Unison Herts

It's that time of year again for the Herts County Unison Branch Annual General Meeting on Monday the 29th March 2010.

It will be held in the Council Chamber of County Hall between the hours of 12 noon and 1.30 pm. The special guest who is coming to talk to us is the former MP and President of the Anti War Coalition - Tony Benn, yes the Tony Benn. It's because of this that this AGM promises to be a truly special occasion that will be well worth attending, so it would be great to see as many of you all there. Don't forget; it's your union and the AGM is your chance to have your say on how it's run, so come along!

Following discussions between the local authority and UNISON, it is now crystal clear that PAs undertaking assessments must cease to do so immediately. The role of the PA in undertaking assessments is a contributory one only. PAs must not undertake the assessment task, this is the role of a qualified social worker.

For further information please contact the Branch Office.

UNISON Local Government  is launching a wide-ranging, hard hitting campaign over local government pay, job cuts and privatisation in 2010/11

The campaign aims to highlight the importance of local government services and to engender public support for maintaining the current level of public services and fair pay and conditions of our members.  The campaign will focus on improving morale and the negotiating environment over pay, redundancies and service changes.

The campaign which is called ‘Better Pay, Better Services, Better Jobs for Local Government’ also aims to counter a number of significant threats posed by the possibility of a Conservative central government, which include de-recognition of trade unions, the end of DOCAS, a concerted attack on the Local Government Pension Scheme and attacks on facility time.

A leaflet describing the campaign can be found here. Branches can order copies of this ‘Better Pay, Better Services, Better Jobs for local government – Members Pay Leaflet 2010/11 through UNISON Communications quoting stock no: 2800)  Or you can download it by clicking the document on the right

Dave Prentis, General Secretary of UNISON, the UK’s largest public sector union, today reacted angrily to the 1%, two year pay cap and pensions cap on public sector workers, announced in the pre-budget report, saying:

“I am not going to sign up to this. I know how our members feel – they feel angry and betrayed. It is just not on to make nurses, social workers, dinner ladies, cleaners and hospital porters pay the price for the folly of the bankers.

A meeting of the UNISON NJC was held on Wednesday, 09 September where results of the branch consultation where considered.

An overwhelming majority, 89% of members, accepted the offer on a 17% turnout. GMB and UNITE members also voted to accept. As a result, the employers have been asked to implement the agreement ASAP.

The settlement: From 1 April 2009

• Pay will increase by 1.25% on SCPs 4 to 10 and by 1% on SCPs 11 to 49 inclusive.
• Basic annual leave will also increase from 20 to 21 days for employees with less than five years’ service.
• The employers and trade unions will also endeavour to produce a best practice statement on handling redundancies by 1 December 2009.

We will be producing UNISON pay scale cards and these should be available in the near future.

The threat of redundancy, low morale, increased workload and funding cuts, are in the top ten worries currently facing public sector workers, says UNISON, the UK’s largest public sector union.

A survey* carried out by the union, ahead of next week’s TUC in Liverpool, showed public sector workers hit hard by the recession. Workers fear spending cuts will intensify staff shortages, increase already heavy workloads, and drive down the quality of services and morale even further.

The union is warning that swingeing cuts would turn back the clock to the recruitment and retention crisis hitting health, education and local government services before the 1997 election. It is urging the Government to keep up investment through the recession, or risk hitting services even harder and the very people who depend on them.

Dave Prentis, UNISON General Secretary, said;

“Our survey dispels the myth that public sector workers are immune from the worst effects of the recession. Fear for their jobs, and for their families’ jobs came top of the list when we asked public sector workers about their biggest worries. And the facts speak for themselves. This year thousands of public sector workers have joined the dole queue, with even more cuts on the cards.

“Low pay is still rife in the public sector with many workers getting as little as 0.5% increase this year, and the threat of pay freezes looming over others. With many workers already struggling to keep up with their bills, the fear is that next year pay will take an even bigger hit because of budget cuts.

“The survey shows that job insecurity, tough pay deals, increasing workloads, staff shortages and the looming prospect of budget cuts is forcing morale into nosedive. And funding cuts will only increase the pressure on public sector workers. Staff shortages and recruitment difficulties are already taking their toll in areas like home care, midwifery and social work.

“Restructuring came third on the list, with privatisation a major concern. Staff can see that services suffer when you put profit before people. And privatisation in many forms is creeping even deeper into the public sector. Many staff have faced restructure after restructure, and delivered round after round of efficiency savings. But there is only so much you can squeeze out before services start to suffer.

“The Government talks about tough decisions on spending, but it could save billions by scrapping Trident, the ID cards system and a pay-back tax on profits from bailed out banks and institutions. That way we can deliver the quality health, education and local services that we all need and can be proud of.”

Public sector workers top ten worries are:

1. The threat of redundancy

2. Worries over pay

3. Restructuring/privatisation– constant changes to working practices

4. Funding cutbacks

5. Bad management

6. Increased workload

7. Morale

8. Disciplinaries, health and safety

9. Staff shortages

10. The economy *UNISON surveyed a cross section of more than 100 branches, representing hundreds of thousands of members, in August 2009, asking for their top three worries.