New divisional officer: page 2 Apprentices make their mark: page 6INSIDE

WIN

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Neil Grant, a caster at Ideal Standard in Armitage is the latestwinner of our twice-yearly holiday prize draw.

A Unity member for over 20 years, Neil received £1,000 in hol-iday vouchers from general secretary Harry Hockaday.

Said Neil, who is married to Gayle with grown-up children: "Iwas on a day off when the union rep. rang me at home to tellme I had won the draw and to call head office. It was a lovelysurprise."

The vouchers are valid until 2016 but Neil and Gayle plan touse them towards an overseas holiday sometime next year.

Neil Grant receives his holiday vouchers from general secretaryHarry Hockaday.

Surprise holidaydraw win for Neil

Denby strike actionleads to agreement

About 240 Unity membershad been in dispute with thecompany for two months afterbeing told there would be apay freeze this year. They alsorejected a one-off performancerelated payment in 2014.

Unity said that its membershad been offered little or nopay rise for six years, despitebeing asked to hit strict pro-duction targets. Membersvoted by an overwhelmingmajority of over 90 per cent atDenby and 95 per cent atBurleigh to take part in indus-trial action.

Following strike action at Denby Potteryand Burleigh Pottery, both owned byDenby Holdings, members have votedto accept a new two-year pay deal.

Continued on page 3

SEEPAGES4 & 5

Special‘Pass it on’issue

Striking Denby workers are joined on thepicket line by Unity general secretary HarryHockaday and divisional officer John Huson.

2 L A T E S T N E W S

The journal of theUnity Trades Union

Harry Hockaday, General Secretary,Hillcrest House,Garth Street, Hanley,Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, ST1 2AB Tel: 01782 272755Fax: 01782 284902www.unitytheunion.org.uk

Editor: Stephen BarryStephen Barry PublicityTel: 020 8341 6660E: stephenbarry@clara.co.uk

Former Wedgwood shop floor worker and Unity works representativeWendy Grieveson has been appointed as a divisional officer. She willtake over from Unity veteran John Huson when he retires next June.

Wendy, who started work at head office in October, will spend thenext few months 'shadowing' John Huson and other union officersbefore talking up her new duties.

She spent 14 years working as a caster-sponger with WWRD, latter-ly at their Barlaston site, before becoming a pension's assistant at thecompany in 2010.

A well-known Unity stalwart, Wendy was a works representativefrom 1998 to 2010 and sat on the NEC for several years. She has spenttwo years as union vice-president and most recently as a trustee.

"I am very pleased to have got the job," she said. "With my exten-sive experience of working on the shop floor within the ceramicsindustry, hopefully I will be able to play a useful role as a divisionalofficer."

The mother of two grown up children, a son of 27 and a daughter of22, Wendy has been with her partner, Paul, for more than 20 years.

"Wendy Grieveson was appointed to the post of divisional officerbecause we felt that she was the best qualified candidate for the job,"said Unity general secretary Harry Hockaday. "The next few monthswill be very much a hand-over period so that she is all ready to takeover when John Huson retires next Summer."

Dear Colleague,2013 again saw another period of stability

in the ceramic sector. It also marked the firstyear of individual factory negotiations on payand terms and conditions for the companiesthat previously negotiated as a collectiveunder the 'Federation agreement'.

Although Unity withdrew from the CeramicJoint Council it still maintains a good workingrelationship with the British CeramicConfederation.

One area of the ceramic sector which hasnot done so well is sanitary.Unfortunately SilverdaleBathrooms closed and Unity iscurrently pursuing claims on

behalf of our members who lost their jobs.Also at the time of writing this report anothersanitary company 'Ours Sanitaryware' isgoing through consultation with the union onits intention to close the factory.

Although the membership remains stable,there are details in this issue on membershipand I would be grateful if you could pass onthis edition to a work colleague who may notyet be a member of Unity. Hopefully they willfind it interesting and consider joining us.

I would like to take this opportunity to sendseasonal greetings to all our members andtheir families and to wish you a happy andpeaceful 2014.

Harry Hockaday

End-of-year messagefrom general secretary

Pictured before the start of the Race for Life is Unity's contingent. Back row (from left): SueCarter, Lesley Heath, Wendy Grieveson, Angie Hockaday, Danni-Jo Morris, Sam Morris, Karen

Dovey and Vicky Morrey. Front Row (from left): Lynne Huson, Janice Eardley and Cath Maydew.

New divisional officer Wendy Grieveson is congratulated bygeneral secretary Harry Hockaday .

Wedgwood worker is new divisional officer

Members runfor cancerresearch

Eleven kind-hearted female Unity membersand head office staff raised over £1,300 forCancer Research UK by taking part in a 5kmsponsored Race for Life in Stoke-on-Trent.It was one of hundreds of similar events forwomen staged across the country.

Emma Hyatt, head of Race for Life, said:"Cancer touches us all - it does not discrim-inate between a person's age, sex or back-ground. It is the fear that we must all faceup to. By joining the collective force againstcancer, women can fight back and unite todefeat cancer. It is now cancer's turn to beafraid!"

For details of next year's Race for Life events, in which entrants canwalk, run, jog or dance, go to www.cancerresearchuk.org

Head office reception have alsobeen selling mugs made by Churchill China for the 'Churchill Challenge', withall the proceeds going to the DouglasMacMillan Hospice for cancer sufferers.

A series of 24-hour strikeswas solidly supported at themain Denby factory inDerbyshire as well as at thecompany's distribution site inDerby and at Burleigh Potteryin Stoke-on-Trent.

The company at first refusedto negotiate with the union,including involving ACAS,which was the reason for thestrike action. It agreed to talksafter Unity announced itwould step up the strike actionto two days a week.

Said Unity general secretaryHarry Hockaday: "A two-yearpay deal gives some security toour members. The offer notonly took into considerationthe company's current tradingposition but also gave mem-bers an improvement in pay."

SupportedIn a ballot at the end of

September, the offer was sup-ported by 91 per cent of mem-bers at Denby and 93 per centof members at Burleigh.

Paying tribute to Unitymembers at both companies,Mr Hockaday said: "I want totake this opportunity to thankall of our members employedat Denby Potteries andBurleigh Pottery for their soli-darity and support. Strikeaction is always a last resort;

action that Istrongly believecould have beenavoided if theemployer had cho-sen to meet withUnity sooner."

One of thosewho took to thepicket line atDenby was DavidFearn, who hasworked on the pro-duction line forover 40 years. Hetold a local news-paper: "I'd ratherbe in there makingpots than standingoutside the factoryon strike but thecompany left us nochoice. With rising inflationand little or no pay increases,we are struggling to make endsmeet. The workers feel alienat-

ed. This is the lowest point inall the 47 years I have workedat Denby."

Helen Wright is the presi-

dent of Denby Lodge and rep-resents workers at the compa-ny's warehouse in Derby. Shesaid: "I am very glad the dis-pute is over and that the com-pany has appreciated theefforts of the workforce.

Together"It was great that all the

members stuck together and Iwould like to thank them andthe union's officers for all theirsupport. We also had the sup-port of some non-Unity mem-bers, so we may now gainsome new recruits."

Chris Rhodes, the Unity

L A T E S T N E W S 3

Unity members stand firm at the Denby factory.

Unity pickets out in force at Burleigh Pottery.

Solidarity on the picket lineContinued from page 1

Did you know that by being amember of Unity, you haveaccess to Unity Additions - aportfolio of money-saving dis-counts, designed to support youboth personally and profession-ally?

Unity Additions features dis-counts on cinema tickets at manymajor cinemas, retail cash- backat over 50 retailers, package holi-days from the major tour opera-tors, car servicing & M.O.Ts, 2-for-

1 dining at over 6,000 restau-rants, corporate gym member-ships and much more!

Although only recently intro-duced as yet another memberbenefit, here are some recentgenuine savings our membershave made:

A member booked their sum-mer package holiday throughUnity Additions and saved£179.Another member booked their

short-term airport car parkingthrough Unity Additions andsaved £4.One member earned 5% cash-back at Sainsbury's andearned £15.If you have not yet taken

advantage of the money-savingscheme, simply log-on to themembers' area of our websitewww.unitytheunion.org.ukwhere you find full details ofUnity Additions.

Are you saving with Additions?

Striking Denby factory workers.

A family pet joins thepicket line at the

Denby distributioncentre.

works rep. at Burleigh Pottery,also played tribute to his fel-low members. "I received theirfull backing throughout thedispute, which was very posi-tive. On behalf of members atBurleigh I would also like tothank Harry Hockaday andJohn Huson from head officefor all their help."

A dipper at the factory andUnity's works rep. for 3½years, Chris added: "I am verypleased with the outcome,which was as much aboutachieving a sensible and moralvictory as it was about theactual money involved."

Any employee who is required to attend a disciplinary or griev-ance hearing by his or her employer is entitled to be accompa-nied by a Unity representative. The employer must permit therepresentative to put the member's case, respond to any viewsexpressed and confer with the worker during the hearing.

Most of our members who have faced either a disciplinaryhearing or initiated a grievance procedure tell us that theyconsider this to be the most important service that Unityoffers.

Sadly, many people get injuredin the workplace. Recently, thegovernment indicated that it istheir intention to abolish the 'nowin, no fee' principle. This isanother reason to join Unity.Every year we recover hundredsof thousands of pounds in com-pensation for personal injuryclaims, whether they have beencaused by an accident at work oroutside.

Our members tell us that hav-ing Unity solicitors deal withtheir claim gives them completepeace of mind. It is also impor-tant to remember that everypenny won in compensation byUnity's lawyers always goes tothe injured member.

Once you have made 52weekly contributions you areentitled to the followingfinancial benefits:

Unemployment benefit -£20 per week for fourweeks.

Industrial injury ben-efit - £25 perweek for sixweeks.

Retirementbenefit - £50after 10year's contin-uous mem-bership, plus£5 for eachsubsequentyear to a maxi-mum of £100.(We also run retirementseminars to which eligiblemembers and their part-ners can attend.)

Death benefit - £500(immediate qualification).

Immediately you join Unity you will be entitledto the following:

Free Will making facility.

Discounted rates for the preparation of aWill for your spouse.

Free 30 minute legal advice on anymatter affecting you or your immediatefamily, such as matrimonial, debt problems, disputes withneighbours, child access.

Discounted rates for buying and selling property throughthe union's solicitors.

Discounted rates for magistrate's court work.

The Unity Additions card is a unique benefits packageoffering members fantastic cost-saving discounts on a

wide range of everyday products and services,designed to support you both personally and

professionally.

Entry into two free holiday prize drawseach year.

A website which keeps you up-to-datewith union activities.

Regular issues of Unity News magazine.

Unity is committed to improving the skills of our members. That iswhy we were one of the first UK trade unions to set up a trainingsection.

Our members have access to numerous trainingopportunities, many of them nonwork-related courses, such as:

LiteracyNumeracyNVQ'sComputer skills

Free consultations are available with Unity's training officer.

I hope that you find this infor-mation useful and that it willgive you an insight into theservices and benefits that Unityprovides.

We spend our lives insuringagainst unforeseen accidentsthat would cause us terriblehardship if we were not insured.

Pay, redundancy, disciplinaryhearings, changes in work con-tracts, grievances, bullying, dis-criminations, accidents at worketc can also cause hardship anddistress, particularly if you haveto face them alone.

Join Unity today and you willnever have to face them aloneagain.

Unity's subscriptions are probably the lowest of all the TUCaffiliated trade unions. The cost is £2.40 a week for an adultand £1.80 a week for those aged 17 and under (free member-ship for young apprentices and trainees earning less than theminimum wage for that age group).

For further information about our services and benefits, andan application form, please speak to the Unity works represen-tative where you work. Alternatively, contact head office on01782 272 755 and we will be happy to answer any questionsyou may have.

Personal injury claims

he strength of Unity lies in its members and the wide range ofservices and benefits they receive. We would like everyone toenjoy these benefits, so when you have read this issue please

pass it on to a workmate who may not yet be a member. They willthen be able to see for themselves the many advantages of joining.

Unity is a community trade union. We represent people from avariety of different jobs and trades including security workers, factoryworkers, shop workers, care workers, distribution workers and manyothers. We offer a range of different services and benefits for ourmembers, which are described here.

Financialbenefits

The right to beaccompanied

A messagefrom Unitygeneral secretaryHarryHockaday

So how much does it cost?

Learning in theworkplace

Unity membership bringsbig benefits - pass it on!

T

UNITYUNITYGET THE

STRENGTH OF

UNITYAROUND YOU

More rewards

NVQ

6 L A T E S T N E W S

Three of Unity's newest members have beentrained through the ceramic industry's appren-ticeship scheme at Burleigh Pottery in Stoke-on-Trent.

Alex James is learning to be a glaze sprayer onLeeds pottery products, which were recentlyacquired by Burleigh, whilst Zoe Hannon andLeanne Bourne have finished their apprentice-ships as Burleigh transferers, a skill over 50 yearsold. All three teenagers have been trained byAxia Solutions.

They all said they enjoyed their apprentice-ships and were very pleased with all the trainingand support they received.

Chris Rhodes, Unity's works rep. at Burleigh,said all three have worked really hard to masterthe necessary skills.

"Zoe and Leanne have now been taken on per-manently and Alex hopes to be set on at the endof his apprenticeship. It is important for theunion to recruit and support apprentices asthese young workers represent our future."

As one of 28 EU countries,Britain is part of the world'sbiggest trading block - a singlemarket of more than 500 mil-lion people. Around 3.5 millionjobs currently rely on EU mem-bership, accounting for 10% ofthe workforce.

Many of our employmentrights and safety rules areunderpinned by European law.These include the right to a 20-minute break where the work-ing day is six hours or more, atleast one day off a week, and atleast four weeks' paid leave.

They include health andsafety rules that requireemployers to carry out riskassessments and take steps toprevent or control the risksidentified, and they protectsafety reps from unfair treat-ment for carrying out theirduties. They guarantee theright not to be discriminated

against or harassed on thegrounds of gender, religion orbelief, disability, age or sexualorientation.

And they state that womencannot be sacked for beingpregnant and guarantee thatthey have the right to comeback to work after maternityleave on the same pay andterms and conditions.

Income gainsWhile Eurosceptics are fond

of telling us that being a mem-ber of the EU costs us a lot ofmoney, we don't just throwmoney at Europe never to beseen again. We also get a lotback. Being a member of thesingle market and theincreased trade and affluencethis brings has resulted inincome gains in the UK ofbetween 2% and 6%. Or to put

it another way, that meansevery man, woman and childin Britain is better off bybetween £457 and £1373 a year!

Of course Europe isn't per-fect but by working togetherwith other European countrieswe're stronger and more pros-perous. Labour's alternativevision would put investmentin jobs and growth ahead ofausterity and would reformEurope, not leave it.

But at present, there are just194 MEPs in the Socialists andDemocrats (S&D) Group,which includes Labour MEPs,out of a total of 776. And just 13out of 73 UK representatives inthe Parliament are LabourMEPs; partly as a result ofprotest votes at the 2009European elections which saw13 UKIP and two BNP MEPselected.

If we want Labour MEPs

who will invest in jobs andgrowth and who will workalongside trade unions todefend workers' rights andfight back against austerity, weneed Unity members to workalongside us to get them elect-ed in the European elections on22 May 2014.

Ask the

Experts

Why Britain is Stronger in EuropeThere is a real risk that David Cameron is leading us towards a British exit from theEuropean Union (EU), as he seeks to appease the Eurosceptics both inside and outsidehis party. That's bad for business and for workers, says Labour's leader in the EuropeanParliament and MEP for the East Midlands Glenis Willmott. Here she sets out just someof the reasons why Britain is stronger in Europe.

MEP Glenis Willmott.

Teenage apprentices look to the future

Leanne Bourne. Alex James. Zoe Hannon.

I have a 'zero hours'contract but I workthe same 25 hours

every week. What doesthis mean?

Like any employmentcontract, the startingpoint is your written

contract terms - and undera zero hours contract theemployer typically doesnot guarantee to provideany working hours at all.

When working out thecontract terms of a zerohours employee, a tribunalmust look not just at thecontract itself but also atthe surrounding circum-stances. For example, thetribunal must check to seewhether, even though thecontract says your contractis for zero hours, the truesituation is that you arerequired to work regularhours.

It is important to keepyour own clear record ofyour working days, hours,pay and holidays, and tokeep copies of your payslips.

Call head office on01782 272 755 if you needany more information onthis issue.

Q

A

L A T E S T N E W S 7

It has been announcedthat the Ours SanitaryWare factory in Middle-wich, Cheshire is toclose with the loss of 180jobs.

Unity has around 50members at the site, former-ly Ideal Standard, which isowned by multi-nationalHKR International Ltd. TheHong Kong based companybought the business in 2011.

In a statement made toemployees on October 7,Ours Sanitary Ware said:"As you are aware we havebeen striving to achieve abreak-even position and ourparent company HKR hasbeen providing cash to theUK and constantly review-ing the cost of funding thebusiness." The statementadded that the planned clo-sure was due partly tochanges in global economicconditions.

Unity general secretaryHarry Hockaday said hewas saddened by the clo-sure announcement andthat the union would doeverything it could toensure that members facingredundancy received thebest possible financial deal.

He added that Unitywould support any movethat would assist in findingalternative solutions thatmay avoid closing the site.

It is ironic that shortlybefore the closure

announcement was made,Ours Sanitary Ware won anational competition toselect a company who had"successfully dealt with achallenge." This referred tothe reopening of the IdealStandard site, re-employingformer employees andbringing back manufactur-ing from China.

Protest overEU loophole in agency workers' payIn September the TUC lodged a formalcomplaint with the European commis-sion against the UK government for fail-ing to implement the TemporaryAgency Workers Directive properly, lead-ing to tens of thousands of agencyworkers being paid less than permanentworkers despite doing the same job.

The TUC complaint says that the UKgovernment's flawed implementation ofthe EU directive has allowed the abuseof so-called 'Swedish derogation' -where employment agencies payagency workers far less than permanentstaff doing the same job.

The TUC has gathered evidence fromworkplaces where agency staff are paidup to £135 a week less than permanentstaff doing the same job in the sameplace.

The Swedish derogation contractexempts the agency from having to paythe workers the same rate of pay, aslong as the agency directly employsindividuals and guarantees to pay themfor at least four weeks during the timesthey can't find them work.

In Sweden, where these contractsoriginate, workers still receive equal payonce in post and 90 per cent of normalpay between assignments. However inthe UK workers have no equal pay rightsand are paid half as much as theyreceived in their last assignment, or min-imum wage rates, between assign-ments. Agencies can also cut theirhours, so they receive as little as onehour of paid work a week.

Evidence gathered by the TUC showsthat the Swedish-style contracts areused regularly in call centres, food pro-duction, logistics firms and parts ofmanufacturing. The number of UK work-ers on Swedish derogation contracts hasgrown rapidly since 2011. Around one insix agency workers are now on thesecontracts, according to a report from theRecruitment and EmploymentConfederation.

The TUC believes that the growingexploitation of workers on Swedishderogation contracts, along with the riseof zero hours contracts and involuntarytemporary work, show that behindimproving employment statistics lies anincreasingly insecure and vulnerableworkforce.

Unless the UK government acts toprotect workers, the jobs market willcontinue to be dogged by low-wage,insecure jobs.

Cheshiresanitaryware siteto close

NEWS

Conferencedates

Unity delegates and officerswill gather in Blackpoolnext May for the union'sbiennial conference.

The conference will takeplace from May 14-16 at thetown's Imperial Hotel.

Weekly substo rise by 10p

The weekly membership subscrip-tion will go up from 1st January2014 from £2.30 to £2.40 for adultsand from £1.73 to £1.80 for theyouth rate. Despite this, Unity sub-scription is probably the lowest ofall the TUC affiliated trade unions.

The proportion of young women in low-paid, low-skill jobs has trebledover the last 20 years, according to new TUC-commissioned research.

The study, carried out for the TUC by The Work Foundation, shows thatbetween 1993 and 2011 the share of female 16-24 year-olds in employ-ment doing low-paid work has increased from seven per cent to 21 percent. Over the same period the proportion of young men working inlow-paid jobs also rose from around one in seven to one in four. Thestudy also reveals how gender still plays a huge part in determiningyoung people's careers.

Just one in a 100 young women worked in skilled trades in 2011, com-pared to one in five young men. And four times more young womenworked in personal service occupations like hairdressing than youngmen.

The research also shows how despite being better qualified than theirmale peers, young women are still following employmentroutes that offer lower wage returns.

The gender jobs split finds that:

More young people have become trapped inlow-paid, low-skill jobs.

Gender segregation is rife at the lower end of theyouth jobs market.

There is a big gender split in apprenticeships.

Young women are getting a lower wage return ontheir qualifications.

Young women are more like to be economically inactive because ofcaring responsibilities.

Commenting on the research, TUC general secretary Frances O'Gradysaid: The youth labour market has become a harsher place for youngpeople over the past 20 years, especially for young women.

While there has been a welcome rise in the number of females gain-ing qualifications, many still find themselves trapped in low-skill, low-wage jobs."

More young women than men stuck in low-paid jobs

Show Racism the Red Card andunionlearn - the TUC's learningand skills organisation - havesigned a Memorandum ofUnderstanding which commitsboth parties to workingtogether to combatracism througheducation.

Unionlearn willuse its networkof 30,000 learn-ing reps in work-places across theUK to get the anti-racism messageacross.

Show Racism the RedCard is the UK's anti-racismeducation charity. It uses thehigh profile of professionalfootballers as anti-racism rolemodels and campaigns againstracism through publications,educational events and work-shops for adults and young peo-ple.

The organisation was set upin 1995 with the help of the UNI-SON trade union.

TUC general secretary Frances

O'Grady said: "Professional foot-ballers too often face horrificand very public racial abuse.Show Racism the Red Card hasshown that footballers can use

their profile to be effectiveanti-racism ambassa-

dors, particularlywhen speaking toyoung people.

"By workingwith Show Racismthe Red Card, theTUC can educate

people and setabout eradicating

racism school-by-school, college-by-college

and, through our network of30,000 learning reps in work-places across the UK."

A Memorandum ofUnderstanding has also beensigned between unionlearn andThe Age and EmploymentNetwork. The agreement com-mits both organisations to worktogether to support the employ-ability and career progressionof older people in the work-force.

Unionlearn joins thefight against racism

In the morning they wereaddressed by union officerDave Wood, who spoke aboutthe crucial issue of recruit-ment, including the impor-tance of signing up new mem-bers at sites where Unity isalready recognised.

Stephen Pinder, from theunion's solicitors EAD, spentthe rest of the day outliningchanges in the world ofemployment law. He said: "It isa time of great change asregards legal principles associ-ated with the world of work,both in terms of the workplaceand also how legal cases mightthen be pursued."

He pointed out that a signif-icant date was 29 July when

the Government made changesin the following areas:

Within the workplace theintroduction of "private

conversations", this is a mecha-nism for parties to an employ-ment relationship to negotiatean exit from the workplacewithout the contents of the dis-cussion ever being consideredby an Employment Tribunalunless there has been improperbehaviour.

Employment Tribunal feeswere introduced. For a sin-

gle unfair dismissal claim toproceed to a Tribunal hearingit may result in a fee being paidof £1,200. Unity has agreed toassist members in relation tothe payment of the fee, thisbeing a very significant benefitfor Union members.

New rules before theEmployment Tribunal,

leading to increased formality

in the process, another goodreason why members shouldobtain help with employmentdisputes from Unity.

A cap was introduced forcompensation for unfair

dismissal of one year's loss ofwages.

"Even before 29 July therewere a number of importantchanges in relation to variousaspects of employment law,including the law on consulta-tion for redundancies inrespect of whistle blowing andother issues," said Mr Pinder.

General secretary HarryHockaday said: "There was avery good attendance at theseminar and many interestingand thoughtful questions wereasked by representatives. Wehold these regular events forfactory representatives so thatthey can be kept abreast of thelatest developments within theunion and outside. By doing sothey will best be able to helpmembers on issues that affectthem on a daily basis."

8 L A T E S T N E W S

Seminar keeps reps up to date

Helpingmembers

master theinternet

Workers at Moorcroft, some of them Unity members, dressed upin period costume to commemorate the opening 100 years agoof the company's new factory. Back in 1913, owner WilliamMoorcroft led his workers from their former place of work totheir new state-of-the art factory in Sandbach Road, Burslem.

Peter Green, who joined Unity (thencalled CATU) back in1969, hasreceived an honorary life member-ship certificate to mark more than40 years with the union.

A Murray Curvex printer at theBurleigh Pottery in Middleport,Stoke-on-Trent, he worked atJohnson Brothers' Imperial Worksand Wedgwood's Alexandra Worksbefore moving to Burleigh in 2003.

Peter received his life member-ship certificate from Unity generalsecretary Harry Hockaday togetherwith best wishes for the future.

So as to be kept up to date with current union activities aswell as changes in the law, more than 30 factory represen-tatives attended a day’s briefing session at head office.

By the time you receivethis issue, the winner of aUnity prize draw, whowill receive a computerworth up to £250, willhave been announced.

All members who complet-ed the Learnmyway on-linebasics course beforeDecember had their namesentered in the free draw.

Said Gerald Crookes,Unity's training manager: "Wewant to help members get thebest basic computer skillsneeded to allow them to usethe internet and all it has tooffer.

"People who can use theinternet find it helps them toget the best deals as far ascheaper holidays, cheaper gasand electricity and cheaperinsurance are concerned. Theycan also keep in touch withfriends and family plus a hostof other benefits."

He added that computerusers are more likely to havethe confidence and skillsrequired when seeking pro-motion at work.

"We are here to help youand you are invited to useUnity's training facilities athead office in Hanley onFriday afternoons," saidGerald.

All you need to do is ringhim on 01782 272 755 to bookan appointment. There is freeparking.

Veteran memberhonoured

Moorcroftworkerstake astep backin time

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