Black actionNEWSLETTER FOR UNISON BLACK MEMBERS AUTUMN 2016

UNISON EQUALITYBLACK MEMBERS

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Black action Autumn 2016

UNISON’s Ethical Care CharterBy Tania McGee, UNISON national Black members committee

Public services are currently facing the huge challenge of increased demand for services, combined with reduced spending power. The former is a result of growing numbers of older people, and greater numbers of people with disabilities living into adulthood. The latter is down to funding pressures.

In 2012 UNISON conducted a survey of homecare workers and attracted 431 responses. The responses showed a committed but poorly paid and treated workforce that was doing its best to maintain good levels of quality care in a system that is in crisis. The report also highlighted how poor terms and conditions for workers can help to contribute towards lower standards of care for people in receipt of homecare services.

For homecare services in particular, many councils have tried to meet these challenges by cutting costs through commissioning – booking care on the basis of time and tasks. This means any risk is being passed to providers, and then on to care workers through the terms and conditions on which they are employed.

While this does make savings, it is less certain whether this provides the best service for people who rely on care services to remain living independently in their own homes.

Based on discussions with care workers and service users, and observing homecare services at work, it is clear that unduly short visits means workers are not able to carry out their duties with compassion. They do not have time to relate to the people they are caring for and so do not help people feel safer and more supported in their homes.

Feedback also shows that short visits prevented a more flexible, responsive approach to homecare being adopted. Allowing care workers to focus on the user and pick up on the small things that matter to an individual helps in delivering the best support possible.

Care workers should be given the flexibility to spend time with service users and improve relationships with them. They are better placed to notice gradual changes in their health and well-being and report back, so they could adapt the level of care provided and give better support.

But what about the cost? Some councils that have embraced electronic monitoring and focused on billing by the minute may think a more flexible approach – one that does not constantly monitor the money and amount of care commissioned – must cost more. But when homecare activity was reviewed it showed a need for a higher level of care among older residents. Average visit lengths are around one hour and many people’s needs required several visits each day.

It is clear that keeping older people healthy in their own homes and out of hospital or residential care

is essential. The amount saved by keeping people in their home rather

than in more expensive settings far outweighs any small savings that might be achieved by cutting back on how care is commissioned and paid for.

The benefits of such an approach are clear. If homecare services are to help reduce unnecessary use of hospital’s accident and emergency services, enable speedier discharge and prevent or delay placement in residential care, then a better skilled, more stable workforce is essential.

Raising the minimum wage is especially important for women, especially Black women because:

• Women in the workforce are more highly concentrated in low-wage sectors such as personal care and healthcare support occupations.

• Women account for more than half (55%) of all workers who would benefit from increasing the minimum wage.

• Women should be offered a level of guaranteed hour employment.

• Zero hours contracts need to be eliminated.

Find out more and get involved in UNISON’s Save Care Now campaign: www.savecarenow.org.uk

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Sam King rememberedBy Angela Anderson, Black members officer, Wandsworth UNISON branch

Prior to his death on 18 June 2016, I never knew who Sam King was or what he did for Black people and Britain.

Sam King, who came to Britain from Jamaica on the SS Windrush in 1948 died at the age of 90. Mr. King was born in Portland, Jamaica in 1926 and following the outbreak of the Second World War he joined the RAF aged 18 after seeing an advert in his local newspaper seeking volunteers.

He was told that if Hitler succeeded in his efforts, slavery would be

reintroduced in the West Indies. Mr. King was then posted to the fighter station RAF Hawking near Folkestone where he served as an engineer. Even though he was not from the UK, Sam understood the importance of countries joining forces to defeat Hitler’s regime and said it was an honour.

Following the war, he returned to Jamaica, but unhappy with life in the West Indies, he bought a passage on the Empire Windrush and returned to London where he rejoined the RAF and eventually worked for the Royal Mail. He later became an active campaigner in the community.

Sam King was also a driving force behind Britain’s first Black newspaper, the West Indian Gazette. He made history when he was elected as the Mayor of Southwark in 1983. He was the first Black person

to hold this position. In 1998 as part of the 50th anniversary of the Windrush he received an MBE because of his tireless work in the community.

Many arrived in Britain from the West Indies and were given jobs working for London Transport and a room to share with four to five other men, but Sam King wanted to build a community for the new arrivals and to make them feel at home.

He helped to organise a festival that later became the Notting Hill Carnival, Britain’s first multicultural street festival. It now attracts more than one million people each year, making it one of the largest street festivals in the world. The Notting Hill Carnival has been named as one of the most iconic elements of British culture. I have attended this carnival and subsequently my children and we have thoroughly enjoyed it.

Black Lives MatterThe protest movement ‘Black Lives Matter’, first launched in the United States (US) has made its mark in Britain. It started initially as a hashtag on social media in 2013 after the acquittal of George Zimmerman, who killed unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin. Since then, a lot more killing of unarmed Black people have occurred in the US.

It’s the same war going on against Black people both in the US and UK.

Statistics show an alarming gulf between the experiences of Black and white people in Britain – in education, criminal justice and prison systems, and employment.

Stop and search is heavily targeted at young Black men – who are four

times more likely to be stopped by police than young white men – while people from Black communities are far more likely to go to prison than a white person committing a similar offence.

Research shows a disproportionate number of those who have died as a result of the use of force in police custody were from Black groups. Despite numerous scandals over abuse at immigration detention centres and allegations of brutality used during deportations, no criminal charges have ever been brought against anyone.

August 2016 marks the fifth anniversary of the police shooting of Mark Duggan, a 29 year old Black man whose death sparked riots that spread across Britain in the summer of 2011, and whose inquest verdict of lawful killing is now being challenged by his family.

Also remembered is Jimmy Mubenga, the 46-year-old who suffocated while being forcibly restrained by three G4S security guards on a deportation flight to Angola. The three security guards were acquitted of manslaughter, and the judge in the case refused to accept that streams of racist texts on phones of two of the men were relevant.

There are also Sean Riggs and Sheku Bayoh who both died while in police custody and their families are still fighting for justice

Deaths in the hands of police officers are not just happening in the US, they are happening in the UK as well. We need to stand together in solidarity to stamp out the inequality and discrimination that is highly prevalent in this society that we live in.

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Black action Autumn 2016

Fighting ignoranceBy Ishrt Raouf, national Black members committee and deputy chair of UNISON Yorkshire and Humberside Black members committee.

Ishrt works in administration and patient liaison for Sheffield health and social care trust. Here she write for Black Action to raise awareness of Islamophobia.

We need to look at how to prevent the demonisation of people. We need to break down the ignorance that breeds mistrust.

You don’t have to look far for evidence of Islamophobia in all its guises. Whether it is mild prejudice sometimes dressed as humour; unwitting and ill-informed behaviour; or outright abuse and violence, it is rarely far from the news. Tactless ignorance can often be displayed by those who should know better. David Cameron has pointed the finger at Muslim women as needing to improve their English when he announced more money for teaching our language even though other faiths and newcomers to Britain would also benefit from greater fluency.

Shortly after Nadiya Hussain won the high-profile The Great British Bake-Off competition she said she feared she was “putting her kids in danger” after being targeted by anti-Islamic trolls on Twitter.

Monitoring prejudice

Even a woman who serves on a government advisory board to tackle anti-Muslim hatred was recently subjected to Islamophobic abuse while in a car with her young daughter. And of course behind the headlines are many more stories of prejudice that Muslims face as they go about their working lives.

Crimes and abuse against Muslims have until very recently been hard to document. Only since last October have all police forces been obliged to record Islamophobic crimes separately and treat them as

seriously as anti-Semitic attacks. The move came shortly after London’s Metropolitan Police, one of the few forces to record the crimes separately before the directive, reported that Islamophobic crime had risen 70% in the year to last July.

There are no moves yet to ensure that employers, including large organisations and big companies, follow suit. So unions are likely to come under increasing pressure from activists to fill that workplace void and conduct surveys of their members to try to paint a better picture of how anti-Muslim behaviour not only involves crimes on the street, but affects people at work.

By far the most comprehensive monitoring of Islamophobia is undertaken by the national organisation Tell MAMA (Measuring Anti-Muslim Attacks). This year they predict that 2,000 incidents will be logged. Tell MAMA recently reported many shocking incidents including a Muslim midwife who quit her job after a woman about to give birth said she didn’t want her baby delivered by a terrorist.

People who feel they are the victims of Islamophobia or are witnesses to such behaviour and want to do something about it, should contact their union’s equality committees as well as the police if necessary and that they should inform employers.

UNISON regional manager Steve Torrance said: “UNISON members are at the forefront of battling the rise in Islamophia and helping eradicate the ignorance that exists in wider society. Some right-wing elements

in society are trying to scapegoat a whole religion for atrocities carried out by extremist fundamentalists”.

Flashpoints

Parts of Yorkshire have become flashpoints for anti-Islamic behaviour despite the fact that, like London, they have long-standing Muslim communities. In towns such as Rotherham, where incidents are particularly high, much of the abuse can be attributed to a high presence of the English Defence League. Last August, Mushin Ahmed, an 81-year-old Muslim grandfather in Rotherham, died after being beaten on his way to a mosque early one morning.

And the elderly are not the only easy target of those who attack Muslims. Being dressed quite obviously as a Muslim is probably the reason why more women than men suffer anti-Islamic abuse and assaults. And, with great irony, the perpetrators often say that one of the reasons that they dislike Islam is because they believe it oppresses women.

I don’t encounter significant Islamophobia at work but this changes during Ramadan when I dress more obviously in Muslim attire. It’s one month when I want to follow my faith. But I get a number of disapproving looks from colleagues and comments like: “Why are you wearing that funny garb?”

I’ve never seen it as my job to correct ignorance; it is up to people not to be ignorant. You can’t teach people compassion but you can make people aware of how their behaviour affects others.

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The persecution of the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar

The Rohingya are a Bengali-speaking ethnic Muslim group of about one million people living in the Rakhine state of Myanmar.

The UN calls the Rohingya the most persecuted minority in the world. They have attained this unwanted title due to the mass prosecution they face on a day-to-day basis that is sponsored by the state of Myanmar itself.

At least 140,000 of the Rohingya live in impoverished ghetto-like camps; they are unable to move out of these camps without government permission, which is rarely granted. Myanmar does not recognise the Rohingya as one of the 135 official ethnic groups, resulting in them not being counted as group of people in the 2011 census.

To attain citizenship they need to prove they have lived in Myanmar for 60 years: although the Rohingya can trace their arrival in Myanmar as far back as they 16th century they are denied paperwork to prove their citizenship. Without papers they are stateless; unable to vote, unable to get married legally; unable to get a job, access health services, get an education; and are denied the freedom to practice their faith.

The extremist group 969 led by a monk, Ashin Wirathu has been responsible for violence against the Rohingya that has resulted in the deaths of countless people.

The situation for the Rohinya is so desperate that many have tried to leave on unsafe overcrowded boats. They often become the victims of

trafficking or are denied asylum by neighbouring countries and are left adrift at sea.

It was hoped that with Aung San Su Kyi winning the 2015 election things would improve for the Rohingya. However this has not been the case as she has refused to refer to the Rohingya as the Rohingya and has remained painfully silent on their persecution.

These are a people facing the very real threat of Genocide; the International State Crime Initiative has five levels of genocide, the Rohingya have already been stigmatised, harassed, isolated in camps and refused a vote, all that remains is mass annihilation. In recognition

of this UNISON’s national Black members conference 2016 agreed to pass a motion highlighting the plight of the Rohingya and working with UNISON’s International Committee to raise concerns with Aung San Su Kyi.

Black people know what it is to suffer racism and discrimination; we cannot stay quiet while a whole group is annihilated.

UNISON’s work plan for MyanmarFollowing a resolution from the 2015 National Black members conference a referral to the international committee was made and a UNISON plan of work has been agreed. It includes:

• engaging the TUC to raise the plight of the Rohingya with its sister federation in Myanmar

• calling on the UK worker representative to the International Labour Organization to raise the issue of the right of the Rohingya to decent work

• writing to the Burma Campaign UK to continue to put pressure on the UK government and others to stop the persecution of the Rohingya

• working with Amnesty International and other non-governmental organisations campaigning against forced labour and trafficking of the Rohingya.

UNISON also works with other organisations like Amnesty International to help the Rohingya Muslims. Find out more about UNISON’s international work at:

www.unison.org.uk/international

Ishrt Raouf

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Black action Autumn 2016

The Race Equality Charter By Liz Baptiste, UNISON national Black members committee and UNISON national executive committee member

The Equality Challenge Unit’s Race Equality Charter (REC) aims to improve the representation, progression and success of minority ethnic staff and students within higher education.

In 2010/11 the Equality Challenge Unit (ECU) conducted research on Black staff in public services and higher education. The conclusion from the research found that there was a pressing need to prioritise race equality for Black staff and students in public services and higher education, and for a vehicle to guide action across the sector.

A framework was designed and, following positive feedback from sector stakeholders in 2012, the ECU began to develop a Race Equality Charter Mark.

The ECU trialled the framework of this charter in 2015 and 32 institutions were chosen to be part of the trial. In the end 21 institutions applied for an award.

The results of the first round were published in August 2015 and eight out of the 21 institutions were successful. They are:

• De Montfort University

• King’s College

• Kingston University

• Royal Holloway University of London

• Staffordshire University

• University of Hertfordshire

• University College London (incorporating the Institute of Education)

• University of Manchester

These first awards are valid until 31 July 2018.

Since the trial, an evaluation has taken place and further changes have been made. ECU’s Race Equality

Charter Mark was fully launched in January 2016 and is open to all higher education institutions across the country.

The Race Equality Charter is based on five guiding principles:

1. Racial inequalities are a significant issue within higher education. Racial inequalities are not necessarily overt, isolated incidents. Racism is an everyday facet of UK society and racial inequalities manifest themselves in everyday situations, processes and behaviours.

2. UK higher education cannot reach its full potential unless it can benefit from the talents of the whole population and until individuals from all ethnic backgrounds can benefit equally from the opportunities it affords.

3. In developing solutions to racial inequalities, it is important that they are aimed at achieving long-term institutional culture change, avoiding a deficit model where solutions are aimed at changing the individual.

4. Minority ethnic staff and students are not a homogenous group. People from different ethnic

backgrounds have different experiences of and outcomes

from/within higher education, and that complexity needs to be considered in analysing data and developing actions.

5. All individuals have multiple identities, and the intersection of those different identities should be considered wherever possible.

To join, the REC institutions are required to submit a letter of endorsement from the vice-chancellor, or equivalent from the university.

In addition to formally sign-up to the charter mark principles, institutions must consider the following before applying:

• Which staff and students to include

• Commitment from senior management

• Time and resources

• Building stakeholder commitment

• Cross-institutional working.

UNISON has supported the development and implementation of the Race Equality Charter and continues to call for a strong leadership commitment from government, senior managers and UK universities to interact with Black staff and trade unions to drive forward race equality in universities.

If you would like your institution to apply you will need to speak to your branch so they can liaise with the senior management team at your institution.

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Black Organ DonationBy Lilian Adani, UNISON national Black members committee

Nine thousand people in the UK need an organ transplant but unfortunately, only 3,000 people a year receive one.

One thousand will die waiting.

While kidney failure is not usually life threatening, symptoms can be painful and life limiting. For people needing a heart, liver or lung transplant, it is usually their last hope.

The situation is worse among Black people waiting for a transplant. On average, patients from Black communities will wait a year longer for a kidney transplant than a white patient, due to the lack of suitable organs. And the lack of Black donors is part of the problem.

James Lungu from Kent was diagnosed with a kidney disease and was in need of a kidney transplant in 2004. His nephrologist consultant said that because of his rare blood group it could take at least 10 years to find a kidney donor on the NHS waiting list.

He told his family in Malawi that he might need a kidney donation from a family member, but no one volunteered. James said: “I think due to the lack of transplant programs in most parts of Africa, the subject was unfamiliar.

Culturally I believe it was not the norm for them to donate an organ. I believe in Africa people will go as far as donating blood, but that’s about what they can stomach.”

In 2007 his friend Chikondi, who lived in the UK, came forward to offer his kidney, but his blood group did not match James’s.

He eventually received his transplant when a matching kidney from a dead donor was found in May 2010, after six years on dialysis.

Donors are needed for all races and ethnic groups. Transplant success

rates increase when organs are matched between members of the same ethnic background. With not enough Black organ donors, Black patients are over-represented on the transplant waiting list.

Rosaline Mpofu from Glasgow is still waiting for a kidney transplant. After two years on dialysis, she feels physically and mentally drained and life revolves around her thrice-weekly dialysis appointments.

She too was told the chances of getting a transplant were diminished by the lack of Black organ donors. She said: “It’s a conversation we need to have among Black people.

I think the resistance may be religious or cultural, I don’t know. But we need to get out there to explain the huge difference it can make to people’s lives when they donate their organs.

I knew little about organ donation myself. Now I have talked with my family about it and they have agreed

to become organ donors. Not enough has been done to make Black people aware of the shortages that exist.”

Stella Adani, a teacher from Nottingham is one Black person who decided to become a donor more than 20 years ago.

She said “I have seen a lot of fatalities on the road and have known a lot of people buried with healthy organs. In my mind I have always thought ‘what a waste’. I had a friend who was on long-term dialysis but he eventually died because of lack of donors.

It is a taboo in some Black communities to have organs removed but I think people need to be educated more on the subject.”

It is quick and easy to join the NHS Organ Donor Register. To learn more visit: www.organdonation.nhs.uk or contact their 24 hour donor line on 0300 123 23 23.

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Black action Autumn 2016

Published and printed by UNISON, UNISON Centre, 130 Euston Road, London NW1 2AY. CU/SEPTEMBER 2016/24041/2615/UNP 14438.

Black Members’ Regional Contacts

Eastern RegionTim Roberts T.Roberts@unison.co.uk Telephone: 01245 608 913National Committee Reps: Rodney Williams, Tianna Wright/Nicola Francis (job-share)

East Midlands RegionTonia WilliamsT.Williams@unison.co.ukTelephone: 0115 847 5404National Committee Reps: Sudeep Bone, Ash Dhobi, Audrey Dinnall

Greater London RegionHelen ReynoldsH.Reynolds@unison.co.ukTelephone: 0800 0 857 857National Committee Reps: Clive Anthony, Elizabeth Baptiste, Margaret Greer

Northern RegionAlistair MacDonaldAlistair.MacDonald@unison.co.ukTelephone: 0191 245 0878 National Committee Reps: Iqbal Syed, Lilian Adani

Northern Ireland RegionNathalie Donnelly N.Donnelly@unison.co.uk Telephone: 028 9027 0190National Committee Reps: Vacant

North West RegionNeelam BhambraN.Bhambra@unison.co.ukTelephone: 07908124592National Committee Reps: Kim Johnson, Azara Azam, Calvin Smeda

Scotland RegionPeter HunterP.Hunter@unison.co.uk Telephone: 0131 226 0072National Committee Reps: Rakiya SuleimanPeter Sharma

South East RegionSam WinesS.Wines@unison.co.uk Telephone: 01483 406511National Committee RepsJudy Richards/Rosita Ellis (job-share)

Tania McGee/Jed Murray (job-share)

South West RegionMichael Auguste M.Auguste@unison.co.uk Telephone: 01392 442 659 National Committee Reps: Kitty Smith, Jonai Da Silva/ Nathan Aljoe (job-share)

Cymru / Wales RegionHugh McDyerH.McDyer@unison.co.uk Telephone: 01792 483903National Committee Reps: Sam Singh/Kebba Manneh (job-share), Pam Singh

West Midlands RegionKeith McKenzie K.McKenzie@unison.co.uk Telephone: 012 1685 3169National Committee Reps: Sharon Dixon, Jacqueline Burton, Manjula Kumari

Yorkshire & Humberside RegionSultan MahmoodS.Mahmood@unison.co.uk Telephone: 011 3218 2339National Committee Reps: Reginald Hamilton, Kuldeep Bajwa, Ishrt Raouf

National Disabled Members’CommitteeChelsea Skervin, Jacqueline Jones

National Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender CommitteeBev Miller, Asha Wolfe-Robinson

National Women’s CommitteeDavena Rankin, Pam Sian

Black NEC membersAbiola Kusoro, April Ashley, Elizabeth Cameron, Hugo Pierre

Black action wants to hear from youBlack action is UNISON’s publication for Black members and activists.

It provides information and guidance on the most relevant UNISON campaigns and issues affecting Black members and communities.

We want to hear from you. Black members are invited to share:

• Thoughts on Black Action articles and campaigns

• Black member branch and regional activity and campaigns

• Information on recruitment events

• Personal stories and experiences from the workplace and in UNISON

• Good practice in setting up Black members self-organised groups.

To contribute and discuss your ideas further please email blackmembers@unison.co.uk with a brief outline of what you would like to include. Articles may be edited.

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members conference 2017

20 – 22 January 2017Brighton CentreRegistration is now open,

please contact your branch to attend.