”

Released in 1993 this was the first major film from Cuba to address themes of homosexuality- and in 1995 became the first Cuban film to receive widespread release in the USA since the Revolution.

The showing will be on Tuesday 25th February 2020. The film will commence at 8.00pm and runs for approximately 100 minutes. 

The Grove Theatre bar will be open from 7pm, and during and after the film showing. Certificate 18 for “brief strong sexuality” and strong language. Nobody under the age of 18 may be admitted. In Spanish with English subtitles,

Eastbourne Trades Council supports the Cuba Solidarity Campaign as our international affiliation.  You can find out more about their work here.

PROTEST for our Local NHS: Saturday 29th February

The East Sussex Save the NHS Campaign has called for a demonstration against proposals by the CCG to close the NHS Walk-in centre at Eastbourne Railway Station. 

The campaign told the Eastbourne Herald:

“We believe this potential closure is part of a wider picture of NHS policy decisions that are robbing our population of the healthcare services they have paid for and need.” 

“Our town has already lost some of its core services from the hospital, many of us have experienced a whole raft of problems when accessing NHS services and soon we will start to see even more changes in primary care.” 

“You [the people of Eastbourne] have shown how passionate you are about keeping the walk-in centre so please keep signing our petition but do also engage with the CCG’s public consultation. You really need to make sure you tell the CCG exactly what you have been telling us!” 

TAKE ACTION!   Join the protest-  ASSEMBLE outside Eastbourne Railway Station at 1.00pm on Saturday 29th February. 

SIGN the online petition here!   

TELL THE CCG- take part in the online consultation by clicking here. 

SEE THE FILM- the campaign are showing "The Great NHS Heist" a powerful documentary by prominent NHS campaigner, film producer and working GP, Dr Bob Gill at St Elisabeth's Church on Friday 28th February at 6.30pm. Click here for more information.

Next Trades Council Meeting: Tuesday 14th January

The next meeting of the Eastbourne Trades Council will be at 7.30pm, on Tuesday 14th January 2020, at the View Hotel (formerly T&G/Unite Centre) , Grand Parade, Eastbourne. All local trade unionists (including retired trade unionists) are invited. 

A G E N D A 

1. Introductions and apologies for absence

2. Approval of any new affiliations.

3. Minutes of previous meeting and matters arising.

4. Treasurer's Report

5. UNION CAMPAIGNS:  especially in light of the General Election result and implications from the current Queen's Speech. All attendees are encouraged to bring information about their union's current campaigning activity.

6. Other Events:  Cuba film showing, and early preparation for May Day, Workers' Memorial Day and other events in 2020.

7. Any other business