Pandemic Flu - Guidance for unions


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Updated May 2009

Introduction
Pandemic influenza is very different from, and far more serious than, the usual seasonal influenza outbreaks that happen every year. A pandemic is an outbreak that may affect hundreds of millions of people worldwide, leading to a large proportion of them becoming ill. Pandemic flu occurs when a new influenza virus emerges that is very different from ordinary seasonal flu and, because it is new, people have very little or no immunity to it. There are normally around two to three such pandemics every century. The most recent pandemic was in 1968 and affected mainly the young and the elderly. An earlier outbreak in 1918 caused an estimated 20-40 million deaths worldwide, most of which occurred among people aged between 20 and 45.
Pandemic influenza is likely to develop through genes from a number of human and animal flu viruses joining together to form a new strain of virus. Most animal flu viruses such as avian and swine flu can, in some circumstances, be transmitted to humans. Some of these are harmless to humans while others can be fatal. However, because they are not passed from human to human they are not spread as quickly as human influenza viruses and so are much easier to contain. If however they develop in a way that made it easier to be passed from person to person a pandemic is more likely.
Once a virus is very easily passed from person to person then it is likely to spread very quickly. It can be transmitted through touching anything that is contaminated with the virus, or from casual contact between people. Depending on the type of virus illness develops anything between two days to a week after infection.
In April 2009 a new strain of influenza broke out in Mexico and by the end of the month the World Health Organisation had assessed the risk of a pandemic as level five - indicating human-to-human transmission in at least two countries. This is the highest rating below an actual pandemic (level six). The Mexican outbreak appears to be a new version of the H1N1 strain of influenza type A. H1N1 is the same strain which causes seasonal outbreaks of flu in humans on a regular basis. But this latest version of H1N1 is different: it contains genetic material that is typically found in strains of the virus that affect humans, birds and swine
It is estimated that from the initial outbreak of a new influenza virus strain, once it is in the UK, it could spread to all major cities within two weeks with a peak around 50 days from initial entry in the country. Influenza pandemics occur either in a single wave or several waves that can be weeks, or even months, apart.
The fatality rate for previous pandemics has varied from 0.2% to 2% with between 25% and 50% of the population being affected during the outbreak. The government’s “worst case” guess is that the 50% of the population could become ill over a period of 3-6 months with a maximum of 750,000 deaths as a result. However this is the worst of the likely outcomes and, in reality any pandemic would probably be much less severe. Nevertheless, the TUC supports the government view that contingency plans should be put in place to ensure that, in the event of a pandemic developing, its effects are minimised as far as possible. That means that plans must be flexible enough to cover all possible eventualities.
Why pandemic influenza is an issue for trade unions
The possibility of an influenza pandemic is more than just a public health issue. It will have a major effect in the workplace. Large numbers of people are likely to be absent at any one time. In the event of schools closing (which is a high possibility) many workers with children will find it impossible to go to work. Likewise, those who have partners or dependents who become ill may also not come to work. This would have a major impact on all aspects of health and social care, as well as on the economy as whole. The TUC believes that trade unions and employers, working together, can make a significant difference in ensuring that the effects of a pandemic are minimised, that the workforce are educated and informed on transmission issues, and in helping ensure there is no panic. Unions will also have a major part to play in ensuring that those workers who are ill as a result of infection stay at home and do not come in to work either through misplaced loyalty or employer pressure.
In addition, it is important that the effect of any pandemic does not hit those who are more vulnerable hardest, such as the low paid, those who don’t have permanent employment or sick pay schemes and those who have dependents.
The government plan
The government has produced a detailed plan for dealing with an influenza pandemic. It outlines the roles of various government and public bodies as well as the contribution of the voluntary sector and community networks. Much of the plan has been piloted in special government exercises or simulations, but the real effect will not be known until an actual pandemic breaks out. It is only then that we will be able to assess the likely number of people who will be affected, the mortality rate, the effect on emergency services and the economy, and how people will react.
Clearly this will be much more than just a health emergency. Although priority must be given to ensuring that medical treatment is made available as quickly as possible to as many people as possible, efforts must also be made to ensure maintenance of essential services and continuity of basic functions such as transport, energy, finance, law and order, and food supply.
The government will have to make very difficult decisions on matters such as whether or not to close schools and group childcare activities. The decision on this will have a major impact on the ability of not only industry, but also the health service and social services to function. Decisions will also have to be made on access to either vaccinations when they become available, or anti viral medicines. It is unlikely that current flu vaccines will be effective against any new strain and a new vaccine is likely to take several months to develop. The government maintains stocks of sufficient anti viral medicines to cover over 50% of the population. Given that anti-virals are most effective in relieving the symptoms of those infected and are intended to be given to those newly infected, and not as a preventative measure this is likely to be sufficient, although it is not known whether the anti-virals stocked will be effective against the particular strain of influenza which appears.
In addition to the national framework for responding to a pandemic, the government has also produced an ethical framework against which decisions on such issues should be made.
Why you must act now
It is important that employers do not wait until the outbreak of pandemic flu before considering what measures they need to take. At the same time, it is also important that people do not take panic measures. Although the government response is based on the “worst case scenario”, with the closure of schools, major problems with transport and distribution, and very high levels of sickness, it will be impossible to predict the actual full effect of a pandemic until the beginnings of an outbreak. That is why forward planning must be flexible, practical, and based on realistic assessments of likely risk.
This does not necessarily mean starting from scratch. Many employers will already have general plans for a major incident so planning for an influenza pandemic can often be incorporated into general emergency planning. As media attention to the risk of pandemic influenza increases, employers will become susceptible to approaches from unscrupulous companies who will attempt to sell them anti viral medicine or protective equipment, much of which may have no practical effect or even prove counterproductive.
What unions can do
Trade unions should ensure that their employer has in place either a separate policy for dealing with pandemic influenza, or a general policy covering major disasters or incidents that also covers major public health incidents such as pandemic influenza. It should not be left to employers alone to decide on what is an appropriate response. Unions must also be involved, as any effective policy must have the confidence of the whole workforce.
When considering your employer’s response to pandemic influenza the following are some of the areas that you may wish to address.
Are the employer's proposals reasonable and practical?
Many employers will have either overly elaborate plans or will simply add “pandemic influenza” onto an existing emergency plan without making any real changes. To be of any use the employer must actually go through the process of considering what effect all the different possible scenarios would have on their staff and how they operate, right up to the worst likely situation of up to 50% of the workforce being off, disruption to transport, and the disruptions to other services that could also arise (such as banking, the internet, supplies etc.)
Among the things that unions should look at are:
Do the employer’s plans underestimate the possible absence rate in the event of a major pandemic, as a consequence of employee infection and/or if the schools close.?
Have they looked at issues around supply of materials or services?
Have all departments been involved in drawing up the plan?
Does it treat all staff equally?
Have they considered the operation of functions such as cleaning and catering, if these are not done “in-house”?
Dealing with sickness absence
Some employers are planning for absenteeism rates of up to 50%. This is on the basis that it will not only be those who are ill that are unable to come into work, but also those looking after family members who are ill or those with children in the event of schools being closed. In addition, in the event of a severe pandemic, some staff will be afraid to come into work for fear of contracting the virus. There may also be difficulties with public transport.
While it is impossible to predict the likely rate of absenteeism during a pandemic, trade unions should ensure that employers are committed to equal treatment of all those who are absent. Those who are unable to travel because there is no public transport, or those who have got dependents who they cannot leave, should be treated no differently from those who are themselves ill. It is important that they are not disadvantaged in terms of issues such as pay, compared to those staff who are able to work from home.
Many employers will simply say that they will look at such cases sympathetically but most workers, especially those on low pay, will want to know in advance where they stand, so policies should be agreed beforehand.
Trades unionists will have to ensure that employers do not encourage staff to come in when they are ill and may themselves have to try to ensure that staff do not attempt to come to work through misguided loyalty to their employer or their client or their work colleagues. It is important that all staff who are ill remain at home until fully recovered. The HSE and government advice is clear. “Advise your staff to stay at home if they are sick with flu-like symptoms and send home any employees who are displaying flu-like signs/symptoms.”
It is likely that increased sickness absence may put pressure on other employees to work longer hours to cover for those who are off. Employers will still be covered by the Working Time Regulations and it will not help if those employees who remain at work find their health being undermined by excessive pressure.
In the event of a pandemic breaking out, unions will want to get involved in discussions with their employers over issues such as staff taking leave.
Does the employer's plan include remote working?
One of the obvious responses employers are likely to make to a major health crisis is to ensure that staff are given the opportunity of working from home. This should generally be encouraged, but it means that there must be arrangements made to ensure that systems are in place to enable them to do so. That means looking at issues around IT, including broadband capacity and the management and coordination of work. Another issue for trade unions is the fact that many workers, such as cleaners, are simply not able to work from home. The TUC is concerned that this may mean that there will be two tiers of staff with those unable to work from home, but who still have domestic responsibilities, being treated differently from those who can work from home if they need to care for a dependant and remote working arrangements should ensure that no staff are disadvantaged through not being able to work at home because of the nature of their job.
Personal protection
Some employers have decided that one of the steps they should take to prepare for a pandemic influenza outbreak is to keep stockpiles of gloves, masks, and hand sanitising liquid. The TUC does not recommend the use of gloves or masks in most workplaces for a variety of reasons. Gloves do not prevent infection as people will still touch their skin with the gloves and then touch another surface or person.
Latex gloves carry significant risks of producing an allergic reaction and were they to be used during an outbreak there would be problems of disposal.
There is also no evidence that, outside health care situations, the general use of facemasks has any actual effect on protecting people or reducing the speed of a pandemic’s development. Although the evidence from the recent SARS outbreak suggests that people will seek to use them regardless of any advice on their effectiveness, they are not generally recommended by health professionals. In addition, there is evidence that some people think that if they wear a mask, even if they are ill, they can still come to work and this could actually lead to increased risk. This is not however the case in health care and where there is likely to be close or frequent contact with symptomatic patients and the use of gloves and masks may be required.
In May 2009 the HSE issued advice that stated “it should not be necessary for workers to wear masks routinely when in contact with the general public. However, there may be some situations when it will be advisable for a worker to wear a mask. Such a situation will depend on the nature of the work and where it is to be carried out.
Employers should carry out a risk assessment and, amongst other things, gauge:
If workers are likely to encounter members of the public who are displaying symptoms, for example, in a healthcare setting it is highly likely that contact with the public (patients) will include persons who have symptoms of influenza;
Where contact with people displaying symptoms is likely, whether any measures can be taken to minimise contact;
The duration and frequency of contact with members of the public.”

The use of hand sanitising liquid is slightly different. It may be that some public organisations will make it available at key entry areas or where there is likely to be contact between people. Public transport systems may use some form of sanitising spray in the event of an outbreak. However, care should be taken to ensure that any products used are fully safe to use and are not likely to exceed their sell-by date within the next few years if they are buying future supplies for storing..
Many employers will also plan to step up their cleaning regimes in the event of an outbreak. However, they should bear in mind that it is likely that the number of cleaning staff may be reduced as a result of illness. Damp rather than dry dusting should be carried out during a pandemic to avoid the generation of dust and it is recommended that the cleaning of surfaces be carried out using a freshly prepared solution of detergent and hot water followed, where necessary, by a chlorine based disinfectant solution.
There may also be proposals to switch off air conditioning systems in large open plan offices or workshops as a way of preventing the virus spreading. The HSE do not recommend this. They state, “the overall effect would be to create more static air which may result in discomfort and ill health effects. The main advantage of air conditioning is that it has a dilution effect on stale/contaminated air and also provides a more comfortable environment overall. Therefore continue running any air conditioning system already provided for the workspace.”
The main type of personal protection that employers are considering is the pre-purchase of anti viral medicines. A number of large employers have already secured sufficient supplies for all their staff and, in some cases, are giving staff the opportunity to purchase supplies for family members in the event of an outbreak.
The TUC has grave concerns over this. It believes that, in the event of an outbreak, the limited stocks of anti-virals that are available should be distributed on the basis of need and effectiveness, and in accordance with an ethical framework. While there is a case for those within the health and social care field and emergency services to be offered treatment as a priority, large corporations keeping supplies simply in order to keep their staff at work could have serious implications for other sectors. In addition the strategy is unlikely to be effective as employers would have to continue giving the medicine to individuals throughout the outbreak. This is not what anti-virals are intended for, nor is it the best use of stocks during a pandemic.
The Department of Health also does not recommend the stockpiling of private supplies of anti-virals by employers, while the employer’s organisation, the EEF have advised their members “There are specific arrangements for healthcare professionals, but the advice for the vast majority of companies is not to buy stocks of Tamiflu or Relenza. Both drugs are antiretrovirals, not vaccines. They are only effective on people who are in the early stages of the virus, so you could give them to all of your staff today but by next week they would be unprotected. Realistically the H1N1 strain is going to be around for months, not days. In any case, the UK has 34 million doses of the drugs – more than enough to go around; anyone who needs treatment will get it promptly simply by calling their GP or NHS direct. Bear in mind that Tamiflu and Relenza are prescription drugs, it is therefore illegal for anyone who is not medically qualified to give them to another person.”

Personal hygiene
This is one area which employers can start taking action on straight away. One of the ways in which any virus is likely to spread quickly is through hand to face contact, coughing and sneezing. Employers and union activists can download material from the Department of Health in order to educate people on the importance of hand-washing and the use of handkerchiefs now, rather than waiting for a pandemic to break out. Many people will simply think that the best way of preventing the spread of the virus is to stay at home while showing symptoms. While this is true, many people can be infectious without showing symptoms. This is why unions should support general hygiene campaigns, as a way of slowing the spread of any pandemic should it develop.
Education and Training
Safety representatives are urged to ensure that their employer notifies all their staff of what arrangements they have made to prepare for an outbreak of pandemic flu, including what role they expect individual staff to take. Staff should be given information about pandemic flu and the need for personal hygiene. This should be done in a non-patronising way and with the full involvement of stewards or safety representatives.
Further information
The HSE has a web page on pandemic influenza which includes advice on what to do in the event of a pandemic being declared:
http://www.hse.gov.uk/biosafety/diseases/pandemic.htm
The Department of Health pandemic influenza website, which includes the current contingency plan is at:
http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/PandemicFlu/index.htm
Advice is also available on the Health Protection Agency Website:
http://www.hpa.org.uk/infections/topics_az/influenza/pandemic/default.htm
The Faculty of Occupational Medicine advice is at
http://www.facoccmed.ac.uk/library/docs/panflu09.pdf

Jack Jones: 'A union man through and through'

(22/04/09) Jack Jones, "a union man through and through", died on Tuesday and was remembered today by his friends and colleagues throughout the labour movement.UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said: "Jack Jones was a union man through and through."Anyone who knew him will have been impressed by his unending spirit, drive and determination, whether it was leading the dockers, fighting in the Spanish civil war or battling to improve the lot of pensioners."And Mr Prentis noted: "He made a difference to millions of people's lives and was an example to us all. On behalf of UNISON, I offer sincere sympathy to his family and friends."The former general secretary of the Transport and General Workers' Union had started his working life as a docker in Liverpool. He was politically active from his teens, becoming a Labour Party ward secretary at 15, and at 23, the youngest member of Liverpool City Council.Mr Jones was a member of the International Brigades, and fought in the Spanish Civil War.When Mr Jones retired as general secretary of the TGWU in 1979, he founded the National Pensioners Convention, working to champion older people's rights.He stood down as its president in 2001, and was succeeded by former UNISON general secretary Rodney Bickerstaffe.Mr Bickerstaffe said: "Jack's signature tune was Keep right on to the end of the road – and that's exactly what he did throughout his long life."He leaves behind a tremendous legacy for ordinary working people that is second to none."Above all, he was a champion of the underdog, because he never forgot that he was born into poverty and worked hard to improve – not only his own situation – but that of the people around him. Those struggling against injustice, both here and abroad, have today lost a great friend and ally."

Local government employers offer just 0.5%

(07/04/09) Local government unions expressed bitter disappointment yesterday at a 0.5% pay offer by the Local Government Employers.The employers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland have said that the offer, which is for 2009-10, will not be imposed, but will be withdrawn on 1 June if it has not been accepted by then.The offer is lower than increases in other areas of the public sector, lower than most councils have budgeted for – and lower than the 2.33% rise that MPs have voted themselves.The unions – UNISON, together with Unite and the GMB – are meeting today to discuss their response.UNISON head of local government Heather Wakefield said: "I am bitterly disappointed and surprised at the offer."We know that most local authorities have budgeted for an increase of between 1.5% and 2%."Times are tough, but this offer of 0.5% will make it even harder for local government workers, who are already struggling to make ends meet."And she concluded: "The employers should look closely at other pay rates in the public sector or they risk losing essential staff and jeopardising services."

PRESS RELEASE
from the office of Joan Walley MP

Joan Walley MP helps

bring redundancy fairness one step closer

Action by Joan Walley MP for Stoke-on-Trent North, means that a better deal for workers in hard times is now one step closer.
Joan is a leading supporter of the Statutory Redundancy Pay (Amendment) Bill, and was present on March 13th for its successful second reading in the Commons – a crucial step in the legislative process. If the Bill is enacted into law, it will increase the value of statutory redundancy pay by over £200 for every year that an employee has worked in a company.
The value of redundancy pay has declined since its introduction in 1965, and is now capped at less than 60% of average earnings, meaning workers are losing out on thousands of pounds at the very moment they need it most. Joan estimates that three out of every four workers facing redundancy today would benefit from a change to the redundancy pay level: She said

"Last week’s victory in Parliament was critical. We are now one step closer to making sure that hard-hit workers get a fairer deal."
"In my constituency, just as in others up and down the land, workers are worried that they or someone in their family could be out of work. My priority is to do everything in my power to help people stay in work but I will also be fighting hard to make sure that where people do lose their jobs they are compensated appropriately and able to support themselves and their families."
The Bill is also backed by a coalition of the country’s leading unions. The chair of that coalition is Tony Woodley (also the joint General Secretary of Britain’s largest trade union, UNITE) who thanked Ms Walley for her continued support:
"Workers take very close note of those who appreciate the difficulties they are going through and are striving to help them. Joan Walley is a true friend of working people"
"This campaign is a priority issue for the trade union movement. With the support of Joan we will win justice and deliver fair play on redundancy pay."
The Bill now awaits its Committee stage in the House of Commons, although trade unions and Labour MPs are urging the government not to delay and to make the changes in the Budget.
Ms Walley said:
"With the Budget looming there is a real opportunity before us to bring redundancy pay into line with the real cost of living. It would be tremendous to offer a helping hand to workers faced with tough times before the summer is out."

Wage freezes will only make downturn

worse, says TUC

Commenting on inflation figures released today (Tuesday) TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: 'This is not good news. If we get stuck in a deflationary spiral then the recession will be longer and deeper.
'While many workers in companies hit hard by the recession have agreed modest or even zero increases in pay to save jobs, a generalised wage freeze across the economy will make the downturn worse not better.
'The cost of living is only one factor in wage negotiations, and only those with tracker mortgages have really seen a big impact on their household finances - as the difference between RPI and CPI shows.
'The last thing our precarious economy needs would be a further collapse in consumer confidence caused by a standstill in household budgets.
'Calls for a freeze in public sector pay are particularly unjustified. Public sector pay has fallen behind in recent years, and the modest increases in the pipeline will not make up this difference. Tearing up agreements reached after hard negotiation would be bad faith and hit morale.'

Daily Mirror Asbestos Timebomb campaign

National newspaper the Daily Mirror is currently running a high profile Asbestos Timebomb campaign. The paper is seeking action from the Government on five key targets in the fight against asbestos and mesothelioma:
1. A £10 million National Centre for Asbestos Related Disease to find better treatment, alleviate suffering and find a cure for mesothelioma.
2. Compensation reinstated for victims of 'pleural plaques' - scars on lungs caused by asbestos - after it was scrapped two years ago.
3. Fair and equal compensation for asbestos disease sufferers who can't trace the insurers of the bosses who exposed them, through a new Employers' Liability Insurance Bureau paid for by the insurance industry.
4. A public register of all asbestos surveys carried out on public buildings.
5. The Health and Safety Executive must be given the resources to meet its own targets for inspecting asbestos removal work.
Backing the Mirror's campaign, TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said:
'The TUC welcomes the Mirror's important campaign. It is crucial that we not only increase awareness of the dangers of asbestos so that we can prevent any workers becoming exposed to the fatal fibres in future but also that we can ensure that those who develop a disease as a result of coming into contact with this deadly substance are given as much support as possible.'
Visit the Mirror's Asbestos Timebomb campaign website now, where you can sign their petition for action on asbestos.

ACAS awards 2.75% pay rise to

local government workers

(03/03/09) Unions representing 1.3 million local government workers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, have welcomed an ACAS award of an additional 0.3% pay rise, bringing the 2008-9 pay increase to 2.75% on all pay points. An extra £100 had already been agreed for the lowest paid.UNISON, UNITE and GMB had been involved in a long-standing dispute over pay, including strike action, last year. They had rejected previous offers and referred the dispute to binding arbitration. The award is backdated to 1 April 2008. In a joint statement, UNISON, Unite and GMB, said: “We welcome the fact that ACAS has accepted our arguments that members should receive a higher pay increase. “ACAS stated that the award is ‘justified and affordable in the context of the claim for the year 2008/2009’.“ACAS also recognised that local government workers are among the lowest paid in the public sector and they have been affected significantly by the worsening economic climate. “We have always argued that local government workers have become the poor relations of the public sector,” added the statement. “They have contributed enormously to improving local services and meeting council efficiency targets and they deserve a better deal. “Cleaners, refuse staff, school meals workers, librarians, admin and clerical workers, teaching assistants, home care and social workers are among those covered by the award.

Fatal accidents in Canada: is privatisation to blame?

At the beginning of February, three people were killed by vehicles removing snow in Montreal, Canada. They were all accidents, but voices are being raised against the privatisation of the snow removal services, which means that heavy demands are placed on subcontract workers to reach their targets.
For almost half of its snow removal operations, the City of Montreal relies upon subcontracted companies; the other half is accomplished by its own workers, many of them members of SCFP 301, a branch of PSI's Canadian affiliate CUPE. The transport of snow away from the city, however, is almost entirely private. Whereas the city workers are paid an hourly wage, the private contractors are paid by volume of snow removed. If they don't meet snow removal targets, subcontractors can be fined up to $10,000.
This is pushing independent truck drivers to work up to 24 and even 36 hours straight. The subcontractors are determined to escape the penalties for failing to meet their snow removal targets and the drivers, who receive little if any pay when there is no snow to clear, try to maximize their earnings when work is available.
The first accident on the morning of 3 February happened at 9:40. The truck driver had started his shift at 20:00 the night before.
Accidents, yes, but could they have been avoided?

Drop post office privatisation, Labour warned

Dave Prentis has joined with the leaders of the affiliated trade unions to warn, in a letter to the Guardian, that the government must honour its pledges and keep the post office public.The letter says: At Warwick University, in the summer of 2008, the affiliated trade unions collectively participated in a series of policy discussions with representatives of the Labour party and Downing Street. The purpose and outcome of those discussions was to reach a policy agreement that was satisfactory to all participants.Within that Warwick agreement was a clear commitment to maintaining Royal Mail in the public sector: "We have set out a vision of a wholly publicly owned, integrated Royal Mail group in good health providing customers with an excellent service and its employees with rewarding employment."This commitment was agreed by all affiliated trade unions in the belief that it guaranteed the future of Royal Mail as "wholly publicly owned". This was our belief in the summer, and it was the belief of the 2008 Labour party conference, which voted to support this policy.We are deeply concerned that the Labour party now appears to be willing to break that commitment by adopting the recommendations of the Hooper report. Its proposals to bring in a "strategic partner", via an exchange of equity, clearly constitutes the part privatisation of Royal Mail.The affiliated trade unions believe that the part-privatisation of Royal Mail is electorally unpopular, politically unwise and damaging to the concept of universal service provision. Furthermore, to break a pledge so recently made undermines the legitimacy of our policy process and raises questions about the validity of other agreements reached.We are unanimous in our opposition to the proposed privatisation of Royal Mail, and ask that the government reconsiders its response before it becomes a dividing line within our movement.Billy Hayes general secretary, CWU Tony Woodley Tulo chair and joint general secretary, Unite the Union Paul Kenny Tulo vice-chair and general secretary, GMB Derek Simpson joint general secretary, Unite the Union Dave Prentis general secretary, UNISON John Hannett general secretary, Usdaw Michael Leahy general secretary, Community Alan Ritchie general secretary, Ucatt Gerry Doherty general secretary, TSSA

Hello,A quick question -

who wants to take away the legal guarantee protecting your rights - threatening your holidays and even your parental leave?It may be difficult to believe but it's actually "family friendly" Dave Cameron.The Tories have spent a lot of money telling us that they've changed. Millionaire Dave has gone to great lengths - cycling around town, waiting for his photo to be taken in Woolies and posing with a few Huskies in Norway. He's even shunned Waitrose and headed for Tesco at least once.But Dave's plans to pull Britain out of the Social Chapter - the part of the law which guarantees fair treatment at work - reveals the truth behind all the slick marketing. He wants to roll your rights back by twenty years.But we can stop him - sign our petition to protect your rights. www.unionstogether.org.uk/hiddentruth He may pretend to have our interests at heart, but the facts are clear. He wants to scrap the legal guarantee that gives us four weeks paid holiday, the right to be consulted about changes at work and our entitlement to parental leave - denying the legal right for parents to spend time with their newborn babies in the critical first few weeks. That's just three examples - but Cameron's threatening dozens more of your rights.In fact, he's said that axing these legal guarantees is his "top priority."It's something that he'll never say on TV or write in a leaflet but he's threatening all of these rights and more.Sign our petition and send Cameron a message that your rights matter. Dave may pretend to be everyone's new best friend but it's clear that he's faking it. It's not surprising really. After all, Millionaire Dave actively campaigned against the National Minimum Wage - when some people were earning just £1.20 an hour.We need to send him a message and I want you to be one of the first to do it. Sign up to say that your rights matter - No matter what the marketing says, it's clear that he's only interested in protecting big business rather than ordinary working people. Sign the petition and then invite your friends to do the same. Thank you. Our rights are precious - we need your help to protect them.

One in four went to work

when too ill in January

One in four (24 per cent) of the workforce went to work despite thinking they were too ill to do so in January, according to a YouGov poll commissioned by the TUC and published today (Friday). And the big majority of those struggled in because they did not want to let others down.
The TUC says the poll paints a very different picture of sickness absence to the caricature that British workers are always taking bogus sickies and stay home at the first sign of a sniffle.
Workplace absence statistics collected by the CBI support these findings and show that sickness absence has in fact been steadily falling over the past decade. Ten years ago the average worker took an average of 8.5 days off sick a year. Last year it was 6.7 days. This is a fall of over 20 per cent, and the second lowest figure since records began in 1987.
According to the YouGov poll more than half the workforce (57 per cent) say they have gone to work when too ill during the last year. Only one in eight (12 per cent) say they have never gone to work when too ill.
This trend is on the increase. The TUC asked similar questions in a poll - using a very slightly different base, but at the same time of year - in 2004, when one in five (19 per cent) said that they had been to work in the last month when too ill to do so. Twice as many, one in four (25 per cent), said they had never been to work when too ill.
People say they go to work when ill because they don't want to let people down, more than because of pressure from above to do so. More than one in four (28 per cent) in the 2009 poll say they went to work because colleagues 'depend on the job I do, and I didn't want to let them down', followed by one in five (21 per cent) who say they 'did not want to give their colleagues extra work'.
Slightly fewer (18 per cent) said they 'did not want to let their employer down.' In total, two in three (67 per cent) went to work when ill because they didn't want to let clients, workmates or their bosses down.
But, while still a minority of the workforce, there are substantial numbers of people who say they are pressured into going into work. More than three million (13 per cent) say they cannot afford to lose pay and nearly 1.5 million (six per cent) say they are worried that their boss would take action against them.
More than one in four (29 per cent) say that the recession will make them more likely to go to work when ill.
TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: 'Too often we are told that British workers are always taking bogus sickies or taking time off at the first sign of a sniffle.
'But the truth is that we are a nation of mucus-troopers who struggle into work even when we are too ill because we do not want to let colleagues, clients or our employer down.
'While this is admirable, it is not always the best thing to do. Coughs and sneezes still spread diseases, and the worst thing you can do to your workmates is pass on your illness.'

Local government pay goes to ACAS

UNISON and other council unions put their case for a larger 2008-9 pay award in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to ACAS today.The joint unions, and the employers, had both already submitted written evidence on the pay deal, which both sides referred to arbitration late last year.The trade union presented their submission and supporting evidence in an oral hearing today, followed by the employers.The unions argued that local government has treated workers on National Joint Council terms and condit6ions as “poor relations” for a long time.Employers have failed to invest in pay, training and good conditions, while making over-the-odds efficiency savings and putting ever-larger off sums of money into reserves. UNISON and other unions also pointed out that the money available to local authorities from central government for the next three years will far exceed inflation if economic predictions are correct. The employers argued that pay offers had been constrained by government pay policy, the cost of the local government pension scheme and Single Status.Each side asked the other questions and the arbitration panel asked questions too. They were particularly interested in unallocated reserves - which have increased significantly in the last few years, and whether they can be used for pay purposes. The joint unions agreed to provide them with further information on unallocated reserves as a proportion of revenue for 2007/8 and 2008/9. That information has been obtained and he unions are now waiting for the employers to agree it so that it can be sent to the ACAS panel.There is no indication yet of when the ACAS panel will respond to the submissions.

Affordable, justified and necessary

(09/02/09) The NJC Trade Union Side has welcomed the opportunity to submit evidence to the panel of ACAS arbitrators appointed to resolve the 2008-09 NJC pay dispute within local government. We hope that we have reinforced the merits and rationale of our 2008-09 claim in the following pages. The claim is available for examination in Appendix 2. It was for:'A one-year increase on all pay points of 6% or 50 pence an hour, whichever is the greater, with a view to making progress to a bottom rate of £6.75 pence'We believe the employers’ offer of 2.45% has not adequately rewarded or met the financial needs of our members during 2008/09. Indeed, it has further increased the financial hardship they have found themselves in as a result of a series of below-inflation pay awards in recent years.Full details of the claim:

TU submission - Word doc Appendix - PDF

04/02/2009

UNISON CHIEF WARNS COUNCILS NOT TO

MIMIC ESSEX SELL-OFF PLANS

Dave Prentis, General Secretary of UNISON, the UK’s largest public service union, today (4 February), slammed plans by Essex County Council to sell-off all its council services as - “a recipe for disaster and economic chaos”. He warned other councils against going down that route, saying: “This is the first time in the history of Local Government that any council has put all its services out to tender. This is because it is a recipe for economic chaos and service failure. At a time when councils should be doing all they can to support their local communities and economy, the Tories, who run Essex County Council, are washing their hands of their responsibilities and selling off council services and jobs. “Only this week Essex County Council was forced to bring its failing outsourced IT contract back in house, which will no doubt cost local people millions. Instead of learning a salutary lesson from that experiment, Councillors are still recklessly intent on selling off the council. “UNISON will intensify its fight against these plans and the lesson to other councils must be ‘Don’t try this at home’.”

Campaigning to keep the LGPS

UNISON will launch a major campaign in the New Year to counter the hostile
propaganda coming from David Cameron and Eric Pickles on behalf of the
Conservative Party.
Both insist that the LGPS is unsustainable in the long-term and should become a
defined contribution scheme – not a defined benefit scheme as at present. Their view
is that there is “pensions apartheid” between private and public sector pensions and
that the taxpayer should not be asked to fund the LGPS and other public sector
schemes.
We will be telling them that the LGPS is a public good, not a drain on public finances.

Arbitration moves ahead on

local government pay claim

(26/01/09) UNISON has today been told that the first hearing over the local government pay claim for 2008-09 is to take place on 10 February.Submissions for this oral part of the process will be exchanged the week before.In September, the national joint council for England, Wales and Northern Ireland decided to refer the offer to ACAS for binding arbitration, following the successful strikes last July.Arbitration involves both sides making detailed written submissions to a panel of three arbitrators, followed by oral submissions.

TUC calls for end to discrimination and

hatred on Holocaust Memorial Day

The TUC is calling for an end to discrimination and prejudice against lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people (LGBT) at the Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) national commemoration event in Coventry today (Sunday).
HMD itself is on Tuesday (27 January), on the anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau, where 1.6 million men, women and children were killed in the Nazi holocaust.
HMD aims to prevent the holocaust being forgotten or repeated, and serves to remind people of the crimes and racism of both the holocaust and of more recent genocides across the world.
Alongside the six million Jewish victims of Nazi persecution, hundreds of thousands of others were targeted by Hitler's regime - including union members and LGBT people.
The TUC LGBT committee is attending the event in Coventry, and is urging LGBT people to support HMD events taking place around the country on Tuesday.
Midlands TUC Regional Secretary Roger McKenzie said: 'Unions have always stood up to the kind of discrimination, prejudice and hatred that led to the Nazi holocaust.
'LGBT people were among the millions of victims of Hitler's brutal regime, and today LGBT communities are a vital part of the resistance to modern versions of this hatred. I am proud that LGBT union members are taking part in the event.'
The event will see local people stand side by side with national leaders and survivors of genocide and conflict as well as international survivors of Nazi persecution, and will include survivor testimonies, poetry, drama and time for reflection.

'Public sector has key role to play'

(12/01/09) General secretary Dave Prentis will be urging the prime minister to make sure that the public sector will have a key role in helping people through the recession when they meet at today's jobs summit. Last year, almost 50,000 public service workers were made redundant and more cuts are on the cards.Mr Prentis will support measures aimed at increasing apprenticeships to fill the skills gap and to help the jobless back to work. And in that context, he will also be arguing that it would be "madness to add more public sector workers to the dole queues."It's going to be a tough year for everyone, but the government has to face down the critics baying for public sector blood. I will be telling the prime minister that it would be madness to add public sector workers to the dole queue."Some politicians and commentators argue that we should now be cutting back public spending and carp that public sector jobs are not going at the same rate as the private sector."But, Mr Prentis continued, "this is not a question of private versus public or a race to see who sheds the most jobs. It's in no-one's interests to have a race to the bottom. The cost of job losses to the taxpayer, in whatever sector is enormous. The cost of a job lost to an individual or a family is enormous. Each redundancy is a personal tragedy."Fairness is fundamental as the human impact of the recession hits home. The burdens need to be spread fairly, and those who can must make their contribution. The government has bailed out the bankers who got us into this mess, now it is right that working people should be given a helping hand."Public services are needed now more than ever – to stabilise our economy, to help people through difficult times, and to lay the foundations for a better future. In a recession, they are the first line of defence."

Now is the time to stand up for workers

(03/12/08) The financial and economic crisis hitting the world means that, now more than ever, "the time is right to stand up for workers," general secretary Dave Prentis told UNISON's national executive council in London today."It's the workers, vulnerable people, pensioners and people living on benefits who pay the price of the crisis," he noted. "It's our people who are suffering."I believe this recession is so bad we need a voice speaking up for working people."The NEC agreed to work through the TUC to organise events around the scheduled summit meeting of the G20 leading economies in the spring to highlight workers' rights and a social agenda.The union is also working within the union movement, including the TUC, to push for domestic policies in response to the crisis, including a moratorium on house repossessions, maintenance of public spending and a domestic social agenda including workers' rights, equal pay and pensions, including state pensions."Pensioners need to be protected from the ravages of recession," noted Mr Prentis.The union will also launch a public campaign to defend public services and explain their importance in a time of crisis."We have an anti-privatisation agenda, but we do need to set out the case for the public service tradition and the maintenance of public expenditure," said Mr Prentis."We know markets and competition have failed in the financial sector – why import them into public services?"The NEC also heard that UNISON will continue working with fellow public service unions and the TUC on public sector pay, as well as the broader agenda.The meeting also endorsed plans to step up the union's anti-fascist work in the run-up to next year’s European Parliament and local elections, targeting areas where the BNP is focusing its election bids.In particular, the NEC thanked nursing sector committee member Mick McKeown for getting an item published in Nursing Times pointing out that being a member of an avowedly discriminatory organisation like the BNP is "incompatible with belonging to the community of nurses".The NEC also
agreed the union’s objectives and priorities for 2009;
agreed the budget for 2009 and received a financial report on the first nine months of 2008;
endorsed arrangements for next year’s NEC elections
received a report on recruitment in the first nine months, showing a slight improvement in figures;
received reports on equal pay, including litigation;
received an update on pay negotiations in all bargaining groups, including the recent successful strike by members at Scottish Water and agreement at the Meat Hygiene Service;
ruled that NEC members will in future attend conference as NEC representatives only and not as branch delegates;
congratulated the Westminster City branch on defeating proposals to introduce fingerprint scanning equipment ( news story) and agreed to investigate similar moves elsewhere in the public services;
agreed to send a message of support to members in the Northern Ireland community and voluntary sector under threat from 'dissidents' over their work in community projects;
agreed to send a message of condolences to Birmingham branch secretary Carole Hagans, who lost family members in the recent M6 tragedy, make a donation to the family's charity of choice Feed My Lambs and circulate a request for donations to branches and regions.

UNISON calls on government to fund council houses

(13/11/08) Cash-strapped councils need money to make sure they can provide people with decent homes, says UNISON.The union is urging the government to front up the cash to help councils build new homes, and to upgrade the homes of existing tenants to meet national standards.Speaking from the union's housing seminar in Birmingham today, UNISON head of local government Heather Wakefield said: "Severe overcrowding and waiting lists of four million show that new homes are urgently needed."The chancellor's plans to spend through the recession provide the perfect opportunity to step in and build them, she said."A programme of new homes for tenants to rent from councils and housing associations makes social and economic sense – creating jobs in construction and building supplies as well as meeting housing needs."The government must also take steps to avoid redundancies in councils and housing associations, she said."When there is so much that needs to be done it makes no sense for programmes to be scaled back and staff numbers cut."