Unison Herts

We are still in dispute regarding the redundancy policy, as the Council are still pursuing their policy of reducing it to levels that are unacceptable for our members. We are also negotiating on the changes the Council want to make to Part 2 of the green book, which is a difficult subject to address as the green book is nationally recognised.

We will get round the table again in September for further discussions, which we are hoping will allow us to achieve the kind of deal that recognises the sheer effort and hard work our members put into their everyday work. I will report the outcome of these discussions and the union's position in next month's report.

On a more positive note, I would like to take this opportunity to welcome our new equalities officer that has recently joined us. Her name is Luminita Rusu-Martin, and she will be working in the same office as Peter Wooton our H&S officer. We wish her well.

Nationally Unison has been campaigning hard to protect and defend as much as is possible public services and the many members who work so tirelessly to keep them running so well, despite this government's determination to break them apart piece by piece. If you haven't done so already please add your name to the Million Voices for Public Services campaign at http://www.unison.org.uk/million/ The more voices that are added the more weight the campaign has to be able to take the message to the heart of government that Unison is prepared to fight as hard as possible to maintain and improve public services that make our communities as strong as they are.

Unison has also set the date for the next conference of the 18th to the 24th June 2011. Herts County Unison Branch has already booked a hotel in Central Manchester for our delegation to attend. Nominations and decisions on who will attend will be made in forthcoming branch committee meetings.

Next year's AGM has been booked for the 24th February 2011 and suggestions for guest speaker are always welcome, so please let me know if there is somebody you would like to talk to us and I will see what I can do to get them booked.

I also wanted to say that although we face some very tough times ahead, we as the Herts County Branch of Unison will be standing strong and together to fight the cuts that are being threatened by this Council. This is why we appreciate any extra time or help any member can give to help out other members and this branch to stay as resilient as possible. If you would like to consider becoming a work place steward or helping out in anyway, please call me at the branch.