Unison Herts

UNISON Response to Hertfordshire Employment Package

UNISON has been made aware that the Council is to start consultation with employees, which will result in fundamental changes to your terms and conditions of employment. The main changes relate to:

• Sick Pay
• Fringe allowances
• Other allowances – overtime payments
• Excess travel payments (Disturbance)

If these changes are accepted they will mean a financial loss for most of our members. These changes are totally unacceptable to the Branch, and with your support, we will be doing everything possible to challenge these proposals.

We fail to see why the Council needs to make savings this way when there are alternatives that should be considered. These include looking at the amount of consultants used, members allowances, financial reserves etc.

These terms and conditions are detailed in the NJC National Agreement between local authority employers and trade unions. This agreement forms part of your contract of employment.

Background

UNISON has constantly made clear to the Council that the terms and conditions such as sick pay come under the National Agreement, the Branch does not have the authority to negotiate any changes on behalf of our members locally.

In July 2010, UNISON lodged a failure to agree to changes to Part 2 of the National Agreement which include Sick Pay and Fringe Allowances. This resulted in negotiations with the Regional Employer and Trade Union side. These talks ended in a continued failure to agree.

UNISON then invited the Council to refer this matter to the National Employer and Trade Union representatives for further talks on these issues. The Council refused to refer this dispute for National consideration. Therefore, it is not true to say we have walked away from these negotiations. The Council has failed to continue with the most reasonable and legitimate way of trying to resolve this dispute which is at National level.

The Council is clearly aware that the Branch has no authority to negotiate on changes to sick pay and fringe allowances as this can only be done through the National Employers and Trade Union Representatives.

UNISON is opposed to the proposals of the Council to move away from collective bargaining, moving towards individual consultation with employees.  If the Council continues with these proposals we will be consulting our members about taking direct action to stop this attack on our terms and conditions

DON’T FORGET THE NATIONAL MARCH AND RALLY ON 26 MARCH IN LONDON. A COACH FOR MEMBERS WILL BE LEAVING AT 9.00AM FROM THE BRANCH OFFICE.

THE BRANCH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING IS BEING HELD ON THE 24^TH OF FEBRUARY AT 12 NOON. THE VENUE IS THE COUNCIL CHAMBER AT COUNTY HALL, COME ALONG AND SHOW YOUR SUPPORT AND TELL US WHAT OU THINK OF THIS DISGRACEFUL ATTACK ON OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT.

Since the publication of changing the Hertfordshire Employment Package released by HCC yesterday at 4pm, we have a Branch Committee this evening (8th February) to exclusively discuss this issue. We will be responding to every member effected by this from tomorrow onwards to their home address.

Our National and Regional Offices are involved and we will be taking advice as per protocol.

UNISON, the UK’s leading public sector trade union, today said it would be consulting members on taking industrial action over the abolition of the School Support Staff Negotiating Body (SSSNB).

On Wednesday 20^th October 2010, central government announced as promised, the full extent of its budgetary cuts.  The cuts are severe and threaten to seriously undermine our communities’ and the services provided to them within Hertfordshire.

The headline figure of 495,000 job losses nationally, will likely be easily surpassed as the repercussions spread into both the private and “third” sectors.

As you now probably know by now, Herts County Branch of UNISON balloted our members on an offer from the Employer regarding voluntary redundancy. The ballot closed on the 1^st October 2010.

The result was as follows;

As you now probably know by now, Herts County Branch of UNISON balloted our members on an offer from the Employer regarding voluntary redundancy. The ballot closed on the 1^st October 2010. 

The result was as follows;     Accepted the offer    41.5%

                                              Rejected the offer       58.5%

                                              By a simple majority of           17% the offer was rejected.

The Branch is currently taking advice from both our Regional and National Offices as to the process we should now follow. We, subject to member’s rejection of the offer, are in the same position we were in prior to the offer being sent out and we are still in dispute with the Employer, regarding the way HCC imposed the new average of 1.1 from the agreed position of 2.2 in December 2009. I spoke to Heather Wakefield, UNISON Head of Local Government and Ann Vinden the Joint Regional Secretary.  Ann Vinden will be formally writing to Heather Wakefield to involve her nationally on the lack of consultation from Hertfordshire County Council.

The Branch is attending a Rally and Lobby of Parliament in London on the 19th October. This is to protest against the cuts that are to be released on the 20th October. The Officers and Stewards that are attending will be lobbying their own MP’s.  We have appointments booked with MP’s from St Albans, Ware & Hertford, Stevenage, Cheshunt and Enfield.  The Branch will also be attending another march on the 23rd October held by Regional Office, in Cambridge, details to follow.

The Branch Officers attended another Joint Secretary's Meeting regarding the Failure to Agree on HCC’s Terms and Conditions of Employment. This played out as we thought it would, as both sides are in entrenched positions.  This has also been sent to National Office. This is as far as the Branch can go until we hear from UNISON Headquarters.

They now have the Terms and Conditions and redundancy disputes to get involved in.