Blood Service in dispute: trying to raise awareness!
Mar 13 2007 23:22
I work for the National Blood Service, Birmingham, in the Issue lab (which despatches blood + frozen plasma to about 35 West Mids hospitals from our storage fridge). The main function of our centre is processing (filtering, separating components etc) + safely testing (for HIV, Hepatitis, Syphilis, Malaria + soon, vCJD) all the donations collected in the area. There are centres like ours (some smaller) in Oxford, Bristol, Southampton, Tooting, Colindale, Brentwood, Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle, Cambridge, Sheffield + Leeds.
Staff have been in industrial dispute with the NBS board of directors/management for about the past year, over unworkable reconfiguration plans which will see local processing + testing sites condensed into just 3 ‘supercentres‘, in Bristol, Manchester + Colindale. This would mean that blood collections will have to be recklessly driven 100s of miles around the country + back for processing, putting even more reliance on an already overloaded + frequently clogged up motorway network. It will also mean 600 job losses nationally.
Not to be sentimental, but many staff have worked for the NBS for decades, + learnt all their highly specific skills on the job, having come straight from school. We all had a good cynical laugh recently when the NBS Mission + Values (‘We value people… building ever stronger links with healthcare community…’ yadda yadda) disappeared from the front of our payslips (save the ink eh). This strategy is all about cost-cutting, + nothing to do with what’s best for patients or hospitals. What sticks in the throat most is that, unlike many NHS trusts, the NBS is not even in debt.
Our unions Amicus + Unison were slow to act to start with. Amicus have since been fairly supportive, Unison still much less so. Around new year Amicus held a preliminary ballot for industrial action, which returned 81% in favour of some sort of action, 56% in favour of strike. (Strike is generally unpopular as we are an emergency service...). They were all set to roll out a final official ballot (while Unison had done nothing at all!) but management tempted them back to the negotiating table + at the minute 'talks are ongoing'.
This is why me + 2 other leftwing workmates (all 3 of us Unison) stood for, + were elected, union stewards, to try + turn around the situation. But the clock is ticking! The 1st issue we are up against is terrible rock-bottom staff morale. The reconfiguration is widely seen as a done deal, + staff, while very depressed, are preferring to think of the redundancy money + believe any action in opposition is a waste of time. With no visible fight back from the unions is it any wonder?
Public awareness of what’s happening is zero. I’m presuming you reading this have not yet heard about our situation, 12 months on. We have to start by getting the long-overdue word out. Here’s what we have tried so far
- showing solidarity with other workers in dispute
- Lobbying the board (worse than useless, I hate doing this! So depressing)
- Letters to MPs, newspapers
- some limited internet posting
- Leafleting + petitioning nearby hospital site
- we went to the Keep Our NHS Public campaigners conference in London to try + make some links
- also making links with local anti-hosp cuts campaigns.
- Lobbying MPs
- some media coverage, couple of newspaper features
- Protests (held nationally) on Valentine’s Day (covered on telly + radio news, but reports biased towards management line of ‘everything will be fine’)
- model resolution for TU branches
- took part in TUC NHS day of ‘action’ March 3rd (where I met my 1st fellow wobblies, from Leics)
+ have planned for the near future.
- Public meeting
- speaking @ other TU meetings (2 invites so far)
- Street stall
- leafleting + petitioning donor sessions (management are very nervous about this)
- need a website
- appearance on local radio for I/views
- more visible demos
- more coordinated action nationally, as we are acting as separate centres at the minute!
I’d really appreciate + value opinions. Me + my workmates are new to the role of trade union activist + completely inexperienced. What I can see is that (I’m talking end of the line here now) lobbying + demonstrating alone will not guarantee us a win. A walkout strike may be difficult to win full staff support for, as it would mean breaking our 24-hour non-profit service to patients. But I know there’s a lot we could consider + learn from the IWW tradition of direct action such as good work strikes, work-ins etc. Something which is ideal for health workers but is sidelined by unimaginative major unions.
Any input you can give us will be gratefully received + discussed by us. If you want any more in depth background info on the situation off me, then just get in touch by PM + I can fill you in.
Thanks a lot in advance!
Mar 14 2007 18:10
#2
Thanks for the reply John.
Yeah the NBS is a part of the NHS (it comes under the NHS Blood + Transplant division, with UK Transplant + also Bio Products Laboratory in Elstree). In fact is is older than the NHS, as it was founded during the 2nd World War, 1 year before the wider public health service. + unlike many countries' services, I'm happy to say it has always relied on freely donated blood. Long may that altruism continue.
The supercentres are (surprisingly) to be funded by a DoH grant. Though, as you know, nothing in the UK is safe from privatisation these days, + we are starting to hear the first whispers about private involvement. BPL (see above) has already been partly sold off at the end of last year. There are rumours of our in-house transport eventually being turned over to DHL or some other courier firm. Also the accountants plotting our future are determined to treat the service as if it was a free market, by shirking our testing responsibilities onto debt-laden hosps, + aiming towards deals with private foreign firms to one day provide many of the plasma products for the NHS. All meaning they can happily slash + burn the public NBS structure + workforce.
I don't know of any previous strikes within the NBS. The best example of action so far was when the Liverpool centre was under threat a few years back. Staff + good union reps managed to whip up a massive campaign of public + media outrage, which saved it from closure (til now!). This hasn't happened this time round - the low staff confidence makes a vicious circle with the quiet press/public interest...
Targeting the donors does seem like a powerful tool - we've been talking about this for ages (too long!), + with friends, family + other activists we're in contact with involved we could mobilise a good number of people who would only need to help out for say 1/2 an hour. There are 100s of collection sessions in all far flung parts of the UK every day.
Thanks very much for the offer of perhaps hosting a blog. Will get back to you on that, like you say it might be better to get a 'blander' looking page as it'll be aimed at the general public... (if you know what I mean?)
Cheers!
Mar 15 2007 21:02
#3
germs90 wrote:
But I know there’s a lot we could consider + learn from the IWW tradition of direct action such as good work strikes, work-ins etc. Something which is ideal for health workers but is sidelined by unimaginative major unions.
Hi germs90, I'm a health worker active in stuff around the NHS and I think you've hit the nail on the head there in that we are being attacked across the board and will not turn things around without massive and imaginative forms of direct action. You are also right that the unions appear completely uninterested - I was at that recent rally you talk about in Brum too (shame we didn't meet!) and I don't know if you bothered listening to Dave Prentis' speech but the modus operandi appears to be for them to talk a good fight so that health workers will trust them that they are doing something about it, but to discourage any concrete action.
Locally there are a few branches doing some good stuff, such as this one in Manchester:-
http://libcom.org/news/manchester-nhs-workers-on-strike-31012007
But on the whole I'd say the unions and Unison in particular are acting as a dampener to struggle rather than helping workers to coordinate a fightback. How do we get from this sorry situation to the kind of organisation and militancy that we need? A question I'm still asking myself, I'm afraid - I agree with you it's incredibly frustrating. I've forwarded this link onto a health worker activists email list I'm on, so it'll be publicised that bit more.
Mar 15 2007 23:58
#4
Thanks for your views magnifico. Yeah shame we didn't meet at the rally on the 3rd. To be honest I was really surprised to see Dave Prentis bothering to come out.
I've been at a frustrating Unison meeting today where there is still no plan for action further than writing to MPs. The stubborn New Labourism goes right to top + they just will not rock the boat. Now that the Labour party has transformed so much, any union in bed with it can't have any real power.
For now it's a case of doing our best on the ground in the labs + the wards, + shaming the unions into helping us with funds + resources (after a lot of hassle). Thanks for forwarding the link.
In reference to John's query about if the NBS has ever been on strike before, I heard something today about 1993??? Had a google for it but not turned up any info on the net. Will try + find out more from older staff.
Yeah we met some of those Manchester MH strikers down at the Keep Our NHS Public conference in London. Took their cause back to Brum + we sent them a donation plus some full sheets of their petition. The donation was from staff's personal pockets as when I went to branch to see if we had already sent one, they 'ummed' + 'ahhed' + 'ooh I don't know'ed about it for ages, then said 'really, the northern region should sort them out with one'!!! This is within Unison, not even a 'rival' union! So much for solidarity!
More news on NBS soon hopefully. Keep an ear out if you know anyone who works on the NBS collection sessions taking blood from donors - they are also facing urgent problems + cuts which I am just bringing myself up to speed on at the minute.
Mar 16 2007 00:09
#5
germs90 wrote:
The donation was from staff's personal pockets as when I went to branch to see if we had already sent one, they 'ummed' + 'ahhed' + 'ooh I don't know'ed about it for ages, then said 'really, the northern region should sort them out with one'!!! This is within Unison, not even a 'rival' union! So much for solidarity!
There's a few of the people involved in that strike on the email list I just mentioned - they've put on there to thank everyone who sent donation as so I'm sure they really appreciated that, especially as it was from your own pockets.
Of course something we've been discussing on another thread is relevant here ie that cash donations should never be allowed to replace solidarity actions, and in this case solidarity actions from all of us would have been both relevant and useful. Unison is doing a 'great' job at keeping the lid on all of this, it's amazing how health workers are so angry, yet so little is being done about it. The Unison leadership really are fucking scum.
In terms of my branch i've just about given up trying to 'shame' them into anything, they appear to have no shame! Like you say, it's the wards, labs etc that are important. Myself and a few comrades are working on a local healthworkers' newsletter, i think this is a good way of giving people the feel that these are collective probles shared by others which have collective solutions, which doesn't rely on the union beaurocrats to cooperate with you for it to work. Yeah keep us posted I'm interested in all this sort of stuff - thanks
Mar 16 2007 00:24
#6
A newsletter like you're doing will be really useful magnifico. There is a worrying train of thought in quite a few staff where I work (that we are trying to turn around), basically : 'We have our own problems, why should we care about others', they don't care about ours'. It's irrational but comes right out of the staff's depression - think we can beat it though, especially with new motivated reps. We got a grateful thanks letter back from Manchester + showed it round to prove it is worth looking out for each other. *group hug*
Mar 16 2007 14:28
#7
Organising workers in the NHS is notoriously difficult but also tremendously important, especially now. Not only are there all the cuts and privatisation to deal with, but there's also the fact that we've been given a really crap pay rise this year - 1.5% followed by another 1% in November... bad enough that even the UNISON bureaucracy have had to condemn it, and consult branches on whether members would support industrial action to win a better rise. Given that this rise works out at 1.9%, about half the rate of inflation it is, in effect, a pay cut, so I'm not suprised to report that so far in my branch the feeling is running strongly in favour of industrial action - the first time this has been true in our branch for at least the 12 years I have been involved.
Organising in workplaces takes a long time. But then a big change can happen very quickly, and you don't always know what issue is going to be the spark. Even some traditionally quiet UNISON branches have been demanding a national demonstration over the cuts, and the Health SGE (UNISON's leading national committee of lay members in the Health group) recently voted to call such a national demo, although the officers are now getting tied up in trying to work out when it should be!
Anyway, some additional things you might try:
1. Go to the UNISON website and print off the latest health SGE newsletter, which talks about the national demo, and some other things. Give copies to workmates to stimulate discussion about strategy, etc.
2. Ask your branch what it is doing about the pay consultation - it should be seeking members' views this week and reporting back to your regional office by next Friday. If it is not doing anything, then do it yourself. Print off the consultation documents off the UNISON website, and ask colleagues to vote and then submit the answers to your branch secretary.
3. Make contact with the UNISON branches in other NBS sites. Maybe ask for a national meeting of all NBS stewards, now that you are one, to discuss what the strategy should be. Then ask your branch to hold an all-members' meeting to consult members and get a mandate for the ideas you should argue at the national meeting.
4. Basic organising tool - a petition. Get colleagues to collect signatures on a petition against the threat to the NBS. The branch should do one, but if they won't, do your own. Collecting signatures is often an easy way for non-active people to experience beginning to get active. In my own branch we're facing the threat of job losses and bed cuts in our hospitals, and we did a petition to our NHS Trust Board about it. Several previously inactive members got very involved, and we ended up with over 2,000 signatures, mostly from staff, in only three weeks. There's lots more talk about the union, as a result.
A final point. It's easy to get pissed off about how sluggish the union machinery can be. Yes, it's crap, and yes, sometimes / often it can be deliberate. But in discussions with ordinary workers it is very important I think that we present the union as something to be changed and used, not just a block on activity. At root, the union is the sum total of all the workers acting collectively, and that's the power we need to change our lives. With so much anti-union propaganda around from the mainstream press and the right, I think it's important that our criticism of the unions from the left is always constructive / activist criticism, not just whinging.
Comradely,
Nick
Mar 16 2007 14:37
#8
Are you the same Nick Holden who sits on the Unison Health Service Group Executive, and is a regular contributor to Workers Liberty?
Just out of interest.
Mar 16 2007 15:22
#9
Nick Holden wrote:
Then ask your branch to hold an all-members' meeting to consult members and get a mandate for the ideas you should argue at the national meeting.
I think it's important to get non-members along to these as well; they shouldn't just be restricted to members of one particular union. In my council dept one woman in Unison wrote a letter to head office complaining about the leadership and they just kicked her out!
Mar 16 2007 19:35
#10
Just to say that since I posted this on the health workers' email list I've had two very interested replies from people on the national Unison SGE who are very keen to try and get things moving on this and support germs90. So perhaps unfair of me to imply that nothing remotely positive is happening in Unison aside from a few local initiatives. Obviously Prentis et al at the very top are beneath contempt though.
Mar 16 2007 20:12
#11
Nick Holden wrote:
1. Go to the UNISON website and print off the latest health SGE newsletter, which talks about the national demo, and some other things.
Thanks for this tip Nick. I have had a look at the Unison website but am not sure where this newsletter is?
Nick Holden wrote:
2. Ask your branch what it is doing about the pay consultation - it should be seeking members' views this week and reporting back to your regional office by next Friday. If it is not doing anything, then do it yourself. Print off the consultation documents off the UNISON website, and ask colleagues to vote and then submit the answers to your branch secretary.
This is exactly what has not been happening in our 'branch'. For example re. the March 3rd day of Action: we heard that the top brass of NHS Together had decided not to call a national demo in London, but wanted us to hold local actions. At the KONP conference it was clear members disagreed. So we thought 'why weren't we asked?'. Later, by chance I find out via the web that there was a Unsion members consultation period, which we knew nothing about! We were fuming at the Branch Sec, til we spoke to her about it + she told us that she knew nothing about it either!! The blind leading the insane! Either the B Sec hasn't bothered to tell us about this pay consultation, or (very conceivable) she doesn't know about it either. I did see her yesterday, along with regional + national officials, + this was not mentioned! It's either a complete shambles, or they have such deep contempt for the members (presuming we don't want to take action + are happy to carry on letter-writing) that we are not worthy of knowing!
Nick Holden wrote:
3. Make contact with the UNISON branches in other NBS sites. Maybe ask for a national meeting of all NBS stewards, now that you are one, to discuss what the strategy should be. Then ask your branch to hold an all-members' meeting to consult members and get a mandate for the ideas you should argue at the national meeting.
Yes, we want to do this. I raised it at the forum yesterday + will be contacting all the other centres ASAP.
Nick Holden wrote:
4. Basic organising tool - a petition.
Thanks, we already have a petition going, + signatures are well up in the 1000s now. It's being well distributed, still got to hit city centre on Sat lunch times in future. However, though it's good for spreading the word + getting staff talking, we all know it's not enough to stop reconfiguration.
Nick Holden wrote:
At root, the union is the sum total of all the workers acting collectively, and that's the power we need to change our lives. With so much anti-union propaganda around from the mainstream press and the right, I think it's important that our criticism of the unions from the left is always constructive / activist criticism, not just whinging
John wrote:
I think it's important to get non-members along to these as well; they shouldn't just be restricted to members of one particular union.
I couldn't agree with John's point more. In our workplace/campaign, we don't care which union you're in, if any. The full-time Amicus rep might come to speak, say 'Amicus only', we'll just ignore him + all turn up. Any union meeting is open to non-members, as we can all understand why so many aren't convinced to join yet in this slack day + age, but meanwhile the threat of closure affects us all. Important union info (responses to proposals etc) can be forwarded to everybody. The fundamental thing, beyond signing up for £11 a month + a discount on car insurance, is a real ideological, mental union, of staff trust, confidence + solidarity, that you can actually feel. The legal part of making membership official for industrial action is the final part of the organising fight.
Thanks to magnifico for spreading the word + Nick for taking an interest, will be in touch ASAP. The NBS staffside is well fragmented, between unions, regions, centres, even parts of workplaces (eg. our complete ignorance of the collection teams' nightmare troubles happening right now!)
Mar 16 2007 20:27
#12
hey germs, just to say i've been following the thread, but i don't work in health so i haven't really had much to offer, although ...
germs90 wrote:
I couldn't agree with John's point more. In our workplace/campaign, we don't care which union you're in, if any. The full-time Amicus rep might come to speak, say 'Amicus only', we'll just ignore him + all turn up. Any union meeting is open to non-members ... The fundamental thing, beyond signing up for £11 a month + a discount on car insurance, is a real ideological, mental union, of staff trust, confidence + solidarity, that you can actually feel. The legal part of making membership official for industrial action is the final part of the organising fight.
i think that's the right attitude, at the end of the day if the solidarity's strong enough you don't even need the legal cover 
i think what you're doing in terms of networking with other health workers at your workplace and beyond, and letting other interested workers (like the users of these boards) know is the right idea, i mean that's where our power lies at the end of the day, in broad grassroots solidarity, and if the unions are sitting on their hands like it sounds like they are (i'd speculate the top brass are more interested in not embarassing labour too much than taking serious action, but that's me speculating) then we just have to take matters into our own hands 
Mar 16 2007 20:49
#13
Joseph K. wrote:
i'd speculate the top brass are more interested in not embarassing labour too much than taking serious action, but that's me speculating
Yep!
Joseph K. wrote:
that's where our power lies at the end of the day, in broad grassroots solidarity, and if the unions are sitting on their hands like it sounds like they are...then we just have to take matters into our own hands
That's how I feel, but first we need to beat low morale. While a huge, rich union like Unison trumpet themselves as 'your friend at work', but do nothing at all to make the staff feel safe or united, it's no wonder members feel depressed + are reading the job pages, + non-members laugh at you when you suggest joining!
Thanks for the encouragement Joseph.
Mar 16 2007 21:16
#14
yeah the morale thing is a bit of a catch-22 - victories boost morale, but you can't get victories until people have the morale to participate 
i guess things like newsletters/bulletins - maybe including bits from union/health worker stuff* and success stories from elsewhere** - could be a part of breaking that cycle and stimulating discussion towards action, but i'll defer to others with more experience of these things on the best tactics ...
____________________________________________
* Magnifico posted up this on another thread: "there are a few good publications like London Health Emergency's paper www.healthemergency.org.uk , the IWW Healthworker newsletter http://www.iww.org.uk/industries/health/healthworker1/index.html, a non-IWW healthworker www.healthworker.co.uk newsletter and hopefully something coming out of SolFed before too long."
** even if success stories close to home are a bit thin on the ground recently, there are plenty out there, e.g.
"Workers at Mercy Hospital in France, who were afraid that patients would go untreated if they went on strike, instead refused to file the billing slips for drugs, lab tests, treatments, and therapy. As a result, the patients got better care (since time was being spent caring for them instead of doing paperwork), for free. The hospital's income was cut in half, and panic-stricken administrators gave in to all of the workers' demands after three days."
http://libcom.org/organise/good-work-strike
A couple of posters here have a pretty encyclopaedic knowledge of strikes/various workplace actions and the like, so ask up if you're short of examples!
Mar 16 2007 22:41
#15
Yep!
Mar 16 2007 22:50
#16
Nick Holden wrote:
1. Go to the UNISON website and print off the latest health SGE newsletter, which talks about the national demo, and some other things.
germs90 wrote:
Thanks for this tip Nick. I have had a look at the Unison website but am not sure where this newsletter is?
UNISON SGE newsletter is at http://www.unison.org.uk/acrobat/B3113.pdf - it's not stunning, but it's official UNISON material, so no-one can object to you distributing it, and it will stimulate some discussion, at least.
Nick Holden wrote:
2. Ask your branch what it is doing about the pay consultation - it should be seeking members' views this week and reporting back to your regional office by next Friday. If it is not doing anything, then do it yourself. Print off the consultation documents off the UNISON website, and ask colleagues to vote and then submit the answers to your branch secretary.
germs90 wrote:
This is exactly what has not been happening in our 'branch'. For example re. the March 3rd day of Action: we heard that the top brass of NHS Together had decided not to call a national demo in London, but wanted us to hold local actions. At the KONP conference it was clear members disagreed. So we thought 'why weren't we asked?'. Later, by chance I find out via the web that there was a Unsion members consultation period, which we knew nothing about! We were fuming at the Branch Sec, til we spoke to her about it + she told us that she knew nothing about it either!! The blind leading the insane! Either the B Sec hasn't bothered to tell us about this pay consultation, or (very conceivable) she doesn't know about it either. I did see her yesterday, along with regional + national officials, + this was not mentioned! It's either a complete shambles, or they have such deep contempt for the members (presuming we don't want to take action + are happy to carry on letter-writing) that we are not worthy of knowing!
My guess would be it is a combination. Only a few branches responded to the consultation over the March 3rd action, partly because it was held in the middle of December as everyone was getting ready for Christmas. Then the national officers said "only 6% of branches backed national demo" so they called regional activity instead, although only 3% of branches had backed that - they used the 90% who'd not responded to justify their timidity.
I think it's clear on the pay consultation that (a) more branches are taking part, (b) members are more immediately angry about it because it has a direct effect on every one of us, whereas with cuts some people always think "it doesn't affect me personally", and (c) the union leadership themselves feel a little under threat to justify their salaries by at least looking like they're making an effort. This gives us an opportunity to mobilise members (and non-members) into activity through encouraging them to participate in the ballot, and asking them about what sort of action they would be willing to take to win a better pay rise.
germs90 wrote:
Nick Holden wrote:
4. Basic organising tool - a petition.Thanks, we already have a petition going, + signatures are well up in the 1000s now. It's being well distributed, still got to hit city centre on Sat lunch times in future. However, though it's good for spreading the word + getting staff talking, we all know it's not enough to stop reconfiguration.
For sure. But each small step in the right direction helps to set some new people on the road with you. I know that makes me sound like Mao but I'm too knackered to re-write it now!
Good to be in contact with you.
Nick
Mar 16 2007 23:34
#17
Ah thanks for those links Nick.
Nick Holden wrote:
it's not stunning, but it's official UNISON material, so no-one can object to you distributing it, and it will stimulate some discussion, at least.
Nah, that is in fact a fair bit better/more stimulating than the tame Unison NBS newsletter. I'll get some into work. + also crack on with the pay consultation from Monday. This sort of stuff will definitely help pick up spirits, as it's been non-existent for so many years now. Any communication + actual union presence is a big step, when you start from nothing.
Mar 16 2007 23:44
#18
Joseph K. wrote:
i guess things like newsletters/bulletins - maybe including bits from union/health worker stuff* and success stories from elsewhere** - could be a part of breaking that cycle and stimulating discussion towards action
This is a great point too Joseph. Been trying to talk at work + with reps about non-walkout industrial action already. It can have great results. We might see about some kind of upbeat NBS bulletin jointly with IWW who I'm a member of.
For the March 3rd NHS demo I helped put together a leaflet from our local Food not Bombs group, linking up all the cuts + privatisation, + then moving on to Trident, the Iraq occupation etc. So as not to end on a depressing note, we rounded up with the story of FnB's relief efforts after Hurricane Katrina. The local govt of New Orleans officially conceded that FnB, a grassroots movement run purely on donations + solidarity, was the only agency managing to cooardinate food for survivors on a daily basis in the disaster region, plus dishing out free med supplies through their Healthcare not Warfare initiative. If anyone was interested to see it, we could make the text of our leaflet available on libcom.org somewhere?
Mar 16 2007 23:46
#19
This thread is the top story on labournet 
Mar 16 2007 23:48
#20
germs90 wrote:
If anyone was interested to see it, we could make the text of our leaflet available on libcom.org somewhere?
That'd be cool, just post it up somewhere as a new thread, I guess in this ('organise') forum would be best?
Mar 16 2007 23:55
#21
Quote:
This thread is the top story on labournet
Aaaaaah
Mar 17 2007 00:20
#22
There is also little awareness that Scotland's health minister (Andy Kerr, labour) has decided to close the blood transfusion service Protein Fractionation Centre (PFC) which is Scotland's equivalent to the Bio Products Lab. Blood plasma products are now being imported from commercial companies who use paid donors. So much for altruism, ethics and all that - not to mention safety. It is ironic that a public inquiry into contaminated blood products that were imported from the US is due to begin next week. When the decision to sell or close PFC was first announced Amicus led a fight against, until the full-time (Fuller) had a private meeting with Kerr and changed sides. The reagents lab of the Scottish blood service is also up for sale, including precious samples taken from volunteer donors.
Mar 17 2007 00:28
#23
freeblood wrote:
So much for altruism, ethics and all that - not to mention safety.
Exactly
This govt is desparate to lead us towards free market everything, + the price of human life is worth it.
This is exactly the sort of stuff we need + want to hear about.
Mar 17 2007 00:32
#24
hmmm thanks freeblood, interesting stuff.
Loads of useful info coming out on this thread!
Mar 17 2007 17:52
#25
Commercial companies who sell paid donor blood products are making a big push on the UK. NHS doctors who prescribe £MM of blood products are advertising openly on behalf of a commercial blood company which is sponsoring them. Don't believe it? Check it out in the minutes posted on www.ukpin.org.uk
and yes - this includes doctors who's advice was used by Andy Kerr to justify closure of the PFC.
Mar 17 2007 19:28
#26
Germ tread very carefully around unison or any other union. They are there to trap and defeat workers, especially militant ones.
Mar 17 2007 22:41
#28
Are there any centres you don't have any links with, and do you have a good leaflet or is it worth putting together a leaflet on t he issue and uploading it on here somehow or on a few email lists so it could be given out at the centres if poss?
Mar 18 2007 23:46
#29
We can get in touch with all the other centres now, it's just something that should've happened a year ago...
An up-to-date leaflet printed + logoed by Amicus + Unison together is meant to be on the way, but at the same time we've already made our own ones previous, + will do again (maybe a specific one for donors?). Yeah cheers we'll think about getting it online too!
I'm not going to join into the split-off union thread but my view is that they can be as good or bad as the membership let them be... It goes beyond who's got a card (many members don't see it as political), it's about listening + talking to your workmates really, spreading a feeling of collective thinking + support. Even if/when the big union might let you down, or not come through for you (it seems like deep down most people expect it), that vitalised feeling amongst you all is there for good, ready for the next fight.
Apr 11 2007 19:47
#30
Bit of an update!
An IWW leaflet is now available which was written to target donors at collection sessions. Staff have been warned off direct contact with donors by management, but this lil' beauty is unconnectable with either staff or the major TUC unions involved in talks.
Please download, reproduce + distribute widely if you can! Very much appreciated!
(Your nearest donor session can be found on teletext or at www.blood.co.uk)
http://www.iww.org/PDF/iu610/IWW%20Blood%20Service.pdf
For any libcom posters near Birmingham: Amicus has pledged £2500 for 2 public-awareness-raising street stalls on Saturday 21st + 28th April, outside Marx + Sparks on High Street, city centre, 10am - 4pm.
Staff + supporters will be there leafleting, petitioning etc. with balloons, sweets, maybe music...
Any + all support is gratefully welcome. You could dish out some IWW leaflets for us, or just chat to staff about what's going on, if you feel inclined. As I said above our biggest obstacle is rockbottom morale + zero confidence. You could help to show staff that both public + activists are behind us, care what happens + think we have a chance to save the service.
We're doing our best to get the NBS (+ possible industrial action) properly onto the Unison health conference agenda in a couple of weeks via emergency motion.
Hi there, cheers for letting us know, I was unaware of this. I work in local government and we're facing similar problems to you...
A few questions/comments:
So is the NBS part of the NHS then?
The supercentres - will they be built under PFI by any chance?
This would seem to be a very good idea.
Has there ever been a strike at the NBS?
Website-wise we're very busy trying to finish upgrading libcom but there may be some ways we could help. It could well be worthwhile setting up a blog or something if it was agreed. We could host the blog here, but it might be better to get some generic wordpress blog or something like that.
But yes please do keep us informed of what's going on so we can learn from you guys and exchange experiences.