Politics for the Many

PCS National Climate Week launch
2023-04-17 14:00 - 15:00 (Europe/London) | Online
The first PCS National Climate Week is taking place from 17 to 21 April.
To launch the week, there will be an online lunchtime event open to all members on Monday 17 April from 1-2pm.
Climate Crisis, Energy and Cost of Living Crisis
Speakers: Matthew Crighton Scotland Just Transition Partnership, Living Wages on Living Planet, Sabrina Espeleta War on Want, Profiting from Hunger.
The aim of National Climate Week is to raise awareness and educate on climate and environmental issues across the union and why this is a trade union issue. For example by highlighting how the energy, climate and cost of living crises connect to issues of low pay, and therefore are central to our wider industrial aims.
Please join this event and think about running your own within your branch or workplace. This can be from running a stall to a lunchtime talk on an issue of interest to members.
Joining instructions are on the PCS website.

AI@Work: a TUC conference on the implications of AI in the workplace - London
2023-04-18 09:30 - 13:30
What is it like being managed by AI? What is the impact of AI in different sectors of work, like health, education and the creative arts?
As what has become known as the ‘fourth industrial revolution’ unfolds, how will legislators, regulators and policy makers respond?
The TUC is bringing together unions, politicians, regulators, think tanks, lawyers, technologists and employers to explore these questions and share ideas about how we can ensure that everyone benefits from advances in technology at work.
Join us for breakfast at the TUC’s Congress House, and then spend a morning in our Council Chamber for a lively discussion between some of the leading thinkers in the AI space.
In this fast-moving context of data reform, the AI White Paper, the EU AI Act, and ground-breaking technological developments like ChatGPT and DALL-E, there will be plenty to consider.
The TUC will also launch a TUC Education e-learning programme on AI at work.
Sandwich lunch also served

Access to Work Webinar
2023-04-18 13:00 - 14:30
A 90 minute webinar to help activists and members better support disabled members in obtaining Access to Work, the government scheme that can help pay for reasonable adjustments at work.
The webinar will also look at how to give disabled members the tools to obtain Access to Work for themselves and will hear from members about their experience of getting support.

We're all coming together to help Sort The System - online rally
2023-04-18 19:30 - 21:30
We’re all coming together to help Sort The System.
Sort The System – The Lobby for Equal Votes – will bring hundreds of people to Westminster on 24 May to demand that our MPs back a change in the voting system – so that everyone has a vote that counts equally.
To prepare for that, join us on zoom for a virtual rally on the evening of 18 April to find out why Sort The System is going to be our biggest opportunity yet to make the case for Proportional Representation.
Hear from senior politicians like Stephen Kinnock, Tommy Shepherd and Zack Polanski about why mass lobbies like Sort The System are important – and why now is the time!
Alongside them will be senior figures from across the democracy movement, including Tom Brake (Unlock Democracy), Jess Garland (ERS), Laura Parker (L4ND), Nancy Platts (Politics for the Many), and MVM’s own Klina Jordan.
Together, they’ll be able to answer any questions you may have about Sort The System and provide advice on how to engage MPs of all parties in a conversation about electoral reform.
Book your place

Our Broken Politics: How Can We Rebuild Our Democracy? Sheffield and online
2023-04-18 20:00 - 22:00
In partnership with Sheffield For Democracy
How can we prevent a Government that was elected on a minority of votes steering our politics towards empowering and privileging the elite, whilst undermining the principles of equal rights, equal participation and equal opportunities?
From making it harder to vote by requiring photo ID, to outlawing some forms of demonstration, the rights of everyone to participate equally are being undermined: we need a major rethink in how our democratic system is structured.
We need an elected Upper Chamber of Parliament; power shared between national and local government; and equality in our voting system so that everyone’s vote counts. But how to get there?
Speakers
Darren Hughes, Director of the Electoral Reform Society and Councillor Abtisam Mohamed, Labour Party

Wales TUC Greener Workplaces Network
2023-04-20 11:00 - 12:45
How can we support nature and create greener and healthier workplaces?

Venue: Hybrid – join online via Teams or in-person at the Wales TUC offices, 1 Cathedral Road, Cardiff CF11 9SD
Register now
Nature is in crisis. We are facing an ‘age of extinction’, with animals and plants being lost at an unprecedented rate. In Wales, as many as one in six species is at risk. But although the situation is grave, there are many simple actions we can take that can both positively support nature and create greener and healthier workplaces.
Join us at this friendly network which is open to all trade union officers, reps and activists with an interest in tackling the climate and nature emergencies. Find out what actions unions are taking and how you can get involved and make a difference. We’ll be looking at some global and national campaigns calling for wider changes to support nature, as well as practical actions that you can take to make your workplace both more wildlife friendly and better for human health too.
Topics covered as part of the session will include:

Find out how to get involved in Climate Cymru’s new ‘nature positive’ campaign
Learn how to make your workplace ‘Bee Friendly’ with Friends of the Earth Cymru
Taking action to tackle workplace environmental and health hazards that harm people and nature – such as artificial grass, glyphosate and other toxic substances – new resources from the Hazards Campaign
Share your own examples and ideas of positive workplace action to support wildlife and nature

We’ll also be looking ahead and planning for upcoming Clean Air Day and Big Green Week in June, sharing ideas for workplace events. There will be opportunities to join breakout discussion groups and network with other reps. Register here.

The legacy of Stephen Lawrence - 30 years on
2023-04-21 19:30 - 22:30
Join the TUC and Dr Neville Lawrence on the 30th anniversary marking the death of Stephen Lawrence and the ongoing fight to secure racial justice.
On 22 April 1993, Stephen Lawrence, aged 18, was racially attacked and murdered by a group of white men. His attackers were arrested but never charged. The handling of the case by the Met Police was riddled with racism.
Four years after the murder, the then Home Secretary, Jack Straw, launched a public inquiry into his death that found the Metropolitan Police to be institutionally racist, and that this had obstructed the arrest and conviction of Stephen’s murderers.
This is what led the TUC to establish its first anti-racism task group – the Stephen Lawrence Task Group – to oversee the work of trade unions to tackle institutional racism.
Decades on, institutional racism still remains a challenge at work and in wider society. The trade union movement will continue to call out and challenge racism whenever and wherever it exists.

Usdaw Annual Delegate Meeting
2023-04-23 - 2023-04-27 | Winter Gardens, Blackpool
The Annual Delegate Meeting (ADM) is the biggest and most important event in the Union’s calendar.
The four-day conference brings together elected reps from across the UK and all Usdaw sectors to decide the Union’s policies and priorities for the coming year.
It involves debates, and votes, on propositions, and statements from the National Executive Council as well as rule change proposals. A variety of high profile guest speakers also attend.
If you are an active rep you may want to participate in the ADM. Branches may also wish to send members as visitors. Find out more from your local Usdaw office.
What is the timetable?

A Preliminary Agenda Paper, including all the propositions will be circulated in late January to which branches can send amendments by end February.
At the same time branches will be asked to elect their delegates and visitors before mid March.
In April the Interim Agenda Paper will be sent out along with the Annual Report and Executive Council Statements.
Two weeks later delegates and visitors credentials will be issued.

To get a flavour of previous ADMs you can check out the coverage in back copies of Arena and Network.
Usdaw’s booklet A Guide to the ADM is also available to download below or you can get a copy from your local Usdaw office.
Follow us on Twitter or Instagram for the latest updates @UsdawUnion and remember to use #Usdaw23

Delivering for Workers: Electoral Reform - USDAW conference - Blackpool
2023-04-24 14:00 - 15:00
Join Labour for a New Democracy and the Electoral Reform Society for a discussion on how Proportional Representation delivers a better deal for workers.
Refreshments provided

Rage Against the Machine: Young People & Political Power - Sheffield
2023-04-25 19:00 - 20:45
In partnership with Sheffield Futures
Sheffield Futures’ Young Advisors have curated a panel of politicians, professionals and activists to explore power as a young person within the current political climate. Drawing on different perspectives, the debate will consider the intricacies of our political system and what it means to be of voting age in 2023. The session aims to answer questions such as: where does voting apathy stem from, what do the new protest bills mean for activism, and how can young people remain optimistic and empowered?
Exploring both the democratic voting system and activism, the Young Advisors will stimulate discussion about the future of protesting – within recent legislation – leaving audience members with a clear vision of how to engage others and remain positive and impassioned. There will be time for audience questions, and to get involved and air thoughts or queries – an opportunity to speak with experts that will provide valuable insights and reinforce a drive for change in attendees.
Hosted and chaired by Sheffield Futures’ Young Advisors, this discussion – and audience Q&A – will be insightful and relevant, exploring the current youth experience of politics leading up to the local elections in May.

An industrial strategy for home decarbonisation - London
2023-04-26 10:30 - 12:00
The need to reduce energy demand and significantly ramp up energy efficiency efforts in the face of the current energy crisis is now widely accepted. This is in addition to the longstanding benefits of lower energy bills, warmer homes, job creation, and reduced carbon emissions.
A national mission is needed to deliver a home decarbonisation programme at pace and scale. Indeed, many of the political parties have set ambitious targets to upgrade the nation’s homes over the next decade.
A mission-oriented approach is particularly applicable for this challenge because of the need to overcome a range of challenges to successfully insulate homes, from supply chain issues, to ensuring we have a skilled labour force, and getting the finance right.
We will examine the practical barriers, from supply chain issues to labour shortages, that need to be overcome to decarbonise our homes and the role that industrial strategy can play in doing so.
Our speakers:

The Rt Hon Philip Dunne MP, Chair of the Environmental Audit Select Committee
Kerry McCarthy MP, Shadow Minister for Climate Change
Dr Anna Valero, Associate of the Grantham Research Institute
Nicholas Harris, Chief Executive Officer, Stonewater
Luke Murphy, Associate Director for Energy, Climate, Housing and Infrastructure and Head of the Fair Transition Unit, IPPR
Chair: Fiona Harvey, Environment Editor, the Guardian

This event is taking place on Wednesday 26th April from 9.30 – 11am in the Council Room at One Great George Street, London, SW1P 3AA. This event is being held in partnership with Stonewater.

International Workers' Memorial Day
2023-04-28 - 2023-04-29
Next month we will mark Workers’ Memorial Day again. IWMD is the international day marked by the trade union movement to remember all workers who lost their lives to workplace illness or injury, and to recommit ourselves to fighting to keep workers safe: Remember the Dead, Fight for the Living!We will publicise events happening across our region. To support these the TUC has produced a range of resources you can use.

Remember someone who died as a result of work by using our online memorial wall here
Check out our workers’ health & safety timeline and use it for member education here
Host a IWMD event and list it on our website with an interactive map here
Ask your local council to sign up to our Stay Safe, Join a Union campaign here
IWMD posters and graphics for social media here
a TUC guide to Organising on Health and Safety here
Upcoming TUC Education courses for reps here

Workers of the World Unite - Tribune & Arise Eve of May Day Rally
2023-04-30 15:00 - 16:30 | Online
At this time of deep crises internationally and here in Britain, let’s come together in struggle and put forward socialist solutions. Start the May Day weekend with a bang with this joint international online rally on April 30!
Richard Burgon MP // Matt Wrack, FBU General Secretary // Jess Barnard, Labour NEC // Niamh Sweeney, NEU Deputy General Secretary // Fran Heathcote, PCS President // Varsha Gandikota-Nellutla, Progressive International // Gyekye Tanoh, Third World Network, Ghana // Miriam Amancay Colque, Bartolina Sisa Resistance, Bolivia & more tba.
Annual online rally hosted by Tribune & Arise Festival – all other pages listed on social media are kindly helping to promote the event.

May Day
2023-05-01 - 2023-05-02
The plan is to make May Day 2023 bigger and better than the previous year. Bookmark this page and visit nearer the time for more details on May Day 2023 or find out more from www.londonmayday.org.

Workers Can Win organising school - online
2023-05-02 20:30 - 22:00, 2023-05-09 20:30 - 22:00, 2023-05-16 20:30 - 22:00
All are welcome at this free 5-week online training course based on the book “Workers Can Win! A Guide to Organising At Work” and delivered by the author, Ian Allinson.
To order a cheap copy of the book, see workers-can-win.info/buy.
Each session will run from 7:30-9pm
Tue 2 May: Individual issues and organising
Tue 9 May: Choosing and framing issues
Tue 16 May: Organising conversations
Tue 23 May: Dealing with your union
Tue 30 May: Winning a strike
Register once for all the sessions. It is recommended to attend all the sessions, but you are still welcome if that is not possible.
There are a series of Facebook events you can use to help promote the course, or you can download a leaflet.

Sort The System - Online lobbyist briefing meeting
2023-05-11 19:30 - 20:30 | Online
Join us for an online briefing session to get ready to Sort The System!
On 24 May, people from every part of the UK are coming to Westminster to tell MPs: it’s time to Sort The System!

Many people now want the best advice for how to talk to their MP during Sort The System. If that’s you – please join us in one of our upcoming online lobbyist briefing meetings. We will have experts to hand to help prepare you for your meeting -including MPs and leaders in the democracy sector.

To sign up to this one, click here.

International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia
2023-05-17 - 2023-05-18
Unite is proud to recognise International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia on 17 May. Known as IDAHOBIT for short, this date was chosen as it commemorates the date of the decision to remove homosexuality from classification as a mental illness by the World Health Organisation in 1990. The main purpose of IDAHOBIT is to raise awareness of ongoing discrimination, violence and persecution of LGBT+ people across the world.
Research by Stonewall, the national LGBT charity found that one in five LGBT people have experienced a hate crime because of their sexual orientation in the past year and over half of trans people have been subjected to a hate crime due to their gender identity.
Around a quarter of LGBT people avoid some streets due to safety concerns and 13 per cent have been discriminated against in a bar, restaurant or club venue. Trans people in particular still experience appalling levels of abuse on social media and are on the receiving end of misinformation and direct attacks from TV and print media.
That’s why Unite Equalities continues to work hard to campaign for more inclusive workplaces and safer communities for LGBT+ people across the country. We’re particularly keen for more LGBT+ Unite members to get involved, contact your regional equalities officer for further information.

Strike together, re-ballot together, win together - RCN in Brighton
2023-05-17 19:00 - 20:30
Join this very special meeting during the RCN’s congress this year in Brighton. As unions across health and education being important re-ballots, we are calling this meeting to link together trade unionists across Brighton and Hove.
Government has failed to offer meaningful deals, with both RCN and NEU members voting to reject in large numbers. Alongside poor offers, the Government has moved to ban strikes using the courts, rather than talks.
Due to the anti union legislation, both the RCN and NEU have to begin a re-ballot in furthering their campaigns.
As the RCN Congress is in the city, we want to take this opportunity to organise this important meeting to bring together delegates from RCN congress and other trade unionists in the city to discuss how we can Strike together, Re-ballot together and Win together.
All are welcome to join us at the Tudor room, Old Ship Hotel, 4 minutes walk from the Brighton centre at 6pm.
Be a part of this important joint union meeting and continue to support workers taking action.
Confirmed speakers include members of the RCN, BMA and others to be announced.

Our Work Matters campaign launch - Justice for Outsourced Facilities Workers
2023-05-17 20:00 - 21:30 | Online
The Our Work Matters is a collaborative joint union campaign led by members of trade unions who represent outsourced workers and supported by the TUC.
Register for online campaign launch on Wed 17 May 2023
Join our online call on Wednesday 17 May at 7pm for the launch of the Our Work Matters campaign. Come along to learn about how you can win pay rises and improve your working conditions.
You’ll hear from cleaners, security guards, porters and caterers who are campaigning for better pay and fairer treatment at work.
And we’ll talk about how we can work together to improve working life for all outsourced workers.
This is your chance to shape this campaign from the very beginning.
So register now, share the link with your colleagues and join the call on Wednesday 17 May.

Democracy Drinks - London
2023-05-17 20:00 - 21:30
Are you working on issues of democracy in the UK, or perhaps you’d like to strike up a conversation with those that are? Whether you work in the field or are simply curious to know more, this is for you. Meet new faces (and old ones) over a drink, and chat about the latest democracy gossip.
#DemocracyDrinks are a great way of making new contacts and catching up with people you know; for testing ideas and planning actions; for moral support and inspiration -or just catching the latest democracy gossip.
Held in cities around the world from Budapest to Kathmandu, #DemocracyDrinks are bringing together fellow democracy thinkers and doers for an evening of informal conversation, collaboration and networking.
This is a joint event, brought to you by the UK Democracy Network and Unlock Democracy.
Democracy Network are a network of people and organisations working on issues of power, democracy and voice throughout the UK. We aim to connect and work with others to build a stronger democracy fit for the 21st century. We do this through connecting people and supporting collaboration, increasing knowledge, skills and resources, and coordinating influencing strategies and action. Join the network here.
Unlock Democracy campaign for real democracy protected by a new and codified constitution that is built and owned by the people. Unlock are building a movement demanding democracy, working to transform the UK’s political system into one that is more democratic than it ever has been.
Refreshments and snacks will be provided.

Demanding Democracy: Reinventing Politics for the 21st Century - Stretford
2023-05-18 19:15 - 21:15
Join us for the 10th anniversary of STIR magazine lecture “Demanding Democracy” with leading democratic theorist Carne Ross.
To mark the 10th anniversary of STIR magazine – on the evening before Stir to Action’s Playground for the New Economy Festival – we’re hosting a lecture on democracy delivered by Carne Ross, a writer and thinker on new forms of economy and democracy to meet the demands of the 21st century. A former British diplomat who resigned over the Iraq War, Carne founded and led Independent Diplomat, the world’s first ever non-profit diplomatic advisory group, working with democracy groups and liberation movements from Kosovo to the Western Sahara and Syria. Carne has contributed to many major publications and broadcast outlets, and is the author of two books, most recently The Leaderless Revolution: how ordinary people can take power and change politics in the 21st Century.
You can buy our 10th anniversary issue here.

ONLINE LECTURE: Class mobilisation and class consciousness: language and the ‘practical moment’
2023-05-18 20:00 - 21:30 | Online
John Foster with Jonathan White in the Chair
This lecture will examine the role of language in class mobilisation and why such moments are both difficult to sustain and critical for social transformation

Solidarity Social - Lambeth & Hackney NEU in Bethnal Green
2023-05-19 19:00 - 23:00
Solidarity Social
Called by Lambeth NEU, Hackney NEU, NHS Workers Say NO! and UCU London
6pm-7pm
Meeting with speakers from NEU activists, workers from NHS, UCU, RMT and CWU
7pm-10pm
Social supported by Strike Club London
From 6pm
Friday 19th May
Rich Mix, 35-47 Bethnal Green Road, London E1 6LA
Booking is essential
Get your free ticket here

We Make Tomorrow Conference - Manchester
2023-05-20 11:00 - 18:00
We Make Tomorrow, supported by UNISON, PCS, War On Want, NHS Workers Say No, Doctors in Unite, Campaign Against Climate Change and more, is a one day conference for building workers power on climate and crisis.
The conference will bring together union reps, members and other workers from every key sector, with union officials, climate justice activists and international guests. Together we will dig into what climate change really means for workers and how rising energy prices, inflation, falling wages and the climate crisis are not only connected but being driven by the same systems.
We start from the perspective that climate change is not a “green” issue per se, but fundamentally an issue for workers and social justice. From health and safety threats to the rising cost of living and from job losses to attacks on pay and conditions, change is unavoidable and workers’ power is more vital than ever. Join us to build it…

Levellers Day - Burford, Oxfordshire
2023-05-20 11:30 - 17:30
Saturday 20 May 2023
Republicanism then and now
10.30 Singing in the churchyard
11.00 The Commemoration, led by the Reverend Canon Professor Mark Chapman, followed by the laying of posies
11.30 The march round Burford – singing the Internationale as the march sets off
12.15 Lunch break
13.30 Confirmed speakers to date for the Levellers Day debate Republicanism & democracy now

Symon Hill history tutor at the Workers’ Education Association (WEA)
Máximo Molina Gutiérrez from Colectivo de Olvidados por la Transicion (Group of those forgotten by transition – meaning the transition to democracy from Francoism to the Spanish Republic c.1976-1980)

15.00 Break
15.15 Confirmed speakers to date for the Levellers Day conversation Republicanism & democracy then

Dr Jonathan Healey Oxford University and author of “Blazing World”
Dr Imogen Peck Assistant Professor in British History at Birmingham

16.30 Close

Marx Memorial Library at 90: Clerkenwell Our Home Our Radical History - London
2023-05-20 12:00 - 18:00 | Marx Memorial Library, 37a Clerkenwell Green, London, EC1R 0DU, United Kingdom
Open Day aimed at those who live and work in the area
join us for feature tours, refreshments and explore our archives on radical Clerkenwell

Saturday, 20 May 2023 – 11:00am
, 37A Clerkenwell Green, London, EC1R 0DU
Contact
Email: m.jump@marx-memorial-library.org.uk
Phone: 02072531485

Building a Movement for Democratic Change: Campaigns, Advocacy & More - online
2023-05-22 15:00 - 18:00 | Online
Join us to discuss what effective campaigning and advocacy looks like for us as a sector and how we can collaborate for greater impact.
We’ve been busy thinking about what effective campaigns and advocacy looks like for us as a sector, in particular, what’s worked and what needs improvement. There’s an opportunity for us as a network and as a sector to collaborate effectively, and with high impact, in the next year, and we’d like to kickstart this process with a campaign co-development workshop.

Emergency protest: Protect the right to strike - Westminster
2023-05-22 19:00 - 21:00
Multi-millionaire Tory politicians are attacking YOUR right to strike.
They’re planning to SACK key workers who take action to improve pay and conditions.
Join the emergency rally in Westminster to say: REJECT and REPEAL the Strikes Bill.
Why we are protesting
We can’t afford to lose the right to strike. But multi-millionaire Tory politicians are attacking our right to strike for better pay and fair treatment at work.
They’re planning to sack key workers who take action to improve pay and conditions. First they’re coming for paramedics, firefighters and rail workers- but who will be next?
Join the emergency protest in Westminster to demand that MPs REJECT the Strikes Bill and to demand that opposition parties commit to REPEAL the Strikes Bill.
This is our last chance to save key workers’ jobs, our last chance to save the right to a pay rise. We will not be silenced- come to the protest to make your voice heard. Protect the right to strike.
The attack on our right to strike has reached a critical point. On Monday, the Strikes Bill returns to the House of Commons where MPs will cast their final vote.
MPs will have a clear choice: will they support the right of working people to go on strike for fair pay? Or will they attack our fundamental rights and sack key workers if they take strike action?
The Tories have supported this bill at every stage, and proved they will stop at nothing to hurt working people. They have seen the impact our strikes have had, and know the public are on the side of striking workers. Their last resort is an outrageous attack on our right to strike.
On Monday, as the bill goes through its final stages, the TUC has called an emergency protest outside Parliament. Can you join and make your voice heard?
At the protest, we will hear from key workers and union leaders on what we must do next. We will not give in until these laws are defeated.
If the Tories are going to attack our right to strike, we need to make them pay a political price for it, so that they don’t attack workers’ rights again. And we need to make sure that opposition parties are committed to repealing this terrible law if they are elected. So can you join our emergency protest to call on MPs to reject and repeal the Strikes Bill?
