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Petition Tag - unison
1. Full Amnesty Now - Reverse Revocation - Save London Met 
Following significant campaigning and political pressure from students, staff, and supporters, the High Court has allowed London Metropolitan University to proceed to full Judicial Review to challenge the revocation of its Tier-4 HTS licence to recruit international students.
As a result of the High Court decision the Home Office, via the UK Border Agency, has now agreed a limited 'amnesty' for current international students at London Met of up to one academic year.
Unfortunately, as welcome as such an amnesty is, it fails to address the needs of over 500 current London Met international students. This includes students in either the first or second year of a three year degree course, and PhD students with more than one academic year of study remaining. This is an invidious position to place such students in.
In addition to the immediate damage the decision to revoke the university's Tier-4 licence has had on its international students, the long term damage to the university as a whole is considerable.
London Met now finds itself in significant financial trouble with anticipated revenue losses following withdrawal of its Tier-4 licence running into £10M's.
We understand that such losses now jeopardise the university's continuation as a community-based public university, primarily serving two of the poorest boroughs in London and the UK - Tower Hamlets and Islington.
Additional notes:
TUC Congress 2012 unanimously adopted an Emergency Motion from the University and College Union (UCU) that demanded a full amnesty for London Met international students and the removal of international students from net migration stats and targets. Details here
Jeremy Corbyn MP (Islington North) has launched a parliamentary Early Day Motion (EDM 437) calling for the reversing of the revocation of London Met’s Tier-4 HTS licence. Details here
ITN London Tonight - News report on 28/9 demonstration demanding a full amnesty for London Met international students:
2. Hampshire: Save our Elderly Care Homes
Save our Care Homes;
Addenbroke, Cornerways, Thurlston
Hampshire County Council (HCC) has begun consultation over the future of 3 Elderly Care Homes, they are proposing to close these vital services citing a lack of facilities and the cost of renovation. A result of these closures will mean residents, many in their 80’s and 90’s and physically frail will have to move from a place they originally chose to live in.
UNISON is concerned that this is privatisation by the back door with HCC already securing places for the residents of these homes in private care.
UNISON is opposed to all cuts within local authority services and campaigns to defend these essential services for the public, services that protect, enrich and change lives. Our members don't just work in public services - they and their families rely on them too. The County Council now has over £300m in its reserves and it would be a drop in the ocean of this reserve to bring these homes up to standard.
At its next meeting HCC will have the opportunity to make a choice, to choose to protect services for the most vulnerable and the jobs of the staff that support them or to cynically cut them and open up elderly care to the private sector. UNISON hopes that councillors can live with the consequences of that choice.
Hampshire UNISON will be stepping up the campaign in the run up to this meeting with letter writing and emailing of local councillors as well as mobilising for the day itself.
Join the lobby of Hampshire County Council
Tuesday 21st September from 1pm
Outside HCC HQ,
Winchester,
SO23 8TG
Hull and East Yorkshire NHS Trust are shutting 300 beds and ten wards. This includes the specialist cardiac Ward at Castle Hill plus ending of Neuro emergency beds at Hull Royal which has been condemned as "dangerous" by Prof. John Cleland, Head of Cardiology at Castle Hill.
Neurologists wrote the following this month. "We have voiced our concerns on numerous occasions at managerial meetings and our opinions and concerns have been disregarded and a dictatorial approach has been taken, with new changes to our service implemented against our advice."
4. REINSTATE STEPHANE! - no to bullying, yes to union representation
Stephane is a well liked, hard working and friendly cleaner who works in the Tower Building of Holloway Road at London Met Uni. His only ‘crime’ was to join UNISON. On Monday 12th March he was called in to a meeting with the local bosses of the company, ‘Dynamiq’, who said there had been a complaint about his work.
Stephane is a union member, so he told the manager he wanted to talk to his union rep before they continued with the meeting as he felt it was not fair the way he was being treated. The next day he was suspended!
We, the undersigned, support the UNISON campaign to ‘Reinstate Stephane’ at once, and we call on Dynamiq to stop bullying and to recognise the right of the cleaners to union representation.
5. No more cuts to vital services at MMU
Defend Education: No more cuts to vital services at MMU
Management at MMU are threatening to make 168 cleaners and House Services staff redundant. These job losses are part of a ‘cost-cutting’ move by Management that will see the support services at MMU decimated.
Instead of students being taught in clean, well maintained, safe and well-staffed buildings they will be greeted by swipe card entries and buildings suffering from a lack of staff.
For those lucky enough to get one of the new jobs, they could be on less hours and less pay but expected to work harder to keep the buildings up to scratch. This is an attack on our lowest paid and most vulnerable section of workers. Management hope to isolate these staff and force through the changes.
It is changes like these that put MMU at risk, jeopardising our long term future and our ability to deliver a quality education to our students and the people of Manchester.
6. Why we say ‘no deal’ on pensions
“These agreements deliver the government’s key objectives in full, and do so with no new money since our November offer. These reforms will save the taxpayer tens of billions of pounds over the next few decades and significantly improve the long-term fiscal sustainability of this country.” Danny Alexander
7. No Increase in Royal Hospital Car Parking Charges
Over the weekend of the 7th and 8th of May 2011, the car parking subsidy was removed from staff parking in the visitors’ car park in the Royal Hospitals. This cut has forced staff to pay up to £20.00 per week in charges.
This goes against a longstanding agreement with management were Royal hospital workers could use the visitors’ car park due to the concerns over risks to their personal safety. It is evident that senior management no longer care about staff security as they attempt to force through car parking proposals that will raise charges by 300% and move hundreds of hospital staff to Broadway outside the hospital site.
Broadway residents are also angry that they will be forced to pay for residential parking. While this residential area full of children and families will be opened up to potential health risks due to increase traffic flow.
The trust has begun the process of implementation of their car park proposals without discussion or consultation with staff; in what will be another stealth cut for all health workers. The issue of car parking in the royal must be addressed for staff, patients and visitors alike, but not at expense or punishment of the staff, patients and visitors.
It is essential that all trade unions in health firmly oppose this attempt to make health workers pay for the cuts in health through stealth.
PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION TO SHOW YOUR ANGER AT THIS ATTACK ON HEALTH WORKERS, PATIENTS AND VISITORS.
8. Prioritise repairing the toilets at London Met Uni
Many toilets around the university are in very poor condition. UNISON (supported by UCU and the Students' Union) have written to VC, Malcolm Gillies, to ask that they prioritize fixing them:
"Faced with broken, run-down toilets, our students will instantly perceive the University to be in a sorry state. It is a bad sign when there are toilets in the university that some students will not use. We are writing this letter to ask you to make sure that both staff and students are given the facilities they deserve – repair the broken toilets, replace the broken flooring and then maintain them to a high standard as a matter of urgency."
See the full letter text here: http://www.londonmetunison.org.uk/
Pleas sign the petition to show your support and pass this on to all staff and students at London Met.
9. United Against the Cuts - West Dunbartonshire Trade Unions and The Community
We are aware that West Dunbartonshire Council are making significant cuts to services over the next three years.
These cuts come from the Scottish Parliament and will directly affect the most vulnerable in society.
10. Rectify Failures of Unison
I have been employed in the public sector for 20 years, NHS also a paid member member of Unison for 18 years.
In 2005 I raised a Grievance against my employer re Bullying and Harassment in the workplace.
I feel that if Unison would have allowed me Legal Advice earlier in this matter it would have been resolved much sooner.
11. Fund Brent's local health services
This petition was launched on January 24th 2007 at a public meeting of 150 local people at the Willesden Library centre, including health workers, trade unionists, local councillors and MPs.
It was initially signed by Dawn Butler MP Brent South; Sarah Teather MP Brent East; Pete Firmin and Ben Rickman, Chair and Secretary of Brent Trades Council; Pat McManus, Chair of Brent Hospitals UNISON branch; Paul Welch, Secretary, Brent PCT UNISON branch; Paul Lorber, leader of Brent Council; Shahrar Ali of the Green Party; Dr Khaleeda Siraj; Helen Cylwik of Elders Voice and 65 others including GPs, health visitors, school nurses, representatives of the voluntary sector and mental health services, pensioners, trade unionists and community activists.
The local Keep Our NHS Public campaign is calling a demonstration in Wembley on Saturday 3rd March 2007 to protest against the proposed cuts, as part of the national day of action to save the National Health Service called by the TUC/NHS Together.
Our local campaign will submit our petition to Patricia Hewitt following this demonstration.
Assemble: 10.30 am Wembley Centre for Health & Care Chaplin Rd. March past Wembley Stadium to a rally on the steps of the Town Hall
For more information about the campaign or to let us know how the cuts affect you, please email benjamin.rickman1@ntlworld.com or Sarah Cox on roundwood@redmail.com or ring 07951 084 101