My super duper former colleagues at the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas), have produced some splendid guidance for employers and employees on coping during the recession.
Check it out by visiting: www.acas.gov.uk/recession
Add comment August 14th, 2009
Dear Colleagues
I am emailing to ask you to help save 189 vital jobs in the North East of England at National Grid’s Newcastle office. National Grid are threatening to close their Newcastle operation and offshore the work to low wage economies such as India. This comes despite National Grid making a massive profit of nearly £3billion, a 12% rise from the previous year, and being able to find thousands of pounds to pay for a Senior Executive to park his Ferrari in a dehumidified garage.
GMB is fighting to stop these job cuts and have launched a campaign to keep the Newcastle operation open. Please visit www.nationalgreed.co.uk and sign the No.10 petition, contribute your views to the blog and support the campaign to save jobs in this time of major recession.
Many thanks for your time and help.
Gary Smith
GMB National Secretary
1 comment July 24th, 2009
Britain’s trade union movement loses an extraordinary man.
Add comment April 22nd, 2009
Point Blank, a wonderful music education college that specialises in working with disenfranchised young people, are running a free one week accredited Radio Production course between 23rd – 27th March and still have a number of spaces available.
The course will be run in either Hackney or Leytonstone.
Funding is available to assist with travel expenses.
NCFE Introductory Award in Radio Production:
This course provides an insight into the radio industry through an overview of the development and production of radio programmes.
Participants also have the opportunity to develop their research, communication, ICT and teamwork skills by working in small groups to produce a radio show.
Course duration:
30 hours – Course level: Level 2 – Qualification title:
Introductory Award in Radio Production 500/1196/0
Qualifications:
An introductory Award at level 2 is equivalent to 25% of 1 GCSE grade A to C.
Who for?:
To be eligible for the courses applicants will need to be a resident of one the five Olympic host boroughs (Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest, Newham, and Greenwich) and be aged 16 and over.
If you live in Waltham Forest and know of anyone who you think may be interested in taking part, please contact:
Stanton LaFoucade, Team Leyton’s Deputy Neighbourhood Manager,
on: Stanton.LaFoucade@walthamforest.gov.uk as soon as possible.
Add comment March 12th, 2009
Herts TUC Studies Unit
c/o Dunstable College (admin only)
Kingsway, Dunstable
Bedfordshire LU5 4HG
Tel: 01582 477776 x271
Mobile: 07759 943246
An open letter to all trade union reps and local officials
Trade Union courses in Hertfordshire starting April 2009
Dear Brother/Sister
We want get people signed up early for the April TUC courses which run at the Herts Trade Union Learning Centre in Watford. The centre is right next to Watford Junction railway station.
Please see the enclosed forms, HERE and HERE , which give you details. Union Reps Stage 1, Stepping Up (formerly Union Reps Stage2), Health and Safety Stage 1, and Next Steps for Safety Reps (formerly Health and Safety Stage 2) are available to all union representatives and last for ten days, one day a week.
LET’S KEEP TUC EDUCATION GOING IN HERTFORDSHIRE
Over the years we have trained thousands of union reps in the county. However, it is not an easy task getting enough people on these courses to make them viable. Therefore, I need your input in ensuring that our courses are advertised as widely as possible. Our remit is to build the trade union movement with well-trained representatives; something that becomes more crucial every year. Therefore, if you cannot book a course for yourself, please ensure that the enclosed form is photocopied, given to union representatives, and placed on union notice boards.
All our courses are free to union members and taught by experienced tutors. The list you will see in the attachment is not exclusive, and provided we can get a dozen people on a course that your member might want, we will run it. Just let me know your requirements. The only course we have to run at Dunstable College is the Introduction to Computing for Trade Unionists. All others are in Hertfordshire. (However, even this might be available in Watford in January. Just phone to ask).
QUALIFICATIONS AND DIPLOMAS
You will also see a grey box at the bottom of the enclosed form giving details of the TUC’s Diploma Certificate courses in Occupational Health, Employment Law, and Contemporary History. The Occupational Health Certificate course is for people who have either achieved Health and Safety Stage 2 (or Next Steps for Safety Reps), or in the case of Employment Law, are trade union activists. They are for three terms; thirty-six weeks in all. Successful ‘completers’ will obtain a level 3 Open College Network (OCN) certificate. However, whether it is the diploma course, or a straight forward Union Reps Stage 1, the OCN also certificate these as well.
Hope you can help us build these courses.
Many thanks.
Ged Peck
TUC Hertfordshire Course Coordinator
Add comment February 13th, 2009
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