Positively Prentis

Failures in Hospital Hygiene

2010-03-19T01:23:00.000-07:00

Writing in today's Guardian Dave Prentis argues forcefully that the rise in hospital based infections is directly linked to the halving of hospital cleaners through privatisation. Employing more cleaners would not only create much needed employment opportunities but would save money on expensive antibiotics used to treat infections and improve outcomes for patients

Glad to be Back

2010-03-12T02:14:00.000-08:00

You may have noticed that we have been “off line” for a short time, partly out of respect after Holmes lost his seat on the Yorkshire and Humberside Regional Committee and failed to get the Gen Sec nomination of our Regional Council, and partly because we’ve been busy doing other things.
Failing to get the nomination of Regional Council is one thing but loosing his seat on Regional Committee is another. After all how can someone ask those outside the region to support him for General Secretary when colleagues in his back yard refuse to have him represent them on our Regional Committee?
We celebrate our return to the blog with good news – in the last 48hrs Y&H regional nominations for Dave Prentis have reached 31. This is greater that we had anticipated and certainly beyond the number that we had predicted at the outset of the campaign. Holmes has so far managed to secure a paltry 5 nominations with Bannister performing even worse picking up just a single branch.
Despite failing to attract any significant mainstream support in the region Holmes continues to run a narrow campaign pandering to the extreme views of the ultra left. Once an arch critic of the SWP these days Holmes increasingly looks like a fully paid up member of the newspaper selling fraternity. Delegates attending the Regional Council were met with the grotesque spectacle of SWP members with paper in one hand and Holmes election material in the other.
Meanwhile, our candidate has been doing what he does best – leading million voices, highlighting the double standards of MP’s pay and standing full square with public sector workers at home and overseas.

Hire and Fire Holmes

2010-02-26T13:42:00.000-08:00

As the campaign for nominations moves into its second and final month Holmes and his ultra left supporters are hopeful of a better second half after failing to make any major gains so far.

The first half started slowly for Holmes and then got decidedly worse when PP broke the story about his over zealous objection to mainstream communication tools like email, mobile phones and the internet.
If that were not enough of an embarrassment Holmes scored a sensational own goal after PP revealed the truth behind his exaggerated claims on branch density.
In what was the mainstay of his manifesto, Holmes laid claim to leading a branch with density of 85%, suggesting this was the “best density in the union” and attributable to his radical style of leadership.
But PP revealed that his claims were wholly exaggerated and intended to mislead members into giving him support.
Holmes not only stands accused of living in the dark ages but has also lost all credibility through his fantasy claims on membership.
Not surprisingly Holmes has failed to secure support from any branch with mainstream influence appealing only to those from the ultra left and the usual splitters and malcontents.
The organisation of his campaign is in disarray – only this week at the Higher Education SGE his candidature was moved by a member who later went onto vote for Delroy Clearly.
But this caricature of a hopeless campaigner is not the full story by any means – Holmes has another side to him – that of the ruthless hard faced employer with a reputation for bullying.
In the last four years Holmes has sacked three of his Branch employed staff following trumped-up misconduct charges. In the same period two more have chosen to jump ship after they witnessed the treatment of their fellow colleagues.
Could any individual running for General Secretary have a more inappropriate combination of personal qualities than that of useless campaigner and ruthless employer?

HE Service Group Backs Prentis

2010-02-26T01:33:00.000-08:00

Members of the National Higher Education SGE yesterday voted to nominate Dave Prentis. Neither Paul Homes, Roger Bannister or Delroy Creary were able to secure the two people necessary to propose and second them at the meeting. This is further example of a complete failure in organisation and underlines the fact that none of the three opposition candidates have any mainstream support in the union.

Y&H Regional Nominations

2010-02-23T02:15:00.001-08:00

Chart

Sheffield University Back Dave

2010-02-18T09:10:00.000-08:00

Members at Sheffield University have joined the groundswell of support for Dave Prentis by nominating his for General Secretary. It is now clear that Dave is attracting considerable support from all corners of the union and is now well on course to obtain more branch nomination than he did in previous elections.

Women's Committee Endorse Prentis

2010-02-18T06:17:00.000-08:00

Meeting before the start this years Women’s Conference, which is being held over the next few days in Gateshead, UNISON National Women’s Committee has endorsed Dave Prentis as a candidate in the General Secretary election. Dave secured 27 of the 32 votes, Roger Bannister was proposed but noone to second him and no mention of Paul Holmes.

Kirklees Council Employee Stats

2010-02-18T01:39:00.001-08:00

Single - Non Single Status Feb10[1]

Apology For Our Mistake

2010-02-17T15:32:00.000-08:00

There is never a good time to make a mistake, but to do so in the middle of a major campaign, and thereby hand to your opponents a significant advantage, is by far and away the worst time.

Those of you who have been following the blog will know that earlier this week we posted a story regarding the statements made by wannabe Gen Sec - Paul Holmes – that the Kirklees Local Government Branch has recorded a trade union membership density somewhere above 85%. Holmes says that the Kirklees density is “the best” in the union and attributable to his own "radical" style of leadership as Kirklees Branch Secretary.
Holmes ultra left supporters are understandably awestruck by such density claims, given their own rather lacklustre performance, and seem to have been caught in the headlights without adequately challenging the validity of the information given to them by Holmes.
It came as a major shock earlier in the week to read our story that density in Kirklees was in fact just 58%. As good as this is, it is not the 85% claimed by Holmes and is considerably less than the best density in the union, even falling short of the density achieved by neighbouring branches to Kirklees.
Even the most loyal supporters must have had cause to raise an eyebrow at the news, no doubt thinking that Holmes was playing fast and loose with their obedient and unquestioning loyalty.
In our article we invited Holmes and his supporters to explain if the claim of 85% density was made in error or a deliberate attempt to mislead members into supporting Holmes in the Gen Sec election.
Big Cheese for Team Holmes has today written his response - in what can only be described as unrestrained vitriol – he argues that our story is fundamentally misconceived in that we have a limited grasp of basic mathematics, coupled with an ignorant knowledge of Kirklees Council, and have counted workers not eligible to join UNISON as a means of depressing the density levels. He concludes with the modest suggestion that we undertake further study in GCSE Maths.
We recognise that a mistake was made in our article and we apologise for misleading readers of this blog. In our earlier story we stated that the information leaked to us by a “concerned” member of the Kirklees Branch was “absolute and unquestionable”. Whereas what we should have said was that it was “irrefutable” as it is in fact a report dated 7th Feb 2010 taken from the Councils Delphie Payroll System. The full report will appear on this blog later.
But we can reveal that, seemingly unbeknown to Holmes, Kirklees Council employ 14689 NJC staff all of whom are eligible to join UNISON. The Council also employs 4653 others that are made up of Teachers (4101), Craft (469) and others (solbury etc). The Branch has 8550 members and the density is therefore, at best, 58% and not the 85% claimed by Holmes.
Had we been more specific in the nature and quality of our information Team Holmes would not have continued digging and at least attempted to extract themselves from the considerable hole in which they now reside.
We will respectfully decline the invitation from Big Cheese to undertake more study in Mathematics. Now will you tell us – was the 85% claim a lie intended to gain an advantage in the election?

South Yorkshire Police Branch Nominiation Secured

2010-02-17T15:02:00.001-08:00

Members of the SYP Branch Committee today unanimously agreed to nominate Dave Prentis.

Health SGE Nominate Dave Prentis

2010-02-17T15:00:00.000-08:00

The National Health Service Group has today nominated Dave Prentis as a candidate in the General Secretary election. Dave secured 22 out of a possible 25 votes with three remaining votes going to Socialist Party candidate Roger Bannister. Paul Holmes failed to secure any votes.

Phoney Holmes – The Naked Truth Behind the Lies

2010-02-14T07:25:00.000-08:00

Campaigns that are run by those with questionable integrity, a failed ideology and limited organisational capacity invariably come off the rails.
Today we sensationally reveal that the main proposition from Team Holmes – that his own Branch in Kirklees has a density of 85% - is a complete and utter fabrication.

Holmes and his loyal supporters suggest that under his “radical left” leadership the Kirklees Branch has achieved the highest density of any Branch in the whole of the union.
But today a contributor to this blog has provided absolute and unquestionable evidence that the true density is in fact 58%. Of some 14,689 council employees the branch has in membership 8550.
Not only is 58% well below the density achieved by the best performing branches but it is below the density in some of those neighbouring branches to Kirklees.
Holmes must now come clean on whether the claims – which have so far been the foundation of his campaign – have simply been made in error or whether he has intentionally sought to mislead people. Either way this news will come as a devastating blow to Holmes.
A rudimentary error of this magnitude must surely cause even the most hard-line loyalist to question whether Holmes has the ability to lead the union. How could anyone have any confidence in his ability to lead a major organisation such as UNISON when even the most basic calculations appear beyond his intellect?
Of course, we do understand that many will think that such a mistake could not be made and that the whole density claims are a charade, designed to mislead in the forlorn hope of adding some credibility to a faltering campaign.
Holmes must come clear – is it a cock up or is it conspiracy?

Holmes Seeks Guidance from Leadership Guru

2010-02-10T08:35:00.000-08:00

As the regional campaign heats up Paul Holmes appears content to find solitude in the Westminster tea rooms seeking guidance from those with experience of leadership elections. Meanwhile, in his own back yard, his campaign is haemorrhaging support as more and more branches recognise the extent of the intellectual and organisational divide between the candidates.

Prentis Gains Two More in Quick Succession

2010-02-10T08:21:00.000-08:00

In the last few days two of the regions biggest health branches have swung their support behind Dave's campaign. Members at a packed AGM of the Leeds Community Health Branch fully endorsed a motion that “recognised the superiority of Dave’s leadership skills beyond those of his opponents”. This was followed by a unanimous endorsement at Grimsby Health Branch.

NEC Nominate Prentis

2010-02-10T04:47:00.003-08:00

The NEC has today agreed to nominate Dave Prentis in the General Secretary elections. Votes were:

Dave Prentis 38
Paul Holmes 5
Roger Bannister 4

Largest Health Branch Nominates Prentis

2010-02-09T07:17:00.000-08:00

4000 member strong Sheffield Central Health Branch, the biggest health branch in the region, has agreed to nominate and support Dave Prentis at their Branch Committee on 4th February. Further updates to follow.

Paul Holmes on Technology

2010-02-09T04:21:00.000-08:00

His new found identity in blogosphere sits in marked contrast to the way that Holmes denies the existence of ICT in his own Branch. A well known technophobe, Holmes takes his hatred of technology to almost unbelievable lengths. He has banned the use of email and the internet in the branch and until recently refused to carry a mobile phone. In an attempt to rekindle a bygone past Holmes fails to appreciate the extent to which the world has changed and how the use of ICT can assist in building trade union organisation.

As the major trade union in the country UNISON has had a proud tradition of championing new ways of working – the first union to advertise on TV, the first to develop an interactive web site, the first to move to greener on-line administration, and ground breaking mobile technologies to keep organisers in the field.

Unreconstructed Holmes would set the union back years in his attitude towards ICT – which he persists in referring to as “new technology” even though it is at least 25 years old - would simply fail to connect with the next generation of trade union activists. Young activists have been brought up in the modern world and many will not have even heard of the Luddites and would certainly not want to see one as General Secretary of their trade union.

UNISON GS election – news from the margins‏

2010-02-08T20:06:00.000-08:00

See this excellent critique of the current elections over at UNISON Active

UNISON GS election – news from the margins‏

Wakefield Nomination Secured

2010-02-08T18:54:00.000-08:00

Dave Prentis has secured the nomination and support of Wakefield Local Government Branch.

At a meeting of the Wakefield Branch Committee last week delegates of the 10,000 member branch voted overwhelmingly to support Dave as their preferred candidate. Paul Holmes and Roger Banister failed to win any support.

One delegate said “It was a hard act to follow when Dave took over the reins from Rodney Bickerstaffe but he has more than lived up to that challenge. He has been a very good friend to members of the Wakefield Branch and we repay that friendship by fully endorsing his campaign for a third term.”

Rotherham Back Prentis

2010-02-01T14:54:00.000-08:00

Rotherham Local Government Branch has tonight weighed in behind Dave Prentis for General Secretary. The Branch AGM held earlier this evening unanimously agreed to support Dave’s candidature. Speaking after the meeting Branch Secretary, Carol Maleham, said “there was clearly never any doubt in the minds of our members who is the best person to take the union forward and I am pleased that we have agreed to support Dave. As we go into more challenging times we need strong leadership with a clear policy framework around which the whole union can unite.”

Bradford Met Branch Endorse Prentis

2010-02-01T10:28:00.001-08:00

Members of the Bradford Local Government Branch have today resolved to nominate Dave Prentis for a third term as General Secretary. At a packed Branch Committee representatives’ of the 10,000 member branch voted overwhelmingly to endorse the nomination. Speaking after the meeting Bradford Branch Secretary, Linda Crowther, said "this election presents our members with a clear choice. On the one hand we have a candidiate with a proven track record of achievement, someone who has a clear policy agenda and, above all else, absolute credibility. Or, on the other hand, his opponents, who would both divide and weaken the union and set us on a course to oblivion.”

Elect Dave Prentis Web Site Launched

2010-02-01T02:27:00.000-08:00

Go visit the Elect Dave Prentis web site and sign up to the e-neweletter and add your endorsement. Click here

Message of Suppprt from Wendy Nichols

2010-02-01T00:55:00.000-08:00

As the Regional Convenor for the Yorkshire and Humberside Region and a member of the National Executive Council, you will appreciate that I have had regular contact with Dave Prentis. Throughout his time as the Leader of our union I witnessed at first hand his passion for the job and his relentless drive and energy in taking forward our union campaigns. I have no doubt whatsoever that he remains the right person to take our union forward into the future and I will be supporting him in his bid for a third term of office as our General Secretary.