Operation Greek vote, can we learn from other communities?

The aim of the project, Operation Greek vote, is to identify where those who are in the community live and help them ensure that they understand the benefits of exercising their democratic right to vote and fully participate. There are of course good practice examples of other organised communities in London that have shown us how this can be done. The most successful of these has been Operation Black vote. We will of course aim to work with other groups and unify our endeavours. Anyone who wishes to volunteer and help can contact Nick on Nick@lgr.co.uk the next major election in London is the one to elect the Mayor next year. We must be ready for that.

Operation Greek vote

One of the comments made by several readers is whether there is a need for us to organise as a Greek community. I would imagine the answer to  that question would be that in an ideal world we should not need to do this but unfortunately we do not live in a perfect world and discrimination against some in the community is still to be seen. The only valid and known way to engage with the democratic system of any country is for citizens to get involved and be able to vote. I frequently hear of stories from older members of the community who feel left out and younger people who do not believe that their needs and interests are protected in the same way as others. The only way to exercise any influence over this is to have a voice and the best way to have a strong voice is through the ballot box.

Operation Greek vote

The initial findings of the research we are contacting are showing that the majority of British citizens who either speak Greek or are of Greek origin are in about 9 London boroughs. The majority in Barnet, Enfield, Haringey, Camden, Hackney, Westminster and Croydon. People of the Parikia are of course to be found in every part of London.

So if we were to assume that there are 3 constituencies in each of the boroughs this fact would allow us to think that the Greek vote could have an impact on 27 constituencies which means that the influence the Parikia vote can have is significant. This is of course the reason we need to organise more effectively.

Operation Greek vote

Several people have contacted us asking why it is important for the Parikia to engage with this project? Well the answer is a simple one, it is important for every citizen of this country to be able to participate in the democratic process. Those who are eligible to vote need to register to do so. There are pockets of what we call first generation members of the Parikia who do not speak good English and would benefit with help and support in engaging. And then there are thousands of students who live and study here who can also register to vote.

Operation Greek vote

We raised this subject on several occassions in the past and explained the need for the Greek community in London to organise and encourage all who are eligible to vote to do so. I am glad that several people have now agreed to do the work and the research has now started.

Ελληνικη κοινοτιτα

Η ελληνική κοινότητα του Λονδίνου είναι  οργανομενη με  καπιο τροπο, αλλά χρειάζεται να γίνει μια προσπαθια για να προσδιορίσει όπου όλοι είμαστε.

Υπάρχουν 32 εκλογικές περιοχές στο Λονδινο. Η πλειοψηφία του ελληνικού πληθυσμού μπορούν να βρεθούν σε 12 από αυτούς τους τομείς.

Υπάρχει σαφής ανάγκη να κάνουμε περισσότερη έρευνα για να διαπιστωθεί κατά το που  όλοι είμαστε και πως οι ηγέτες της κοινότητας μπορουν να βοηθήσουν με την ανάπτυξη μας.

συνταξιοδοτικές αλλαγές

σημαντική αλλαγή όσο οι κρατικές συντάξεις είναι ενδιαφερόμενη προέρχεται από το συνταξιοδοτικό νόμο το 2007 αυτό ανατρέφει την κρατική ηλικία συνταξιοδότησης από 65 έως 66 έτη.

Radio marathon on LGR volunteers

Radiomarathon is always looking for volunteers! You can help us in the office, help us to run a fundraising event or even give us a hand with maintenence work around the centre.
If you would like to become a volunteer, please contact the centre on:
01992 713 297 or e-mail info@radiomarathon.co.uk

Discrimination on the grounds of religious belief

What does it mean and how it can be tested?

Discrimination on the grounds of any religious or philosophical belief is now protected by the law.

For a belief to qualify for the protection of the law it must be genuinely held, relate to a weighty aspect of human life and elements of it must be seen as being worthy of respect. In other words if an employer discriminates against an employee because they are Christian or Muslim (or other) then the employer must prove that the reason for treating that individual differently was not because of their right to exercise their religion.

TUPE Regulations

I have been asked on several occasions what TUPE means.

The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations (TUPE) protects employees' terms and conditions of employment when a business is transferred from one owner to another. Employees of the previous owner when the business changes hands automatically become employees of the new employer on the same terms and conditions. It's as if their employment contracts had originally been made with the new employer. Their continuity of service and any other rights are all preserved. Both old and new employers are required to inform and consult employees affected directly or indirectly by the transfer.

Operation Greek vote

I recently wrote about the need and the importance of registering to vote at elections and explained what the system is. Akis from Barnet has contacted me saying that whilst the information I gave out was correct I did not clarify that there is a distinction between citizens of the Republic of Cyprus and Greece. The difference is that citizens of the Republic of Cyprus can register and vote at all elections whereas Greek citizens may only vote at local government elections. I publish the government guidance below for the sake of clarification. My thanks to Akis.


... British, Irish and qualifying citizens of Commonwealth countries (including Cyprus and Malta) can vote at all elections.
Citizens of other EU member states resident in the UK can vote in local government elections but cannot vote in UK Parliamentary elections.
Those resident in Scotland or Wales may also vote in Scottish Parliamentary or National Assembly for Wales elections.

Ελληνική μετάφραση



τα άτομα με διαβατήρια  Βρετανικά, ιρλανδικά και τυγχάνουν va eivai  πολίτες των χωρών μελών της Κοινοπολιτείας (συμπεριλαμβανομένων Κύπρος και Μάλτα), μπορούν να ψηφίσουν σε όλες τις εκλογές.


Οι πολίτες των άλλων κρατών-μελών της ΕΕ που κατοικούν στο Ηνωμένο Βασίλειο, μπορούν να ψηφίσουν στις δημοτικές εκλογές, αλλά δεν μπορούν να ψηφίσουν στις βρετανικές βουλευτικές εκλογές.

Εκείνοι που κατοικούν στη Σκωτία ή την Ουαλία μπορούν επίσης να ψηφίσουν Σκωτίας Κοινοβουλευτικής ή National Assembly for Wales εκλογές.

Changes in pension age

A significant change as far as state pensions is concerned comes from The Pensions Act 2007 this raises the state pension age from 65 to 66 years the reason given for the need to do this is the increase in the aging population.

The change in the state pension age to 66 for men and women begins gradually from December 2018 until April 2020. The Pensions Act 2007 also raises the state pension age to 67 and 68.

International Women's Day centenary

The TUC will be marking the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day with a celebration of sisterhood and solidarity at Congress House on March 7. Leading trade unionists from Peru, Ireland and Nepal will join Frances O'Grady and Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities Yvette Cooper as speakers at the event.
Details @
http://www.tuc.org.uk/events/detail.cfm?event=3273

Changes to national insurance contributions

The changes to NI contributions mean that the primary employee threshold for national insurance contributions increases by £570.At the same time National insurance contributions increase by 1% for employees. The personal allowance for income tax for basic rate tax payers under the age of 65 is increased by £1,000.

The standard rate of statutory sick pay increases from £79.15 to £81.60 per week. Information on the new rates (PDF format, 232K) can be viewed on the Department for Work and Pensions website.

Minimum wage

I have received a number of inquiries recently asking what is the minimum wage and what the current rates are. The minimum wage simply means that employers are obliged to remunerate their employees at or above the rate set.

For periods starting on or after 1 October 2010, the main rate of the national minimum wage for workers aged 21 and over rose to £5.93 The development rate for workers aged 18 to 20 went up to £4.92, and for those employed and under the age of 18 who are no longer of compulsory school age rose to £3.64. A rate of £2.50 per hour was brought in for apprentices who are aged 19 or under in the first 12 months of the apprenticeship.

Urgent appeal for people from Black and Ethnic communities with a link to organ donation

leading UK charity dedicated to finding life-saving donors from Black, Asian, Mixed Race and other minority ethnic communities in the UK would like to hear from you about an exciting new initiative, if you or a family member has ever donated an organ, received an organ donation or are on the organ transplant waiting list. They would like to speak to you or someone from your family in confidence. As the initiative is due to start later in February, they would like you to contact them as soon as possible. To find out more and for their contact details, visit: http://www.unison.org.uk/blackmembers/pages_view.asp?did=12419

Retirement issues

A bleak picture of retirement has emerged , with a study revealing that millions of people will have to work in retirement, or struggle with barely enough income to survive. And while it is worrying enough that over 50% of those over 55 do not have savings, even more alarming is the level of debts older people are carrying.So just how bad have things become?Among the most shocking findings of the report is that one in ten people over the age of 75 are still paying the mortgage, with an average outstanding debt of £72,500. Some 20% of those over 55 still have a mortgage, with an average of £64,511 left to pay on it.This is of course of great concern to those members who have retired with average pensions falling and with government proposals to changing the way pay increases are awarded. More should be done for those in retirement to link with 'parent branches' and join the fight that we will all have to be involved with soon.

TUC Tribunal warning

As the government plans to launch a major review of employment tribunals, the TUC has warned that any reforms to the system could stop employees who have been wronged at work from seeking justice and give rogue employers the green light to break the law.While employer groups have been lobbying for ministers to make fundamental changes, the TUC says that rather than complaining about the cost of cases, employers should improve practices and ensure they stay within the law.Full story available @http://www.tuc.org.uk/industrial/tuc-18989-f0.cfm

LGR and the future

LGR is the only Greek language radio station in the capital city of London serving the needs and aspirations of the Greek speaking community.

The most up to date figures and stats tell us that there are at least 300,000 people living and working in London who have a connection with Greece or Cyprus.

The link between Greeks and London started centuries ago when a number of Greeks from the mainland and the Aegean islands settled in the capital. These were people associated mainly with shipping. There was a large number of Greeks from the island of Chios who constructed the first Greek Orthodox cathedral in Moscow road W2.

The second wave of immigration came from Cyprus in the mid to late 50s with the encouragement of the British government who invited people from the colonies to come and work here helping with the reconstruction of the country following the second world war.

This policy encouraged a proportion of Greek and Turkish Cypriot settlers coming over. We call this second wave or the first generation. The second generation consists of people who were born in the UK in the 60s and 70s. British citizens born in the UK of Greek or Greek Cypriot parents are seen as having fully integrated into British society many of them choosing to marry people from different ethnic backgrounds. The second generation also chose to attend Greek evening or weekend school supported by the Greek government.

The first generation of immigrants from Cyprus kept very close ties with the country of origin and spoke fluent Greek. Second generation people. like myself, seem to have their foot into both camps/cultures most speak reasonably good Greek but the majority of them are native speakers of English.

A number of associations have been created to cater for the interests of the Greek speaking population but the arrival of London Greek Radio some 22 years ago so a shift and a change in the way we communicate with each other as a community. So LGR has served a great purpose with enabling us to communicate easily and in a very immediate way. There have been a number of weekly newspapers of course like Parikiaki which is still doing well and in circulation.

The most advantageous development associated with the emergence of LGR is linked with the fact that the third generation, children born after the late 70s and early 80s are able to become informed and get involved by the mere fact that they can be exposed to the Greek language and culture by simply switching on to 103.3 FM.

This is of course a significant positive in that we are now able to help the third generation discover their roots ensuring that the children born from parents born in the UK retain their cultural characteristics or at least have the option of knowing where they came from and who they and their parents are.

And it is for that reason that the LGR team know that they have a clear obligation and responsibility to do their best to inform and educate. But I know those who work with LGR have done a lot and more will be done ( hence the introduction of this new LGR community page/blog)

Those driving the changes behind the scenes include people like John Kyriakides, Nick Venedi, Giorgos Grigoriou, Vasoulla, Vasillis, Akis Iralkeou and the other members of the great LGR team the list is endless and everyone has a significant contribution to make.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVEsNs2qbho

Skill up! Green up! Unionlearn SERTUC conference

Greek community activists may be interested in this event organised by the TUC.

This event is for union and community activists in London, southern and eastern regions Date: Saturday (follow the link below) This page gives information on an event for union and community activists in London, southern and eastern regions.

http://www.tuc.org.uk/workplace/tuc-19089-f0.cfm

Equality Act 2010

Interesting news on the Equality front and government attempts to bring harmonise the different strands of Equality related legislation.

Members of the Greek and other London based communities will be affected by the changes. I am always looking for examples where unfair treatment is experienced at the work place. There are no available statistics telling us how British citizens (subjects) of Greek origin are treated at the work place. Email me at Nick@lgr.co.uk if you have any stories to tell, the information will be treated with confidence and you will get a response within 24 hours.

Under the new amended version of the Equality Act 2010, employers will be able to treat applicants with a 'protected characteristic' differently (i.e. more favourably) during the recruitment and promotion stages when dealing with a number of candidates of equal merit. This distinct treatment will only be lawful if the different process applied is intended to address under-representation in the workforce. The single public sector equality duty will also come in and both provisions will become the law as from 6 April 2011. Unions have been consulted and I would expect to see a detailed response to how this will work soon from Unison and the TUC.

Equal treatment for agency workers

Another interesting change coming in from 1 October 2011, concerns the way employers deal with agency workers they will now be entitled to equal treatment on basic employment conditions, such as pay and holidays, after they have worked in a role for 12 weeks.