Network Journal 2007 Issue 4 July/Aug

Campaigns capture the imagination

Thanks to the hard work of our reps and activists we are now in a better position than ever to campaign for improvements to rights for working carers.

John Hannett, General Secretary

As part of our award-winning Supporting Parents and Carers campaign we want to scrap the earnings rule and this seems to have really struck a chord.

Carer's Allowance was introduced over 30 years ago in the 1970s when the world was a very different place. We now have a government that is committed to giving people the chance to work as the best route out of poverty. The earnings rule just doesn't fit with this approach.

Freedom

Many hundreds of our members and many thousands of carers across the UK are earning too much to get Carer's Allowance (currently £87) but at the same time are too poor to do anything other than make ends meet.

We will continue to make the case to government to scrap the limit and give working carers the freedom to make their own decisions about how they combine paid work with their caring responsibilities.

Our reps and activists have got stuck in and gone out there collecting signatures on petitions and asking colleagues to complete postcards asking their MP to support the campaign. Many thanks to them for all their hard work.

Awards

Congratulations to everyone involved in helping Usdaw win two prizes at the TUC Press & PR awards. Arena magazine and the Save Our Sundays campaign both won first prize in their categories. This proves once again that Usdaw is committed to providing first class communications to its members and campaigning on their behalf in a professional and determined manner.

Chaotic

On a more depressing note, no-one could have failed to notice the unprecedented goings on at doomed discount chain Kwik Save.

Overnight closures, reopenings, more closures and eventually administration. To make matters worse staff have been unpaid for weeks. If a trade union was behaving in such an unprofessional and chaotic manner we would be rightly ridiculed right across the media.

Our members have had to cope with no money and massive uncertainty about their future. Staff already made redundant are also waiting for their redundancy pay. We will be doing all we can to recover payments in wages and redundancy for our members who are going through a terrible time.

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