“UnionDues episode goes behind the scenes at the General Federation of Trade Unions – the GFTU is 120 years old, has nearly 50 affiliates and a great track record of building and supporting unions and activists.”

Listen to the podcast here.

Please note applications by completed application form only, CVs or Agency referrals will NOT be accepted.

Maintenance Technician (Full Time) £19k-£21k depending upon experience.

Duties and responsibilities.

• To ensure high standards of property and site maintenance are achieved as agreed with management.
• Undertake painting and decorating, repairs and planned maintenance to ensure the effective upkeep of the hotel, gardens, rental properties and GFTU offices to a safe and high standard.
• Apply knowledge and experience of site maintenance, electrical work, plumbing and carpentry to the role as required, liaising with the site manager and external contractors when specialist work is needed.
• Operating within the organisation’s policies and procedures and the legislative requirements of the role, ensuring that safety and work-related qualifications are maintained up to date.
• Respond to feedback from staff, customers and management in a timely manner to ensure the standards of maintenance do not detract from the overall experience of people using the premises.
• Perform daily monitoring checks and either resolve issues or escalate concerns regarding maintenance to management so that remedial action or longer-term solutions can be planned.
• Undertake any other duties consistent with the role from time to time as may be required requested by a member of management.

Person specification. Essential.

• Relevant experience in a similar role.
• Positive outlook and determination to succeed.
• High levels of professionalism.
• Ability to work in a team and alone.
• Ability to prepare a preventative maintenance schedule and executes in a timely fashion.
• General understanding of resources equipment and tools used for maintenance and the upkeep of the site.
• Experience and understanding of operating within the legislative framework of the role including health and safety, manual handling, safe use of equipment and materials, etc.

Desirable.

• Qualified trades person (electrician, plumber, painter and decorator etc.).
• Current first aid, COSHH and health and safety qualifications.
• Member of a relevant professional body.

To view an application form click here.

To view the job description click here.

All applicants must be returned to Ian Richards, Operations Manager at GFTU, at ianr@gftu.org.uk. Applications must be returned by 12 noon Monday 28^th September 2020.

Interviews will take place week commencing Monday 5^th October 2020.

Social Workers Union General Secretary, John McGowan and Dr Neil Thompson release new book.

Click here for more information.

The Northern College has been facilitating the training of activists for over 40 years. Already working in partnership with many trade unions, they are able to offer excellent tailored education provision in the unique residential setting of a Grade-I listed country house situated in the Yorkshire countryside. Their courses are residential, meaning you can enjoy the house and 800 acres of gardens, land and deer park. For more information on The Northern College, please click here.

The GFTU courses are residential and most are accredited meaning you achieve a qualification in trade union studies. Courses include bed, breakfast, evening meal and tea/coffee twice a day at break times.

The dates are here and the following have a synospis of each course. Thank you, Paul Gibson, Trade Union Education at The Northern College. Contact details: 01226 776000 / pgibson@northern.ac.uk

To book a place please contact your union’s education officer, passing your application form on to Mark Robinson, GFTU Education administrator. Email: markr@gftu.org.uk Tel: 01509 410857.

Please note that we require applications to be sent in and received by no later than 30 calendar days before the course start date.

For online course applications, we allow applications to be sent in and received by no later than 5 working days before the course start date.

Click here for more information on online courses

Click here to view individual application deadlines

Click here to download an application form

Dates

No.	‘Core’ Courses	Date	Delivered at?
1	Shop Stewards Stage 1	Cancelled due to Covid-19, but is available online. (15th,22nd,29th Sep & 6th,13th Oct (plus one to ones during the week)	Northern College, Barnsley.
2	Health & Safety Stage 1	5 – 09 Oct 2020	Northern College, Barnsley.
3	Negotiation skills	19 – 23 Oct 2020	Northern College, Barnsley.
4	Shop Stewards Stage 1 (To replace Septembers course)	16 – 20 Nov 2020	Northern College, Barnsley.
5	Health and Safety Stage 1 Extra date added	23 – 27 Nov 2020	Northern College, Barnsley.
6	Shop Stewards Stage 1	1 – 5 Feb 2021	Northern College, Barnsley.
7	New course: Equality in the workplace (Level 1) Openly recruited from all unions.	15-19 Feb 2021	Northern College, Barnsley.
8	Shop Stewards Stage 2	8 – 12 Mar 2021	Northern College, Barnsley.
9	Health & Safety Stage 1	15 – 19 Mar 2021	Northern College, Barnsley.
10	Negotiating Skills	22 – 26 Mar 2021	Northern College, Barnsley.
11	Shop Stewards Stage 1	12 – 16 Apr 2021	Northern College, Barnsley.
12	Developing workplace learners (non- accredited)	26 -30 Apr 2021	Northern College, Barnsley.
13	Shop Stewards Stage 1	7 – 11 June 2021	Northern College, Barnsley.
14	Health & Safety Stage 1	14-18 June 2021	Northern College, Barnsley.
15	Shop Stewards Stage 2	5 – 09 July 2021	Northern College, Barnsley.
16	Health & Safety Stage 2	12 – 16 July 2021	Northern College, Barnsley.
	‘Next generation’ courses	3-day courses, Unaccredited
	Young workers and volunteers	24-25 October	Northern College, Barnsley.
	Black, Minority, Asian and Ethnic  leaders	8-9 May	Northern College, Barnsley.
	Developing women role models	10-11 July	Northern College, Barnsley.

Equality in the workplace

(A new 5-day course, level 1 & ‘openly recruited’).

The course will take the opportunity to consider appropriate inclusive language and its importance e.g. gender-neutral language. Students will explore and consider valuable and reliable research sites. It will also deepen an awareness of unconscious bias, in ourselves and others and the impact this can have. As well as developing students’ knowledge of using the Equality Act 2010 and Health and Safety to strengthen negotiations in the workplace and in communities.  

The course will include:

Synopsis of ‘short’ courses (2 day residential, 15 GLH, ‘openly recruited’)

Developing women role models

Women’s voices are often underrepresented in today’s workplace. This course aims to address that imbalance by empowering woman to organise and support each other, with a view to becoming advocates and companions for each other. It will look into barriers that can stop or limit women’s progression and how best to overcome them. 

The course aims to:

•         Develop students’ confidence

•         Show students how to apply confidence in situations

•         Understand assertiveness

Young workers and volunteers

The course is aimed at younger employees in the workplace. It is designed to develop confidence to support other younger workers, be able to identify barriers and opportunities for young workers, set SMART goals to achieve, use social media and other communication tools and develop team working and problem-solving skills.

The course aims to help students:

•         Identify own strengths and weakness as a team member

•         Identify ways to improve own ability to function effectively

Black, Minority, Asian and Ethnic leaders

This course will explore roles within leadership, specifically for people from the BAME community.  The challenges that are faced as well as the support networks available as well as helping to build the confidence to embrace leadership within their own contexts. Most importantly, the course will offer guidance as oppose to dictating a specific path.

The course aims to help students:

• Work on examples of behaviours that could cause conflict
• Challenge negative behaviour
• Understand effective communication 

Core courses

GFTU Shop Stewards Stage one

This course is recommended for workplace shop stewards who are new to the role or those that want to refresh their skills and confidence in representing members.

The course will include the following –

•         The skills a shop steward needs

•         The role of a shop steward

•         Your rights as a shop steward     

•         Facilities and time off

•         Interviewing skills

•         Listening skills

•         Handling a member’s grievance

•         Handling a disciplinary case

•         Fairness and equality

GFTU Shop Stewards Stage Two

This course is recommended for workplace shop stewards who understand the basic elements of their role and their rights and who want to further develop their skills and confidence in representing members. The course will include:

•         Understand a range of problems that affect members

•         Collect and present information in representing members

•         Produce a plan for dealing with specific members problems

•         Develop the skills and confidence required to represent members in meetings with management

•         Equality, discrimination and protected characteristics

•         Bargaining, negotiation and consultation in the workplace

•         Review of Statutory Employment Rights

GFTU Health & Safety Stewards Stage 1

This course is aimed at health and safety stewards who want to develop their skills, knowledge and confidence in the area of health and safety. The course will include:

•         The Role and Functions of the Health and Safety Rep

•         Health and Safety Committee Meetings

•         The Safety Representative and Committee Regulations

•         Facilities for Health and Safety Reps

•         Health and Safety Inspections

•         Recognising Workplace Hazards

•         European Legislation and the ‘6 PACK’

•         Prevention and Control Measures

•         Dealing with Specific Health and Safety Issues of Concern   

GFTU Health & Safety Stewards Stage 2

This course is intended for experienced stewards who have completed the Health and Safety Stewards Stage 1 and more experienced stewards who need to refresh their training. The course will cover a number of topics in depth and will include:

•  The background and origins of specific health & safety legislation affecting the workplace

•  The main legal requirements of specific health & safety regulations

•  Be able to understand how you can use health & safety regulations to improve health & safety standards at work

•  Develop the confidence to raise health and safety matters on behalf of union members

•  Understand the key legal requirements relating to risk assessment

•  Understand the risk assessment process

•  Use risk assessment strategies and union organisation to secure improvements in workplace safety

GFTU Negotiating skills

This course is recommended for shop stewards who have experience in their role and who want to further develop their skills and confidence in negotiation for their members. The course will cover a number of topics in depth and will include:

•         Everyday Negotiation Skills                                       

•         What is Negotiating?                                      

•         Negotiating Styles                                       

•         Employment Law and the Workplace                                                   

•         Effective Negotiating Teams                           

•         Case Analysis – Problem and Preparation            

•         Body Language

•         Negotiation Practice                                       

•         Case Analysis – Research and Planning                              

Union Learning Representative Stage 1

This five-day course is designed to equip Union Learning Reps (ULRs) with all the prerequisite skills needed for their tasks. This course will ensure ULRs are sufficiently trained in order to fulfil their role, making them eligible for time-off in order to fulfil their trade union duties. The course will cover a number of topics in depth and will include:

•         The role and functions of ULRs

•         The principals of lifelong learning

•         Interviewing techniques

•         Negotiating learning and training

•         The identification of learning needs

•         Supporting members in their own learning

Developing Adult Learning

The purpose of this course is to empower students to understand the role of the education volunteer and be able to identify people’s issues and get them involved in education and training.  This course is for people who have some experience in helping others access education. The course will cover a number of topics in depth and will include:

•         Listen and respond constructively in group and class discussions

•         Describe current activities that promote formal and informal learning

•         Describe examples of inequalities in learning

•         How to deliver a micro-teach

The GFTU Young Members’ Weekend has established itself as one of the most exciting, high impact Labour Movement events to inspire younger workers, (as defined by the rules of each union) to understand more about their unions, the labour movement and the challenges we face politically and in the workplace.

It is a high octane event where you will meet other young activists and learn together in an engaging way, with great support and a ‘can do’ approach so that you can really make a difference in workplaces in the future.

The dates are Friday 23rd – Sunday 25th October 2020 at the fantastic Quorn Grange Hotel in Leicestershire.

The deadline for applications is strictly October 7^th at 12 noon and must be sent to our Education Administrator, Mark Robinson, at markr@gftu.org.uk.

View the programme here.

Download an application form here and please make sure all fields are filled in.

For queries please call 01509410978.

Unfortunately The Durham Miner’s Gala has been cancelled this year due to Covid 19 to safeguard people and the NHS but will be back bigger and better than ever in 2021- its 150th anniversary year. However, the Durham Miners’ Gala will be celebrated online tomorrow with a series of new content celebrating the spirit and values of the event.

DMA secretary Alan Mardghum has promised: “We will make sure that we make up for this year’s cancellation by staging the biggest and the best gala ever seen to celebrate its 150th year. The Big Meeting, as it is known, has a central place in the culture and history of the people and mining communities of County Durham. More and more people come each year despite the last colliery having closed in 1993. We will continue to organise this most spectacular and important event. We will not see it fade.”

The ever-popular labour movement event is embracing technology this year and the Durham Miners’ Gala will be celebrated online tomorrow with a series of new content celebrating the spirit and values of the event.

The centrepiece of the day will be a live online event streamed to Facebook and YouTube.

It will feature new videos including archive footage from the Gala’s long history, brass band music, messages from key workers who’ve been dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic, and contributions from leading labour movement figures.

The Durham Miners’ Gala is the world’s greatest celebration of community values, international solidarity, and working-class culture. It is a unique and inspiring spectacle.

More than 200,000 people would usually pack the streets of Durham to enjoy the sights and sounds of The Big Meeting. People from across County Durham, the country, and further afield, assemble in the city centre from early morning.

So instead of the banner groups and bands gathering in Durham City Centre Market Place, or the other assembly points including Redhills: Durham Miners Hall and the Whitechurch pub on the West of the city the event will move on-line, where normally the beautiful banners celebrating the region’s working class history are carried through the medieval city to the sound of brass band music, creating a wonderful feel of street theatre and celebration -this year will be very different.

So, don’t miss the centerpiece of the day , where there will be a live online event streamed to Facebook and YouTube, featuring videos with archive footage from the Gala’s long history, brass band music, messages from key workers who’ve been dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic, and contributions from leading Labour Movement figures.

The full programme is on the DMA website, which you can find here.

You can also support the Big Meeting by joining Friends of Durham Miners’ Gala.

For more than a century, The Durham Miner’s Gala was paid for by the working miners of the Durham Coalfield. It is their gift to us all. Today, it is funded by our Marras, friends of the DMA, who make contributions throughout the year. Without the Marras, the Gala would not happen. The growth of the Gala over recent years is driving up the costs of hosting the free event.

Please join and become a Marra, and help ensure the Gala survives, and thrives, and is here to inspire generations to come.

Don’t forget to put the 2021 Durham Miner’s Gala in your calendar, it will be an event not to miss.

Social Workers Union (SWU) asked social workers to tell Covid-19 experiences recently, in the launch of their new survey, and demand better working conditions for social workers.  During the pandemic, SWU has been inundated with concerns from social workers about their working conditions.

Please read the press release on their new campaign here

EMBARGOED UNTIL 09.00AM BST
3 JULY 2020

WikiLeaks publisher turns 49 in prison, facing U.S. extradition

Dozens of press freedom, human rights, and privacy rights organizations across five continents have co-signed an open letter to the U.K. Government calling for the immediate release of imprisoned WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. The publisher, who turns 49 years old today in HMP Belmarsh, is facing extradition to the United States where he has been indicted under the Espionage Act for WikiLeaks’ 2010-11 publications of the Iraq War Logs, the Afghan War Diaries, and State Department cables. If convicted, Mr Assange would face up to 175 years in prison, “tantamount to a death sentence.”

The co-signers write,

“ This [indictment] is an unprecedented escalation of an already disturbing assault on journalism in the US, where President Donald Trump has referred to the news media as the ‘enemy of the people’. Whereas previous presidents have prosecuted whistleblowers and other journalistic sources under the Espionage Act for leaking classified information, the Trump Administration has taken the further step of going after the publisher. ”

Seventeen of the 18 charges against Mr Assange are under the 1917 Espionage Act, marking the U.S.’s first-ever attempt to prosecute the publication of truthful information in a fundamental test of the First Amendment’s protection of press freedoms. Mr Assange has also been charged with conspiring to violate the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, which uses language similar to the Espionage Act.

Reporters without Borders, PEN International, ARTICLE19, the International Federation of Journalists, and the National Union of Journalists are among the 40 rights groups who have signed on to the letter, initiated by the Courage Foundation, a whistleblower support network which campaigns for Mr Assange’s freedom and the public’s right to know.

Carles Torner, Executive Director of PEN International, said:

“This indictment effectively opens the door to criminalising activities that are vital to many investigative journalists who write about national security matters. Beyond the case itself, we are concerned that the mere fact that Assange now risks extradition and potentially decades behind bars if convicted in the USA has a chilling effect on critical journalism, which is essential for exposing the truth about crimes committed by governments.”

Rebecca Vincent, Director of International Campaigns for Reporters without Borders said,

“As Mr Assange spends his 49th birthday behind bars, it remains clear that the US government will continue to target him at all costs. It is up to the UK government to uphold its own obligations to protect freedom of information and not enable a politically motivated prosecution by another state. Mr Assange has clearly been targeted for his contributions to public interest reporting. All charges against him should be dropped and he should be released without further delay.”

On 24 June 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice issued a second superseding indictment against Mr Assange, adding no new charges but expanding on the charge for conspiracy to commit computer intrusion.

“The government’s relentless pursuit of Julian Assange poses a grave threat to journalists everywhere and to the public’s right to know”, said Barry Pollack, an attorney for Mr Assange in the United States, calling the new indictment “yet another chapter in the U.S. Government’s effort to persuade the public that its pursuit of Julian Assange is based on something other than his publication of newsworthy truthful information.”

Press freedom groups have warned since his arrest and initial indictment in April 2019 that a U.S. conviction for Mr Assange—an Australian citizen who operated in Europe and was granted asylum and citizenship by Ecuador—would criminalize publishing around the world, allowing the United States to dictate what journalists can publish beyond its borders. The United Kingdom, which is detaining Mr Assange on the U.S.’s behalf, has the power to stop the extradition process and let him walk free immediately.

The letter concludes,

“We call on the UK government to release Mr Assange without further delay and block his extradition to the US – a measure that could save Mr Assange’s life and preserve the press freedom that the UK has committed to championing globally.”

Mr Assange’s extradition proceedings, which commenced for one week in February 2020 in London, are scheduled to continue for three weeks beginning 7 September.

The Courage Foundation hosts a defense campaign website for WikiLeaks and Mr Assange at defend.WikiLeaks.org.

Read the open letter here.

The PDA is pleased to announce that it is seeking a Director of Policy to lead policy function, be one of the main spokespeople, a key member of the senior management team and help influence the future of pharmacy practice across the UK and beyond.

The successful candidate will lead the Policy department in research and policy development, communicating with stakeholders, including those at the highest levels, as well as constantly listening to the frontline experience of the profession the PDA represents.

Location: Flexible. Our offices are in central Birmingham and the policy team is primarily based at our head office location; however, we also support an element of homeworking. The role will also involve national and some international travel.
Salary: £64,000-£72,000 p/a (depending on experience)
Contract Type: Permanent, Full-time 37.5 hours per week
Closing Date: 9:00 hours GMT on  Tuesday 28 July 2020

A key strength of the PDA is our expertise in healthcare policy, regulation and practice, and as one of the UK’s 30 largest trade unions we are also concerned with our members’ employment. We want to ensure safe and fulfilling pharmacy practice as a key part of the health system that provides our members with the reward and recognition they deserve.

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Director of Policy to join our team on a full time basis. The role holder will be expected to have, or quickly develop, a comprehensive understanding of matters directly relating to pharmacists/ pharmacy practice in each of the 4 UK home nations and ensure we develop appropriate policy positions on current and emerging issues. This will involve leading our policy department in research and policy development, communicating with stakeholders, including those at the highest levels, as well as constantly listening to the frontline experience of the profession we represent.

Other duties include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Be part of the overall strategic senior management team
• Be one of the principle spokespersons for the PDA, representing the
  organisation at events, in the media and at meetings with other
  stakeholders as appropriate
• Lead and manage the Policy department team, helping them achieve
  or exceed their objectives and grow individually and as a team.
• Work with colleagues from other departments to ensure PDA policy
  reflects the interests of individual pharmacists’ as
  employees/workers.
• Ensure that the PDA is up to date with wider healthcare policy and
  relevant research.
• Lead campaigns to affect change in pharmacy policy, regulation and
  practice
• Build and maintain productive, supportive relationships with peers in
  other pharmacy organisations, trade unions representing other health
  professionals, PDA equivalent associations overseas and others.

Ensure that the Policy team:

• Produces guidance, reports and other written materials, videos,
  podcasts and other resources to assist pharmacists with best
  practice
• Provides interviews and articles to media outlets.
• Monitors & responds to appropriate or relevant consultations from
  government, NHS, regulators and others to influence policy in line
  with PDA position.

To apply for this role, please submit your CV and covering letter to recruitment@the-pda.org prior to the closing date. Informal inquiries about this role can also be emailed to this address.

View the full job description here.

The GFTU supports the We Own It Campaign that is against privatisation and for 21st century public ownership. They believe public services belong to all of us – from the NHS to schools, water to energy, rail to Royal Mail, care work to council services.

Here’s what you can do to support them too:

• Protect our NHS in the trade bill. You can take action here!
• Sign up to the campaign to scrap Serco 
• Here’s that report on the NHS Supply Chain and how privatisation had a role in lack of PPE.
• Sign up to our newsletter here and weekly webinars here
• Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube
• Visit the website here: https://weownit.org.uk/