ARK intransigence provokes Copland strike over compulsory redundancies

The teaching unions (NUT, NAUWT, ATL at Copland Community School have sent the following notice. Copland is due to be forced to be academised and taken over by Ark later this year.

The three teacher unions at Copland Community School in Wembley will be taking strike action again this Wednesday over threatened compulsory redundancies. Two teachers face losing their jobs. The current Headteacher, Richard Marshall and the Unions have been meeting on a weekly basis with the joint aim of preventing this occurring. These negotiations have significantly reduced the original number of proposed compulsory redundancies as well as agreed very useful proposals on how to prevent the loss of the remaining two jobs. These include covering a maternity leave and extending the deadline for compulsory redundancies until December. It is well documented that there is a turn over of staff when a school converts to an academy.

But ARK, who are seeking to take over the school in September, have refused to

agree to any of these proposals.

ARK, known for their anti union stance, are prepared to see the school closed rather than negotiate, are prepared to see the pupils education disrupted. The teachers will be on the picket line again on Wednesday from 7.30 am showing their collective anger at this stance.

Tom Stone, NASUWT Secretary said, “I find the intransigence of the ARK management in not agreeing any of these eminently sensible proposals, unbelievable. We have had weekly meeting with the aim of preventing any redundancies. ARK is prepared to disrupt the children's education when such a small step would solve this situation.

Hank Roberts, ATL said, “If ARK do take over the running of the school in the autumn this does not bode well for the staff or pupils. The children's education has already suffered too much without sacking their teachers.”

Lesley Gouldbourne, NUT said, “We have been working so hard to prevent any strike action. Yet even when we and the school come up with an effective proposal, ARK refuses to agree. It is outrageous that this is allowed to happen when they are not even running the school.”

The teachers are planning to strike again on May 21st if there is not agreement to prevent these compulsory redundancies.

Brent not commenting on Tewari allegations as Wembley Matters refuses to pull Audit Report

I understand that Brent Council is refusing to comment on the Davini allegations LINK as it would 'not be in the public interest'.

At the end of last week Fiona Ledden, head of Brent Legal and Procurement wrote 'requiring' me to take down the leaked documents. This is the correspondence:

Dear Mr Francis

I am most concerned that you have quoted on your website a number of documents that have been redacted and made available to a respondent in litigation, which is yet to be heard before a judicial panel. The documents are confidential and provided to the relevant party solely for an Employment Tribunal. The case has not yet commenced and releasing documents before the tribunal has started to hear the evidence is highly inappropriate.

I am requiring that you take down the documents which you have attached until the close of the proceedings.

I will be taking this matter up with the relevant party’s representative and during the hearing itself, I consider these documents to remain confidential until the tribunal lifts that confidentiality.

Yours sincerely

Fiona Ledden

Director of Legal and Procurement

London Borough Brent

Could you please tell me under what powers you are 'requiring that you take down the documents...'
Thank you
Martin Francis

Dear Mr Francis

My reasoning is that, except in certain circumstances that do not apply here, a party to whom a document has been disclosed in litigation may only use that document for the purposes of the proceedings in which they were disclosed. It is clear that these documents have been leaked from the court bundle, and therefore I request that you remove the attachments that you have placed on the blog.

Regards 

Fiona Ledden

Director of Legal and Procurement

London Borough Brent

It does not appear to me that you have any powers or authority to 'require' me to take down the attachments and I believe that the wider public interest is served by them remaining on Wembley Matters.
Regards,
Martin Francis

Over the weekend I edited the attachments so as to concentrate on the main issue, the Draft Audit Report, and that remains on the blog.

In my opinion this is a case of straightforward 'whistle blowing' backed up by the published document. We, the public, Brent taxpayers and council tax payers, have a right to know:

• How our money is spent
• How effectively the spending is monitored
• Whether employment practices are fair
• Whether all employees are treated equally regardless of their position in the authority
• Whether elected councillors have full knowledge of these matters
• What oversight councillors have over senior officer decisions on employment and disciplinary matters with the Corporate Management Team

Police ask Green blogger to remove UKIP tweet

From the Guardian LINK

Police have asked a blogger to remove a tweet that fact-checked Ukip policies but did not break any laws after receiving a complaint from a Ukip councillor, prompting concern over attempts to stifle debate.
Michael Abberton was visited by two Cambridgeshire police officers on Saturday. He was told he had not committed any crimes and no action was taken against him, but he was asked to delete some of his tweets, particularly a tongue-in-cheek one on 10 reasons to vote for Ukip, such as scrapping paid maternity leave and raising income tax for the poorest 88% of Britons.

Abberton, a Green party member who writes a blog on science and green politics, described the incident on his Axe of Reason blog.

"The police explained that I hadn't broken any law – there was no charge to answer and it really wasn't a police matter.

"They asked me to 'take it down' but I said I couldn't do that as it had already been retweeted and appropriated, copied, many times and I no longer had any control of it (I had to explain to one of the officers what Twitter was and how it worked). They said that they couldn't force me to take it down anyway."
However, to show goodwill Abberton removed all instances of the offending tweet.

A Cambridgeshire police spokesman said: "A Ukip councillor came across a tweet which he took exception to. The name of the person on the tweet was identified and that individual was spoken to. We looked at this for offences and there was nothing we could actually identify that required police intervention. Clearly, the councillor was unhappy about the tweets. If every political person was unhappy about what somebody else said about their views, we would have no politics."

As for being told not to tweet about the visit, the spokesman added: "I don't know if he'd have been told that. It's certainly not the advice I would have given him. A gentleman has a right to free speech – absolute total right to free speech – we can't tell people what they can and can't say on the internet, as long as it's within the law. We certainly don't go to people's houses and say: 'You can't tweet about this'. This is not 1930s Germany."

On his blog, Abberton made it clear that the two police officers were extremely professional and polite, but he did wonder why they had visited him at all.

"It wasn't until after they left that I questioned why they had visited me in the first place. A complaint had been made but with no legal basis. Not a police matter. So why did they come to my home in the middle of a Saturday afternoon? Also, seeing as my profile doesn't have my location – how did they know my address, or even the town I live in? … Why would a political party, so close to an election, seek to stop people finding out what their policies are or their past voting record? And is it not a matter for concern that a political party would seek to silence dissent and debate in such a manner?"

Julian Huppert, the Liberal Democrat MP for Cambridge, who was contacted by Abberton, said he was awaiting a detailed response from the police.

"It seems astonishing for the police to get involved, there was nothing abusive or threatening in the tweets so I do want to know why they acted, and I want to know why the police told Abberton not to tweet about the visit."

Huppert said he was pleased that Ukip's policies were coming under scrutiny.

Natalie Bennett, leader of the Green party, said: "This police action is both disturbing and surprising. That an apparently general complaint from a political party about not liking what was said about them could have led to a police visit that many would find intimidating is an extremely serious incident that demands immediate investigation. Free speech is a precious right that we must defend."

Bennett said the party's only member in the House of Lords, Jenny Jones, would write to Theresa May, the home secretary, to ask her to investigate.

"What a waste of police time, energy and resources," Jones said. "Their job is to investigate crime and catch criminals, not restrict free speech."

Save Our NHS for the Common Good

Caroline Lucas v Farage on BBC Question Time tonight

Green Party MP, Caroline Lucas, will get the chance to take on Nigel Farage on BBC Question Time tonight.

The programme begins at 10.35pm o BBC1 and Grant Shapps, Shirley Williams and Chuka Umunna are also on the panel.

Eric Pickles urged to investigate Brent Council over handling of fraud allegations

Ex-union activist Nan Tewari has written to Eric Pickles, Secretary of Stae for Communities and Local Government, raising a number of issues concerning the handling of allegations that Cara Davani, Brent's Director of Human Resources misused her Brent Council Oyster Card.  The letter is written at a time when Brent Council has dismissed 11 workers over alleged serious breaches of financial regulations and the staff code of conduct.LINK

In the long and detailed open letter Nan Tewari states:

Now after more than a year later [after the initial investigation of the Oyster card issue], it appears that there is only a draft internal audit report of the investigation in existence. Why was the report never finalised? Might it be because the treatment of Ms Davani has been unduly lenient in comparison with others and would therefore not stand up to scrutiny? The audit committee minutes of March 13 notes that it was highlighted that 18 cases of internal fraud were found, resulting in five dismissals and 10 resignations before action could be taken. Ms Davani presides over, and advises on these very disciplinary and dismissal cases and it is difficult to see how her position can remain tenable given what she has done. She is at the head of the council's workforce and as such must be an exemplar of the highest standards of behaviour expected of every person employed to work in the council or provide services to it.

The internal audit report, which is available below, was written about a period of considerable turmoil  in the Council and tensions in the relationship between officers and leading Labour politicians. Following Muhammed Butt's election to Labour and Brent Council leadership, in succession to Ann John,  disagreements developed between him and Gareth Daniel LINK , Chief Executive, which eventually led to Daniel leaving his post. Members. The CMT (Corporate Management Team, had written a letter in support of Daniel.  Fiona Ledden, now head of Legal and Procurement stepped in as Interim Chief Executive.

The audit report is heavily redacted but gives a picture of events. CMT is Corporate Management Team. XXXX indicates redaction.

The TTIP threat to public services and labour rights

The TTIP (Transatlantic Trade Investment Partnership) is slowly emerging as an issue in the Euro elections although public awareness remains low.  It is one of those extremely important issues where debate is limited by a combination of complexity and opaqueness.

This hustings should help shed light on the issue:

Take Back the Power

Global Justice and the European Elections

Monday 19 May, 7pm 

Small Hall, 
Friends Meeting House, 173-177 Euston Rd,

London, NW1 2BJ

Come and meet your MEP candidates and question them on their commitment to trade justice.

•        Jean Lambert, Green Party

•        Jonathan Fryer, Liberal Democrats

•        Seb Dance, Labour Party

•        Glyn Chambers, Conservative Party

•        Tbc, UKIP (invited)

Chair: John Hilary, Executive Director, War on Want 

On Thursday 22nd May, we will be voting for candidates to represent us in the European Parliament. Europe takes decisions on important global issues, including trade.

A major trade deal - the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) - is currently being negotiated between the USA and the EU. New corporate trade deals like this threaten to increase global inequality, undermine democracy and hand public service provision to multinational companies. 

•        What effect will this deal have on our lives here in the UK? 

•        How can we ensure that this deal prioritises human rights, environmental protection and labour standards?

•        How can we ensure transparency and accountability in the negotiation of these deals?

Meet your European Parliamentary election candidates and hear what they have to say on these issues and what they will do to address them, if elected on 22 May.

Organised by North and East London World Development Movement


Join the Facebook event here: https://www.facebook.com/events/655635101157740

Contact nandelondonwdm@gmail.com to find out more


Web: www.groups.wdm.org.uk/northandeastlondon

Keith Taylor, Green MEP for the  South East published a detailed report on the TTIP two months ago and I include it here for readers:

Cllr Mashari offers Preston Library Campaign volunteer library possibility

A crowded  public meeting of the Preston Library Campaign heard speakers from Brent Labour, Liberal Democrats, Conservatives, Greens and TUSC on the future of the closed Brent libraries. A full account of the meeting can be found HERE on my colleague Shahrar Ali's blog.

At the end of the meeting a show of hands clearly demonstrated support for a professionally staffed and publicly funded library with a slightly lower number in favour of a volunteer run library. However, afterwards some indicated if a voluntary run library was the only solution they would reluctantly support that.

Cllr Roxanne Mashari, lead member for environment, was clear that no budget existed for a re-opening of the library due to central government cuts in local authority funding. She cited her negotiations with the Friends of Kensal Rise Library as a precedent for Preston.

She said that when the ex-Preston Library building was no longer required by Preston Park Primary School in a year's time, the Council would be willing to rent it out to a voluntary group at a peppercorn rent. The Council would also be prepared to give the building ACV (Asset of Community Value) status. All this would be conditional on a robust business plan for the project.