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Monday 9 June
There was a
big rally and lobby of Parliament today organised by the TUC called
“Speak up for Public
Services”
The TUC
organised the mass rally and lobby of Parliament with thousands of
trade unionists working in the public sector coming to Westminster
as part of the campaign. I met a number of people who had come down
from Bradford, in particular those representing Prospect and the National Union of
Teachers, as well as a delegation from the Yorkshire and Humberside Region
TUC. They were
asking the government to make sure that those working in the public
sector did not lose out with below inflation pay
increases.
Tuesday 10 June
In the
afternoon I met a representative of the Shaw Trust and Working Links –
two organisations which have been awarded contacts by the
Department for Work and Pensions to help secure employment for
those out of work. I had a very interesting discussion about how
they thought this new arrangement was working.
I then
recorded a podcast for Action for Blind
People (www.actionforblindpeople.org.uk)
which
focussed mainly on the new Employment
Support Allowance and the implications for blind and
partially sighted people.
In the
evening I chaired a very interesting event hosted by the
Chartered Institute of Personnel and
Development which focussed on what was actually happening in
the labour market. It was very heartening to hear how well things
are going, despite all the negative stories in the
media. For example,
the number of redundancies in April was the lowest since
1975.
Wednesday 11 June
At the
morning meeting of the Work and Pensions Select Committee we mapped
out our programme of work for the coming months.
In the
afternoon I met Sir Richard Tilt, a member of the Social Security Advisory Committee, for a
discussion on the work and operation of the Social
Fund.
Then on to
Number 10 Downing Street for a reception to launch the new
Unite Parliamentary Group of which
I am one of the co-Chairs. Unite is the new union formed by
the merger of Amicus and the TGWU.
Then back to
the Commons where I attended a reception hosted by USDAW as part of
their ‘Carers’ Spotlight Day’
where I was able to demonstrate my support for their campaign to
secure greater employment rights for the 4 million carers in the
UK.
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Week beginning 9 June
