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New Start, New Approach!
In last month’s newsletter, our new Branch Secretary, Paddy Cleary, stated that he intended to use the media to highlight issues we face to get our voice heard.
Hopefully many of you will have read the newspaper and website articles in the Wirral Globe and the Liverpool Echo at the end of July, where Paddy advised the media that in our regular meetings with the Council HR Manager we had been informed that the Council had taken on two further consultants at a cost of £1753 per day. This was in addition to the six consultants they already employed.
Paddy stated “UNISON are totally dismayed at the cost …. at a time when members are expected to take a drop in pay for similar roles and others have the threat of redundancy hanging over their heads we find the costings a disgrace.
“The taxpaying public of Wirral will once again be up in arms and it will not be those who have made the decision they will show anger to it will be our front line members who are already at breaking point.
“The belief under the previous regime was that the 3 Strategic Directors had been employed to curtail the need for consultants on specified projects.
“This again is a kick in the teeth for our hard working members and the public of Wirral.”
UNISON cannot justify the costs when officers intend to look at TERMS AND CONDITIONS in any future budget options. We are not burying our head in the sand about the challenging times we face due to the continued attack on our services by central government but we cannot allow any further attacks on our T&C’s.
Officers are looking to make cuts of £2.5m in staffing costs for next year. We are already 1% behind in our pay, we face a 1% pay rise cap for another four years and any further unpaid leave could have a detrimental effect on YOUR pension.
The 4 days unpaid leave arrangement expires from April and whilst it was intended to negate further jobs losses, the number of employees in the authority has dropped by 40% since 2010-11. We will strongly oppose any intention for this to be implemented again.
Any attack on enhanced pay will also be challenged as this will only target certain areas of staff who are reliant on these enhancements for personal financial credit (mortgages, loans etc…). As soon as we have further information we will share it with the members.
Job Evaluation Injustice
Wirral Council has shared with us a proposal regarding the evaluation of jobs above scp 34 and up to EPO25, which will affect approximately 1260 staff. They intend to use the Hay scheme to evaluate new job role descriptors which will be issued to those staff affected, with little if any, involvement of the staff themselves or of the trade unions.
Posts currently in the scp35 and above population will need to meet a minimum Hay JE score, to be determined at the pay modelling stage, in order to remain in the new grading structure. They intend to drop those posts that do not meet this score to Band H.
As the Council will be issuing staff with new job role descriptors and an evaluation for that new job, they do not intend to pay any back pay to those staff whose grade increases as a result of this evaluation process.
UNISON is enraged that our hardworking members who have waited 8 years to have their jobs evaluated should be treated in this way. We do not believe that the proposal is fair, open and transparent and that the Council is proposing to treat this group of staff differently to the others who were evaluated in 2007. UNISON will strongly oppose any scheme which will be used to avoid paying any back pay owed and which will not evaluate jobs in a fair and transparent way.
We recognise that UNISON members experience many pressures in their lives affecting both home and work. UNISON’s ‘There For You’ offer a unique confidential advice and support service just for members of UNISON and their dependants. Whether it’s just a chat and a listening ear, advice or more concrete help you’re seeking we may be able to help you. At a glance we provide: financial assistance, debt advice, wellbeing breaks, support and information.
The service is provided by our experienced and professional staff. They can help you with the application process, give information and advice or suggest another organisation that can help.
Your local UNISON Branch Welfare Officer, Angie Redgrift will be able to assist you if you require some support and advice. Give Angie a call on 0151 643 7007 for more information.
Labour Leadership Elections
For the leader of the Labour party UNISON has nominated Jeremy Corbyn as first choice and Yvette Cooper as second choice. For deputy leader of the Labour party UNISON has nominated Angela Eagle as first choice and Stella Creasy as second choice.
As your Branch Secretary promised in the last newsletter, Paddy has arranged for a new branch website to be administered by a Wirral based company who provide the same service for several other local UNISON branches. It is currently at the developmental stage and will be launched in early autumn.
Paddy says “A branch website is an important avenue for communicating with all our members and re-establishing a brand new, up-to-date mobile / tablet friendly website was one of the first things I gave a commitment to do.”
The website will have sections for core and non-core employers and once up and running we would appreciate any feedback and comments as this will be a vital communication tool for our members. We will let you know as soon as the website is available.
Successful Compensation Claims
We have been notified by Thompsons Solicitors, UNISON’s solicitors, that two separate compensation cases which they took on for two of our members who were injured in work have been successfully concluded, with each member being awarded a satisfactory settlement.
Cases such these show the value of our union’s legal service and shows that the union is prepared to take cases that claim companies and no win / no fee solicitors will not. The fact that damages were recovered should assist the health and safety representatives in the two workplaces and prevent similar accidents in the future.
Basic Skills Better Than A Blue Cross Summer Sale !
There are still some free places left for these one-off courses that give you a L2 qualification in either English or Maths in just 10 weeks!
Courses will run in Leasowe from late September to mid-December. If you have a reasonable grasp of your chosen subject but don’t have a formal qualification, then this is for you.
To register ring Julie at Lifelong Learning on 0151 - 630 3486. For further information and details ring Dave Hardcastle, UNISON’s Lifelong Learning Co-ordinator during office hours on 07904727641.
Magenta Living
Our new Branch Secretary, Paddy Cleary has met with Magenta Living’s Chief Executive, Brian Simpson. It seems likely that the company will lose at least £24.6m over a 4 year period and Paddy has asked that UNISON have an involvement in any decisions from an early stage.
If members have any issues or are concerned about any proposed changes in their section we would ask that you contact your workplace steward in the first instance. As soon as any information is received from management, workplace meetings will take place. The Branch also intend to produce Magenta only information / newsletters for members.
Branch Treasurer
As Paddy has been elected as the Branch Secretary he is unable to carry on his duties as the Branch Treasurer. Wirral UNISON’s Branch Rules state that “In the event of a vacancy occurring in any office….before the next AGM of the Branch, the Branch Committee shall appoint a suitable person to fill the vacancy.”
The Branch Committee is made up of the Branch Officers, elected Stewards from the various Stewards Committees from the Council and other major employers, workplace Stewards from the smaller employers, and the Secretary of the Retired Members Section. The next meeting of Branch Committee, which will appoint the next Branch Treasurer, will be on Wednesday, 9 September 2015.
Any two fully paid up members are entitled to nominate a candidate, and nominations must be received by the Branch by no later than 12.00 noon on Tuesday, 1 September 2015. Nomination forms are available by contacting the Branch Office (see contact details on the first page).
Transatlantic Trade & Investment Partnership
Recently I attended the UNISON National Conference in Glasgow to speak on a motion amendment that Wirral Branch had submitted. The original motion from North West Region Women’s Committee was about TTIP (Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership) and how it will have a negative impact on our workers, public services and our quality of life. The amendment that we submitted added how important it is for people to contact MPs, MEPs and Ministers to state emphatically that we do not welcome TTIP and have grave concerns over its implementation and that any resolution must include the protection of our public services, the removal of investor-state dispute settlement
procedures and special courts for foreign investors, that there can be no reduction in regulatory protections for workers, consumers or the environment and that the rights of workers needs to be defended.
I will admit it was petrifying getting up to speak in a venue the same size as the Liverpool Echo Arena! If you would like to hear my speech then you can watch it on the Wirral UNISON Facebook page. I am pleased to announce that the amendment was supported and added to the motion which everyone voted for and was therefore passed. For more information on TTIP visit www.waronwant.org
Becky Call, Womens' Officer
UNISON General Secretary Election
UNISON has announced that the process for the General Secretary election will start on 11 August. General Secretaries of trade unions are required by law to be subject to election after no more than five years.
To run for election a candidate must be nominated by the National Executive Council, or by at least two national service group executives, or by at least two regional councils or at least 25 UNISON branches. The election process officially opened on 11 August when candidates can formally indicate they are seeking nominations to stand.
The nomination period runs from 2 September until 9 October. Ballot papers will be sent to UNISON members from 9 November and the ballot will close on 4 December. On 17 December the result will be announced.
Attacks On Unions Are Attacks On Working People Too
Commenting on government proposals to prevent people who work in the public sector from paying their union membership fees directly from their wages, UNISON General Secretary Dave Prentis said: “This latest malicious manoeuvre from ministers’ shows how far they are prepared to go to deny nurses, care workers, teaching assistants, hospital cleaners and town hall staff a voice at work.
“Anyone with a job in the public sector must wonder why the government dislikes them so much that it is set on a series of such spiteful attacks on them through their unions.
“Allowing union subs to be taken directly from peoples’ salaries is convenient for individual employees, their unions and their employers – and it works well in both the public and private sectors of the economy.
“In much of the public sector, unions pay the local council the cost of taking the subs at source, so there is no cost to the public purse. Employees in workplaces where there are unions are more likely to earn more, be better trained, and have safer working conditions, than those where there is no union.
“Ministers are undermining our public services by putting partnership working between unions and employers – that benefits the public – at risk. The government is showing once more that by making it harder for unions in the public sector to stand up for their members, it can never be the party of working people. Attacks on unions are attacks on working people too.”
The Rights Of All Workers Are Under Attack
The right to strike is a fundamental human right, recognised across the democratic world. It has played a crucial role in helping people at work – whether they are in a union or not – to secure better conditions and lives for themselves and their families.
The new government proposals make it harder to strike, to allow employers to employ agency staff during a strike, to introduce new criminal sanctions on picketing, criminalise other dispute-related protests and to introduce new surveillance powers specifically for union activity are all attacks on our basic rights. Social media activity linked to a dispute will also need to be registered in advance.
This is another proposal for legislation that is consistent with the Tory’s anti-human rights agenda.
While we, as trade unionists, rightly celebrate human rights and access to justice, our government is busy working on further reforms aimed at shutting down dissent and weakening people’s rights at work.
Already, the Lobbying Act has constricted civil society organisations’ ability to protest and cuts in public services and employment tribunal fees have seen the number of cases bought by workers collapse by close to 80%, something UNISON is challenging in the courts.
Unions and civil society must unite around a common vision of individual and collective rights that brings together all our aspirations for a good society.
Government Takes A Swipe At Safety Reps Too !!
The Governments Trade Union Bill also includes measures that could dramatically curtail the time available to union Health & Safety reps to perform their functions and get trained, which could put lives at risk at work. It will mean that public sector employers with a H&S rep will have to record and publish all the time taken and any facilities provided. The Bill also proposes to allow ministers to restrict the rights to time off by amending the Health & Safety At Work Act and introduce new regulations. At no time has any justification for this proposal been given. It will not save money, remove bureaucracy nor will it improve safety.
Disciplinary Policy and Procedure
Some members and activists may be aware that in December 2012 the Council delegated appeals for gradings, grievances or disciplinary action against or dismissal of employees to the Chief Executive. At this time UNISON strongly objected to this as previous appeals heard by Councillors had found flaws in the way some officers had carried out dismissals of staff and these decisions had been overturned.
Last month a further report proposing changes to the Disciplinary Policy and Procedure where debated by the T&R Policy & Performance Committee so we took the opportunity to write to all Labour Councillors and all Councillors attending that Committee. The minutes of that Committee will be going to the full Council meeting in October.
UNISON intend to once again reiterate our consistent position that the right of appeal against dismissal should be heard by a panel of Councillors to ensure that our members have a fair, unbiased hearing independent of officers. More information will follow on this nearer the time.
Get involved with Wirral UNISON
Whatever your problem at work, UNISON workplace representatives, stewards and other activists work together to protect the interest of members. Our activist roles are vital to us, and UNISON will provide you with all the training you need.
Steward
If you want to help members have a stronger union at work, why not try to get elected as a steward? Workplace stewards are the heart of our trade union. UNISON’s stewards are the reason we win campaigns that result in better lives for our members. As a steward, you will help to organise your colleagues into an effective, strong, welcoming membership.
Union Learning Representative
If you are interested in supporting your colleagues to learn, why not become a Union Learning Representative, known as a ULR? ULRs are passionate about getting people back into learning – whether it is professional qualifications or basic numeracy and literacy skills. Learning with UNISON gives members the opportunity to develop and gain new skills professionally and personally.
Workplace Contact
If you like working with people, why not become a workplace contact? The role of a workplace contact is to let your branch know what’s happening in your workplace, and to help the union get messages and news to its members. It’s a good learning opportunity and starting point to get involved in the union.
Health and Safety Representative
If you’d like your workplace to be one of the safer ones, why not become a Health and Safety Representative? Health and Safety Representatives care about workers’ safety and campaign for better working conditions. As a Health and Safety Representative, you play a vital role in keeping our members healthy and safe at work. To do this you’ll receive expert training and access to help and advice.
Contact the Branch for more information on these vital roles and get more involved with your union.
Published on: August 1, 2015