GMBX17Autumn15 (PDF)

GMB @ Medway

Jour nal

GMB Medway General branch newsletter, Autumn 2015

GMB General Secretary election, candidates
make pitch for your vote

Southern
Region
Your GMB branch
GMB Medway General
www.gmbmedway.org.uk
GMBMedwayBranch
gmbmedway@yahoo.co.uk
Office 01634 332855 (Tue & Wed)
Branch secretary 07419 988901
Council convenor 07419 990627

Your GMB offices
Tim Roache, the GMB Yorkshire &
North Derbyshire regional secretary

Paul McCarthy, the GMB North West
& Irish regional secretary

Had success in building membership
and getting more reps in schools

Had success in building membership
in supermarket stores in North West

Get your ballot paper in before noon Wed 11 November!

GMB @ Medway Council ­ GMB Union calls
for a REAL pay rise
GMB Medway's Council
Convenor Vicky West
and Branch Secretary
Ryan Gallagher were at
Gun Wharf offices on 4
November 2015. They
asked staff on how they
felt being given a 0.6%
rise last time around,
compared to the 1.1%
rise given by most other
councils in Britain.
The branch spoke to many members and non­members and the
vast majority of staff so far do not seem valued by the Council's
local pay policies.
Only 23 staff were designated 'excellent' by Medway and gained
an extra 0.4% on their pay. But even these 23 staff members are
paid less than the 1.1% rise paid by the majority of councils.
Members told us that they were encouraged to see us there and
thanked us for coming along ­ and we recruited some extra
members too. GMB are campaigning across the country for all
staff to be paid at least the LIVING WAGE with a REAL pay rise.

GMB Welling Office
020 8303 3407
infowelling@gmb.org.uk
GMB Thanet Office
01843 609317
infothanet@gmb.org.uk

Your GMB region
GMB Southern Region
020 8397 1588
infoso@gmb.org.uk
www.gmb­southern.org.uk
Regional Secretary
Paul Maloney
General Secretary
Paul Kenny

Branch
Notices
The Winter 2015 branch meeting is being
held Wednesday 9th December 2015 6PM
at:
Room 23, Hopewell Business Centre, 105
Hopewell Drive, Chatham, ME5 7DX
Every member of the branch is eligible to
attend. Just let us know if you want to attend
by emailing infothanet@gmb.org.uk with
your name and membership number.

GMB Medway launch new website

The media hates him, but what will Corbyn's
leadership of Labour mean for you and the GMB?
JEREMY CORBYN won the Labour leadership
elections with a resounding mandate of nearly
60% of the vote.
But what will it mean for GMB members and our
union as a whole?
Out of all Labour's leadership candidates, Corbyn
provided the most policy detail and it's already
clear what a Corbyn­led Labour government will
look like:

YOUR GMB BRANCH has launched a new
website at www.gmbmedway.org.uk
At the Summer branch meeting in July 2015
the branch committee agreed to look into
acquiring a branch website in an effort to
improve communication with members.
Branch secretary Ryan Gallagher stated that
'the branch has never had a website before
but we felt it was key to have as many
avenues open as possible, in order for
members to know what the branch is doing
and how they can contact us.'
The branch also opened up a new Facebook
page earlier in the year. Branch auditor Max
Nicholls who is mainly responsible for the
Facebook page told us 'it's been worth having
because members are using the page for
advice as well as a means of contacting the
branch secretary.'
The new website however is more than just a
means of communication, it also features
initial employment law advice and information
as well as highlighting all the features of GMB
membership.
The website was built through Pellacraft, a
British design company which is run by GMB
members. Designs for the website were
presented to branch members at the Autumn
2015 branch meeting and were met with
approval.

* Publicly­owned railway network and operators
* Building affordable housing
* Giving people greater employment rights
* Ending tax­avoidance by big corporations
* Giving small business a fairer deal
* Universal free childcare system
* Free university education
* Stop privatisation of NHS
There's a lot here for the GMB union to support and much to please many
GMB members too.
How will he fund it?
The key to Corbyn's plans to grow the UK economy by prioritising
manufacturing and creative industries. This is in contrast to the Tories'
prioritising the finance sector which lost £1.5 trillion in the stock market
casino back in 2008. It's little wonder that big finance are generous
donators to Tory funds. Corbyn's second key policy is that of ending
corporation tax loopholes, which if were plugged would wipe out the UK
deficit overnight. Corbyn's economic policies are not pie in the sky and
have have been backed by famous economists such as David
Blanchflower and the American New York Times columnist Paul Krugman.
It needs to be noted that Corbyn's election victory (and his policies) have
not gone down well with everyone.
Who opposes Corbyn?
Some Blairites
Some in Labour such as Tony Blair, David Blunkett and Peter Mandelson
resisted Corbyn's new direction for the Party, even calling for an immediate
leadership coup. However many other 'Blairites' have called for unity in
Labour to give the best chance of election victory in 2020.
Tories

Medway branch
delegates

looks

for

Labour

MEDWAY BRANCH is
looking to increase
close links with a revit­
alised Labour Party.
Members at the Autumn branch meeting on 30
September 2015 discussed Mr Corbyn's victory in
the leadership election and spoke of the
importance of GMB's voice in the Labour Party.
Medway Labour group leader and GMB member
Vince Maple told the branch meeting of the
doubling of the Labour membership in Medway.
Many of whom are likely to also be GMB members.
The branch is hoping that some Labour and GMB
members will apply to become delegates from our
branch to their local Constituency Labour Party
(CLP). Our goal is that each of the three Medway
CLPs will have GMB Medway delegates, but the
branch will also look to affiliate to other CLPs
across northern Kent. If you're a Labour Party
member get in touch with us and let us know if you
wish to become a delegate.

After first meeting Corbyn's campaign with ridicule, many Tories are
starting to fear his leadership. Many of Corbyn's policies are popular even
among Conservative and Ukip voters, particularly rail nationalisation.
Corbyn threatens the Tories' privatisation agenda, but it is mainly Corbyn's
planned crackdown on tax avoidance by big corporations (many are big
donors to the Conservative Party) which really hits home. The opposition
of tax­avoiding corporations leads us on to the next category.
Most national newspapers
What do the Daily Mail, Daily Express, Daily Telegraph, The Sun, the
Guardian, Daily Star, the Observer and the Times have in common?
The answer: these newspapers all opposed Corbyn's campaign and
they've all been exposed as being involved in tax­avoidance schemes.
Corbyn's Response
Corbyn will never win over Britain's national daily newspapers, most of
which will always support the Conservative Party. But he is cultivating a
grassroots campaign which reaches beyond the pro­Tory bias of the
mainstream media. A media which wants to dodge tax and is unafraid of
using its front pages to smear Jeremy Corbyn and his leadership.