Showing posts with label Kingsley Abrams. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kingsley Abrams. Show all posts

Tuesday 25 September 2018

Metroline bus driver wins right to wear her Rastafarian colours

Marcia Carty with fellow Unite members
Marcia Carty, the Metroline bus driver suspended for wearing her red, gold and green Rastafarian colours at work has been reinstated. (Original Wembley Matters story HERE)

Earlier today Kingsley Abrams tweeted:


Am delighted to report a great result on this issue. Metroline have caved in and are letting Marcia Carty display her Rastafarian sacred colours of red, gold and green.This follows the powerful public petition and @UniteLondonEast press release and threats to escalate.

The  petition started by Lee Jasper calling on Sadiq Khan, Transport for London and Metroline has reached more than 19,000 signatures. LINK

This was the case set out by the petition:

Marcia Carty, a Londoner and a devout member of the Rastafarian faith, has been driving London’s buses for over a decade. Throughout that time, she’s worn a head wrap that has displayed her Rastafari sacred colours of, red, gold, and green without a problem.

This summer (2018), Marcia was approached by her manager at the Metroline Bus Company and told that while she could wear a head wrap, she must no longer wear her sacred colours.  Marcia was deeply upset but nevertheless was prepared to compromise, and with the support of her trade union union, Unite, offered to wear a company regulation, blue head wrap, with a small pin representing the colours so important to her faith.  That was refused and Marcia is now facing the sack if she does not comply with the order. Metroline was awarded the title ‘London Bus Operator of the Year’ at the prestigious London Transport Awards.

The irony is, that thousands of members of the Rastafari movement and their families constitute a huge percentage of London’s bus and tube drivers. Metroline is the only company who is insisting on introducing this new rule. Marcia has been off ill with the huge stress, she has faced since the beginning of disciplinary action against her.

Rastafari is not recognised as legitimate faith by UK law having been described in the Court at the time, by the then government representative, Lord Meston as  nothing more than  a relatively short lived “sect, cult or movement” with “quasi political and religious tenants”. 

As a result, Rasta’s employed in the private and public sector’s have no protection against religious discrimination in the workplace or in school. This is unacceptable for a  modern, multicultural, city like London where the contributions of Rastafari and Windrush  generations are rarely formally acknowledged.

We  say this is unacceptable and we call upon the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan to intervene  directly and issue instructions to Transport for London that henceforth Rastafari workers must enjoy the same protection, from religious discrimination in the workplace, as extended to all other recognised faiths groups. Rasta’s are currently allowed to wear their colours by London Transport. Remember Harvey Mitchell ? 

London is a diverse, and multicultural city and is important to recognise and value that complex diversity,  and ensure that all ethnicities, faith groups and other protected minorities, all enjoy robust protection from religious discrimination in the workplace.  

We call upon the Mayor of London to end this anomaly and ensure that Marcia no longer suffers religious discrimination and can return to work wearing the colours of her faith. 

One Love. 

Sunday 8 February 2015

RMT President to stand for the Greens in the General Election

The President of the RMT Union is to stand for the Green Party at this year’s general election.

Peter Pinkney, whose union represents more than 80,000 workers across Britain, will stand for the Green Party in Redcar, a constituency won by the Liberal Democrats at the last election. It is the first time that the Green Party has stood in the constituency and follows recent turmoil in the local Labour party which saw the resignation of ten councillors this year.

Pinkney said:
I spoke at the Green Party Conference in 2013, and I was impressed with the ideas that were being put forward. The ideas of the Greens resonated with a lot of my beliefs. Obviously the Greens commitment to bring railways back into public hands struck a chord, but also policies to invest in the NHS, build social housing, institute higher taxes for those who can afford it, and put forward progressive policies on immigration informed my decision to stand.
As a life long socialist, I could see that most of the policies were what the Labour Party once had, but those days are long gone with Labour.

Pinkney was elected as RMT President in December 2012 for a three year term. He spends much of his time in London working for the union but his home is in the Redcar constituency.

Though the Greens have not stood in Redcar before they expect to make an impact amid Lib Dem collapse and the splitting of the local Labour Party.

Natalie Bennett, Green Party Leader, said:
We’re delighted to announce Peter as our candidate in Redcar. Voters there, like their counterparts across the UK, are sick and tired of the business as usual politics offered by the establishment parties. We’re giving them a chance to vote for someone who will defend our NHS, campaign for publically owned railways and push for decent affordable housing for everyone who needs it.
Meanwhile Kingsley Abrams, who was supported by Unite and the Brent Labour Representation Committee for the Brent Central Labour nomination, has announced that he has left the Labour Party and will fight Southwark for TUSC.

Tuesday 8 October 2013

Unite and LRC back anti-cuts candidate for Brent Central


Unite the Union yesterday endorsed Kingsley Abrams as their preferred Labour candidate for Brent Central. Brent Labour Representation Committee also endorsed him.

Unite member and Brent Labour Party and LRC activist Graham Durham said 
It will be a hard battle to get Kingsley endorsed as candidate. However with his  record of trade union activity and his role as a Lambeth Labour councillor opposed to cuts, Kingsley will strike a chord with Brent voters feeling the savage attacks of the Bedroom Tax, welfare cuts, privatisation of the NHS and Royal Mail. Many supporters and members will see Kingsley as the ideal candidate to replace the supporter of Tory cuts, Sarah Teather, as MP for Brent Central.
The Brixton councillor was suspended by the Lambeth  Labour Group in 2012  when he opposed cuts to youth services and job cuts. LINK

Contact Graham on 07866-616492 and Kingsley on 07932-447793