Christian Kerr

A thread of Future of Children's Care podcasts...

Our statement on yesterday’s news regarding the resolution of the #BirminghamBinStrike. 🧵 #StrikeMap #Workers #Birmingham #Unite #Bins #Power

@Coop1878 Funny, the gun lobby in the US says exactly the same thing.

@SWConcern Haha that’s brilliant. All problems with how we’ve chosen to use the tool and not the tool.

A realist-dystopian vision of the future of AI in social work practice, originally developed for another piece of work and drawing on Ruth Levitas' utopian method. medium.com/p/ai-in-social…

If you are deciding how to vote, here is my case in brief. Still a practitioner. 25% salary cut pledge. Real branch governance. Transparency. Race equality at the centre. I am asking for your vote because I know this union can be more for its members. #SWUElection

My priorities year 1: - Member branches - Forums for local solutions to discrimination in our workplaces - Organisers coproducing strategy - Collective shared power, accessible to every member - Strengthening relationships that serve members - Transparency, democracy

This is not just a vote for a person. It is a vote for the direction of your union. For openness. For real member power. For a union that names racism and fights for equality. Your vote decides that. #SWUElection #SocialWorkersUnion #YourVoteCounts #SocialWork #VoteCalum

Ian Hodson is a true working class Trade Unionist, someone who has fought for and won better pay and conditions for his industry, I am hugely grateful for his support.

“Not endorsed by SWU” = Pledge 1 - cutting the General Secretary salary by 25% ✅ Pledge 2 - investment in regional organisers✅ Pledge 3 - embedding the Workforce Race Equality Standards✅ Three concrete, actionable promises. Vote #Calum4GS

Over 100 social workers have signed our open letter calling for fair pay and proper recognition for the profession. Social workers carry some of the most serious responsibilities in public life. It's time the Government matched that with fair pay & investment. link below 🔗

Good social work is someone sitting with complexity and not reaching for the easiest answer. And it is a workforce that has what it needs to do that well. A good union is part of how that happens. #SocialWork #GoodPractice #SWUElection #SocialWorker #SocialWorkersUnion

Who am I and why am I standing? Working class background. Had a social worker as a young person. Started my career working alongside social workers. 18 years later, I'm still here. Because I care about this profession, I want social workers supported to do the best possible job.

BASW and SWU are stronger working together. But the roles need to be clearer. BASW is the professional body. SWU is your trade union. Members deserve both doing their jobs well. I want to develop that relationship, not end it. #SWUElection #SocialWork #BASW

Once again I am so grateful to member's for putting their faith in me. Thank you, Lisa.

Something’s off. Increasing numbers of SWU members are concerned about the process for electing the new General Secretary. If you’re a member of SWU, please read, share and consider signing this open letter of complaint regarding the election process. openletter.earth/open-letter-of…

I have made a pledge on pay. If elected, I will reduce the General Secretary salary by 25%. Pay rises should be voted on at AGM and should match what social workers themselves are receiving. Members' money deserves the same accountability we apply to public funds every day.

Social workers are remarkable at looking after everyone except themselves. A union that does not acknowledge the emotional weight of this work is not doing its job properly. Rest is a right, not a reward. I hope you are getting some today. #SocialWork #SocialWorker #SWUElection

I left school with one qualification. I found out years later that I have ADHD. I had a social worker as a young person and it gave me a way forward. I became a social worker because I cannot walk past injustice. That has never changed. #SWUElection #SocialWorker

No slogans. No vague promises comprised of warm words. Just a simple strategy: members first, always.

Not its leadership. Its members.  I want to build a Social Workers Union where your voice genuinely shapes what we do and how we do it. Not just in a crisis but every single day.  Our strength comes from the ground. That is the whole strategy.  #SWUElection #SocialWorkersUnion

Huge thanks to Janet, a leading health and safety expert and trade union educator with 40 years' experience, who understands the risk to health of high caseloads and lone working. I am delighted to have her support.