P6 SAVING LIVES AT GUNPOINT P9 MISTER 100 …

1 P9 MISTER 100 PER CENTNew regional secretary John Caffertyexplains why he s a trade unionistSUMMER 2011 | ISSUE 9 | SHOWS THE WAYHow a determined shop stewardfought for mental health centresTHE MAGAZINE FOR MEMBERS IN YORKSHIRE AND HUMBERSIDEUNISONWENDY S WAR One woman s fight for the NHS - withthe backing of her familyp22-24P6 SAVING LIVES AT GUNPOINTRay Gray reveals what it is like to bea member of International RescueNEWSLETTERWINNER P. 4 ACTIVE!General SecretaryDave Prentis Regional SecretaryJohn CaffertyRegional ConvenorWendy NicholsUNISON Yorkshire & HumbersideCommerce House, Wade Lane, Leeds LS2 8NJ T: 0845 355 0845 or freephone textphone 08000 967 968 are open 6am-midnightMonday-Friday and 9am-4pm SaturdaysEditorBarrie ClementConsulting EditorMary MaguireChief PhotographerJim VarneyContributorsMarion Batten, Peter Carroll, RobDemaine, Alan Hughes, Mary Maguire, wendy nichols , Dave Prentis, PaulRoutledge, Margaret ThomasCover ImageRobert BoardmanPublished on behalf of unison byCentury One Publishing Row, 27-31 Verulam RoadSt.

2 Albans, Herts AL3 4 DGT:01727 893 894 F:01727 893 895 E: enquiriesSean PowerT:01727 739 and art editingMike Wright, Heena Gudka and Sarah RyanT:01727 739 185 byUnison PrintCopyright reproduction in whole or part by anymeans without writtenpermission of thepublisher is strictlyforbidden. unison andthe publisher accept noresponsibility forerrors, omissions orthe consequencesthereof. unison 2011 SUMMER 2011 unison ACTIVE!03 WELCOMEWe are about toenter the mostcritical periodin our union s public services areunder threat as neverbefore. Jobs are goingby the thousand, pay isfrozen and ourpensions are deemedtoo good so they mustbe attack on publicsector pensions hasnever really goneaway. Envy iswhipped up by theestablishment whohave the most, butwant to pay the of the self-righteous rage aboutpublic sector gold-plated pensionscomes from those whohave done pretty wellfor government ishappy to go alongwith this pensionsfrenzy and wants tocut public sectorprovision, regardlessof the evidence thatthey are sustainableand affordable.

3 If we have to takeaction to defend ourpensions, our resolvewill be tested to thelimit. And if I thoughtthat a one-day strike,a march and a rallywould change thegovernment sposition, we d havedone it by no mistake,this will be a long-drawn out battle. Wewill have to use smartaction, remaindisciplined andunited and workclosely with otherpublic sector have been leadingthe talks on behalf ofthe unions with thegovernment andhoping for the as generalsecretary of unison ,I have been planningfor the worst. We will have toballot more than onemillion members, wewill have to use allthe resources of theunion to back we are forced toballot for strikeaction, we must workall-out to get amassive turn-out andan overwhelming FOR BATTLEDAVEPRENTISGENERALSECRETARYThey re depending on usIn every area of our publicservices we are now seeing thereal human cost of the savagegovernment spending as we have warnedsince the general election, it isthe most vulnerable who are onthe coalition government s hit this edition of unison Active!

4 Weonce again see how services to youngpeople who are neither in work noreducation are being young people are beingabandoned. As our members whowork with them tell us, we arecreating a lost generation whowill undoubtedly be at greater riskof falling into a life of crime, drugsand health service has never beenat greater risk of destruction. Thegovernment says it believes in theprinciples of the NHS but is busyopening it up for the government s so-called listening exercise on the NHS has been taking place, real wards in realhospitals have been closing. The pausein the NHS re-organisation has beennothing more than a public University is leading thecharge on our members pensions byending the final salary scheme andforcing the lowest paid workers tocontribute much more for a far lowerpension at the end of their workinglives.

5 Others will follow in unison we are prepared forwhatever it takes to protect jobs andessential services aganst thisunprecedented attack. The communitieswe live and work in are depending on us. ACTIVE!SUMMER 2011 NEWSThe judges were spoiled for choiceThanks very mucheveryone for yourentries to ournewslettercompetition (Active!Spring edition). It was extremelydifficult to decidewho should be thewinner. In fact wedecided to choosejoint winners whowill each receive 350 in high first wereBradford localgovernment branchand the City ofSheffield localgovernment !The judges feltthat these two wereinseparable in termsof overall articles wereinformative andmainly home-grown notrelying on if choosing asingle winner wasimpossible, so wasdeciding on arunner-up. So, weducked out of thatone as well!

6 Equal secondwere SheffieldNorthern Generalhealth branch andDoncaster District &Bassettlaw healthbranch, each ofwhich will receive 150 in you, thesetwo weren t farbehind the were justpipped at the postbecause of theslightly bettercontent of the newsletters ofanother threebranches deserve aspecial communityhealth branch whosenewsletter just lostout to the tworunners-up andAiredale health andHarrogate localgovernmentbranches whoseentries alsoimpressed thejudges. In thesecases the judges feltthe newsletterscould benefit frommore local articles -and in the case ofAiredale - morecontent. Howeverthe judges wereimpressed by thebranches , keep up thegood work and ifever you feel thatone of yournewsletter storiescould do with aregional airing, sendit to Active! editorBarrie Clement callhim on 07917 PamJohnson has joinedUNISON s regionalmanagement teamin Yorkshire is takingover responsibilityfor health fromJohn Cafferty, thenew first job inthe unionmovement waswith the Y&Hoffice of NUPE inthe 80s.

7 Since 1993 Pam has worked inLondon, first forNUPE and thenUNISON. For thelast eight years shehas been head oflearning andorganising. I ve loveddoing the job inLondon, but thiswas an opportunityI couldn t afford tomiss. The mainpart of my job aspart of the regionalmanagement teamwill be to take theunion forward inthe face of cuts andto lead the healthteam in protectingthe NHS andbuildingmembership. I m veryfortunate in thatI m coming into awell-establishedteam, some ofwhom I ve knownfor a long time, she keen walkerwho enjoys theYorkshire Dalesand openmoorland aroundher Haworth home,Pam is a LeedsUnited joins the teamPam Johnson Come to Family Fun Day at the unison Races on Saturday 30 entry for childrenunder 18 years when accompanied by apaying adult*. Mini fun fair in the family enclosure.

8 It s 4 to ride allday or 1 per ride. The unison Races are a great day out. IT S YOUR LAST CHANCE!l Maximum three children per adult. See page 2 for all the DAYNEWSLETTERWINNER Exclusive rates for unison membersNot only are we offering unison members 25% off Home Insurance but you ll also receive a year s free Home Emergency Cover worth 48. >ec[ _dikhWdY[ JhWl[b _dikhWdY[ F[j _dikhWdY[For instant cover, further information or your no-obligation quotation call FREE now on the number below quoting reference Active211. The 25% discount and Free Home Emergency Offer is subject to our usual acceptance criteria and is only available when the reference Active211 is quoted. Certain postcode restrictions apply. To be eligible for the offer a quote must be obtained before Offer only available to new customers.]]]]]]

9 Please note that the Free Home Emergency Offer may be withdrawn at any time. For quality and protection your call will be recorded. UIA exchange information with other insurance companies and the police to prevent fraud. unison is an Introducer Appointed Representative of UIA (Insurance Services) Ltd and UIA (Insurance) Ltd, which are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Travel Insurance is underwritten by Ageas Insurance Ltd. UIA Pet Insurance is arranged and administered by Thornside Pet Healthcare Insurance, which is a trading name of BDML Connect. Thornside Pet Healthcare Insurance is underwritten by AXA Insurance UK PLC. All these companies are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services 66 88 55or buy on-line are open Mon-Fri - and Sat - *&06 unison ACTIVE!

10 SUMMER 2011 FEATURE INTERNATIONAL RESCUEHe has beenthreatened atgunpoint manytimes, risked lifeand limbtunnelling under collapsingbuildings, and saved manyhundreds of LIVES . unison regionalorganiser Ray Gray hastravelled the world with theInternational Rescue Corpsfor over 20 years, helpingstricken communities copewith natural and man-madedisasters. Life is precarious,he says, and s a scene inSpielberg s Schindler s Listwhere the hero is handed aring which is inscribed: Save one life and you savethe world. HIGHLY SKILLEDRay Gray has more reasonsthan most to grasp the powerof that a team leader for theImage: PhotolibrarySAVING LIVESAT GUNPOINTUNISON regional organiser Ray Gray has rescued strickenpeople in desperate circumstances all over the world. Onone occasion he had to bury the victims of a vicious civilwar in a mass grave.