Save our English Language Service!

NEU, Unison, GMB and NASUWT members in the English as an Additional Language Service need your URGENT help!

East Sussex County Council is proposing to close down the English as an Additional Language Service entirely- with all of its specialist teachers and bi-lingual support officers facing redundancy, and losing this wealth of expertise and experience to local schools forever.

The decision has come following a decision from the Local Authority Secondary Schools not to continue 'de-delegating' a fixed amount from their budget to EALS. These schools would almost certainly continue to purchase some services from the EALS service on a "buy in" basis however, as Academy schools already do.

The Local Authority Primary Schools have committed to continue funding the service- that's more than three-quarters of the existing budget. However the County Council are claiming that, even with this and the expectation of a buy-in from the Secondaries, that the service will not be viable.

Our members actually working within the Service disagree, and have made clear financial proposals that would keep the service open, and keep this vital support available to some of our most vulnerable children.

Please take a couple of minutes to help our colleagues in three ways:

1) Make a submission to the County Council's online consultation about the closure of the service. This is a very short survey and will only take a few minutes- but it is vital that we get a good number of returns from education professionals such as yourselves.

2) Send a short email to your local County Councillor. This decision is being made "in their name" and they have the right and responsibility to hold the senior management at ESCC to account. You can find who your local County Councilllor is, and their email, by clicking and inputting your postcode here.

3) Spread the word! Let your colleagues know this is happening. Ask your Head Teacher to lobby ESCC to keep a service open. If you have friends and neighbours who share your concern then ask them to add their voice. If you would like printed materials for your staffroom or friends, please let us know.

We will continue putting information about this situation on our dedicated website for the campaign:

www.SaveEALS.com

AGM- Priorities for 2014

The Eastbourne Trades Council held its AGM on Tuesday 1st April, at the Unite Eastbourne Centre.

The meeting welcomed new and old delegates and supporters, and also stood for a minute's silence in honour of the recently passed Tony Benn and Bob Crow.

Val Thomas (NASUWT) was re-elected as Chair, with Georgina Hazeldine (Unite) as Vice-Chair.  Dave Brinson (NUT) was re-elected as secretary, and Gordon Dyer (Unite) as Treasurer.

The meeting welcomed new affiliates CWU (Southdowns, Weald and Rother branch) and RMT (East Sussex Coastway branch) to the Trades Council.

The meeting discussed priorities for the year- including support for:-

Workers Memorial Day, 28th April.  We will again be collecting signatures for a remembrance card in the Town Centre during the weekend before, and will be writing to all churches and places of worship in Eastbourne, asking them to mark the day.

Hastings Trades Council's Five Days in May joint event with trade unionists in Dieppe, France.  We will ensure that our banner is at the Hastings end, and will circulate information to all of our workplaces.

Supporting the Save the DGH- Option 7 campaign. The "consultation" being carried out at the moment does not allow respondents to support maternity and paediatrics being multi-sited at both Eastbourne and Hastings. We will expose this sham of a consultation, and urge our members and supporters to actively campaign for consultant-led services at both sites.

The meeting also awarded the Len Caine Award to long-standing former  Unite steward, health and safety officer and branch chair Ray Goree.  Ray is unwell at the moment, so arrangements will be made to present him with his prize soon.

NUT and NASUWT to strike tomorrow

Members of the NUT and the NASUWT teacher unions, who together represent 9 out of 10 teachers, are both in dispute with the Government. The failure of the Government to enter into meaningful talks aimed at reaching agreement is now leading to strike action.

These disputes cover:

• Excessive workload and bureaucracy;
• Cuts and other changes to teachers’ pay;
• Adverse changes to their pensions;
• Job cuts.

Teachers are deeply concerned about the impact these imposed changes are having on the morale of the teaching profession, the recruitment and retention of teachers and on the provision of quality education for pupils. The NUT and the NASUWT are asking the Government to enter into genuine talks to resolve this dispute.

Members of the NUT and the NASUWT teacher unions have been engaged in jointly co-ordinated industrial action short of strike. This action by our members has been designed to enable teachers to focus on the job of teaching and to prevent a crisis in the teaching profession which could have devastating consequences for our schools.

However, the Secretary of State for Education is continuing to make changes to teachers’ pay, pensions and conditions of service that are not supported by teachers and are making it much harder for schools to recruit and retain good teachers. The Secretary of State for Education is refusing to engage in genuine talks with the NUT and the NASUWT about teachers’ concerns, despite numerous requests by both unions.

Teachers deeply regret the disruption caused by strike action. However, the Government’s refusal to engage to resolve the dispute means that they have no alternative other than to demonstrate to the Government the seriousness of their concerns.

Most Eastbourne schools will be shut tomorrow, as staff take this unfortunate but necessary action in defence of our profession.

A Tribute to David Mottley

Dave Mottley- long standing Chair of Lewes Trades Council, and NASUWT local secretary lost his battle with a brain tumour earlier this month. Dave was an inspiring socialist and trade unionist, and his long-standing friend and comrade, Bill Ball pays this tribute:

Dave (seated) surrounded by his family.

Rarely but occasionally we are privileged to encounter someone who transforms our life through inspiration and makes us look differently at the world.

David Motley, who has died, was such an individual.

An NASUWT rep,he was a teacher par excellence, spending many years of his career teaching KS2 at Newick Primary School. In the course of a 37 year teaching career he enriched the lives of countless youngsters with his compassion & enthusiasm. 

But it was as a union activist that I came to know him.  He became a delegate to the old Ouse Valley Trades Council, now Lewes Trades Council, some 26 years ago. The movement was still reeling from the defeat in the miners` strike and the crushing of the print unions at Wapping. Our Praetorian Guard had been wiped out in the space of two years.   Thatcher was waging relentless class war against the left and organized labour. Trades Councils were going to the wall right across the county: Bexhill, Rye, Haywards Heath, Uckfield. It was an uphill battle just to get a quorate meeting each month. It was also an achievement.

It was not an auspicious moment to get involved in the local Trades Council movement. But Dave Motley took to it with his characteristic unflappability. The fight for survival for Ouse Valley TC was not going to be easy, but  Dave`s arrival meant that our extinction was put on hold.

Under Dave`s chairmanship the Trades Council fought back. We became ever more audacious, organizing events that should have been way beyond our punching power.

When John McDonnell made his pitch for the Labour leadership, the Trades Council organized a public meeting at Lewes Town Hall to support him. John shared the platform with Tony Benn. 500 people packed into the hall. Standing room only. Dave, the consumate teacher was taking the biggest class of his life. But he chaired the meeting with his normal relaxed and gentle humour.

In 2008, under Dave`s leadership, we became the first Trades Council in England to mount a four event festival of socialism & trades unionism. Jack Jones in his last public appearance opened an event celebrating the fight against fascism in Spain.

Our second festival was held in Lewes in 2011.  But by then Dave was ill. A cancerous brain tumour, that had haunted him like Mephistopheles throughout his working life, kept in the shadows by medication, had flared its defiance and begun to grow again.

He was taken into the Royal Marsden & the monster was zapped with massive doses of radiation over a two month period. It seemed to have worked. He emerged with a new lease of life & an energy that seemed boundless.

A third Lewes Festival of Socialism & Trades Unionism was planned.  Dave ploughed ahead with the zeal of someone who felt that his time maybe short and should not be wasted. In retrospect I suspect that he knew that he would not live to see the fruits of his labours.

And the cancer was not to be denied. When it awoke from its irradiated sleep, its ravaging revenge was swift and complete. I last saw Dave in the hospice in North Chailey. With difficulty he tried with little power of speech to tell me what needed to be done for the festival.

The doctors had given him four weeks to live. He took four months. The union rep had brokered his last deal. Sleep well old pal. You touched many lives for the better. We`ll never forget you.

Standing up for Jobs and Education

NUT and NASUWT members took solidly-supported strike action over proposed job cuts at Sussex Downs College last week.

While the Unions welcome progress that has been made through negotiations with SDC management to reduce the number of redundancies, members still face significant cuts in hours.

The unions warn that cuts may lead to increased workload for  members, higher class sizes and less teaching time for students. They are bad for NUT and NASUWT members and bad for education.

Division Secretary of the East Sussex NUT, Dave Brinson explained:

"We are calling on SDC management to take urgent further action to avoid job reductions and losses. However we recognise that significant blame lies with recent savage Government policy towards post-16 education:

·         Independent research published recently (by the Institute for Fiscal Studies) has provided details of the impact of the cuts on the post-16 sector.  Sixth form funding will be cut by 17.6 per cent in real terms over the period to 2014.

·         The Government’s cuts come at a time when the increase in the education participation age to 18 will put additional pressure on individual colleges.  The increase in the participation age must be fully funded – instead the Government is cutting 16-19 funding in an attempt to implement increased participation on the cheap !

·         The abolition of the EMA has affected student numbers, as it has deterred many potential students from lower-income backgrounds"

The strike mainly involved teachers at the former Park College, where most staff were NUT and NASUWT members. The rest of Sussex Downs College is organised by the UCU Lecturers union, who are also in dispute with the college over cuts, but did not take strike action this week.

Media Coverage of the Strike

Good media coverage of the action and the rally in Eastbourne.

• Online slide show of photos from the Herald


• On strike day, the Gazette ran a significant feature on Trades Council secretary and NUT official Dave Brinson


• Feature from Unison, looking at the impact of the changes on low paid workers.


• Also, local MP Stephen Lloyd (former speaker at the Trades Council) says that the Government is offering a "reasonable" compromise, and is offering "even more money" (they aren't!)


• School Closures listed in the Eastbourne Gazette. More than half of East Sussex schools were completely shut.

The Eastbourne Herald of 2nd December reported that its online poll suggested that 51% of readers supportted the strikes. The same issue also contained a bitter and ill-informed article by Anne-Marie Field, suggesting "More attitude, less gratitude." Very few Trade Unionists will agree that asking to receive the pensions that we paid for in good faith throughout our working life is asking any sort of favour !

Eastbourne says "Hands off our Pensions"

A huge turnout of public sector workers and our allies from private sector staff and retired workers attended the Trades Council organised rally at Eastbourne Bandstand on November 30th.

Originally, the plan had been to meet at the top level of the bandstand and then march down to the Unite Eastbourne Centre for a rally. However, by 10.30 it became visibly apparent that there was no way even half of those assembled could fit into the Conference Hall. So, thanks to some portable PA equipment (provided by Calvin Prior of Calvin Prior and the Riderbacks) an impromptu open-air rally was staged at the bandstand.

Trades Council Secretary and NUT Executive Member Dave Brinson opened the proceedings, welcoming the huge turnout from a range of local unions.

As well as the teachers' unions NUT, NASUWT and ATL, support staff, local government and health workers from Unison, GMB and Unite, civil servants from PCS and university and college staff from UCU, there were banners from specialist unions such as the Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists, the Society of Radiographers and the Association of Educational Psychologists. We were joined by Head Teachers from the NAHT, taking action for the first time in their history, and school inspectors and advisers from Aspect. Most heartening was the significant support from private sector staff who were not on duty that morning, but had come along to show solidarity.

Dave pointed out the fact that the Government continues to refuse to revalue the schemes, to tell us how much of our money is in the pot. He told the crowd that "...I have a small savings product, and when I go to the bank, they tell me how much is in it, how it's doing, and what fees they are taking. Why will the Government not show us the same courtesy ?"

He ended with a plea to all those assembled not to let the Government and the tabloid press paint this as a public vs private conflict. He quoted from the excellent research by the National Pensioners' Convention showing the appallingly low level of the state pension in comparison to other European countries, and the attacks on occupational and private pensions in recent years.

Finally- he invoked Ricky Tomlinson's Jim Royle character in response to the allegations of "gold plated pensions" citing the average woman worker in local government who will retire on just £2500 a year. "Gold plated ....?" he asked. The crowd were able to finish the Jim Royle-style sentence !

Sharon Wentworth and Gordon Dyer spoke on behalf of private sector workers in Unite the Union, expressing firm solidarity. Gordon told the crowd that we had a "neo-Thatcherite Government declaring war on working people"

Christine Lewis and Dave Fellows from Unison spoke, along with a colleague from PCS. The 500+ crowd then marched through the town centre to the Town Hall, with Gordon Dyer proudly leading the march under the Trades Council banner.

N30: Eastbourne Rally for Pensions

EASTBOURNE SAYS: HANDS OFF OUR PENSIONS !
Decent pensions for ALL

A rally to support the public sector pensions strike, and to call for action for dignity and security in retirement for all – in both the public and the private sector.

Wednesday 30th November.
The Unite Eastbourne Centre, Grand Parade, Eastbourne Seafront

Assemble at 10.30am by Eastbourne Bandstand; rally at the Unite Centre at 11.00am

Speakers to include: DAVE BRINSON (NUT National Executive), DAVE FELLOWS (UNison Schools Convenor) and speakers from the striking Unions.

N30: March for Pensions in Brighton

BRIGHTON MARCH AND RALLY TO SAVE OUR PENSIONS

On June 30th, when members of NUT, ATL, UCU and PCS took strike action over pensions, thousands of people took to the streets in Brighton. On 30th November, up to 20 Unions will be taking action across the country, so the turnout will dwarf June’s event.

Eastbourne Trade Unionists who can travel are encouraged to support the March and Rally in Brighton, alongside striking colleagues from across the region.

Wednesday November 30th
Assemble: Victoria Gardens, Brighton at 11.45 for a march through the city centre and then a rally at The Level.

Guest speakers to include Caroline Lucas MP (Green) and Tony Burke- Deputy General Secretary of Unite the Union, plus others from the striking unions.

Eastbourne Unites to Defend Pensions

Trade unions across the public sector are preparing to take action to defend pensions against an onslaught from the Government that would leave millions of public servants working longer, paying more and getting less in retirement.

The Government has made what it claims to be concessions, and the unions are carefully considering the implications of these- however the Government still refuses to carry out a valuation of the pension funds to tell us how much money is in the schemes. (The agreed changes to the pension schemes in 2005-6 were made based on the valuation, and were sustainable and affordable. What has changed in the intervening years ?)

If you buy a financial product (such as a pension) from your bank, you would expect to be told how much money is in it, how it is performing, and what fees are being taken. We expect no less from the Government !

And this is NOT a public vs private sector dispute. Trade Unionists in the private sector have seen dreadful attacks on their pensions, with employers failing to make appropriate employer-side contributions, or taking complete breaks from their obligations when the schemes were healthy (so calles "pension holidays") The Government must take urgent action to ensure that all workers have access to a decent pension scheme to provide dignity and security in old age.

In Eastbourne, members of the NUT, the ATL, and UCU education unions, and PCS civil servants took well supported action in June. It looks increasingly likely that they will be joined by Unison members across the public sector, who have voted to approve action, plus results are awaited from the NASUWT teachers' union, the National Association of Head Teachers, and general unions GMB and Unite. Senior civil servants in the FDA and specialists in Prospect are also balloting.

Officers of the local unions will be meeting this week to discuss what action can be taken to publicise and support the campaign, including on the 30th November if we are forced to take strike action. Watch this site for updates.

Eastbourne Trades Council- back up and running

The Eastbourne Trades Council had its re-founding AGM (after ten years) on 15th February at the Unite Eastbourne Centre.

Local union stewards and representatives from NUT, NASUWT, Unite, Unison, TSSA, PCS, Usdaw, GMB and NUJ met to agree plans for the coming year.

Megan Dobney, the Regional Secretary from the South East Region TUC (pictured) was the guest speaker and spoke about the role of the Trades Councils and the current campaigns of the TUC. In particular, she spoke about the organisation against the cuts- building for the "March for the Alternative" National Demonstration on 26th March, but also about the need to organise before and afterwards, especially in light of the local elections coming up in May.

The meeting agreed to support the demonstration, and to ensure a good presence from Eastbourne. We agreed to support the PCS coach, and publicise this to local trade unionists. There was also agreement to support the work of the Eastbourne Against Cuts group.

The officers elected at the meeting were: Val Thomas (Chair,) Dave Brinson (Secrteray,) John Goddard (vice Chair) and Gordon Dyer (Treasurer.) Ian Thomas and Sharon Wentworth were nominated to the Executive Committee. Michael Litchfield will take the Health and Safety and Disabilities responsibility, Claire French the womens' portfolio, Lib Blayney- young members, and Pia Sands and Pat Bacon the retail sector.

Any local trade unionists who would like to receive copies of the full minutes of the meeting, should contact the Secretary.

The next meeting will be April 5th, where the speaker to be invited will be on the CWU Keep the Post Public campaign.

Teachers Unite to Save Pensions

All of the TUC Teachers’ Unions, as well as lecturers’ union UCU, and the non-TUC affiliated Head Teachers’ associations have joined together in a common campaign to defend teachers pensions from attacks.

Pay more ! Work longer ! Get Less !

The Coalition Government wants to increase teachers’ pension contributions from 6.4% of pay to 9.5% or more. It may also propose higher retirement ages and a change to pension based on final salary. Without consultation, it is also threatening to change pension indexation from RPI to CPI, cutting the value of pensions by 15%.

Together in 2006 the teachers unions negotiated agreements with the Government which have already cut the long term cost of teachers’ pensions. The planned cost savings are on course and are being achieved. There is no need for further change: teachers’ pensions are affordable !

Pensions are deferred wages and are part of teachers’ pay. Schools and employers also make a significant contribution to the pension fund of their staff.
All of the teachers’ unions are committed to working together to defend our pensions. We will work together to protect members if the Government proceeds with its threat to impose pension cuts.

Dave Brinson, secretary of East Sussex NUT said: “As trade unionists, we believe that everybody should have access to a decent pension. But we should campaign for improvements to all pension schemes- and not be drawn into the government and tabloids’ ridiculous attempt to set working people against each other in a desperate rush to the bottom.”

PENSIONERS MUGGED IN EASTBOURNE !
Hundreds of retired teachers in Eastbourne are facing the theft of pensions which they have paid for all of their working life. Pensioners who paid into a pension were promised that their pension would be indexed to keep up with the rate of inflation. The Government has announced, without consultation, that they will change the calculation of this from Retail Price Index to the lower Consumer Price index. This will cost many teachers thousands of pounds through their retirement- of pension they thought they’d paid for !
IT’S DAYLIGHT ROBBERY !