Employers offer a paltry 2% pay offer during what branch secretary Rob Evans described at the most hostile NJC meeting he has ever attended.
On 20th March the trade unions dismissed the offer as “insulting and demeaning” and “not good enough to consult on”. The employers accepted that the unions would not put the offer to the membership and were visibly shaken by the attack from the floor. They did however ask for further talks and agreed to take the unions rejection back to local authorities across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
UNISON Head of Local Government Heather Wakefield said: “This is effectively a pay cut. With today’s inflation rates going up to 4.6% and living costs rising much faster than council workers pay, millions of workers are being pushed closer to the breadline. This is a paltry pay award which will drive down the morale of staff further. Make no mistake about it our members are extremely angry.” “Our members are angry. 70% of employers have failed to complete on pay and grading reviews promised by the end of this month. In addition the review of the local government pension scheme has yet to be completed.”
NB: FROM APRIL ISSUE OF BRANCH NEWS LETTER
Thursday, 12 April 2007
£1.7M RECOVERED FOR INJURED UNISON MEMBERS IN 2006
The great news is that UNISON Cymru/Wales members and their families benefited from compensation of nearly 1.7 million pounds in 2006 as a result of successful personal injury claims brought by Thompsons Solicitors, UNISON’s lawyers.
The total damages won for members and their families was £1,699 449.
What was surprising though, was that this significant amount of compensation was recovered on fewer cases than the previous 12 months. So whilst it is great news that we are securing so much compensation, there may be other members, or their families, who are missing out on what they are entitled to.
A lot is written in the press about a so called compensation culture. But that is a myth. Personal injury claims in Wales are falling every year. We hope that genuinely injured people, including UNISON members, are not being put off claiming because of the nonsense that is being written about a claims culture.
We know from our statistics that per head of membership population, a smaller percentage of UNISON members pursue claims compared with the percentage of the overall general population that pursue claims. It is unlikely that UNISON members get injured less often, and so members are either not accessing the specialist advice they need, or they are chancing their case with a jack-of-all-trades lawyer or even an unregulated claims company.
UNISON members should remember that if someone else’s negligence causes them or their loved ones injury, and it is possible to prove that this negligence was the cause of that injury, then it is their right to claim damages.
UNISON’s legal service, provided by specialist personal injury lawyers Thompsons, is totally free to members injured at or away from work, and to friends and family members injured away from work, whether or not the claim is successful. Use it.
NB: FROM APRIL ISSUE OF BRANCH NEWSLETTER
The total damages won for members and their families was £1,699 449.
What was surprising though, was that this significant amount of compensation was recovered on fewer cases than the previous 12 months. So whilst it is great news that we are securing so much compensation, there may be other members, or their families, who are missing out on what they are entitled to.
A lot is written in the press about a so called compensation culture. But that is a myth. Personal injury claims in Wales are falling every year. We hope that genuinely injured people, including UNISON members, are not being put off claiming because of the nonsense that is being written about a claims culture.
We know from our statistics that per head of membership population, a smaller percentage of UNISON members pursue claims compared with the percentage of the overall general population that pursue claims. It is unlikely that UNISON members get injured less often, and so members are either not accessing the specialist advice they need, or they are chancing their case with a jack-of-all-trades lawyer or even an unregulated claims company.
UNISON members should remember that if someone else’s negligence causes them or their loved ones injury, and it is possible to prove that this negligence was the cause of that injury, then it is their right to claim damages.
UNISON’s legal service, provided by specialist personal injury lawyers Thompsons, is totally free to members injured at or away from work, and to friends and family members injured away from work, whether or not the claim is successful. Use it.
NB: FROM APRIL ISSUE OF BRANCH NEWSLETTER
FLEXI TIME
UNISON recently welcomed a government minister's call for everybody to have access to flexible working.
Children's minister Beverley Hughes made the call in an essay for the Institute for Public Policy Research, published as part of a collection called Politics for a New Generation: The Progressive Movement - by leading Labour figures to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the 1997 general election.
With flexible working largely available to be taken up by working mothers, it has come to be seen as reinforcing the glass ceiling, making it harder for women to gain promotion.
UNISON has campaigned for universal flexible working for some years. "It is the only way to stop flexible working from being seen as a 'mummy track'," commented policy officer Michelle Singleton. "It's a win-win policy which reduces absenteeism and boosts employee morale"
Ms Hughes' call for flexible working to be available to all, not just parents of young children, has not been raised within government though not in the department for Trade and Industry, the Department for Work and Pensions, or the Department for Education and Skills, where Ms Hughes is a minister.
A spokesperson for the DTI told UNISON: "There is nothing in the pipeline to do with what the minister is saying."However, the Work and Families Act is coming into force and so there will be an extension of maternity Leave to nine months by April, extending to 12 months by the end of the Parliament." The DTI also pointed out that flexible working rights will be extended to carers in April, benefiting up to 2.8 million people.
Ending Long Hours Culture, Low Pay and Investing in Childcare is Answer to Damning UNICEF Survey. Low pay, the long hours culture and the lack of accessible quality childcare are key factors in the UK coming bottom of the UNICEF league table on children’s well-being, said UNISON, the UK’s largest union, today.
Dave Prentis, General Secretary of UNISON, representing 1.4m members said: “This is a truly shocking report highlighting the plight of our nation’s children. It cannot be a coincidence that at the same time as being bottom of the league table, we have the longest working hours in Europe. When you combine this with the huge problems caused by low pay, particularly among “traditional” women’s jobs, you have a dangerous cocktail. There is a real problem caused by the increasing disparity between the rich and affluent and the poor and powerless, made worse by the kind of indecent bonuses paid out to some city workers.”“The Government must make investment in childcare a spending priority. The way to tackle the growing inequalities in society is to provide support for families and low paid workers, and to ensure quality childcare is sustainable. All the evidence shows that investing in childcare pays long-term dividends, in terms of employment, earnings and life chances.”
NB: FROM APRIL ISSUE OF BRANCH NEWS LETTER
Children's minister Beverley Hughes made the call in an essay for the Institute for Public Policy Research, published as part of a collection called Politics for a New Generation: The Progressive Movement - by leading Labour figures to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the 1997 general election.
With flexible working largely available to be taken up by working mothers, it has come to be seen as reinforcing the glass ceiling, making it harder for women to gain promotion.
UNISON has campaigned for universal flexible working for some years. "It is the only way to stop flexible working from being seen as a 'mummy track'," commented policy officer Michelle Singleton. "It's a win-win policy which reduces absenteeism and boosts employee morale"
Ms Hughes' call for flexible working to be available to all, not just parents of young children, has not been raised within government though not in the department for Trade and Industry, the Department for Work and Pensions, or the Department for Education and Skills, where Ms Hughes is a minister.
A spokesperson for the DTI told UNISON: "There is nothing in the pipeline to do with what the minister is saying."However, the Work and Families Act is coming into force and so there will be an extension of maternity Leave to nine months by April, extending to 12 months by the end of the Parliament." The DTI also pointed out that flexible working rights will be extended to carers in April, benefiting up to 2.8 million people.
Ending Long Hours Culture, Low Pay and Investing in Childcare is Answer to Damning UNICEF Survey. Low pay, the long hours culture and the lack of accessible quality childcare are key factors in the UK coming bottom of the UNICEF league table on children’s well-being, said UNISON, the UK’s largest union, today.
Dave Prentis, General Secretary of UNISON, representing 1.4m members said: “This is a truly shocking report highlighting the plight of our nation’s children. It cannot be a coincidence that at the same time as being bottom of the league table, we have the longest working hours in Europe. When you combine this with the huge problems caused by low pay, particularly among “traditional” women’s jobs, you have a dangerous cocktail. There is a real problem caused by the increasing disparity between the rich and affluent and the poor and powerless, made worse by the kind of indecent bonuses paid out to some city workers.”“The Government must make investment in childcare a spending priority. The way to tackle the growing inequalities in society is to provide support for families and low paid workers, and to ensure quality childcare is sustainable. All the evidence shows that investing in childcare pays long-term dividends, in terms of employment, earnings and life chances.”
NB: FROM APRIL ISSUE OF BRANCH NEWS LETTER
HAVE A HEART: GIVE US FAIR PAY
'Have a heart - give us fair pay' was the message when local government unions handed in their 2007-8 pay claim on Valentine's Day.
At the end of January, the Retail Price Index was 4.2%. In December, it had topped 4.4% - the highest figure since 1991.
"Big increases in energy, transport and housing costs over the past year have eaten further into our members' pay," commented UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis. "Local government members' pay has slipped back against the private and other sectors," he said, adding that Treasury talk of restricting public-sector pay awards to 2% or less was "unrealistic".The claim from UNISON, the T&G and the GMB is on behalf of 1.3 million workers, more than 60% of whom earn just £15,825 or less a year - around £8,000 less than the national average. Seventy-five percent of these are women.
The claim itself calls for: any deal to be for one year only; to ensure a £6.30 underpin on the minimum hourly rate; the greater of 5% or £1,000; an increase in annual leave of 1 day for all employees; an increase in basic annual leave entitlement to 25 days per year as the minimum entitlement for all employees; a reduction in the standard working week to 35 hours, without loss of pay; an increase in the night shift allowance over three years from time and a third, to time and a half, to time and three quarters, to double time in the final year; an increase in the sleep-in allowance to £60.
Scottish local government pay rates are due to increase on 1 April 2007 as part of a deal agreed in June 2006.
NB: FROM APRIL ISSUE OF BRANCH NEWS LETTER
At the end of January, the Retail Price Index was 4.2%. In December, it had topped 4.4% - the highest figure since 1991.
"Big increases in energy, transport and housing costs over the past year have eaten further into our members' pay," commented UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis. "Local government members' pay has slipped back against the private and other sectors," he said, adding that Treasury talk of restricting public-sector pay awards to 2% or less was "unrealistic".The claim from UNISON, the T&G and the GMB is on behalf of 1.3 million workers, more than 60% of whom earn just £15,825 or less a year - around £8,000 less than the national average. Seventy-five percent of these are women.
The claim itself calls for: any deal to be for one year only; to ensure a £6.30 underpin on the minimum hourly rate; the greater of 5% or £1,000; an increase in annual leave of 1 day for all employees; an increase in basic annual leave entitlement to 25 days per year as the minimum entitlement for all employees; a reduction in the standard working week to 35 hours, without loss of pay; an increase in the night shift allowance over three years from time and a third, to time and a half, to time and three quarters, to double time in the final year; an increase in the sleep-in allowance to £60.
Scottish local government pay rates are due to increase on 1 April 2007 as part of a deal agreed in June 2006.
NB: FROM APRIL ISSUE OF BRANCH NEWS LETTER
JOANS COLUMN (BRANCH EQUALITIES OFFICER)
On the seventh anniversary of the tragic death of child abuse victim Victoria Climbie, the UK’s largest union UNISON has called on the Government and local councils to urgently resolve the very same issues which contributed to the terrible case.
UNISON National Secretary for Local Government Heather Wakefield said:“We remain concerned that the overwhelming workload, recruitment and retention problems, and also a high dependence on agency staff, has not improved the situation in many areas.
“The Government’s recent review of the social care workforce, ‘Options for Excellence’, noted that stress caused by poor management and high caseloads continues to push people to leave the sector.”
UNISON, which represents some 300,000 social care services workers, is gravely concerned that some 69 per cent of councils in England have difficulty recruiting sufficient children’s social workers (alarmingly up from 48 per cent in 2001). Moreover half of councils have difficulties retaining these staff (up from 30 per cent in 2001).
Just as worrying is that the vacancy rate for children’s social work posts has not improved – 12 per cent of all posts are still vacant, and annual turnover of staff is 11 per cent, double that of the wider economy.
There is also a high level of use of agency staff, in social care. Overall six per cent of all social care staff are agency staff and that rises to a staggering 21 per cent in London. A third of the agency staff working in social care are deployed to fill children’s social work posts.
The death of Victoria Climbie, killed aged eight in 2000, led to an inquiry chaired by Lord Laming, which made more than a hundred recommendations. Lord Laming’s inquiry found that many workers involved in the case admitted to being overwhelmed by workloads and downtrodden by low pay, which contributed to poor communications between and inside different public authorities
NB: TAKEN FROM APRIL ISSUE OF BRANCH NEWSLETTER
UNISON National Secretary for Local Government Heather Wakefield said:“We remain concerned that the overwhelming workload, recruitment and retention problems, and also a high dependence on agency staff, has not improved the situation in many areas.
“The Government’s recent review of the social care workforce, ‘Options for Excellence’, noted that stress caused by poor management and high caseloads continues to push people to leave the sector.”
UNISON, which represents some 300,000 social care services workers, is gravely concerned that some 69 per cent of councils in England have difficulty recruiting sufficient children’s social workers (alarmingly up from 48 per cent in 2001). Moreover half of councils have difficulties retaining these staff (up from 30 per cent in 2001).
Just as worrying is that the vacancy rate for children’s social work posts has not improved – 12 per cent of all posts are still vacant, and annual turnover of staff is 11 per cent, double that of the wider economy.
There is also a high level of use of agency staff, in social care. Overall six per cent of all social care staff are agency staff and that rises to a staggering 21 per cent in London. A third of the agency staff working in social care are deployed to fill children’s social work posts.
The death of Victoria Climbie, killed aged eight in 2000, led to an inquiry chaired by Lord Laming, which made more than a hundred recommendations. Lord Laming’s inquiry found that many workers involved in the case admitted to being overwhelmed by workloads and downtrodden by low pay, which contributed to poor communications between and inside different public authorities
NB: TAKEN FROM APRIL ISSUE OF BRANCH NEWSLETTER
THE HAYDEN REPORT
UNISON, the UK’s largest public sector union, has welcomed the cap on election spending proposed in the Hayden Report, calling it a much needed brake on all parties.
Keith Sonnet, Deputy General Secretary of UNISON, said:“The review into funding for political parties is needed to restore public confidence following the post election revelations about loans to individual parties. “The last election saw a massive increase in cross party spending which fuelled a loans race to fund it. The public do not want to see American style electioneering where the biggest budget can buy votes, so a cap on election spending is welcome. “We will look carefully at the proposals to limit donations and its impact on our members’ affiliation to the Labour Party. UNISON has always been open and transparent in its affiliation fees and its donations to Labour. Our members can choose to pay an affiliation fee by joining the affiliated fund or not to affiliate by joining the general fund. The choice is down to the members themselves and our affiliation fees to the Labour Party are reflected directly by the contributions of those who wish to affiliate.”
NB: FROM APRIL ISSUE OF BRANCH NEWSLETTER
Keith Sonnet, Deputy General Secretary of UNISON, said:“The review into funding for political parties is needed to restore public confidence following the post election revelations about loans to individual parties. “The last election saw a massive increase in cross party spending which fuelled a loans race to fund it. The public do not want to see American style electioneering where the biggest budget can buy votes, so a cap on election spending is welcome. “We will look carefully at the proposals to limit donations and its impact on our members’ affiliation to the Labour Party. UNISON has always been open and transparent in its affiliation fees and its donations to Labour. Our members can choose to pay an affiliation fee by joining the affiliated fund or not to affiliate by joining the general fund. The choice is down to the members themselves and our affiliation fees to the Labour Party are reflected directly by the contributions of those who wish to affiliate.”
NB: FROM APRIL ISSUE OF BRANCH NEWSLETTER
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
Branch secretary Rob Evans expressed his disappointment with the attendance, or rather lack of it, at this year’s Annual General Meeting.
“The meeting was barely quorate” said Rob “and with such vital issues facing us all it beggars belief that we cannot turn out in strength at least once a year.
“There are very real threats to our jobs and services ahead and if we are to protect them we must show solidarity at every opportunity.
This year will see us enter the realm of Shared Services, finalise Job Evaluation and the consequences thereon, never mind the back pay issue for Equal Pay claimants, resoling the Pension dispute and more than likely a ballot forcouncil tenants on the solution to meeting the Wales Quality Housing Standard.
“To fail on any of these issues is unthinkable” added Rob. “To fail on more than one could lead to grave consequences indeed. Members have heard a lot of doom and gloom in recent years and to be fair not a lot has happened to jobs and services. However, everyone should recognise this has been down to the co-operation between unions and the council and this should not be underestimated. It is not ‘cry wolf’ again, we are where we are and everyone should know that the pressure is really on this time.”
NB: FROM LATEST ISUE OF BRANCH MAGAZINE
“The meeting was barely quorate” said Rob “and with such vital issues facing us all it beggars belief that we cannot turn out in strength at least once a year.
“There are very real threats to our jobs and services ahead and if we are to protect them we must show solidarity at every opportunity.
This year will see us enter the realm of Shared Services, finalise Job Evaluation and the consequences thereon, never mind the back pay issue for Equal Pay claimants, resoling the Pension dispute and more than likely a ballot forcouncil tenants on the solution to meeting the Wales Quality Housing Standard.
“To fail on any of these issues is unthinkable” added Rob. “To fail on more than one could lead to grave consequences indeed. Members have heard a lot of doom and gloom in recent years and to be fair not a lot has happened to jobs and services. However, everyone should recognise this has been down to the co-operation between unions and the council and this should not be underestimated. It is not ‘cry wolf’ again, we are where we are and everyone should know that the pressure is really on this time.”
NB: FROM LATEST ISUE OF BRANCH MAGAZINE
SPECIAL CONFERENCE REPORT
Branch delegates Rob Evans, Jill Bird & Ken Jones joined representatives of UNISON’s local government members to attend the much sought after Special Conference on the Local Government Pension Scheme. The furore of recent months when branches throughout the country called for the conference to express their dissatisfaction with the national negotiators was well diluted, so much so that delegates ended up welcoming "substantial improvements" in government proposals for the new pension scheme and called for continued talks, with a ballot of members on acceptance as soon as negotiations are completed.
As Jean Geldart, chair of the union's local government service group executive reminded delegates gathered in Alexandra Palace, north London, "three years ago, the government declared war on public-service pensions schemes”.
But now, conference agreed, extensive negotiations and a campaign including industrial action, had led to proposals which include:
a guaranteed final salary scheme; an improved accrual rate – from 1/80th to 1/60th of final salary for every year worked; pensions for unmarried partners; improved death-in-service benefits.
The conference also welcomed negotiators' success in removing unacceptable" proposals on redundancy and benefits for scheme members’ children who are left without parents, thanks to the "hard work and successful campaigning of our branches, regions and senior negotiators over two years".In particular, delegates welcomed proposed improvements for low paid women and part-time workers. As Wendy Nichols of North Yorkshire noted, "three-quarters of LGPS members are women and half of those are part time" – and keeping a final salary scheme with improved accrual rates is a victory for them.While recognising the progress made, the conference called on negotiations to continue – in particular around:contribution rates for part-time workers and those currently on a protected 5% rate; provision for people retiring on ill-health grounds; protection for those formerly covered by the 'rule of 85' which allowed some members to retire at 60 with an unreduced pension.
As soon as negotiations are completed, members will be balloted on whether they accept the proposals or, if not, whether they are prepared to take "substantial and escalating industrial action".The conference further called for a full equality impact assessment under the Disability Discrimination Act to ensure that the new LGPS met the needs of disabled workers with "dignity and respect".
The consultation period closes very soon and a decision will be taken at national level as soon as possible thereafter.
NB: THIS ARTICLE IS FROM THE APRIL ISSUE OF THE BRANCH NEWSLETTER
WELCOME TO THE BLAENAU GWENT UNISON BLOG
Welcome to the blog of Blaenau Gwent branch of UNISON. What is a blog? Well, it’s short for ‘web log’ and it is intended to act an online diary of sorts. This particular blog will be used for publishing news stories relevant to the branch and announcing forthcoming events that will be of interest to members. Please feel free to leave comments and let us know what you think.
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