Category: Black workers

Conference continues debate on the cost of living

National delegate conference turned its attention to the cost of living on Friday morning.

Conference debated a trio of motions on the issue: the first calling on the NEC to continue to prioritise campaigns on the issue; the second highlighting the compound effect of the crisis on private renters and the third on the disproportionate effect of the crisis on Black workers due to the ethnicity pay gap.

Moving the first motion, Yvonne Green told conference, “Public sector workers are worried about how they’ll pay their bills.”

Tina Roach warned that “the threat of poverty is as real today as it has ever been. The level of household debt currently exceeds two trillion pounds and is rising.

“Conference, as a nation, we should be eradicating poverty. It’s a disgrace [that we’re not].”

One speaker noted how the union’s new cost of living film which was shown earlier in the conference helps bring the crisis into “sharp relief.”

Watch the powerful new film here

Speaking on the second motion, Rosita Ellis, SE regional convenor said “the ramifications of poor housing extend far beyond our members. Estimates suggest poor housing costs the NHS £1.4bn a year.

“Regrettably these issues are not confined to the private sector but also apply to social housing.”

The motion called on the NEC to campaign for Section 21 no-fault evictions to be abolished, to campaign for a fair rent system and, among other things, to affiliate to Generation Rent and publicise the organisation’s campaigns to the union’s members.

The third of the set of motions was on the ‘ethnicity pay gap’, with the mover noting that: “If this is going to be a priority in the Year of Black Workers, branches need training and advice on how to negotiate with the employer.

“Training on how to secure the best practice on analysing and reporting the ethnic pay gap and getting the employer to take positive steps to reduce the gap.”

Hugo Pierre added, in debate on an amendment to the motion: “This NEC gives its backing to the Year of Black Workers, and urges all service groups, self-organised groups, regions and most importantly branches to actively engage.

“This amendment seeks to ask you to act, and not to wait. We don’t have to wait for the next general election and a Labour government to get the ethnicity pay gap down, we should be negotiating with councils that this is a part of their work.”

All three motions carried.

The article Conference continues debate on the cost of living first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Conference celebrates – and resolves to do more – for Black workers

National delegates today underlined the union’s ongoing fight for the rights of its Black members, by passing three motions in the closing sessions of conference.

The first focussed on the ethnicity pay gap (EPG), which the union believes is a major cause of in-work poverty experienced by Black workers, and the cause of severe intergenerational inequality in Black communities.

The EPG is as high as 23.8% in London, with regional variations across the UK.

Although the government committed to asking large employers to publish information on their ethnicity pay gaps in its 2017 election manifesto, to date few companies have complied.

The introduction of mandatory monitoring of the EPG is an important measure needed to identify the disparities within the workforce and force employers to be accountable.

As one speaker told delegates: “Black workers and especially Black women continue to pay the price of being Black. Employers have to be called to account.”

Said another: “The ethnicity pay gap is a major cause of poverty. And it’s widening. Closing the gap would be great for business and would potentially boost the UK economy by £2m a year. But there’s still resistance.”

The motion calls on the national executive council to:

  • make closing the EPG a priority in the union’s bargaining, organising and campaigning agendas;
  • produce a UNISON toolkit to implement mandatory ethnicity pay gap reporting, and encourage branches to use it;
  • request that Labour Link use its influence to persuade the Labour Party to commit to creating a statutory duty on all public service employers to annually report their EPG and take steps to address disparities experienced by their Black workers.

Proposing a motion on the affects of the cost of living crisis on Black workers, Lola Oyewusi of the national Black members’ committee (main picture, above) told delegates: “Black workers and members continue to face significant hardship.

“There are more food banks today than McDonald’s. And millions of people, especially Black workers, are using food banks for everyday living. Their children are struggling, because their parents have to make a decision: do I put the heating on, or do I use the little money I have to buy food for my family.

“The energy companies are making huge profits,” she continued. “The water companies are making huge profits. The cost of living crisis is a political decision.”

Ms Oyewusi added that many Black members have been on the picket lines this year, and “deserve to be paid as well as other people.”

Jacqueline Wallis said that the cost of living crisis was having a “disproportionate effect” on Black people, especially Black women, parents and those with a disability.

Chris

And Chris Akaluka (pictured above) observed the co-relationship between low-paid and outsourced workers, adding that Black workers were most likely to be outsourced.

“The monster is outsourcing. It’s divisive and it has a racial undertone. We must support insourcing, with the right terms and conditions,” he said.

Delegates called on the NEC to provide material to branches and regions that both highlights inequalities, and shares valuable lessons from campaigns against racism inside and outside the workplace – for example where Black workers have organised and taken action against low pay or to return inhouse.

Drawing these many themes together was a motion that marked the midway point of UNISON’s 2023 Year of Black Workers – and acted as a stimulus for continued action.

The year has been an opportunity to celebrate the union’s long history of challenging racism in the workplace, to come up with practical steps for further change.

Pierre

Proposing the motion, Jason Pierre of Coventry and Warwickshire Combined Healthcare branch said: “We are hoping to establish a legacy, to introduce things that will help us better understand the needs of Black members.”

This includes a campaign toolkit for branches, which will aid their organising around Black member issues.

Lola Oyewusi said that the year was one “we can never forget”, which was both celebrating the contributions of the union’s Black members and setting down a legacy of organising and good practice “so that those coming behind us have a platform to stand on.”

She also addressed every delegate in the hall when she said: “We are all one.”

Annette Heslop agreed that “intersectionality is key” and that Black members needed “white allies” in their fight for equality.

The motion stated that “it is only by having broader conversations together, about how deep-rooted racism is in society, that it can be eradicated.”

It called on the NEC and the national Black members’ committee to:

  • continue to promote the Year of Black Workers;
  • work with all parts of the union to freshly consider their work programmes from a Black member perspective;
  • encourage all parts of the union to hold appropriate events to celebrate the Year of the Black Worker;
  • gather Black members’ experience of work and public services wherever possible;
  • continue to campaign to close the ethnicity pay gap.

UNISON 2023 Year of Black Workers

The article Conference celebrates – and resolves to do more – for Black workers first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Black History Month: Black NHS workers going above and beyond

Alvina Ware

UNISON member Alvina Ware (pictured above) is a clinical practice support worker at the Royal United Hospital (RUH) in Bath. Over the past two years, Alvina has transformed hair and skincare for Black patients at the hospital.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Alvina began to notice that elderly Black patients on her ward weren’t getting the skincare and haircare they needed – and set about to change that.

“Culturally it’s so important for our hair and skin to be oiled,” she  explains. “Skin is the biggest organ in the body, and usually when a Black elderly person is in hospital, their family will come and take care of them, bringing moisturiser and doing their hair.”

During lockdown, when family visits were banned, Alvina started bringing her own products from home to make sure that Black elderly people in her ward were taken care of.

“I kept seeing people who were Black, sick or dying, and when their family members weren’t able to come in due to lockdown, they didn’t have the right products for their hair and skin. I knew their families at home would be so upset if they knew their hair wasn’t right and they didn’t have what they needed for their skin.

“I remember seeing a Black gentleman in one of the bays who had really dry legs, but no moisturiser, and the shops were shut because of lockdown. I asked him what cream he usually uses at home and he said Palmers, which I had in my bag. I decanted it into a bottle for him. He was so happy.”

This was a lightbulb moment for Alvina. “As a Black woman, I know how important hair is. I began to ask: what products do we have in hospitals for Black patients? Are they suitable?”

Alvina visited the on-site charity that provides basic wash bags for patients – including things like soap, a toothbrush and shower gel – to see if she could get some supplies for her patient. When she asked whether there was anything suitable for Black skin, the answer was no.

“I said to myself: I need to get these products onto the ward.”

With the help of UNISON, Alvina produced a patient care guide for hospital staff on Black hair and skin. UNISON also helped her purchase small trial packs of moisturiser and hair products, afro combs and silk caps to hand to Black patients.

Patient care guide for black hair

Patient care guide for black hair

“I took the packs round to all the wards, and also gave them to Black hospital workers. It was good to make them feel included, because when we get freebies, they’re often products made for white skin. We’re particular with our coconut oils and cocoa butters.”

Alvina has since become the RUH inclusion ambassador, and the hospital has committed to replenish the care packs for Black patients. Alvina now teaches a module on Black hair and skin to healthcare assistants and student nurses, with the dual aim of “demystifying Black hair for white colleagues” and making sure that Black patients get the care they need.

Alvina Ware and Sherron Watson

Alvina Ware and Sherron Watson, inclusion ambassadors at RUH Bath

“I noticed that my white colleagues were too afraid to ask people’s family members how to look after Black hair and skin, so it was left to me to do it. I recommend that white healthcare workers just ask, and be educated. Otherwise, we end up with our poor elders all dried up in their beds.”

Alvina is proud of what she’s achieved, and knows there’s still more to be done. She sees Black History Month as a “celebration”, and this year she’ll be using the opportunity to run Black hair tutorials for hospital workers.

Chris Akaluka

UNISON Newham healthcare branch secretary Chris Akaluka (pictured below) is a security supervisor for Barts Health NHS trust. Like Alvina, he also sees Black History Month as a celebration. In October, his branch is coordinating an event to celebrate Black members’ talents and skills outside of work. It’s titled ‘Much More Than You Are’.

Chris says: “We want to give people the opportunity to feel a sense of belonging, to look beyond their bands and the colours of their uniform.

“In the NHS, we have a problem I refer to as ‘bandism’, where people on higher bands look down on those on lower bands. I don’t think people are always aware they do this, but sometimes people want to know what band you’re on before they decide if what you say is relevant.”

In the NHS, where only 7.4% of workers on highest bands are Black, the ‘bandism’ Chris describes becomes a racialised problem.

“The event is an opportunity to truly create an all-inclusive environment. People participating in this exhibition cut across all bands in our branch. It’s an opportunity to tell everybody that they are truly much more than their band, and their job. We have people who will be showing film, fashion designs, food, photography and performing songs. I have an MA in film, and I’ll be showing my films.”

As winter approaches and the cost of living crisis bites, Chris believes the timing for the event is key.

“The COVID-19 pandemic had a devastating impact on Black NHS workers. A lot of my colleagues right now are still going through some sort of PTSD. The cost of living crisis is impacting the Black community too, because most of us tend to take up lower paid jobs. People are forging along despite these challenges, and we want to help take people’s minds off the difficult times and have a good laugh.”

Chris feels conflicted on the idea of Black History Month: “The idea of devoting a month of October each year to Black history and celebrating the brilliance of Black people is great, however a lot more work needs to be done to improve the experiences of Black people all year round.”

Chris’ branch recently won a key insourcing campaign for Black members. After outsourcing several hospital services to Serco in 2016, thanks to UNISON, Barts Health NHS Trust will now directly employ 1,800 workers from May 2023.

“Around 90% of these workers are Black, and we’re preparing for this insourcing by partnering with North East London College and Serco to provide free English lessons to members who don’t have English as a first language. This means that they’ll have more opportunities when they become part of the NHS workforce. Some of them have degrees from other countries, but they have never had interviews in the UK. We want to make sure they can take any opportunity that comes their way.”

Rosita Ellis

Rosita Ellis works for the NHS in Oxfordshire to improve access to healthcare for Black patients. She says: “My priority is to get more access to the health service for the Black community, so they can access better health outcomes. For example, there’s a lot of hesitancy around the COVID-19 vaccine in the Black community, and I’ve been working to increase vaccine uptake.”

Rosita is the first Black woman to become a UNISON regional convenor for the South East region.

She first joined UNISON to advocate for Black workers’ rights. “I saw a Black worker being bullied by a senior manager, and I knew I had to do something. I trained as a UNISON steward and supported the person to make sure the manager’s behaviour changed.”

Since then, Rosita has served in several positions for the union, working her way up from Black members’ officer to branch chair for Oxfordshire Health and then regional Black members chair. She’s proud to be the first Black woman to be a regional convenor for her region.

“You don’t see an awful lot of Black members of committees. On a lot of the committees I go to, I’m the only Black face. A lot of these committees are white faces. That needs to change. Just as NHS England are keen that they see more Black people in the higher ranks of the NHS, I’m keen to see more Black people in the higher echelons of UNISON and become more active.”

Rosita wants to see UNISON leading the way on race, not just for one month. “Black History Month needs to be celebrated, but throughout the year. There’s a lot of achievements that Black people have made that need to be celebrated more. UNISON should be leading the way on this.”

UNISON national officer for health Sara Gorton says: “Black History Month is a chance to celebrate and recognise Black people throughout history, whose achievements have often been ignored or overlooked. This October, we wanted to showcase the work of some of our Black members working in the NHS who we think are “making history now”.

Healthcare staff and union reps can make a huge difference to people’s lives – from giving patients the care they need, to supporting others when they have problems at work and leading collective change in their workplace. These are the things that can change people’s lives immeasurably and that’s why we want to celebrate our members and share their inspirational stories.”

Black members equality

The article Black History Month: Black NHS workers going above and beyond first appeared on the UNISON National site.