Dear Member
We begin our email by remembering those who have lost their lives in the explosion in Lebanon. Over 100 have died in what appears to be an entirely preventable tragedy. Our thoughts are with the families and communities is Beirut, a city that had suffered more than its share of tragedy.
Pay – Have you voted?
Yesterday it was reported that the Speaker of the House of Commons claimed over £7,500 for new bedding! We can’t imagine how good those sheets must be. Meanwhile the same Government that authorises overpriced pillowcases, will not put a penny in Council and Schools pay.
So far only 25% of votes have been received – the vote closes Friday, so don’t delay. We need to hear your voice. If you have not received a ballot let us know. We are not demanding silk sheets, just fair pay.
We will also be opening a pay ballot for Youth Workers on the Youth Pay Scheme later this week, so look out for that vote if you are on that pay scale.
Care Workers and the Real Living Wage
We continue to press for Care Providers to sign up to the Real Living Wage. A further six Care Homes have signed up this week, which is good news, but there is still more to be done. £9.30 an hour for one of the most crucial jobs during this Pandemic is really not too much to ask.
NHS Pay
We also mention here the struggle of our comrades in the NHS Unions who are pressing for a pay increase for Nurses, Porters, Domestics etc. They too want more than applause and a badge. This Saturday demonstrations are occurring across the country called by NHS Staff to demand Fair Pay. One will be taking place in Liverpool at 11am on St Georges Plateau – we express our support and solidarity. Please go along if you can (and if it is safe for you to do so), but remember it will be observing strict social distancing and masks must be worn. The link to their facebook page is here
£95k Cap on Exit Payments and how it affects you.
The Tory Government a couple of years ago proposed a cap on Exit Payments for those leaving the Public Sector. This was built on public annoyance at senior and highly paid Officers leaving public life with handsome payments; many would have had sympathy with this. The cap was proposed at £95,000; again this may have seem reasonable to some, but as always the devil can often be located in the detail. In this case the detail in the regulations states that this cap must take account of pensions. As you may be aware once you reach the age of 55 in many pension schemes, if you are made redundant or take early voluntary retirement, your pension will be enhanced. This enhancement will be included in the cap.
We are still awaiting the detailed guidance, and how exactly it will be applied. However the Government, whilst posing as attacking ‘fat cats’, have actually targeted workers on much more modest salaries, including below £30,000 a year. Whilst this does not surprise us, it does make us angry.
A detailed briefing from Unison on this issue can be found here
Test and Trace – Urgent Improvement Needed
Test and trace has long been recognised as a key strategy in combatting Covid-19; it success is key to being able to safely re-open schools in September without prompting a second spike. Yet it appears that we are someway short of what is required.
Britain’s Test and Trace system, introduced later than many countries was hailed as a “world-beating” service by prime minister Boris Johnson at its launch. It appears that is not the case as three months on and contact tracers hired to work on England’s test-and-trace system say they are making only a handful of calls every month. Data reported on today apparently shows the scale of inactivity among the staff operating the service, with 471 agents making just 135 calls in two days – around 0.14 calls per agent per day. The system operated by a private company clearly needs urgent review; the Labour Party have rightly pointed out the Government has one month to fix this.. Wirral has been relatively unaffected by the recent increases in infection in some areas, for which we are thankful. However Councils who are experiencing increases are launching their own test and trace systems, that are proving to be much more effective. Good, but it does pose the question why our Government cannot do the same for a national scheme.
As always, please feel free pass our updates on to colleagues and encourage them to join Unison if they haven’t done already. Here’s the link to join up! JOIN UNISON
Have a nice evening and we’ll be back in touch soon.
In solidarity!
Lois and Dave
Branch Office: 0151 666 3040
Central email: unison1@wirral.gov.uk
Published on: August 6, 2020