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.