Karen Reissman strike suspended
Dec 14 2007 17:44
Dec 15 2007 01:26
#2
I think we both know what the answer to that is.
... keeping Labour in?
Dec 15 2007 12:12
#3
martin, why do you even ask that question?
Dec 15 2007 12:27
#4
martinh wrote:
Looks like Unison intends to do the dirty
If the unions won't fight on issues like this, what the f*** will they fight about?
martin - in other areas with less militant branches and less connected reps Unison have collaborated with the bosses, expelling the rep from the union when they've been suspended from work, and then sacked.
Unison narrowed the action down to her small dept right away, which basically meant the indefinite strike couldn't do anything but demoralise the workers.
the only reason unison "fought" this is because the workers there made them.
Dec 15 2007 12:53
#5
Im going to pass this around my Unison branch to highlight the treachery, its pretty disgusting.
Dec 15 2007 12:57
#6
I was down at a demonstration on wednesday and it seemed that the strike was going to go on for longer, i spoke to a comrade from the SWP whose mother was on strike, and she seemed to think it was gonna go on for longer.
Its a disgrace, the union scuppered the action before it even got started. Another big problem was the apathy from the ward branches.
From the people i have talked to over the last couple of weeks they seemed confident of winning still.
Dec 15 2007 13:32
#7
october_lost wrote:
Im going to pass this around my Unison branch to highlight the treachery, its pretty disgusting.
One thing to say is that I don't think the strike could've continued. I mean her co-workers were really brave, but all those people having no wages for so long, while work was still carrying on...
Dec 15 2007 17:18
#8
Quote:
One thing to say is that I don't think the strike could've continued. I mean her co-workers were really brave, but all those people having no wages for so long, while work was still carrying on...
SWP loves that shit though innit.
Dec 15 2007 18:10
#9
Overheard one SWP type at thursdays benefit suggesting the way forward was for Keren to stand for election as a local councillor! But, as I said that wont get her job back will it!
A good few people thought all along that the only way forward was an extension of the strike but it seems many of the strikers really thought they would win at the appeal without that.
A SWP friend of mine agreed then said 'but they arent revolutionaries are they'. Well know, but the SWP and Karen herself, were not about to show any revolutionary leadership either by suggesting any attempt to bypass the official union procedures. My friend thought for them to openly say they couldn't win without extending the dispute would have demorolised them, but where are they now?
Karen and her political supporters are claiming some kind of moral victory but it seems like just putting a brave face on things.
Unfortunately the strikers undoubted courage and enthusiasm was not matched by any real understanding of how the union functions in modern capitalism, due in part ironically to the 'unusually' radical role of Karen herself as an official union rep'.
We will see if any more action occurs later.
Dec 15 2007 19:01
#10
Spikymike wrote:
Overheard one SWP type at thursdays benefit suggesting the way forward was for Keren to stand for election as a local councillor! But, as I said that wont get her job back will it!
She stood before i think in '01 (IIRC) for the SA, would be interesting if she stood again, cant see it doing much good though,
Dec 16 2007 00:00
#11
As to my bit of rhetoric above, yes Catch, John. and Knightrose, you're all correct of course. I think the surprising thing to me is that there used to be some sort of sense in Unison that where activists were sacked for pretty outrageous things, like this case, they'd stand up because of the precedent (in much the same way that the last pay ballot they bothered with was the one that was tied into the end of national bargaining (and their gravy train) in 89 (IIRC)).
Ah well. From those closer - is this really a lost cause or will there be some action in the new year?
Fat lot of good it'll do them trying to keep Labour in, Labour seem to be throwing it away no matter what support the spineless unions give them.
Regards,
Martin
Dec 16 2007 00:03
#12
Quote:
Fat lot of good it'll do them trying to keep Labour in, Labour seem to be throwing it away no matter what support the spineless unions give them.
I didn't say they'd be successful. It's just it's the only thing I've seen them get their back into this past year. I got a full colour glossy magazine about New Labour when I was a member, fuck all about any strikes.
Dec 16 2007 02:52
#13
I was so impressed by the strike. Didn't realise how isolated they were,impresses me all the more but they were doomed to lose. Sellout union fucks.
Dec 16 2007 10:45
#14
Sorry my internet's been down so wasn't able to come back on this.
We had a meeting with one of the strikers on Thursday night, the day before it was announced that the strike was being suspended. She told us that the Trust was really struggling and was desperate to have them back, and also that they were ok for strike pay - they were getting £15 each a day from national Unison, and had a had enough donations etc from other unions, groups and individuals that, whilst they weren't getting as much as they would have done in work it was enough to get by on. Which of course begs the question why they're going back in.
At the end of the day the strike was suspended because the strikers voted for it to be. However this seems to be because having already been out for a while they envisaged being out for a long while longer with nothing changing, perhaps people losing heart and returning to work in dribs and drabs. Of course the strike needed to be spread, and this was beyond their control, one particular wtf moment was when she told us that social workers from Manchester council, members of a different unison branch, were being used to 'cover' for them (ie some might say scabbing on them) and that this couldn't be avoided because they weren't allowed to ballot, as it wasn't their branch or whatever (ie because of the anti-union laws).
One strong impression I got was that issues in this branch could reignite at any time - the current chief executive was clearly brought in for the sole purpose of union-busting, the workers recognise this and as far as they're concerned this is a tactical retreat, not a defeat - also "there are now a hundred Karen Reissmans" in the branch, and a lot of them have been going round the country doing meetings, going to the picket lines every day and time-consuming stuff like that, really putting everything into the struggle unlike a lot of other strikes these days where people just stay at home or whatever.
However the replacement of direct action by a 'national unison campaign' is obviously not something we want to see.
Dec 16 2007 11:19
#15
A few more positive aspects:-
Quote:
Crucially trust managers as part of the return to work have agreed that
there needs to be an urgent review of Change in Mind. It was issues
around the implementation of Changes in Mind which started the serious
disagreements with UNISON and we are incredibly pleased that it has
been
agreed to start a review immediately and deal with the on-going issues
which have so worried staff and users alike.They have also agreed that there will be no victimisation of any
striker
on return to work. This includes no referrals to the NMC.Initially the trust managers had insisted that they needed to refer
Karen Reissmann to the NMC because she had been sacked. UNISON remained
firmly of the belief that this was punitive and unnecessary. There was
never any suggestion of concern about her patient care. If she had been
referred she would have been unable to work as a nurse even for an
agency until the case had been processed which even if quickly
dismissed
could have taken months.Strikers told UNISON that they were not prepared to return to work
whilst this threat still existed. On Thursday in difficult negotiations
into the evening, the threat was withdrawn and management agreed that
“as the dismissal for gross misconduct was not related to patient
safety
a referral to the NMC will not take place”“I would like to thank all those colleagues who have supported my case.
I have been overwhelmed by the support I have received so far. It has
helped to keep me strong and well. I know we are all committed to an
on-going national campaign to obtain my reinstatement and ongoing
campaign against the cuts in our mental health teams. Neither me, nor
my
colleagues nor our supporters are going away” said Karen.UNISON has not been beaten but is stronger than ever. We have 7 more
stewards. Strikers are feeling good not bad. Thanks partly to the
1000’s
of people who have given incredible support over the last 6 months. We
have raised almost £200,000 in hardship and money is still coming in.
We
have had thousands of messages of support. People really understand and
feel that solidarity is still very much alive and very well in UK
today.
Trust managers have come out of this badly damaged. They have no
credibility with anyone in Manchester or the NHS nationally. Hardly
anyone who knows about the case (and many, many people do know) support
the sacking of Karen or the way they have run this trust.The user group has said they have no confidence in the trust board and
have called for all of them to resign. They have also called for a
user-led public inquiry into this trust. UNISON will ballot its members
to see if they support the users and if agreed will support the users
to
set up their own inquiry.
Dec 16 2007 18:47
#16
It's good to hear that the threat of referral to the NMC is withdrawn - that wasn't clear to me on Thursday.
And hopefully some of the more positive comments made by Karen will prove correct in the future, but non of this can turn a defeat into a victory.
The SWP's Union politics have been present here all along and certainly will not lead to any useful lessons being learned.
Dec 17 2007 13:53
#17
Spikymike wrote:
It's good to hear that the threat of referral to the NMC is withdrawn - that wasn't clear to me on Thursday.And hopefully some of the more positive comments made by Karen will prove correct in the future, but non of this can turn a defeat into a victory.
The SWP's Union politics have been present here all along and certainly will not lead to any useful lessons being learned.
The comrades in the SWP are to be commended still, especially those who have been down at the picket lines every morning.
Nov 19 2008 17:11
#18
Unison are always doing the dirty on individual members. They did it to me and another colleague of mine. They are only interested in defending mobs of bullies as opposed to defending the people being bullied or discriminated against.
Nov 20 2008 07:01
#19
gol durned bureaucrats... they always sell you out...
Looks like Unison intends to do the dirty
If the unions won't fight on issues like this, what the f*** will they fight about?