Tower Hamlets Labour Councillors Iftar with the Community.

I had been invited on Tuesday evening by Labour Group leader (and long standing Unison member) Cllr Sirajul Islam to their Iftar at the
Waterlily function rooms at Mile End.

Ifter is the evening meal that Muslims break their fast during the Islamic month of Ramadan. I have worked in Tower Hamlets for 20 years but this was the first formal Ifter I have ever attended.

It was a marvelous event with hundreds of guests and overflowing tables. I was somewhat surprised to see my old comrade, the Branch secretary of Unison Tower Hamlets Local Government branch present at this Labour Party event.  I wondered after all the trails and tribulations of his current Party if he is considering coming home to Labour?

Even more surprising was to see controversial Tower Hamlets blogger, a Sunday Express Editor and fellow North Wales Gog, Ted Jeory, with his lovely wife Alberta, who was brought up locally in Whitechapel. I just had to sit next to him and ask if he had felt any sharp pains in his back since he had been in the hall?

There were a number of speeches including by local Poplar & Limehouse MP Jim Fitzpatrick, who gave a rousing endorsement of Labour Tower Hamlets Mayor candidate, John Biggs, partly in Sylheti (apparently with a slight Scottish accent). While Bethnal Green and Bow MP, Rushanara Ali, claimed that Jim's Sylheti was better than hers! She introduced the star attraction, East London Labour Assembly Member and Mayor Candidate, John Biggs.
 
Also multi-faith contributions and prayers from Christian and Muslim preachers. Cllr Abdal Ullah was the main compere who kept things running smoothly and to time.

I think that you must have tremendous respect for British Muslims, for fasting from drawn to dusk in high summer. It cannot be easy at any time of the year but non Muslims I come across simply cannot believe that they are not able to drink water as well as eat no food during the current super hot and humid conditions. Many also pray early and late into the night which means they have to endure a lack of sleep as well.

Iftar is obviously a religious event but I most impressed with the courtesy and respect shown to guests such as myself. The fast finished that night at 9.10pm. I am not at all sure that I will have been so polite and well mannered if I had no food or drink for the previous 18 hours.

Hat tip pictures in collage to Sami Photography.

Update: Check out Hope Not Hate "The Big Iftar"  and "Dine at Mine" if you have never been to a Iftar.

We Are The Many - Hope Not Hate

Please click here and sign this Hope Not Hate letter for tomorrow's Daily Mirror :-

To: The Editor, Daily Mirror
From:

We Are The Many

Today, the violent English Defence League will hold demonstrations in towns and cities across our country, trying to spread their message of hate. By blaming all Muslims for the terrible murder of Drummer Lee Rigby, the EDL will attempt to whip up a climate of fear and violence towards the Muslim community in Britain.

But the EDL will fail. They will fail because we, the British people, reject their ignorance.

The EDL and Islamic extremists are more similar to each other than to us. They share a violent, hate-fuelled desire for conflict and war, and we will not let either group tear our country apart.

We condemn the shameful rise in anti-Muslim violence since Drummer Rigby's killing. The fair-minded majority of Britons understand that a community cannot be blamed for the actions of just two. We know that the EDL does not speak for all Britain, just as we know that Muslim extremists do not speak for all Muslims.

We, the British people, shun the EDL's message of hate today because they do not speak for us. We are confident that HOPE will prevail. It will prevail because they are the few, and we are -- and always will be -- the many.

Yours,

UNISON Community Conference 2013: Day 2

The second day of Conference started off with a 09.00 meeting of the Service Group Executive (SGE) to plan ahead the days business. (See Day one, Bedroom tax rally, Speech by Joe Irvin and my pension speech)

In the morning there were a number of workshops and taster training sessions arranged on:- introductions for new delegates; TUPE & transfers; campaigning & public speaking; how to recruit a member; violence at work and negotiating & leadership.

As a branch secretary I spent the first part of the morning taken up with last minute change of branch delegates authorisation and working out how to confirm to the necessary proportionality requirements.

I then chaired the workshop on recruitment and was impressed how serious and thoughtful delegates were about this key and fundamental role.

During lunch we went to the Manchester bedroom tax rally (see report here). Then after lunch the Community seminar session ended and the actual Community Conference started.  This was chaired by UNISON President Chris Tansley.

There was about 21 motions to discuss and debate on various issues and concerns facing our members in Community. My branch delegation spoke on a number of motions including our composited motion on a "Living Wage plus" and "Save our Pensions". I also spoke on the pensions issue on behalf of the SGE.

Out of these 20 odd motions there was really only one motion regarding the big Community specific  branches meeting up to discuss their issues at the expense of all other branches that caused any sort of a stir.

It does make you think what is the point of having a motion based conference that consists of moving, seconding and debating, motion after motion that nobody opposes? I think we need to think again about what we do at conference since I suspect most delegates did not think this was a good use of time and resources.Especially since we completed all of conference business on the Saturday afternoon when we had Sunday morning timetabled for it as well!

We had a social and raffle in the evening. This raised money for the Presidents project "Hope Not Hate". Where I won tickets to a County cricket match, which of course being North Wallian I gave away (to my branch chair who despite being Irish is a cricket fanatic) and a UNISON Community bottle opener and stopper! We then went to China Town for a London region meal and one or three beers.

The next morning I went for a run (aka slow jog) around the nearby canals and much to my surprise came across a recreated Manchester Roman fort gatehouse!

This is the 3rd UNISON Community seminar and conference and while it is not all perfect, I really think we are going from strength to strength. We do have a long journey ahead but I am confident we will achieve it.

(Centre picture of Community NEC member, Isobel (Izzy) McVicar speaking about health and safety in our sector UPDATE: See UNISON press release on safety issue in our sector and UNISONactive take on conference).

Searchlight and Hope Not Hate

I've been a subscriber to the monthly anti-fascist magazine "Searchlight" for many years and supporter of its campaigning arm "Hope Not Hate". So I was concerned to hear that they had some sort of a dispute and have gone their separate ways. Taking on racists and Nazi's is difficult, stressful and even dangerous, so it is obvious that there will be tensions and problems from time to time. These things happen. Maybe it is a good idea to separate the research from the campaigning? I don't know.

Yet I was really concerned to read in this month's "Searchlight" a two page article criticising "Hope Not Hate". Now I do not know the ins and outs of the issues or personalities involved. But I cannot see how in any way this article helps anyone but our real enemies. 

Can these differences be sorted out in another way?

(as usual this is a strictly personal view)