This shows the strength of feeling against the closures
but is it value for money for the council tax payers to
keep schools with less than a full compliment of pupils open ?

A Point well made

Demonstration against school closures in Shropshire
Monday 30/01/08

No wonder they put me up here

Union leaders meet with Chancellor

to discuss public sector pay

TUC leaders this morning (Wednesday) met the Chancellor, the Chief Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of State at the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (DBERR) to press the Government for a new approach on public sector pay to safeguard the living standards of all public servants.

TUC public service unions have all committed to work together to coordinate their approach in the upcoming negotiations across public services.

The TUC team led by TUC President, Dave Prentis, and General Secretary, Brendan Barber, told the Chancellor that public service pay is not driving inflationary pressures in the economy, and that it is utterly unfair for public servants to be expected to accept pay settlements that fall short of matching inflation. The TUC team emphasised that the inflation index referred to by pay negotiators reflecting the real increases in living costs facing ordinary workers is the RPI which currently stands at 4%, well ahead of the Government's inflation target index, the CPI. Unions are prepared to consider long-term deals where appropriate, but a rigid centrally imposed policy that ignores recommendations from independent review bodies will not be acceptable.

The TUC team pressed the Chancellor that public service negotiators need greater flexibility in their negotiations with unions, including scope to address long term problems in pay structures and low pay.

The TUC team will be reporting back to all public service unions on the meeting and will be seeking a further meeting with the Chief Secretary to continue the talks.

The TUC delegation included TUC President, Dave Prentis, General Secretary of UNISON, TUC General Secretary, Brendan Barber, Steve Sinnott, General Secretary of the NUT, Mark Serwotka, General Secretary of PCS, Paul Noon, General Secretary of Prospect, Lesley Mercer of the CSP, Brian Strutton of the GMB and Patrick Roach of the NASUWT.

Energy profit probe demanded

(22/01/08) UNISON and the National Right to Fuel Campaign have come together to demand an official inquiry into almost £2.5bn extra profits energy companies are awarding themselves as households up and down the country deal with huge price rises announced this winter.The call for an Ofgem probe comes the week after British Gas became the latest energy provider to increase its prices: announcing an immediate 15% rise.It followed EDF's decision to increase gas prices by 12.% and electricity by 7.9 %, while npower had previously announced rises of 17.2% for gas and 12.7% for electricity.Research, sponsored jointly by UNISON and the National Right to Fuel Campaign and published today, says the average household is paying £100 extra a year because prices charged to customers have increased by £2.3bn more than the costs of producing and selling electricity and gas.Backing the call for an Ofgem inquiry, UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis noted: "Hard-working families are desperately worried about increasing fuel bills, rising housing costs, food costs and millions of public sector workers are being told they must accept pay cuts."Pensioners are finding it a huge struggle, despite the winter fuel payments that have been wiped out by these greedy companies."The government should order Ofgem to do its job properly."Gas and electricity costs to householders, produced by Cornwall Energy Associates, shows that British households’ annual spending on electricity and gas increased by £8.2bn between 2003 and 2006, while the energy companies costs' grew buy £5.9bn – meaning an extra £2.3bn profits for them.Over the same period the average household's debt to energy suppliers grew from £159 to £194 for electricity customers and from £141 to £180. Charities have found that their funding of individual debts has grown to £16m a year. Click here to download a copy of the full report (.pdf) Click here for a National Right to Fuel campaign paper on tackling fuel poverty (.pdf)
More on UNISON and fuel poverty National Right to Fuel Campaign

Prentis warns government over pay

UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis has a message for the government: “Don’t pick a fight with UNISON members.”Rejecting the 2% pay limit imposed in the comprehensive spending review, Mr Prentis warned of the dangers of holding down public-sector pay.“The 2% limit is just not on – it is a real pay cut for millions of hard working public-service workers. If you want first class public services, if you want the sick and elderly cared for, your children well-educated and protected and your streets clean and safe, cutting the pay of public-sector workers is the wrong way to go about it.“We are determined to secure decent pay rises for our members,” he said.UNISON's current pay claims for local government workers throughout the UK are for one-year deals, designed to make up lost ground, protect against future inflation and boost the minimum wage.With living costs rising fast, and below-inflation pay settlements in recent years, many public service workers are finding it incredibly hard to make ends meet. Morale is at rock bottom, Mr Prentis said.“It is wrong to put inflation at their door,” he stressed. “Instead, look no further than the multinationals bleeding our public services dry, the fuel price hikes and the massive profits made by big business."The gap between public sector pay packets and burgeoning living expenses must be bridged.”UNISON has submitted pay claims for local government workers in Scotland and elsewhere in the UK calling for rises of 5% and 6% respectively. Both have as a key element increases that would take low-paid members closer to a living wage.

Council workers ask for 6%

to ‘catch up and match up’

(14/01/08) Town hall unions including UNISON, GMB and TGWU-Unite have agreed a pay claim for this year that would give more than one million local government workers in England, Northern Ireland and Wales a payrise of 6% or 50p an hour – whichever is the greater.The claim would take the wages of the lowest paid workers up to £6.50 an hour – a step towards the £6.75 that poverty experts say is the minimum needed to live on.Unions said it was intended to be a ‘catch up and match up’ claim, to recoup losses from below-inflation pay awards since 2004 and to keep up with inflation over the coming year.Heather Wakefield, UNISON’s national secretary for local government, said: “Despite the headline figure, this is a modest claim.“No-one could argue that an increase of 50p an hour fuels inflation. Over the past three years local government workers’ pay has increased by less than the rate of inflation, so we are starting from a low base. We need to make sure that they catch up with the rest of the public sector and that they are cushioned against inflation over the coming year.She added: “The government’s 2% limit is just not on. It is half the rate of inflation and represents a real pay cut for loyal, hard-working public-sector workers, two-thirds of whom are women."They are struggling to make ends meet with the ever-increasing spiral of housing and fuel price rises.”UNISON is working with other public-sector unions, through the TUC, to campaign for a fair deal for all public sector workers.The 2004-7 pay agreements gave an increase of 11.4% over three years, during which inflation rose by 12.5% and average earnings by 13.4%. The 2007-2008 award was for 2.475% and 3% for the lowest paid – inflation was more than 4% over that periodThe claim covers all grades of workers in local government, including refuse collection, school meals, social workers, administrators, cleaners, teaching assistants, parks and leisure workers and librarians. UNISON in Local government

UNISON kicks off 2008

equal pay campaign

(10/1/08) UNISON has launched its campaign to close the gender pay gap by lodging a record 33,000 equal pay claims against public sector employers. The union, two thirds of whose members are women, has been battling for equal pay for years, and has won significant pay increases for thousands of low-paid women workers.Its litigation and bargaining strategy will be further fine-tuned by officials and leading activists from across the UK, meeting at a special seminar in London today. And it is warning employers to start facing up to their responsibilities."Equal pay is not just the wish of the trade unions," said UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis. "It is the law of the land. Yet, 30 years on, the Equal Pay Act is still seen by many employers as a take-it-or-leave-it bit of legislation. "This cannot be allowed to continue. It must be implemented robustly across the UK."Mr Prentis said that funding, particularly in local government, remained critical to achieving equal and fair pay. "As a direct result of UNISON’s campaigning through the Labour Party, last September the government released £500 million to 46 local authorities to fund equal pay," he said. "But more is needed. In addition, the government must change the law, to cut the time it takes for legal action. At the moment, it takes years, is costly and, in the meantime, women remain underpaid.”The pay gap between men and women is around 17%, according to official figures. This means that women are losing out on a staggering £4,000 a year, based on an average salary of £23,600.

Tory 'Workfare' proposals will not

help people back into work

Responding to the Conservative Party's welfare reform proposals announced today (Tuesday), Midlands TUC Policy Officer Alan Weaver said:
'The Tories' Workfare proposals manage to combine injustice, expense and inefficiency in a single package. Experiences of Workfare schemes around the world have shown that they fail to help people into work. In Australia, Workfare has left unemployed people less likely to get a job. In New York, existing workers have lost their jobs to Workfare temps.
'Employers aren't impressed either - who will want to recruit someone who has been forced into their last job? The Tories will have to pay for the work people are forced to do, on top of support services like childcare. So there is no chance that the Tories will find the £3 billion savings they are looking for.
'Under the Tory proposals, people will not be paid the rate for the job they are doing and there will be no guarantee of a job at the end. The only beneficiaries will be dodgy employers, who will exploit unpaid Workfare temps to the detriment of existing staff.'

The importance of taking a break

(04/01/08) Holidays are important for people's wellbeing -- but for many families on low incomes, a holiday is simply beyond reach, according to new research.The research -- sponsored by UNISON Welfare, the Family Holiday Association, the Family Fund and the Youth Hostel Association (England and Wales) -- found that families cited the 'opportunity for fun and happy memories for children' and 'the chance to spend time together as a family' as the top benefits of their holiday.The researchers from the University of Nottingham identified a range of circumstances affecting low-income families -- money, health, disability, stress and neighbourhood problems -- which can be helped by a break from challenging circumstances and a fresh perspective.They concluded that holidays can open up new ways to live which can have a lasting impact and cited the positive effect on issues such social exclusion and child poverty.Every year, hundreds of UNISON members receive help with a holiday or get well break from UNISON's charity. The service, called wellbeing breaks, includes support for day trips and leisure outings."We know only too well about the impact on family life and general health of long hours, difficult shift patterns and inflexible working conditions," says general secretary Dave Prentis."So we recognise the value of holidays and the need for low-income households in particular to have more access to adequate leisure time and a break from the stresses of daily life." UNISON welfare UNISON's work-life balance campaign

TUC supports campaign to stop

violence against Iraqi women

The TUC is supporting the campaign launched on 3 January by the Iraqi Women's League (IWL) Co-ordinating Committee Abroad against violence against women in Iraq. We reproduce here their press release, and urge trade unionists to sign up to the online petition at
http://www.ahewar.org/camp/i.asp?id=111

TUC offers ten 'green' resolutions for 2008

With UK workplaces generating more carbon dioxide emissions than homes, the TUC has today (Wednesday) published new advice for staff to tackle climate change at work.
The TUC Green Workplaces project has found that a typical workplace produces ten times more carbon dioxide emissions than those produced by the homes and personal lives of its workforce. And while energy consumption at home has been reduced by five per cent in the last year, it continues to rise in UK workplaces.
Despite this trend, the Green Workplaces project has uncovered several examples of successful green initiatives across the UK, including recycling projects and schemes to reduce electricity usage. The TUC wants workplaces to be a major front against climate change in 2008 and has used examples of good practice to draft a guide for employees and union reps on how to green the workplace.
TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: 'When it comes to tackling climate change, people tend to look towards international agreements or what they can do at home. But more than half of the UK's carbon emissions are produced at work or through work-related transport. There's a lot more we can all do to reduce our workplace's carbon footprint.
'The TUC's advice should help everyone to act together and have a greener workplace. It's not about making people feel guilty, but about removing barriers to being green at work. Union environmental reps will be working with staff and managers to make UK workplaces greener in 2008.'
Ten resolutions to make your workplace greener in 2008:
1. Remember the three 'Rs'. Try to recycle as much as possible, but remember that reducing paper usage and re-using paper is even better.
2. Make sure that your workplace is the right temperature, ideally between 19 and 24 degrees centigrade. This will make for a greener, healthier working environment.
3. Flexible working options, such as home or remote working, can reduce your carbon footprint by avoiding the commute into work.
4. Consider video-conferencing as an alternative to travelling to meetings.
5. Ensure that all bulbs are low-energy.
6. Make sure furniture or equipment is not blocking any heating or windows.
7. Find out if your workplace is properly insulated and draught-proofed.
8. If you're the last to leave the office, make sure you turn everything off, such as lights, computer equipment, appliances, motors and machinery.
9. Talk to colleagues about working together to green your workplace. Collective action is more effective than individual efforts.
10. If you're unsure about how to reduce your carbon footprint at work, consult your union environmental rep. If there isn't one in your workplace, why not become one yourself! Contact Shropshire Unison Office on 01743 252952 Amelia Jones is the Branch Environmental officer.

TUC new year message

In his new year message to trade union members, TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said:
'2008 may be a rocky year.
'After a decade of steady economic growth and stability, prospects for the economy are distinctly uncertain. The full effects of the credit crunch triggered by irresponsible lending in the USA sub-prime mortgage market have yet to work their way through the economic system. Northern Rock has already been taken in its wake.
'But it is important that we do not talk ourselves into thinking the economic situation is worse than it is. The truth is that instability has not come from events in the real economy where people trade goods and services, but from the world of finance. Employment remains at record levels, and businesses say they are optimistic for the year ahead. Lower interest rates can only help. The greatest threat would be to confuse the difficulties now being suffered by banks with the economic fundamentals.
'But there are lessons to be learnt. For many years we have been told that over-regulation and red tape are the biggest barrier to economic growth. Yet the biggest threat to the world economy has come from a failure to regulate the US mortgage market, and its biggest victim here flows from a regulatory failure in UK banking system oversight. No-one should support outdated or over-bureaucratic regulation, but perhaps it's time to celebrate the role that appropriate regulation plays every day in maintaining economic stability, protecting consumers, workers and the environment and ensuring that we live in a civilised society with rules. Let's make 2008 the year we stop having lazy debates about red tape, and start talking about getting the balance right - more regulation where we need it, and less where we don't.
'My other big worry for the year ahead is the simmering resentment across the public sector at government pay policy. Public servants have already suffered a cut in their living standards this year. But the Government is planning a further three years of reduced living standards. The arguments for doing this do not stack up, and the risks are big. It does not just threaten the recruitment, retention and morale of public servants but will damage an industrial relations system that has minimised conflict in the public sector. Ministers say that real wage cuts in the public sector are needed to fight inflation, yet all the evidence shows that public sector pay follows inflation not causes it, and that bearing down on public sector pay has had no impact in the private sector. In any case experts agree that pay is not currently driving inflation. It is not too late for ministers to think again.
'But what about some hopes for the year ahead.
'If I had one wish it would be that 2008 was a year that we had a proper political debate about making Britain a fairer society. It is a big agenda.
'It means more help for those at the bottom. We need to see faster progress on the Government's pledge to end child poverty, and recognise that this carries a price tag. It means making workplaces fairer. This requires proper enforcement of the rights that vulnerable workers are meant to enjoy, but too often do not. It also means closing what is now the biggest source of abuse and exploitation - agency working. There is nothing wrong with supplying people with short-term availability to employers with short-term needs, but almost every media exposure of exploitation at work has featured agency working.
'At the other end of society it is time for a proper debate about inequality. We now have a growing group of the soar-away super-rich, who live lives cut off from the rest of us. Many take advantage of private equity and non-dom tax loopholes. This is not just bad for social cohesion, but distorts the economy.
'This is why I hope that in the year ahead we can have a proper debate about tax. We need a campaign for fair tax. If the super-rich and big companies are not paying their fair share it means that the rest of us - including small and medium sized businesses are paying too much, that public services are not getting the growth they need and that we do not have the resources to end child poverty. Simply closing the non-dom loophole would raise enough to halve child poverty. No-one particularly enjoys paying tax but it is the price tag for a civilised society, and it's about time that we had a proper debate about whether those who can afford it are paying their fair share.'

Union leaders speak up for public services

(18/12/07) UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis joined other trade union leaders and public-service workers today to start the fight-back against the government's 2% public-sector pay limit.
Dave Prentis joins TUC general secretary Brendan Barber and public service workers to launch the Speak Up for Public Services pay campaign"A 2% pay limit, for each of the next three years, will mean a pay cut for the UK's six million public-sector workers," Mr Prentis said."It represents a real cut in living standards and could cause long-term damage to industrial relations, recruitment, retention and morale."Launching the Speak Up for Public Services campaign at Westminster, the TUC and its 26 member unions called on ministers to accept in full the next round of recommendations from the various pay review bodies, if they wanted to avoid a repetition of the anger that provoked a wave of strike ballots across the public sector in 2007."The government must remember what a demoralised, under-resourced public sector it inherited from the Tories," Mr Prentis warned. "We cannot go back to those days."UNISON and other public-sector unions will be working together over the coming months to campaign for pay rises that reflect the true cost of living in the UK, he said.The TUC has published a new report, Six million pay cuts, to coincide with today's campaign launch.Debunking the myth that public-sector pay fuels inflation, the report points out that the government's arguments for the freeze do not add up. Holding back public pay will also widen the pay gap between men and women, it says.For more information about the Speak Up for Public Services campaign, read the full text of the statement signed by all 26 member unions of the TUC: Public servants deserve fair pay. Download the TUC report here: Six million pay cuts [PDF] More on UNISON's Positively Public campaign

Fight for free speech continues

(17/12/07) 150 mental health workers in Manchester who have been on strike in support of their branch chair returned to work today.However, UNISON has pledged to fight on in defence of Karen Reissmann, the award-winning psychiatric nurse sacked for speaking out against health cuts.The union will take up Ms Reissmann's case with an employment tribunal, after she lost an internal appeal against her dismissal.Manchester Mental Health Trust has refused to reinstate Ms Reissmann, despite a prolonged campaign backed by UNISON, which won widespread public support.Ms Reissmann chairs her local health branch and has been a vocal opponent of government health policies and local cuts.The trust claims she brought it into disrepute by talking to the media.UNISON believes she is being victimised in an attempt to silence her and other union activists.General secretary Dave Prentis said: “UNISON will not be silenced and we shall continue to campaign through all available channels to obtain Karen’s reinstatement.”

de deux with the far right

The ballerina Simone Clarke, has taken a leading
role in a nationalist organisation with links to the
British National party. Clarke was revealed to be a
member of the British National Party (BNP) during
a Guardian investigation into the far-right organisation
last year. She drew widespread criticism, with
anti-racist protesters staging a demonstration when
she took to the stage in English National Ballet’s
production of Giselle.
Now the ballerina, who is expected to retire soon,
has been elected to the executive board of Solidarity,
a so-called trade union which says it aims to
protect the rights of British workers. In a posting
on Solidarity’s website Clarke said: “Last year a
newspaper “exposed” my BNP membership. Some
politically motivated malcontents tried to have me
sacked, hence my interest in a British workers’
union.”
She was elected to Solidarity’s board last month
and, according to BNP leader Nick Griffin, has
given a speech at a BNP event in the Midlands in
recent weeks.
Solidarity’s general secretary is Pat Harrington,
a long-time far-right activist and former National
Front organiser. Critics say the organisation, which
is not affiliated to the TUC, is a front organisation
for the BNP. Solidarity denies the charge, claiming
it is an independent trade union.
When her membership of the BNP was exposed
Clarke claimed the organisation was the only party
willing to “take a stand” against immigration. “I’ve
never been clearer in my head that I’m moving in
the right direction and at the right time,” she told
the Mail on Sunday, adding that her conversion to
the far right was prompted by watching the news
and reading the BNP manifesto.
“I am not too proud to say that a lot of it went over my
head but some of the things they mentioned were
the things I think about all the time, mainly mass
immigration, crime and increased taxes. I paid my
£25 there and then.” On its website Solidarity says
it was formed “as a reaction against the betrayal
of the Unions affiliated to the TUC”. It adds it is a
“National Movement that actively recruits UK and
Irish Workers into it’s [sic] ranks”.
In its 2006 annual return to the union watchdog the
Certification Officer, its declared membership totalled
just 42 — all but two of them men. Its income
was £1,105.
Harrington became general secretary and treasurer
at the end of 2006 replacing Lee Barnes — the
BNP’s legal adviser — and the BNP’s treasurer John
Walker respectively.
Vice president Kevin Scott — a BNP regional organiser
— was replaced by Tim Hawke — said to be an
Ipswich BNP member — on the same date.

Unions vow to fight on

(07/12/07) UNISON and other trade unions are angry at the government's part in blocking EU legislation to protect vulnerable agency workers.Employment ministers from across Europe failed to thrash out a deal to implement the Agency Workers Directive when they met this week.The deal, which has been stalled for the past five years, would give agency workers the same employment rights as permanent staff.The issue is a key one for UNISON, which has been pressing the government through the TUC to break the European deadlock and agree a new deal, or to honour its Warwick commitments to introduce UK legislation.Addressing a packed fringe meeting at TUC Congress earlier this year, UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said: "It is a disgrace that in the fourth richest economy in the world, 10 years into a Labour government, vulnerable workers can be exploited and abused they way they are."Mr Prentis is also president of the TUC, which said the lack of progress on the Agency Working Directive was disappointing."There is real anger among unions today that the UK government played the pivotal role in blocking progress on this modest measure to improve workplace justice," said the TUC's Brendan Barber.The directive would have helped slow the growth of a two-tier workforce, and made it more difficult for employers to undercut wages and conditions, he said.However, he pledged, "unions will not give up the campaign to deliver justice for agency workers."

Strike deductions success

Employers must include annual leave and bank
holidays when calculating how much pay to deduct
for strike action, the High Court has ruled. UNISON,
the UK’s largest public sector union, brought the
test case, Cooper v Isle of Wight College, following
strike action to protect members’ pension rights in
March last year.
The decision means that the Isle of Wight College
should have deducted only 1/260th of the annual
salary of a striker for the one-day strike not 1/228th.
The ruling has implications for all employers making
deductions from employees’ wages for taking
strike action.
The union has consistently argued that the correct
method of deducting salaries during strike action
is to deduct the weekend and other non-working
days — but not annual leave or bank holidays — resulting
in a formula of 1/260th of the annual salary
for a day’s strike.
UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said: “The
amount of money may seem small but the principle
of the case is much bigger. The strike action last
year was to defend pension rights and it involved
30,000 members in the further education sector.

Concessionary Bus Travel Act 2007
Introduction
1. The Concessionary Bus Travel Bill was introduced in the House of Lords on 27 November 2006. The Department's press release of 27 November 2006, announcing introduction of the Bill, can be found at the following link:http://www.gnn.gov.uk/content/detail.asp?ReleaseID=245891&NewsAreaID=2&NavigatedFromSearch=True
2. The Bill received Royal Assent thus becoming an Act on 19 July 2007.
3. The full text of the Act and Explanatory Notes can be found on the Office of Public Sector Information website: http://www.opsi.gov.uk/
4. The final Regulatory Impact Assessment for the Concessionary Bus Travel Act 2007 is at:http://www.dft.gov.uk/consultations/aboutria/ria/riaconcessbustravelact07
5. The full text of the Commencement Order for the Act, including a short Explanatory Note, can be found on the Office of Public Sector Information website: http://www.opsi.gov.uk/. The title of the Order is 'The Concessionary Bus Travel Act 2007 (Commencement and Transitional Provisions) Order 2007' (Statutory Instrument 2007 No. 2799 (C. 109)).
What the Act does
6. The Concessionary Bus Travel Act provides that everyone aged 60 and over in England, and disabled people in England, will get free off peak travel on all local buses anywhere in England from April 2008. The existing statutory entitlement allows these groups to travel for free, but only on buses within their local authority area.
7. The Act will achieve social inclusion benefits for older and disabled people in allowing them greater freedom to travel, for free, by local bus. This is a key part of the Government's wider recognition of the importance of public transport for older and disabled people, and the role access to transport has to play in improving social inclusion and maintaining well being.
8. The provisions in the Act:
Guarantee free bus travel for those eligible from 9.30am until 11pm on weekdays and all day weekends and bank holidays, across England.
Provide a power to allow, via regulations in the future, for mutual recognition of national concessionary bus passes across the United Kingdom.
Allow flexibility for Ministers to change the mechanism for reimbursement of bus operators in the future and enable streamlining of the administration of concessionary travel.
Retain Ministers' ability to adjust the scope of the concession in the future via regulations.
Enable local authorities to continue to be able to offer benefits above the statutory entitlement to their residents, such as travel before 9:30am and concessions on other modes like trams, as well as alternative forms of travel scheme, like tokens for use on taxis or community transport.

Smith boosts community support

officers with new powers

UNISON is welcoming moves to standardise and strengthen the powers available to police community support officers (PCSOs).However, the union believes their role should go even further."Giving PCSOs standard powers is a step in the right direction, but we don't think the list of powers to be introduced by 1 December goes far enough," said national officer Ben Priestley."We will be pressing that case with the home secretary when we meet her next week," he added.There are currently 16,000 community support officers in England and Wales, but their powers differ from force to force.The new regulations will ensure that PCSOs have consistent powers across the country to support neighbourhood policing and deal with low-level anti-social behaviour.For instance, they will be able to confiscate alcohol in public places, issue fixed penalty notices for littering, and seize drugs.PCSOs will also be able to draw on a further 20 powers at the discretion of their chief constable, including rights to detain those suspected of offences and search people suspected of carrying dangerous items.Home secretary Jacqui Smith announced the new powers today, in a joint statement with the Association of Chief Police Officers.Launching a staunch defence of the role of PCSOs since their introduction five years ago, Ms Smith said the officers were at the heart of neighbourhood policing and had made a major impact on local people.She also revealed that a project had been set up to examine ways of giving PCSOs across England and Wales a common uniform and equipment.The project will be led by the National Policing Improvement Agency. Its remit also includes working towards greater standardisation of training and career development, and ensuring that the PCSO role is clear and understood.Ben Priestley said UNISON appreciated the home secretary's support for PCSOs during a period in which they had been subjected to "unwarranted and grossly unfair attacks".He continued: "UNISON has been campaigning for a standard uniform for PCSOs - the right kit for the job - and we welcome this latest move."We have written to the police minister urging him to issue all PCSOs with stab vests. There are three remaining forces that don't issue stab vests - West Midlands, Staffordshire and Surrey - and it's time that they fell into line."Finally, we welcome the moves to standardise and improve training and career progression. As part of that career progression, we favour the introduction of a PCSO supervisor role, currently deployed in just two forces - Kent and South Yorkshire."

Stop Wasting Tax Payers'Money

and Pay Women Their Dues

Almost 1500 female low paid UNISON members in Cumbria are today celebrating the Employment Appeal Tribunal's decision to uphold their pay discrimination claim and reject the Council's appeal. The women, who work as care assistants, home carers, kitchen assistants, cooks and night care assistants won their claim of pay discrimination at a Tribunal in March 2006, but Cumbria Council, appealed that decision. The appeal was heard in London, in May 2007 and the Judgment has been anxiously awaited since then.The Council argued that the Tribunal had misunderstood the evidence and treated the Council unfairly in relation to the defences that they had put forward. They also alleged that the Tribunal had been wrong to decide that the productivity based bonus schemes that they had been paying to male employees, were not justified.However, in its judgment, the Appeal Tribunal rejected these arguments and upheld the Tribunal's original decisions, meaning that the women are one step closer to receiving the money owing to them.Dave Prentis, General Secretary for UNISON, said:“I am delighted that the Employment Appeal Tribunal has ruled in favour of our members. The writing has been on the wall since the employment tribunal decision last year and the Council should face up to their responsibilities. Stop wasting time and more council taxpayers' money on costly legal arguments and give these women the money owing to them.“UNISON has fought long and hard to achieve equal pay and we have been successful in several ground-breaking cases on behalf of thousands of women members.“We have been willing to put our money where our mouth is and take the risky, high costs cases on behalf of our members. We have not asked them for a single penny towards the costs. By contrast, 'No win no fee' solicitors can charge anything up to 25 per cent of any award.”The Judgment today follows a favourable ruling in the summer when the Employment Tribunal in Newcastle upheld the union's method of calculating back pay. This had the effect of increasing the value of their payments, whereas the council's method would have led to reduced compensation for members.Sharon Mee, UNISON Regional Officer. Said:“This is great news for my members in Cumbria. They are all low paid women who have been denied fair and equal pay and this money means a lot to them. “It is noticeable that the “no win no fee” solicitors will benefit from this appeal decision without lifting a finger to win it.”Matters will now return to the Employment Tribunal where clarification is required on a few aspects of these women's claims and the methods for calculating the compensation are to be finalised.

GMB’s record win

The GMB general union has won £550,499 for a
member — the highest recorded compensation in
a claim of disability discrimination.
The GMB member, who suffers with learning
difficulties, received the sum from his successful
claim for disability discrimination against his
former employer Lambeth Serviceteam Limited,
now Veolia Environment Services Lambeth. The
record compensation comprises loss of earnings
until retirement for the member who was aged 34
at dismissal.
The member was one of four claimants who won
their claims of disability discrimination. Total compensation
achieved by the quartet of claimants was
over £1.3 million. WATCH THIS SPACE !

Banish the office bullies,

TUC tells employers

With recent research showing that few UK workplaces escape the scourge of the office or factory bully, the TUC has today (Wednesday) called on employers to do more to protect their staff from victimisation and harassment.
To coincide with National Ban Bullying at Work Day, the TUC has produced a guide to help union safety reps work with employers to create a new workplace culture where bullying, intimidation and harassment is a thing of the past.
The new guide cites recent research from the University of Manchester which suggests that one in ten workers was bullied in the last six months, one in four have fallen victim in the last five years, and 47 per cent of employees have witnessed bullying at work.
The TUC guide says that anyone can find themselves on the receiving end of an attack from a workplace bully, and bullies can be colleagues or managers. Managers are often bullied by their bosses too.
Worst of all, says the guide, are those workplaces where a culture has developed that condones the criticism of staff in front of colleagues, or that allows bullies to shout at colleagues, regularly make an individual the butt of jokes, or send victims abusive emails or texts at work.
TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: 'People on the receiving end of cutting remarks or verbal outbursts from the workplace bully are the ones paying a heavy price for employers' failure to deal with the problem. The stress and anxiety felt by the victims can make them physically ill, lose all their self-confidence and mean that they dread coming into work.
'But employers pay the price as well. Staff being bullied are likely to take more time off because the harassment is making them ill and the low morale they suffer as a result almost always affects their ability to do their job, making them much less productive.
'But bullying is not hard to tackle and employers who ignore the problem and fail to protect their staff are breaking the law. Every workplace should have a policy which makes clear that intimidating behaviour towards colleagues will not be tolerated and that those who persist in undermining their fellow members of staff will be dealt with severely.'

Prentis welcomes

'ambitious programme' from Brown

Gordon Brown's new legislative programme "deals with the key areas that people want their government to deliver", says UNISON. However, it fails to deliver any protection for public services.The 29-bill package, set out in today's Queen's speech, prioritises housing and education. The speech said it was intended to "respond to the rising aspirations" of Britons."Everyone wants better education for their kids, better housing, healthcare, children's services," said UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis, welcoming the direction of an "ambitious programme". "What the speech lacked, however, was a clear indication that the privatisation programme will be halted," he said."The emphasis on commissioning roles in local government and health and the dangers that poses to the fabric of our public services remain in place." Praising plans to build 3 million new homes by 2020, Mr Prentis said affordable social housing was a key issue for UNISON members, and a massive expansion in house building was "sorely needed".But he warned that owning their own home would still be out of the reach of many tens of thousands of public service workers providing essential services."Building social housing would be the bold step forward that is needed to solve that problem," he suggested.Commenting on proposals for a new watchdog to oversee the NHS, Mr Prentis said UNISON supported regulation and higher standards in health and social care."But the biggest threats to the care of people in those services comes from reduced inspections and a cut in the number of inspectors," he said.And, he added: "We don't think the case has yet been made for raising the school leaving age to 18. We are, of course, all in favour of continuing education and training, but how do you keep kids in school who don't want to be there?"Financial incentives or fines are not the best way forward."

OSWESTRY VICTORY !!!

Oswestry tenants have won by 70% the ballot to keep their homes with the Council and not to outsource them to a Housing Association. This has been another huge waste of Public money. The public should ask how much officer time and Public money was spent to try to persaude the tenants to go out of Council control against their will. As Landlords They should have known the feelings of their tenants and known that it was a lost cause.
Well Mr. Shevlin how much did it cost ?

Local government dispute

ends with pay warning

(30/10/07) Local government workers across England, Wales and Northern Ireland have slammed this year’s below-inflation annual pay award, but stopped short of outright industrial action at this stage, putting employers and the government in the ‘last chance saloon’ over pay."Members have told employers that this critically important issue won’t go away," UNISON head of local government Heather Wakefield said after a narrow majority of members voted in favour of action in a ballot which saw a 24.4% turn-out.The ballot closed last Friday, 26 October, and saw 144,719 valid ballot papers returned, with 74,631 members (or 51.6%) voting for action and 70,088 (48.4%) voting against. The ballot result was considered by the union's NJC committee and local government service group executive today. The NJC committee welcomed the majority vote in the ballot by members for strike action in the current pay dispute.Read Pay ballot 2007 resultsBut it overwhelmingly voted for a statement which read: "However, in all the circumstances, including the narrowness of the majority and the size of the poll, this result does not constitute the basis for viable industrial action to break the government’s pay policy."The NJC committee therefore agreed to:
conclude the 2007/8 pay deal as soon as possible based on the offer made on 24 August;
co-ordinate with other public-service unions regarding over the 2008 pay round ;
to start a campaign for 2008 based on securing fair pay and conditions improvements for and defeating plans to attack national conditions and negotiating machinery. Read full LG Service Group Executive report"Members have told employers that this critically important issue won’t go away," said Ms Wakefield.More than 69% of those affected by the award earn just £15,825 or less a year - around £8,000 less than the national average. These include home care workers, teaching assistants, environmental health officers, park and street wardens, housing officers, librarians, refuse collectors, school cooks and many other unsung workers. And these poorly paid staff face steep living cost rises that have far outweighed their annual pay awards of well under 3% during the past three years. "This is effectively our members’ fourth consecutive annual pay cut and they have decisively put government and local authority employers into the 'last chance saloon'. "Since 2003 local council workers across the UK have seen their pay packets falling further behind the rise in living costs, and thousands of low-paid staff suffer chronic financial hardship. "Our members are not the faceless pen pushers some would have you believe. They are our community champions – the legions of people that deliver vital services to our neighbourhoods, often in high pressure and even hazardous circumstances. "Now they have resoundingly warned employers’ to value them more."We will shortly be submitting our claim for the 2008 pay round. Next year, we expect the employers to end their bargain-basement treatment of our members once and for all."Scottish local government workers are in the final year of a pay deal which runs until the end of March 2008. A claim for 2008, which will be submitted to employers at a meeting of the Scottish Joint Council on 14 November.

TUC comment on Directors'

pay survey

Commenting on the IDS Directors' Pay Report 2007 published today (Monday), which found that the average total earnings of FTSE 100 chief executives have doubled over the last five years to a new record of £3.2 million, TUC General Secretary, Brendan Barber, said,
'Britain's top directors clearly have no shame. Year in, year out they have been paying themselves far bigger rises than they are prepared to pay their staff while lecturing the rest of us on the need for low taxes. It beggars belief that they are somehow working twice as hard as five years ago.
'It is time the rest of us gave a big raspberry to all their hand-wringing excuses of needing the incentives and matching the international going rate. It would at least be honest if they say they paid themselves these rises because they can.
'This is not just morally offensive greed, it is bad for the rest of society too. The growth of a new class of the super-rich, semi-detached from the rest of society, hits social cohesion, feeds into house price inflation and harms staff loyalty and commitment.'

This makes the Local Government pay offer of between 2.475 and 3.4% a joke only nobody is laughing !

Celebs rally to

champion the NHS

(27/10/07) The I love the NHS march and rally on 3 November is attracting widespread celebrity support to bolster the thousands of health workers expected to turn out on the day.Among those championing the event are explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes, who said: "I love the NHS because they saved me from certain death following a massive heart attack."Also, when my wife of 36 years was terminally ill with cancer, the NHS, Exeter, looked after her diligently and with expertise and patience."Tamsin Greig, star of Channel 4's award-winning medical comedy Green Wing and Black Books, said she loved the NHS because it was "a unique and invaluable organisation that puts life first. "It is a national treasure and should be valued and honoured as such," she added.On 3 November NHS staff and supporters will gather at the Embankment and march to Trafalgar Square, where there will be music, comedy and speeches. The demonstration is to celebrate the successes of the NHS, which is 60 next year, and to send a hard-hitting political message to the government that there is no place for markets and competition in our health service.It is being organised by NHS Together, an alliance of 14 health unions and organisations, including UNISON. UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said: "The NHS treats over one million people every 36 hours. That is a tremendous achievement and that success is down to the dedication, professionalism and sheer hard graft of the staff who work in it."He continued: "I know that I am only alive today because of the skill and expertise of those NHS staff. I didn't have to pay for that treatment and, like millions of people every day, I am grateful for that."The NHS is worth fighting for and I believe that 3 November is a unique opportunity for health workers and patients to show their support."Remember, remember 3 November

Freeing information

(24/10/07) UNISON has welcomed the decision of the Scottish information commissioner to order the release of Edinburgh Royal Infirmary's private management contract.The union said that this would be an important precedent for other contract information.Earlier this month a UNISON report revealed that using private firms to build and run schools and hospitals in Scotland was wasting billions of pounds.It showed how these financial figures were kept from the public due to claimed commercial confidentiality.Dave Watson, UNISON's scottish organiser, said: "This decision is good news and could be the first step to a return to transparency in public finances."We have consistently said that such bogus commercial confidentiality is being used to hide the rigged calculations used to justify PFI and PPP schemes. All the figures should be provided for public scrutiny." UNISON has a number of appeals to the information commissioner challenging attempts by public bodies to keep information about private finance initiative and public-private partnerships secret by citing demands by contractors."While this decision will help, it also shows how important it is to bring companies involved in PFI/PPP contracts under the scope of freedom of information legislation," Mr Watson said.UNISON's report At what cost? also lists immediate steps the Scottish government could take to prevent further billions being wasted.Mr Watson added: "We want to see all existing contracts reviewed and no new PPP contracts approved. Scottish government grants should be made available for all new capital projects on a proper level playing field basis, regardless of the method of procurement." More on UNISON's campaign for quality public servicesSee earlier story: PFI projects wasting billions, says UNISONDownload the report here: At what cost? [PDF]

Dave Prentis says...

The scandal of local government pay falling behind the rise of living costs has gone on for far too long.Our members face another winter of chronic financial hardship.This week UNISON is urging members to say 'yes' to industrial action to gain them the pay deal that they both deserve and urgently need.

Brown urged to help

Britain's vulnerable workers

(19/10/07) Trade unions and MPs have united in urging the government to put an end to casualisation at work.Today a private member's bill was being debated in parliament, which seeks to give agency and temporary workers the same rights as permanent employees.At the same time, a letter in support of the bill was addressed to the prime minister, reminding Gordon Brown of the one million agency workers who are vulnerable to insecurity and exploitation at work.Signed by prominent MPs and trade union general secretaries, including UNISON's Dave Prentis, the letter says that legislation for the protection of agency workers, many of whom are migrants, must be prioritised. "Such legislation is vital," it says. "There are now an estimated one million agency workers in this country and the sector is growing. However, UK law states that these workers can be employed on poorer terms than directly-employed colleagues doing the same job - the result being that agency workers lose out on vital protections such as pay, sick leave and overtime. "This discrimination in the treatment of a significant and growing number of workers is in sharp contrast to the Labour government's stated aim of promoting equality across society."Campaigners insist that in the absence of the long-awaited EU directive on agency workers, the government must produce the domestic legislation that will protect them, as promised in the Warwick agreement. Labour MP Paul Farrelly's bill was 'talked out' by the government during its first hearing in March, despite having the overwhelming support of backbench Labour MPs.

Desmond looks

forward to retirement

Richard Desmond can look forward to a happy
retirement. The owner of among other publications
the Daily Express and its Sunday sister saw
his pay and pension contributions rise by almost a
half (+49.1%) to £40.7 million, according to the 2006
accounts for RCD1 Limited.
The rise was largely as a result of Desmond squirrelling £40 million away in pension contributions
— up from £26 million in 2005. Meanwhile, he paid
himself 48.1% less as his salary fell to £662,000 from
£1.3 million the year before.

Compare this with the average Local Government Pension of £2,800
Per year

UNISON backs

Million Meals campaign

UNISON is backing new plans to boost the number of children eating school dinners by a million a day.Around three million children in England already eat school food, but the number has been dropping steadily following moves to ban junk food from the menu.The School Food Trust's Million Meals campaign aims to reverse that decline by encouraging schools to take a lead in educating both pupils and parents about the benefits of healthy eating.UNISON believes that schools and school meals play a key role in educating children about how to avoid the dangers of obesity and bad health linked to diet.Welcoming the Million Meals campaign, UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis pledged the union's support and called on schools to sign up to it."Our members are dedicated to using their skills to improve the lives of children and young people," he said. "Schools, governors, local authorities and parents must recognise the central importance of healthy eating and invest in the school food service."

SABC LABOUR GROUP

PRESS RELEASE 16/10/2007

Shrewsbury and Atcham Labour Group deplore the backward looking decision by Tory Councillors at last night’s Council meeting, in appealing against the Judicial Review Decision by SABC, which was rejected on all the three grounds presented to the High Court.

Deputy Leader Cllr Mansel Williams declared - "The decision to now go to Appeal will mean further confusion for the people of Shrewsbury. While all the other Districts are united in working together and moving forward, Shrewsbury is set for stagnation. Speakers from all the Political Groups at the Council meeting acknowledged that there was going to be a Unitary Council – so why are the Tories pressing ahead with an appeal, which might lead to yet further financial liabilities to SABC?"

The Conservative administration has voted to join with Congleton Borough Council to progress an appeal through the courts. Councillor Liz Parsons said,
“We believe this is a misguided distraction from the important matters which should now be the focus of attention. The Labour members of the Council believe any appeal will be pursued by lawyers purely to prove a point in law and will have a poor chance of success. A sum of £220,000 has already been spent on the failed Judicial Review and there are further costs to be met. This is taxpayer’s money which has been squandered.”

Cllr Alan Townsend said "Think what benefits could have been provided for residents of the town if the money for the appeal had been spent improving services and facilities."

Councillor Roy Sambrook added,

“We also feel that the manner in which the whole Unitary debate was presented to Council was a disgrace. The Tory motion was handed to members only minutes before the start of the meeting and indeed some members did not receive a copy until the meeting was underway. What must members of the public feel about council business being conducted in such a shambolic way?
The Leader and Chief Executive of SABC should put their efforts into engaging in discussions about a future unitary authority, to secure a voice for employees of the council and residents of the Borough rather than trying to push through a decision which will mean that Shrewsbury is yet again out on a limb and out of step with the other Shropshire Districts.”

The Labour Group has been in favour of a Unitary Council for Shropshire from the outset. They believe that it will cut out the duplication inherent in the present 5 Districts and County model of political Governance. A new Unitary Council will also bring efficiencies, leading to lower council tax increases along with improved services. Continuing to pursue the legal challenge is putting the pursuit of a sterile legal argument before the challenge of working closely with the other Shropshire District Councils and the County Council to form the new Unitary Council.

Cllr Mansel Williams stated “Last night’s decision will waste yet more time and probably more money on a purely academic Appeal. The decision is a face-saving exercise for SABC’s Tory Administration in support to their Tory colleagues on Congleton Borough Council, but ill serves the best interests of the residents of Shrewsbury and Shropshire.”

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Personal Injury Settlements –

September 2007

Personal Injury Settlements for SEPTEMBER 2007. The breakdown shows the amount of money which UNISON recovered for members in Personal Injury Claim Settlements. In the West Midlands Region members received £152,088.18 in compensation for personal injuries.
This once again shows the benifits of Unison membership and also concentrates the mind on Health and Safety. ( If you think Health and Safety is expensive then try an accident ! )

WASTE OF COUNCIL TAX PAYERS MONEY
I hope the electorate will remember who voted to waste thousands of pounds of tax payers money on a lost cause possibly wound up by another lost cause our MP who will now be left exposed to the real world and having to face some of the people he was extremely rude to.

Implementation

One Council for Shropshire will be implemented by April 2009 at the latest. The Government is consulting on various approaches to implementation. You can read the Government’s suggested approach, and draft responses from Shropshire County Council, in the report attached to this page (CLG-response-appendix). We expect the Government decisions on implementation – including the timing of elections to the new council – during October 2007.
The County Council’s approach to implementation is to be as inclusive as possible, so that all those involved in the reorganisation can work together to make the very most of this opportunity to get the best outcomes for Shropshire people.

Full speed ahead for the transition

to a unitary council

Judicial review judgement

The Leader of Shropshire County Council, Malcolm Pate, said today that it was now full speed ahead for all the councils in Shropshire which are working for a smooth transition to a unitary council.

“I welcome Mr Justice Underhill’s dismissal of all three grounds in the Judicial Review brought by Shrewsbury & Atcham Borough Council over the Government’s decision to implement the joint One Council for Shropshire proposal."

“What I don’t welcome is the huge and costly distraction this unnecessary action has been."

“The High Court judgement entirely vindicates the way in which Shropshire County Council has carefully followed the process set out by the Government."

“I am particularly pleased that the High Court decided the Secretary of State was entitled to take into account the views revealed in the representative polling conducted by Ipsos MORI on behalf of Shropshire County Council."

“I sincerely hope that now the action brought by Shrewsbury & Atcham Borough Council has been firmly rejected by the High Court, we can focus clearly on the task before us. I can assure staff in all the councils, and the public, that we will now get on in earnest with planning a smooth transition to a unitary council,” Malcolm Pate added.

NHS national

demonstration:

help us campaign Branches will know from previous publicity that UNISON has joined forces with the NHS Together coalition of trade unions to hold a national demonstration in central London on Saturday 3 November. We want your help to encourage as many members and campaign supporters as possible to join us on the march and rally in a mass show of support for the NHS, a world class public service that takes care of our health and gives us all peace of mind.Help us campaign to defend the NHS and to celebrate its founding principles. Join the demonstration and send a strong message to the government that big business and the profit motive has no place in our health service.

11am: Assemble at Temple Place, Victoria Embankment, London

Noon: March through Westminster (will take approx one hour)

1pm: Rally in Trafalgar Square

1.30-4.30pm: Speakers and entertainment in the Square
There will be high profile speakers, quality music and entertainment in Trafalgar Square - so come along with colleagues, family and friends. UNISON regions are co-ordinating travel to London, so please contact your regional office for details.Publicity materials A supply of leaflets and posters, to help you publicise the event in your workplace and via your local campaign support networks will soon be delivered direct to every UNISON branch. They can also be downloaded from the website (see right), and further supplies can be ordered from stock via UNISON's Communications Dept: stockorders@unison.co.uk NHS Demo A5 Leaflet / flyer - stock item: 2632NHS Demo A4 Poster - stock item: 2631A range of publicity materials for use on the day of the demonstration e.g. paddles, placards, flags, tabards, etc. will be available for branches to order and further advice on items and stock numbers will be issued shortly. In the meantime, please build local support for this very important event to maximise attendance and make the day an unrivalled success.

Tories playing politics

with injured people

There is no compensation culture The Conservative Party should not play politics with the compensation claims of injured people, leading personal injury and trade union solicitors Thompsons has warned.
Tom Jones, Thompsons' director of policy and public affairs, said:
"The Tories are playing politics with genuinely injured people's compensation claims. They know there is no compensation culture in Britain, and have said so before this week. The fact is that personal injury claims are falling year on year. What there may be, and what they will certainly encourage by their cynical antics at their conference, is risk aversion. The only people to gain will be the insurance industry.
"Glib references to 'compensation culture' and attacks on health and safety regulations disrespect the rights of the genuinely injured.
"David Davis talking about a 'spurious idea of health and safety' allegedly preventing police officers from rescuing a drowning child, and David Willetts claiming that teachers are living 'in fear' of allowing children to go on outdoor trips is simply stoking the fire that the Tories claim to want to put out.
"Anyone would think that teachers face legal action over accidents to children on school trips on a weekly basis. The fact is they don't. Teachers and youth volunteers have no need to live in fear of compensation claims against them. The law on negligence is clear, an individual will not be found liable for an accident unless they are proved to be at fault."

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PFI projects wasting

billions, says UNISON

Using private firms to build and run schools and hospitals in Scotland is wasting billions of pounds, says UNISON.The union today revealed two key figures from the largest ever study of official PFI documents, looking at the 'value for money' claims used to justify building new schools and hospitals with private funding.These show that the controversial private finance initiative and other forms of public-private partnerships could be costing Scottish taxpayers around £2.1 billion more than conventional funding.UNISON Scottish organiser Dave Watson said the extra cost was supposedly justified by claiming that £3.5 billion of risk has been transferred to the private sector. But ultimately the risk is borne by the taxpayer, as shown by the recent collapse of London Underground contractor Metronet."Our research published today confirms from the official figures that the scandal that is PFI is costing taxpayers in Scotland billions of pounds more than public sector funding," Mr Watson said."Documents show that funding new schools and hospitals the conventional way could cost around £2.1 billion less. They also show that £3.5 billion has been added to the taxpayers' bill, to massage the figures in favour of private funding."These are just two figures from the range of ways in which private companies are profiteering at the expense of school children, hospital patients and taxpayers. Other factors include refinancing, high rates of return, the higher cost of private financing, land sales and the PFI private equity market."Mr Watson said UNISON disputed the calculations used to justify PFI and PPP schemes, and called for all the figures to be provided for public scrutiny.The report At What Cost also lists immediate steps the Scottish government could take to prevent further billions being wasted. Mr Watson added: "We want to see all existing contracts reviewed and no new PPP contracts approved. Scottish government grants should be made available for all new capital projects on a proper level playing field basis, regardless of the method of procurement." Download UNISON's report here:
At What Cost? [PDF]

Dave Prentis says...

This week we start to send out industrial action ballot papers to our 800,000 local government members in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, over their below-inflation pay offer.As living costs soar, we will be urging members to vote yes to strike action to defend their pay and protect their living standards.It's important that every member affected exercises the right to vote in this ballot, which closes on 26 October.

After the words, action

Gordon Brown made a nice speech – now he has to deliver. That was the message of UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis last night, as he spoke out in defence of vulnerable workers in British society, particularly women struggling for equal pay and migrant workers.“We’ve been waiting years for a leadership speech like that,” Mr Prentis told a fringe meeting on social justice at work. “But it’s easy to have a speech full of rhetoric and full of promises. We know from Warwick that they don’t always deliver. “The trade unions have to ensure that the government does deliver. The four unions working together are the best bulwark we’ve got.”Those four unions – UNISON, Unite, GMB and CWU – hosted the fringe to discuss social justice, the minimum wage, equal pay, migrant labour and social housing. “All the promises made today have been about individual rights,” said Mr Prentis. “But workers and their trade unions have to be able to negotiate collective rights. “Equal pay is not about individual women engaging no-win no-fee solicitors and getting back pay for themselves, while the structures never change. If we are to protect people and deal with equal pay properly, for all of our women members, we need class action and a collective approach.” Mr Prentis also talked passionately about the exploitation of migrant workers. And he said it was “absolutely disgusting” that the government was preventing trade unions from accessing the European Court of Employment Rights, “excluding ourselves from employment legislation, when every other worker in the EU has access to that protection.”Mr Prentis was joined by three other general secretaries: Paul Kenny of the GMB, Derek Simpson of Unite-Amicus and Tony Woodley of Unite-TGWU.

Strike ballot gets green light

UNISON is to ask its local government members outside Scotland whether they're prepared to take action over this year's low pay offer.The ballot was given the go ahead by the union's industrial action committee at a meeting today. Papers will be sent out in October.Earlier this month local government representatives rejected the employers' revised offer of 2.475% and a new minimum rate on scale point 4 of £6 an hour.The deal is below inflation, despite being a slight improvement on the original offer. The Retail Price Index figures were recorded at 4.1% in August.UNISON’s head of local government, Heather Wakefield, said: "I don't want to see local government pay falling further behind the rest of the public sector and private sector. Our members' morale is low. We urge employers to help resolve this situation by returning to talks." Council workers covered by the pay claim include care home and home care assistants, housing and environmental health officers, refuse collectors, librarians and school cooks. Almost two thirds of them, 75% of whom are women, earn £15,825 or under a year -- £8,000 less than the national average.

Trafalgar Square confirmed

for NHS demo
Trafalgar Square has been confirmed as the venue for the national demonstration to celebrate the NHS on 3 November.UNISON has issued a rallying call to NHS supporters throughout the UK to turn out in force and make the day one to remember."The aim is to celebrate the fact that, after almost 60 years, the NHS is still largely owned and run by the public sector -- and send a strong message to the government that we want to keep it that way," said UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis.He added: "We believe that this event will send a clear message to the new health secretary, Alan Johnson, and we hope that he will seize this golden opportunity to listen much more to the real experts in the NHS - the staff and patients."Demonstrators will march along the Embankment before rallying in Trafalgar Square for an afternoon of speeches and entertainment.The event is being staged in partnership with the NHS Together alliance of health trade unions.
Timetable
11am: Assemble at Temple Place, Victoria Embankment, London
Noon: March through Westminster (will take approx one hour)
1pm: Rally in Trafalgar Square
1.30-4.30pm: Speakers and entertainment in the Square

Prentis leads Congress call to arms

"What is so wrong with councils building council housing," general secretary Dave Prentis asked TUC delegates in Brighton this morning, as he moved a call for Congress to campaign on affordable housing."What is so wrong with councils renewing their housing stock? Councils doing what they do best: offering local communities the housing they want, the homes they need; respecting tenants' choice?"Congress agreed that there was nothing wrong in that at all, urging the general council to lead a campaign for:
affordable solutions to the housing shortage, including new homes for social rent;
expanding the options for real low-cost home ownership;
councils being able to bring existing houses up to standard and build new ones;
tenant and community involvement in housing programmes. The scale of the problem was revealed when Mr Prentis pointed out that nurses can afford to buy homes in just 1% of British towns, and just 22% of towns are affordable for teachers."If nurses and teachers can't afford it, how on earth will our cleaners, our teaching assistants, our porters, survive?" he asked."We have to do more to reverse the record where the national spend is the second lowest in the developed world."And Mr Prentis made no apology for linking the housing need with public-service workers' need for better pay."Access to decent homes means access to decent pay," he stated. "That is why it is so wrong that hard working public servants should be made to bear the brunt of government cost-cutting."And that is why UNISON, together with all other public-service unions, will stand up and fight for the right of our members to decent pay awards - not just this year, but next year and the year after that."Decent homes and decent pay: our members deserve nothing less and we will accept nothing less."

Pay offer rejected !
(05/09/07) Representatives of UNISON’s local government members yesterday voted to reject the employers’ revised offer of 2.475% and a new minimum rate on scale point 4 of £6 per hour. The NJC committee – UNISON members of the sector’s negotiating body, the national joint council – decided to ask the union’s local government service group executive and industrial action committee to authorise an industrial action ballot.A meeting of the industrial action committee will be arranged in the near future.

New local government

pay offer


Local government employers today upped their pay offer to trade unions in a last-ditch attempt to stave off industrial action.The improved deal offers a 3.4% pay rise to the poorest paid council workers, taking them to £6 an hour for the first time. All other local government employees would see 2.475% added to their pay packets. "This is a welcome breakthrough for the lowest paid and only came about as a result of very tough negotiations," said UNISON head of local government Heather Wakefield."We recognise that local government bosses have surpassed the government's own stated pay limit of 2% and unions will now meet to consider this improvement."Today's crux meeting followed six months of negotiations. NJC unions will meet on 4 September to consider the revised offer.Between them, the three NJC trade unions - UNISON, GMB and TGWU-UNITE - represent more than one million council workers.They welcomed the fact that an improved offer had been made, but said that it remains disappointing, with inflation running at 3.8% and councils having exceeded their efficiency targets this year.For more details, download the latest pay circular:
NJC pay – improved offer [PDF]Members are advised to check UNISON's news and local government pages regularly for the latest information and updates.

Unison Retired Members

Meeting

September 15th at The Unison Club 2-15 pm

A Welcome return of Mr. C.Wallace
"Safari in Tanzania"