West Dunbartonshire Branch
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West Dunbartonshire Branch
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Branch Address: UNISON Council Offices Garshake Road Dumbarton G82 3PU
Telephone:01389 737246 Fax: 01389 737884
e-mail (office):
All UNISON logos and graphics published with authority
All photographs published by kind permission of subjects
© UNISON West Dunbartonshire Branch 2002 |
Articles Pension victoryMembership
growth
Union
Victory in Pensions Dispute Unison and sister unions across the UK won a major
victory in March against government plans to cut local government and other
public sector pensions. Lengthy
negotiations led by UNISON General Secretary Dave Prentis, led to a written
statement by Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, confirming the withdrawal of
the Amendment Regulations, which would have raised pension and retirement ages
in Local Government in England and Wales from 2005 and threatened to do the same
in Scotland from 2006. In Scotland, Joe Di Paola, UNISON's Scottish Organiser
for Local Government said: "We are pleased that these discussions will
allow us to ensure the views of local government workers can be made without the
immediate threat to the pension ages of colleagues in England and Wales, and the
knock-on threat to Scottish Local Government workers.” Dave Prentis, General Secretary of UNISON, said:
"I am pleased that the government has listened. Our aim throughout talks
with the Deputy Prime Minister has been to have these regulations revoked and to
have real negotiations on how we can have a viable, sustainable pension scheme
that will benefit all. We have achieved both these objectives.
A
big welcome to all new members to the branch. Recruitment of new members has
been slowly increasing from about 10-15 per month to 20 odd - until last month
that is. Unison's leading role in
the pensions dispute has not gone unnoticed by local government workers up and
down the length of Britain. No less than 30,000 people joined Unison last month,
over 2000 in Scotland and 103 to our branch.
Recruitment
of new members is usually due to the hard work of a few stewards but all members
can play a part in building the branch. Research has shown that 56% of
non-members have never been asked to join and 2/5ths would join if asked. Poor
union density means loss of credibility with the government and employer and
weakens local bargaining strength. Therefore building a strong union benefits us
all. So ask your colleagues, are you in Unison? If not, why not? Get the
protection of Britain's biggest and best union behind you. But
success brings its own problems. More members means more work for the small
number of stewards the branch already has. Without enough active stewards
effective representation and many other branch activities are weakened. So how
about it? Being a steward can be rewarding and stimulating as well as
challenging, giving new experiences and opportunities to learn. Unison and TUC
training provided.
Structure Review – Department Of Housing And Technical Services The so-called “Management Review” of the Housing and Technical Services has finally been completed. Referred to as a management review it was a review of the whole departmental structure. “Although the review has been completed without any compulsory redundancies, I believe that we got there by good fortune rather than anything else,” says Branch Secretary, Tom Rainey. From the day that the review was announced there was little or no meaningful consultation with the trade unions. The department used an out of date implementation plan for matching and slotting of people to posts. UNISON did not sign up to this plan because we had concerns about its provisions in respect of protection of displaced persons. The reason that there were no compulsory redundancies was the large number of employees who opted for voluntary redundancies. We received several complaints from members who were refused a severance package. What does that say about morale in the department? Unison victory position within the department. The implementation plan that the department was working to stated every effort would be made to find displaced employees suitable alternative employment. Despite this, the Director of the Department refused to give preferential consideration to our member for four vacant posts at the same grade as the one from which he was displaced. One of the vacant posts had similar duties to our member’s deleted post. The shameful treatment of our member continued during the appeals process. UNISON asked that none of the four vacant posts be filled until the appeal process had been completed. The Director refused this and filled the posts before the Appeals Committee was able to consider the case. However at appeal the Committee ruled in favour of the case put by UNISON. In a total vindication of UNISON’s position the Committee ordered that every effort be made to find our member be found suitable alternative employment at a preserved wage and that management and unions prioritise efforts to agree redeployment procedures. “In coming to this conclusion the Appeals Committee recognised that the implementation plan was ignored and that it was also flawed. Tom Rainey states, “I have little doubt that had the Committee not ruled as it did our member would have had a very strong case for claiming unfair dismissal.”
You may have noticed that something called the G8 is
about to arrive in Scotland – in Gleneagles in the first week of July to be
precise. But who are they, and why
is half of Perthshire being shut off to protect them from protestors? The G8 is basically an old boys club (and they are
all men – only Maggie ever broke the mould, and not by much) of the richest,
most powerful nations in the world – the UK, the US, France, Germany, Japan,
Canada, Italy and Russia. The UK
government G8 website describes it as, “a small, informal
grouping [which] is capable of setting the agenda thanks to the economic and
political weight of its members”. An
honest picture of elite power-brokers if ever there was one! The leaders of
the G8 nations meet every year to, “discuss the economic problems of the
day,” and to decide how to fix them. The
main themes this year are ‘Africa’ and ‘climate change’ and all the
rhetoric is positive, but campaigners across the world are concerned that
Gleneagles will be just another self-serving talking shop, with no concrete
benefit arising for poorer nations. So what can you
do? A wide range of
campaigning organisations will be staging protests and events in Edinburgh on
the weekend of 2-3 July and elsewhere in the week of 4 July.
These range from the mass march organised by the Make Poverty History
coalition on 2 July to specific events aimed at the G8 and related issues on
subsequent days in a variety of places across Scotland.
To find out more and join the protests see: Make Poverty History: G8 Alternatives: World Development Movement:
Why
Public Service Workers Are Angry About Their Pensions The
Government is currently reviewing the public sector pension schemes, including
the Local Government Scheme, the NHS Scheme, the Teachers’ Pension Scheme, the
Police and Fire Service Schemes and the Civil Service Schemes.
The reviews are scheduled to be completed by 2006. Why is UNISON concerned? The Government wants to raise to 65 the age at which
workers are entitled to draw an unreduced pension across most of the public
sector pension schemes, including the NHS Scheme and the Local Government
Scheme. In addition, they want to
raise from 50 to 55 the minimum age that workers can apply to draw their pension
for reasons other than ill-health – meaning that workers between 50 and 55 who
are made redundant will no longer be entitled to an immediate pension. As well as the proposed changes to retirement age,
UNISON is also concerned about some of the other proposals for change currently
being put forward as part of the talks taking place on the different public
sector schemes. Such proposals include:
Why does UNISON oppose increasing the retirement age to
65? UNISON is not against the modernisation of the public
sector schemes – indeed, we have been at the forefront of calling for reform,
such as the granting of partners’ pensions to unmarried partners. But we are
opposed to raising the age at which an unreduced pension is payable to 65, and
to the raising of the minimum retirement age to 55. We believe that: ·
The proposed changes are a cut to terms and conditions.
Pension is deferred pay, and makes up a significant
proportion of remuneration for workers in the public sector schemes. Increasing
the age at which an unreduced pension becomes payable will decrease the value of
future scheme membership by around 30%. · Hard working public service workers will have to work for an extra five years in order to receive an unreduced pension. Public service workers do stressful and often physically demanding jobs, frequently carrying out vital roles under challenging conditions. We know too that, as workers age, their physical work capacity reduces. If workers have to carry on until they are 65, there is a real danger that some may become physically unable to do their jobs, literally continuing to work until they drop. · More pensioners will be forced to depend on means-tested benefits. Public sector pensions are not large – the average pension paid out by the local government pension scheme is £3800.·
It will be harder to persuade workers to join the
public sector schemes. The first report of the Turner Commission has
highlighted the importance of increasing the number of people saving for their
retirement. Raising the age at which workers become entitled to an unreduced
pension will undermine confidence in the public sector schemes So that’s why the recent union victory in the pensions dispute was so important. Pensions are not just something we can all forget about until we’re nearly ready to retire, but a basic employment right that we have to defend if we are not to retire into penury. What is crucial now is for the negotiations to be conducted in good faith by the government and for all public sector employers to hear the message that the March threat of action sent out – that union members are not prepared to see their hard-won rights taken from them.
Unison representatives had a meeting with Communities
Minister, Malcolm Chisholm on 11 May to raise our concerns about the cuts to
Supporting People funds. The
Minister’s argument at this meeting was that the SP budget had jumped from £50M in 2001, to £200M in 2002-03 and
then to £400M in 2003-04, and growth at that rate was not sustainable. He
claimed that reviews from both sides of the border confirmed that significant
efficiency gains were achievable. Unison
questioned the possibility of such ‘efficiency gains’ and illustrated what
this phrase means on the ground for vulnerable people receiving services.
We also emphasised the political price of such cuts and the Minister was
clearly uncomfortable with some of our arguments.
Further meetings with civil servants are planned for later in 2005.
Articles Leave it out - Unison victory for Home Helps Social Work issues - no single correctional agency How the UK creates asylum seekers and refugees It will be a bit late for a Christmas present, but the 2004/5 pay claim has been settled at long last and the backdated rise should be in your February pay. Unison members were balloted by branches several months ago and decided to accept the offer, but the GMB and T&G initially decided to reject the offer and held a ballot for industrial action. The members of both unions have now decided not to take action, however, so Joe Di Paola, Unison’s Head of Local Government has written to the employers on behalf of all three unions indicating their acceptance of the offer and requesting that it be dealt with as a matter of urgency. Clearly this has happened too late for the December pay and, unfortunately, initial indications from the Council’s Finance section are that the calculations on backdated pay are unlikely to be completed in time for the January pay, so you should receive it in your February pay. The good news is that it will be backdated to April 2004 and also that the pay deal is for two years, so you will also receive a rise in April 2005. In case you’ve forgotten, the deal consists of 2.95% on all spinal column points with effect from April 2004 and 2.95% on all spinal column points again with effect from April 2005.
Unison scores victory for
Home Helps unfairly denied annual leave entitlement. Unison has discovered that the Home Care section in Social Work Services was incorrectly reducing employees annual leave entitlement after they had been off sick for 4 weeks, instead of the correct period of13 weeks. Due to this error some staff were losing leave to which they were entitled, but Unison took up the case of one individual and won. Home Care have admitted the error and Unison have urged them to ensure that other staff who may have been affected get their entitlement to annual leave reinstated. If you think you could be affected, check with your line manager and/or Unison steward to make sure you’re not short changed on your hols!
Unison has been waiting to hear the details of the proposed restructuring in Housing and Technical Services, but has still not received anything. As the last edition of Unison View reported, however, we have had a commitment from Councillor Andy White, Leader of the Council, that there will be no compulsory redundancies in the restructuring process.
Unison is raising serious concerns about proposed changes to the Scottish Local Government Pension Scheme (SLGPS) and other public sector pension schemes. Unison is not against the modernisation of these schemes – in fact, we’ve been calling for reform, such as the granting of partners’ pensions to unmarried partners. But we are opposed to some of the planned changes and have grave concerns about some of the government’s longer term ideas. The government plans to increase the age at which an unreduced pension becomes payable from 60 to 65 as of April 2006 in the SLGPS. This is a cut to terms and conditions, as pension is just deferred pay. It will make recruitment and retention more difficult and disrupt the retirement plans of public service workers in the difficult and demanding jobs that so many of us do. There is also a plan to raise the minimum retirement age for reasons other than ill-health from 50 to 55, further reducing the options for staff. In addition to these concrete plans, the government has published a consultation setting out a number of further proposals, including: · Variable employee contribution rates linked to salary, but with a rise in the average employee contribution rate to 7% · A reduction in pensionable pay to basic pay only, excluding bonuses and overtime payments · Partners’ pensions for all unmarried partners · A switch from the current 1/80th accrual rate plus lump sum, to 1/62.5th with no separate lump sum · Retention of final salary scheme structure, but option of whether to allow members to join a defined contribution scheme instead Unison will, of course, be responding fully to this consultation and continuing to lobby the government against the proposed increase in the retirement age. from Tom Dick, Branch H&S Officer Reporting of accidents/incidents If you have an accident, are involved in an incident or have a near miss, it’s vital that your report it. The procedures for reporting accidents and incidents are not just a management tool to keep the bureaucracy rolling, but a crucial part of ensuring your health and safety at work, which unions have fought long and hard to improve. So if you are involved in an accident, incident or near miss, don’t forget to report it, because:
If you’re not sure what to do, the procedures are as follows:
In
all cases, you are advised to record date, time & place and brief
description of accident/ incident and to whom it was reported to.
Social Work Issues – No Single Correctional Agency Unison Scotland has welcomed the press reports that the Scottish Executive is no longer planning to set up a mammoth Single Correctional Agency and move Criminal Justice Social Work out of local government. Unison has consistently argued that it would do nothing to cut re-offending and would damage work with offenders in the community.
How the UK creates asylum seekers and refugees The
idea that most asylum seekers are scroungers is a lie.
The true picture is one in which UK taxpayers are funding forced
migration. Freedom of
movement is a fundamental human right, and voluntary migration has enriched and
developed societies throughout history. But
no one should be forced into exile. Contrary
to the myth that asylum seekers are mostly benefits scroungers out to make the
most of the UK’s ‘generosity’, the vast majority of asylum seekers and
refugees are fleeing from conflict, or from social or economic oppression.
And in many cases the UK government and UK companies are directly or
indirectly responsible. Spot
the pattern All of this is
clear if we look at where investment has gone and compare this to where asylum
seekers are coming from. For every
Kurd from Turkey that comes to the UK, millions of pounds of UK taxpayers’
money has been used to support the Turkish authorities that forced them to flee
their homeland. For every Congolese
asylum seeker, millions of pounds of UK pension funds have been invested in the
companies that fuel the civil wars in the Great Lakes region of Africa through
exploiting the diamond and other mineral resources. And so the list goes on… Paying for oppression Thus our taxes are being used to
pay for arms to oppress people and force them to flee, making them into asylum
seekers. The ECGD even backed arms and
chemical facilities exports to Saddam Hussein’s Iraq. The Falluja 2 chemical plant, which the US, UK and UN all now
agree was part of Saddam’s chemical weapons programme, was sold by Uhde Ltd.,
a UK company, with ECGD cover. Thatcher’s
government saw the signs of this being used for chemical warfare, but backed it
anyway. Iraq was one of the main
countries from which asylum seekers came to the UK even before the ‘War on
Terror’ invasion. Scorched earth future In the longer term, the UK’s
support for oil and gas development will contribute heavily to global warming,
which is likely to generate up to 100 million ‘environmental refugees’,
forced to leave their homes by rising sea levels, drought and adverse weather. Driven by poverty What you can do Most importantly, challenge the
myths – don’t believe the lies in the press and challenge others when they
repeat derogatory, stereotyping comments about asylum seekers. Find out more or get involved in campaigning or supporting asylum seekers here in the UK. There are a number of local or national organisations which can provide information, or campaigning or volunteering opportunities. Have a look at: Glasgow Campaign to Welcome Refugees – contact Jamie Dockery in Garshake Scottish Detainee Visitors: www.sdv.org.uk Barbed Wire Britain: www.barbedwirebritain.org.uk National Coalition of Anti-Deportation Campaigns: www.ncadc.org.uk Scottish Refugee Council: www.scottishrefugeecouncil.org.uk Asylum Rights Campaign: www.asylumrights.org The Refugee project: www.therefugeeproject.org
Why is the Scottish Executive not Supporting People? Unison is working with our sister unions, the GMB and T&G, and with the Council itself, to lobby the Scottish Executive to change its disastrous policy on Supporting People (SP) funding. The Executive is pushing through cuts which will slash jobs and have a massive impact on the lives of vulnerable people. The Supporting People program was introduced in 2003 to provide support for vulnerable people in Scotland, including older people, homeless people and victims of domestic violence, to enable them to live independently in their own homes. In 2004, the programme will provide services for more than 80,000 people across Scotland in a variety of way, ranging from wardens in sheltered housing, to helping people make sure their bills are paid. The Minister for Communities recently announced major reforms of SP, including changing the way funds are allocated across local authorities and a reduction in the overall pot of funds. Although the formula to be used in future for the allocation of SP funds is supposedly based on indicators which reflect the key client groups and takes deprivation into account, Unison is arguing that it is based on general pointers to the level of need, rather than actual need. Moreover, the cut in the overall pot means that a large number of local authorities will lose significant funding. West Dunbartonshire is one of the worst hit, with proposed cumulative cuts of nearly £13m over the next three years, leading to a level of SP funding 32% lower in 2007/8 than in 2004/5.Unison has met with the Council and other unions and has agreed the following: · That both the Council and the three main unions will lobby the Scottish Executive to revise the cuts proposed for West Dunbartonshire That the Council and the unions will work closely together on the repercussions of the funding reduction, to minimise its effect on jobs and services to vulnerable people
There is a building campaign in Scotland to make St. Andrew’s Day a public holiday. Scotland, along with England and Wales, has the lowest number of public holidays in the EU – only 8 when the average is 12 and the highest 15. A private member’s bill has been submitted in Holyrood and Unison Scotland has submitted a favourable response to the consultation, recognising Scottish historical tradition and trying to bring us up to speed (or is that down to speed?) with Europe.
UNISON is
your union – it is not a distant body run by faceless suits.
It is built from the base up by the active involvement of its members. There are plenty of
opportunities for all members to contribute.
You could speak to the colleague sitting next to you about how important
union membership is and get them a form to join UNISON. You could become a workplace contact to disseminate
information from the branch, or stand as a steward to represent your colleagues.
Union duties can often be done in work time, so it needn’t be an extra
burden. So if all you’re doing is paying your subscription, have a think about what else you could do and contact the branch for details. The UNISON branch office can be contacted on 01389-737246.
Articles The results of the UNISON
ballot on the employers pay offer have now been announced.
Members across Scotland have voted in favour of the offer by a 2:1
majority. This almost exactly
reflects the result of the ballot in West Dunbartonshire. This result will
now be taken back to a joint meeting with the other local government
unions before a response is given to the employers. Assuming
that there are no major disagreements with the other unions, this means that the
pay deal should be finalised sometime within the next few weeks, coming into effect within
the next few months.
Education Deal Benefits Special Educational Needs Assistants UNISON West Dunbartonshire has just negotiated a deal
with the authority to merge the posts of all Classroom Assistants and Special
Educational Needs Assistants, giving SENA’s greater job security The new Learning
Assistant posts will all be permanent, unlike the current SENA posts which are often temporary, requiring skilled and
experienced staff to reapply for the same job when demand shifts from one school
to another. Current Classroom Assistants will retain the right to opt out of working with children with Special Educational Needs if they wish.
UNISON is your union – it is not a distant body run by faceless suits. It is built from the base up by the active involvement of its members. There are plenty of opportunities for all members to contribute. You could speak to the colleague sitting next to you about how important union membership is and get them a form to join UNISON. You could become a workplace contact to disseminate information from the branch, or stand as a steward to represent your colleagues. Union duties can often be done in work time, so it needn’t be an extra burden. So if all you’re doing is paying your subscription, have a think about what else you could do and contact the branch for details. The UNISON branch office can be contacted on 01389-737246.
Early Years Review Demonstrates Crucial Role of Nursery Nurses UNISON, the union for Scotland's nursery nurses, has welcomed the proposed review of Scotland's early years workforce. It reflects the key role of nursery nurses in Scotland's early years education. After a year of selective action, Scotland's nursery nurses have achieved local settlements and have now also obtained the wide-ranging review of early years education that UNISON had asked for from the beginning. "We urged the Executive to set up such a review before the industrial action started." said Joe Di Paola, UNISON's Scottish Organiser for Local Government, "They said it wasn't appropriate then. Now it has been established we will be looking forward to the opportunity for those - like nursery nurses - in the forefront of delivering this service to tell a review exactly what they do, what their qualifications should be and how they should be rewarded." The review will be looking at all the aspects of early years education, as UNISON originally suggested, and the union is pleased that it will have an input from a representative from UNISON. The union will obviously be making its case that the wage free-for-all that the dispute has left is not helpful in providing consistent levels of service across the country, and welcomes the recognition that the work of the review will have implications for pay and conditions. The Nursery Nurses from West Dunbartonshire branch and from across Scotland send their thanks for the messages of support and financial contributions from home and around the world.
Don't be a Fearty - Return to Learn Do you work in social care? Do you want to move up the career ladder, but are stuck because you don’t have the right bits of paper? Did you leave school with little more than a sense of relief? If the answer to these questions is ‘yes’, then Return to Learn (R2L) could be just what you’re looking for. Return to Learn is a course designed to help people into studying if they haven’t done it for a long time, or never enjoyed it much in the first place. Students get basic study skills such as comprehension, simple research, writing, communication and presentation. Developed by UNISON and the Workers’ Educational Association, and funded by the Scottish Executive, Return to Learn is now being run in West Dunbartonshire. So if you want to get back on the learning ladder and boost your confidence at work, contact the Branch Office or Social Work Personnel for further details.
HaTS Merger - No Compulsory Redundancies Council Leader, Andy White, has given a personal commitment that there will be no compulsory redundancies in the changes to departmental boundaries that has seen Housing join up with Commercial and Technical Services. The exact shape of the changes is still being worked through, but the commitment to avoiding any compulsory redundancies is crucial. UNISON stewards in the new department are keeping a
close eye on the changes as they happen, to ensure that this promise is upheld. If you have any concerns about the departmental changes or feel that you are being unfairly treated in the process, get in touch with your steward or the Branch Office.
With the introduction of the new Blick flexi server, the Council is moving towards a unified flexi system rather than the various systems currently operating in different offices. If you have concerns about the introduction of such a unified system, or have thoughts about how it should be shaped, get in touch with the Branch Office so that we can feed members’ views into negotiations with Personnel.
The General Agreement on Trade in Services - The End of Public Services? "Services
are the public tangible manifestation and expression of our shared values as
citizens. How we choose to heal our sick, teach our kids, protect our water,
connect to one another through transport and communication are expressions of
our collective vision for society." "GATS is first and foremost an instrument for the benefit of business" European Commission website
What
is GATS? The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) was originally agreed at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in 1994. The aim of this agreement is to remove any restrictions and internal government regulations in the area of service delivery that are considered to be ‘barriers to trade’. Services can be explained as anything that you cannot drop on your foot! Our libraries, schools, hospitals, banks, rubbish collection and even the water that we clean our teeth with are all services that feed our daily lives. One hundred and sixty sectors are covered in total. In
whose service? The service industry is big
business and heavily dominated by multinationals based in rich Northern
countries. These companies want to operate freely within the service sector, but
much of it is owned and regulated by governments. Freeing up the trade in
services will benefit business and this is what the GATS is designed to do.
Unsurprisingly, corporations have been the driving force behind the
agreement. GATS
negotiations Negotiations are now underway which aim to extend the 1994 agreement. Governments are under pressure to drastically reorganise the ownership and delivery of services within their countries, and subject them to even tighter ‘free trade’ rules. Negotiators and industry lobbyists are pushing for this liberalisation process to be speeded up. But the GATS negotiations are extremely complex and technical, with 1400 mistakes already having been made. This puts many developing countries at a serious negotiating disadvantage, as they lack the necessary capacity and/or technical expertise. The
poor lose out The GATS liberalisation agenda threatens basic service delivery. If multinationals are seeking to make a profit out of water, health and education, those without purchasing power are likely to lose out. Recent water privatisation in Puerto Rico has meant that poor communities have gone without water while US military bases and tourist resorts enjoy an unlimited supply. We have all seen the damage that privatisation has done to transport and similar services in the UK. GATS would extend this disease and spread an even more virulent version throughout the world. No
going back Moreover, the irreversibility of GATS will ensure that once governments have opened up particular service sectors to WTO rules, there is no going back. The decision of how to organise service delivery is effectively being removed from the political arena. In future, citizens will no longer have the democratic right to decide whether or not services should be regulated.
What is UNISON doing? UNISON has passed strong motions on GATS and has been pressing the government to halt further negotiations.
What
can you do? Make your voice heard and make sure the government knows that you want the
negotiations stopped until they can be conducted openly and fairly, and until
essential public services are removed from GATS.
Visit the WDM website and complete an e-postcard to the government now: www.wdm.org.uk/campaign/gats/gatsepostcard.htm
Iraq Emerging from the Underground UNISON’s National Delegate Conference in Bournemouth
last month heard that trade unionism in Iraq is emerging from “the
underground” following the fall of Saddam Hussein.
Social Work Department Restructuring As this edition of UNISON View goes to print, negotiations are taking place between the joint trade unions and management within the Social Work Services Department around the detail of the proposed restructuring and staffing position issues. You should already have seen a copy of the committee papers which are being discussed and you now have two opportunities to make your voice heard if you have any concerns. You can contact the Branch via Tom Morrison on 01389-737023 or Steve Rolfe on 0141-951-6234. Or you can put your comments in directly through the discussions that should be happening within your team. The revised proposals will be presented to the Council in early September, so you have just a couple of weeks to input your thoughts and concerns.
Do you care about your rights and those of your colleagues? Do you want improvements in working conditions and pay? Then don’t just sit there – do something about it and become a
Unison Steward. Without you, the membership, playing a full part, the
union is nothing. We have strength
in defending workers’ rights and campaigning for improvements only because we
work together and have a collective voice.
Stewards are the bedrock of this strength, representing members on the
ground and making sure that all members’ voices are heard. Training is available for all new stewards and you
have a right to time off for union duties as a steward. For more details, contact the office on 01389-737246
Articles The Nursery Nurses Strike - Debunking the Myths
Across Scotland, Nursery Nurses have been
on all-out strike since 1st March, because Scotland’s Councils have
refused to address the problems of low pay in this vital job. Nursery Nurses are the largest single professional group delivering education to our children – it is in all our interests as parents and as members of society to ensure that their pay reflects the importance of the work they do so that the welfare of future generations is safeguarded. Undervalued and underpaidNursery Nurses are paid on a Scottish grade that runs from around £10,000 for a newly qualified worker to £13,800 after 10 years experience (promoted staff and staff working 52 weeks earn more). Unison’s claim would take this to £14,000-£18,000 and develop a career structure for promoted staff.Given the absolutely essential nature of the work done by Nursery Nurses, Unison believes this is a realistic and fair pay claim. Dave Anderson, Unison National President said, “All they want is a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work.” And that fair day’s work is much more than Nursery Nurses were doing in 1988, the last time their grades were looked at. In recent years, the Scottish Executive has significantly increased the responsibilities and duties of Nursery Nurses through policies around curriculum development and social inclusion, without considering the need to increase their pay appropriately. Last resort Margaret Ferris, Unison West Dunbartonshire Chair and a Nursery Nurse herself, said, “We don’t want to be on strike, but we have no other option.” Not only are the added responsibilities which are at the heart of the claim national in nature, but local agreements are the thin end of the wedge which would allow Councils to avoid paying fair wages with consistency across Scotland. Now some authorities have attempted to spin the story that the Nursery Nurses and Unison are refusing to negotiate. Margaret Ferris said, “Councils are asking Nursery Nurses to go back to work – they should be spending their energy asking CoSLA to get the dispute settled nationally.”
The Nursery Nurses Strike – Debunking the Myths Myth: Nursery Nurses don’t deserve to be paid any more. All they do is play with kids every day. Truth: Nursery Nurses are all qualified Child Care professionals who train for two years to deliver the highest quality early years education and childcare. They plan, assess, evaluate, observe, record and monitor every aspect of each individual child's learning, ensuring that they access a broad, varied, stimulating, thought provoking, and fun pre-five curriculum. This is demanded by documents and policies such as local Starting Points, Scottish National Curriculum guidelines and National Care Standards.
Myth: The employers are prepared to negotiate and offer a reasonable deal. Truth: The employers have consistently refused to negotiate at a national level, trying to divide and rule by offering local agreements which undermine the collective voice of the Nursery Nurses. None of the local agreements on offer goes any significant way to addressing the Nursery Nurses demands. Myth: Wasn’t there a joint working party to progress the claim which came up with a solution. Truth: Unison feel that the working party was used purely as a stalling tactic as the employers reiterated their original position of 18 months ago, that pay for Nursery Nurses would be determined through Job Evaluation. They also reported that Nursery Nurses in schools/classes would be part time employees, with the potential loss of pay and pension rights.
Myth:
Don't you think that a rise of
£4,000 a year is an irresponsible amount to be claiming at this time? Truth: We shouldn't
undervalue our children's education. If we condemn nursery nurses into a low pay
ghetto that is what we will be doing. We are already faced by nursery nurses
leaving because they cannot afford to continue and difficulty in
recruiting/training new nursery nurses. Many
nursery nurses are currently having to claim benefits. Myth: Why are you hitting children's education by taking action? Are you just using them as political footballs? Truth: We have done everything we can to avoid strike action. It is the intransigence of the employers which has forced us to this extreme. Myth: The public isn’t prepared to pay higher council tax for Nursery Nurses salaries.
Truth: The level of support from parents has been
fantastic. They are genuinely shocked when they find out how little Nursery
Nurses earn. We are sure that this applies to the rest of the public.
Myth:
Surely there’s nothing wrong
with allowing each local council to decide its level of nursery service and how
to employ and pay nursery nurses? Truth: ALL nursery nurses across 32 councils agreed the job descriptions and pay levels attached to the claim, recognising both as realistic. Our employers state that locally they wish to set jobs and pay levels but have not given any examples of the jobs being different in any way. The Nursery Nurse role in all local authorities adheres to National Care Standards and National Curriculum guidelines.
Did anyone notice World
Water Day on 22 March? Not perhaps a big issue living in the West of Scotland, where we have water running out of our taps and out of our sky. But clean water and safe sanitation are not things that can be taken for granted if you live in Africa or Asia, or indeed throughout the developing world. The biggest disaster is that more than 1 billion people have no access to safe drinking water and 2.5 billion have no safe, hygienic sanitation service. At the World Summit for Sustainable Development in 2002 all the rich nations in the developed world pledged to halve the number of people without access to water and sanitation by 2010. At the current rate of progress these targets have little or no chance of being met. UNISON is fully behind these targets but is extremely concerned that the UK Government has not devoted enough development aid to support them. Moreover, the government is supporting attempts through the World Trade Organisation to force developing countries to privatise their water services, taking away the option for states to decide on the best method of providing safe, clean water. We all have a duty to remind the government that it must live up to its pledge and press other governments to do likewise. What
you can do Write to Hilary Benn, Secretary of State for International Development, , urging him to ensure that the government lives up to its pledge in the Millennium Development Goals. Find out more about issues around the World Trade Organisation, the General Agreement on Trade in Services and the Unison-supported campaign from the World Development Movement – www.wdm.org.uk, or from the Unison View Editor (see overleaf)
We have all seen the media coverage of the crisis in social work. Across Scotland it is clear that there is a shortage of qualified social workers (QSWs), as local authorities engage in competition to attract workers by means of ‘golden hellos’ and retain them by ‘golden handcuffs’. The shortage of QSWs is clearly a problem, but Unison has consistently pointed out that the crisis is far wider than this. Non-qualified social work assistants are increasingly used to cover the gaps created by the shortage of QSWs, many residential services are dependent upon overtime working to maintain ratios and low wages in residential, day and home care services create low morale and staff retention problems. The
response to the crisis The Scottish Executive has established a National Task Force to look at a range of issues across social work and has sponsored ADSW’s Supporting Frontline Workers initiative. Unison welcomes these and will participate in them, but there are still many unresolved issues across the board. What’s
happening locally?
Following negotiations between the local government trade unions, a joint claim has been submitted for all Council employees in Scotland. The claim is as follows: 2004/5 - £1000 or a minimum wage of £6 per hour, whichever is the higher 2005/6 – 5% across the board The claim reflects the two-year increase in Council funding agreed by the Scottish Executive. Joe Di Paola, UNISON's Scottish Organiser for Local Government said, “It is a just claim, ensuring that key public service staff are paid at a level that will allow them to live in Scotland's increasingly expensive housing and help address the recruitment crisis in many local services.” Further updates in this newsletter and on the branch website as the negotiations progress.
Following the AGM in
February, the Branch team of office bearers and stewards is made up as follows: Office Bearers Chairperson and Learning & Organising Officer – Margaret Ferris Vice Chair - Vacant Secretary and Service Conditions Officer – Tom Rainey Treasurer – Pat Rowland Depute
Service Conditions Officers – Tom
Morrison, Tom Dick Welfare Officer – Isabel Paterson Equalities Officer - Denise McLaughlan Health and Safety Officer- Tom Dick Publicity & International Officer – Steve Rolfe
Stewards: Education & Cultural Services Levenvale Primary – Jacqui Black, Jackie Cosh & Sherril O’Brien St. Peter’s Primary – Rae Brodie & Elizabeth Haggart Clydebank
High – Tom Dick Aitkenbar Primary – Mary Gilfillan & Wilma Tiropoulos St. Mary’s Nursery – Jane Greene Knoxland Primary – Mary Rose McElroy & Susan Young Dumbarton Academy – Pauline McFall Kilpatrick School – Katie McGeachie St. Joseph’s Primary – Caroline Rankin Dumbarton Library – Isabel Paterson Clydebank Library – Jeanette Sloss EPES Building Control – David Findlay Corporate Services Finance – Joanne Geddes Finance – Damien McConnachie Finance – Vaughan Moody Finance – David Somerville Social Work and Housing Housing – Bill Keady Housing – Carol Lowery Housing – Susan Shannon Social Work – Brendan Kelly Dumbarton Centre – Hugh Levens Welfare Rights – Peter O’Neill & Tom Morrison Community Work & Mental Health Teams – Steve Rolfe Willox Park – Cathy Smith Loch Lomond & Trossachs National Park Authority Graeme Archibald, Mary Cameron, Michael Hyde Voluntary Sector Clydebank Asbestos Group – Alex Cunningham Alternatives – Denise McLaughlan Retired Members - Eddie Darroch, Billy Dickson, Ben Morrison
Do you care about your rights and those of your colleagues? Do you want improvements in working conditions and pay? Then don’t just sit there – do something about it and become a
Unison Steward. |
