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March against austerity. March for workers' rights!

The ‘short, sharp shock’ of austerity we were promised by the Conservatives continues into its sixth year with no sign of ending.  And those who keep our vital public services running have been on the sharpest and most shocking end of it: pay freezes, cuts, redundancies and restructuring have become the daily grind. And now the Trade Union Bill seeks to silence your union when we speak up for you – and is threatening your right to strike.  

If you want to join us in Manchester on 4 October on the first day of the Conservative Party conference to make your voice heard, contact the Branch Office by no later than Wednesday, 23 September as we need to know numbers for the coach.

 

Wirral Council:

A motion was passed at the Branch Committee on 09 September that opposes any changes to terms and conditions, cuts to services and jobs. That the Branch highlights any misgivings in further budget proposals for alternate deliver models.  Also that we press strongly for agreements that enshrine NJC pay, Local Government Pensions and Council Terms & Conditions for any staff transferred.

The Branch is more than aware that we face challenging times ahead; we are not burying our head in the sand. The budget constraints imposed by the Conservative Government are not sustainable and services could well be lost.

The reduction in staffing levels since 2010 has led to increased pressure being applied to our members to perform and service the needs with significantly less resources

Yet members have, in real terms, suffered a pay cut, as highlighted in table below, and this is WITHOUT the 4 DAYS UNPAID leave each year even being taken into consideration. This just highlights why we will strongly oppose any reintroduction of the 4 days unpaid leave option.

   CPI Table v Actual Pay

 

		CPI	CPI as %		Band E	Band H	PO6
2009		110.80			19,126	28,636	34,549
2010		114.54	3.3		19,757	29,581	35,689
2011		119.60	4.5		20,646	30,557	36,867
2012		123.00	2.8		21,224	31,566	38,083
2013		126.10	2.6		21,776	32,607	39,340
2014		128.00	1.5		22,103	33,683	40,638
Actual					19,547	29,266	35,309
Effective Pay Cut					- 2,556	- 4,417	- 5,329
Effective Pay Cut					-11.56%	-13.11%	-13.11%
without 4 days unpaid leave

Communications Officer Vacancy

Due to work commitments, Sheila Henry has resigned as Communications Officer.  We would like to thank Sheila for the work she did in this role.  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 Communications Officer, will be on Wednesday, 21 October 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 Monday, 12 October 2015.  Nomination forms are available by contacting the Branch Office.

Durham Miners Gala

By Phil Hamilton, International Relations Officer.

I had the opportunity to attend the Durham Miners Gala over the summer and it was a privilege to attend such an important event in the Trade Union year.

There were over 150,000 trade unionists and their families. It was great to meet up with members from our region and to have been part of the day made me feel proud to be part Wirral UNISON, the trade union movement and all that we’ve fought for.

In other news….the Branch hope to renew subscriptions to the Palestinian, Cuban and Venezuelan Solidarity Campaign’s this month.

Upcoming events for your diary:

18th September – 12pm Regional Centre, Arena Point, Manchester  
Meeting with Flor de Maria Avellan, from the CTCP trade union, Nicaragua, introduced by Dave Spooner, Director, Global Labour Institute

5th October – 12-1pm, Albert Square, Manchester, no TTIP rally.
                      5:30pm Manchester Methodist Central Hall, TTIP Public meeting and rally

Magenta Living

Magenta stewards await details of proposals in how the organisation intends to meet the shortfall of approximately £24m over the next 5 years.
Management have looked at work streams across all areas and at every expenditure line. They are waiting for a steer from the board as to which avenue they will support. Further details should be available after the board meeting on 15 September.
Management will suggest to the board that any savings are undertaken in a measured way.
Magenta have already served notice on the council that they will not be renewing the service level agreement for Community Patrol, this is likely to save £165 000 per year.

 

                                                                                                                                                  

Wirral UNISON and Labour: The Way Ahead

Birkenhead Town Hall on 7 October at 12.15pm

All members are invited to a UNISON meeting at Birkenhead Town Hall, on Wednesday 7 October at 12.15pm to discuss the affiliated political fund membership and the benefits of joint UNISON/ Labour membership and how this can work for you.  Steve Bennett, the Political Liaison Officer for the Branch will be at the meeting along with:
 
Guest Speaker  –  Jason Hunter, UNISON Labour Link
Guest Speaker  –  Councillor Tony Norbury, Wirral Labour Party

UNISON Safety Rep of the Year 2015

Will it be you?

We all expect our workplaces to be as safe and healthy as possible – this doesn’t happen by chance. It happens as a result of the hard work and dedication of our safety reps, unsung heroes in workplaces across the UK. This is our chance to shine a spotlight on that work and celebrate the people who make this possible – because UNISON is proud of the work our safety reps do to keep staff and the public safe.

This is why we are asking for nominations for the UNISON Safety Rep of the Year for 2015 - You can nominate yourself or your colleague.

There are two categories:
Category 1 - Outstanding health and safety campaign 2015
Category 2 - Outstanding contribution to health and safety

So if you, or someone you know, has run a campaign this year that has made a significant difference to the health, safety and welfare of members in your workplace, or if you, or someone you know, has done outstanding work to improve health and safety in your workplace over a period of time why not nominate them (or yourself)?

There are great prizes on offer to the winners in each category:
1 – Outstanding H&S campaign 2015 - a three night weekend break or a 4 night mid week break to be taken between Easter and mid May (or the February half term) at Croyde Bay
1 – Outstanding contribution to H&S in the Workplace - a three night weekend break or a 4 night mid week break to be taken between Easter and mid May (or the February half term) at Croyde Bay
12 – Outstanding Regional entry (using both criteria – 1 per region) – Certificate of Excellence

Health & Safety Goodie bag for all entrants

So get your entries in by Friday, 9 October 2015
Nomination forms available from Branch Office

Stars in our Schools

A school should be a safe and happy place for children to learn. When it is, it’s often due to the hard work of the tens of thousands of school support staff – from teaching assistants to cooks to admin staff – who strive to make this possible.

And yet many school staff are unsung heroes.

That’s why UNISON is running its third Stars In Our Schools day, to celebrate the contributions of the union’s 250,000 members working as school support staff.
On Friday 27 November – or any time during November that fits with school plans – schools will be holding awards ceremonies, putting on special assemblies and even encouraging staff and pupils to dress up as super heroes. Some schools are asking their local MP and media to join them for the day.

Every head teacher in the country will receive a letter about the day. Talk to your local rep or UNISON branch about how you can get involved.

Wirral Met College Dispute - Resounding Success

Due to very strong perseverance from the UNISON Stewards in Wirral Met College – Barbara Sculthorpe, Allen Dunn and George Jones, who worked tirelessly over the summer holiday period to ensure that our members issues regarding the college’s proposed implementation of new facilities and cleaning arrangements at the various sites, a formal dispute has been avoided.  Their determination to support distressed members and seek a satisfactory resolution, despite managers at the college ignoring the issues, finally won through.  

This shows just how important it is to be a member of UNISON, standing together in solidarity to influence decisions which impact on our jobs, terms and conditions.  This also shows what fantastic Stewards we have, who support and represent our members when we need them.

Continuation of Our Sewing Group

by Dave Hardcastle, Lifelong Learning Co-ordinator

The summer group really enjoyed their 5 week course. It's very probable that another will run in early November. the time of the course will be 2.5 hours from 6.00pm. These times have changed after listening to feed-back from the learners. Day and location to be arranged.
It is our (Unison, Regional Unison and Wirral lifelong learning) intention to increase and develop the group so that eventually they can democratically choose other subjects that they are interested in and become an integrated part of Wirral Unison. This includes retired members and immediate family.

CalAid

by Phil Hamilton, International Relations Officer

As I watched the news unfold over the last few (years) weeks I was horrified at the humanitarian crisis in the middle east and north Africa unfolding through social media. When I saw the pictures of children lifeless on a Libyan beach it broke my heart, they could be my kids.  I decided at that point, like so many others, I couldn’t rely on the government to act and that I needed to do something myself.

A friend approached me and asked if we could help out driving aid/supplies to the site in Calais. At the time (only a week ago) there was very little information but since then I’ve found out what’s needed and how to get it there. The camp itself is inundated with supplies which are needed but it’s very chaotic so the latest development is a central UK distribution point based in London.  Nationally supplies have been coordinated to arrive here and then over to Calais (and now Greece, Hungary and Germany) in a much more organised way.

See the list of items needed and the drop-off points below. It doesn’t matter how little, if we can all do something it’ll help. There’s a ‘just fund it’ page on Wirral UNISON’s Facebook page if anyone would like to contribute to fuel costs.
Thanks,   Phil Hamilton

Babies 0-24 months boys and girls
Nappies all sizes (high priority), disposable sacks (high priority), baby blankets (high priority), baby toiletries, baby clothes, socks and shoes, baby fabric for slings/carriers, one soft toy per donor, rattles, small books etc., baby biscuits, raisins

Children 2-14
Practical shoes (high priority); underwear; Clothes, jumpers, coats, fleeces, joggers pants, hats, scarves, gloves, toiletries, tooth brushes, activities, colouring pens, satchels, paper, small toys,

Family
Sanitary towels, wet wipes, Yoga mats for sleeping, men & women’s underwear, razors, practical shoes, blankets, warm coats, jumpers and pants, hats, gloves and scarves

Please sort these items out to the best of your ability before dropping off; neatly packed, clean and folded. If you have any spare crates/bags please pack your donations in them. Send a message of solidarity/love; get your kids to draw a picture for the people receiving your donation. If you could let me know about tents/tarpaulin, rope and sleeping bags

Drop off points:
Eastham - The Delamere Centre CH62 9ED Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s between 9am and 1pm
Birkenhead - Wirral Christian Centre, Woodchurch Rd Birkenhead contact Trish Thornley from midday
Birkenhead - Wirral Satellite Cars, 15 Park St, corner of Cleveland Street 24/7
Birkenhead - Metamorfisis Nails and Beauty 134a Oxton Road CH412TP contact Kate Sawley
Wallasey - Jan’s Barbers, 6 Rowson Street, Wallasey, open Tuesday to Saturday

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Published on: September 1, 2015