Inside
Retainer Pay Cuts: Robbing Peter to pay Paul
The new
W h a t ' s t h e u n i o n e v e r 'spending review': d o n e f o r u s ? 11.5 Billion Reasons to hate Why you should join Unison today the Tories
City and County of Swansea
Review Vote in the Single Status ballot All members should be aware that the Joint Trade Unions led by UNISON have been in negotiations with City and County of Swansea Council on the changes to the terms and conditions known as Part 3's which the council wish to implement as part of the Job Evaluation and Single Status Proposals. The JE Single Status Booklet informing you of all the changes proposed and how this may affect your terms and conditions is available on http://issuu.com/ swanseaunison/docs/document or if you email the branch office on unison@swansea.gov.uk the branch will forward an email copy to you. UNISON believes that the council will not alter the current proposal further by negotiation alone, we therefore will be asking our members to decide if they wish to accept or reject the proposals. All members should have received a ballot form so they can vote on the proposals and the branch can decide on it's response. The proposals affect different groups of members in different ways. Detailed below are some of the pros and cons of the proposals you are asked to vote on: The council will adopt a pay scheme and terms and conditions that are applied equally to all. The Council will make financial payments in settlement for Equal Pay Claims. If you feel you are eligible to make a Equal pay claim and have not done so please ring the UNISON Swansea branch on 01792 635271 or the UNISON Swansea office on 01792 483914 for a claim form. Payment is a maximum of 60% of what the claim is worth however the council will meet tax and National Insurance costs. The new pay scales proposed by the employer means there are more losers than under the pay scale previously proposed by UNISON. Taking all the changes into account, Unison believes that 40 - 50% of staff will be affected for the worse, much greater than the 18% the council claims Those employees currently on 'career grades' will no longer be eligible for these. Many staff whose pay rate was below what it should have been
will have their pay increase backdated to 1 April 2010 Overtime and unsocial hours will be cut. Staff who were not in receipt of overtime and unsocial hours will now receive these. Some 2217 staff who were in receipt of retainer pay during school holidays (see separate article inside) will no longer receive these payments, this could mean as much as 2 to 3 weeks pay cut per year and in regards to NNEBs even more. A list of the jobs affected can be found here: The Council are willing to explore alternatives for NNEBs and Teaching Assistants to be employed in play schemes during school holidays. Those in receipt of Bonus Pay will lose this payment The council are willing to explore Job enrichment schemes to improve the grade of staff where there is a financial benefit to the council. Those currently in receipt of shift payments will lose this payment. The council will adopt a new Severe Weather policy which has been called “no show no pay” which basically means those not attending work, despite the risks and severity of travel conditions, will not be paid. Also the following terms and conditions/arrangements will cease to exist: Bonus Payments of any kind Dirt Pay
• • Dumper Payments • Get Out • Lettings, Key holding and Yard duties • Qualification Allowance • Special Needs Allowance • Special Unit Allowance • Supervisory, Plus Rate, Acting Up and Charge hand • payments • Historic pay arrangements e.g. TA's and NNEB
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Public Service Not Private Profit
July 2013
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@SwanseaUNISON27 A new Twitter page for UNISON Young Members working for City & County of Swansea has been set up. If any Young Members would like to get involved in the branch please contact Benjamin Johns (Tel: 07598 251181)
In addition, the following terms and conditions/ arrangements will cease as of implementation on the basis that the council states they are unsustainable and/or no longer meet the operational needs of the Council: Bank Holiday Pay Protection Rest Day working payments Disturbance Allowance Maintaining a working telephone line Car Allowance Profit Share Protection Recall to Work Telephone allowances Winter Maintenance Standby (will be one standby scheme) Shift Payments
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11.5 Billion Reasons to hate the Tories Tory chancellor George Osborne smugly delivered the government’s spending review recently. It marked a serious escalation of the Tories’ war on workers and the welfare state. And if unchallenged the cuts will drive millions of people into deep poverty and desperation. This spending round delivers total cuts of £11.5 billion for 2015-16, including £5 billion from so called “efficiency” savings. Osborne repeatedly whined that the country is “moving out of intensive care”. “If we abandoned our deficit plan, Britain would be back in intensive care,” he claimed. In fact the economy has not recovered from the recession and Osborne’s cuts have made the patient much, much weaker. For those holding onto their jobs, Osborne announced a new clampdown on public sector pay. Public sector wage rises would be held below 1 percent—again. He also is scrapping automatic pay rises for nurses, police and prison officers, teachers and doctors. The multi-millionaire heir to a baronetcy said, “Progression pay can at best be described as antiquated. At worst, it’s deeply unfair.” The chancellor told MPs that cuts in pay will limit job losses. Yet even the government’s Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts that 144,000 jobs will be slashed in central and local government over the next two years. Osborne said of his spending review three years ago, “I said then that around half a million posts in the public sector were forecast to have to go.” It is the only prediction he has made that is true. The Daily Mirror newspaper estimates that the ban on automatic wage rises will mean nurses will have lost £1,711 since the coalition came to office in 2010. A home carer will have lost £2,100. The average nurse’s salary is £26,614 and the average care assistant’s is £12,959. The chancellor signalled a further 10 percent budget cut for local government from 2015. It would stretch councils to breaking point. The latest council cuts come on top of previous cuts of 33 percent. Local government bosses warned that some councils would struggle and some may go bust. Over £2 billion has been cut—on average £30 million per council. This will close more Sure Start children’s centres, libraries and youth services. Overall the sums presume that after these £11.5 billion in cuts there will be a further £13 billion in both 2016-17 and 2017-18. But its not just the Tories who are promising unrelenting austerity. Labour’s response to all this was an utter disgrace. It promised to stick to these spending targets if elected. Labour leader Ed Miliband declared that if Labour gets elected it will stick with the Tories austerity spending plans. He stated "when George Osborne stands up...and announces his cuts in day-to-day spending, we won't be able to promise now to reverse them." The only way we are going to stop government after government imposing cuts is to get organised.
Why we n
One of the reasons for the delay arou to terms and conditions the Council h trade unions in resisting these, which lives. The Council's original plans in
holiday protection - will no long •• Bank Mileage allowance - 40p per mile entitlement - maximum of 28 •• Holiday Sick pay - no pay for first 3 days of s Overtime - will be paid at single time statutory holidays - paid •• Public/extra taken at a later date rate - paid only between the ho • Night quarter and Sunday working - Cou • Saturday Shift working - will no longer recogn hours - this term will no lon •• Unsocial Standby duty/call out - one universa •• Paid protection - no proposal made • Long service award - to be discontin
Following negotiations with the Coun the position is:
holiday protection - included in •• Bank Mileage allowance - HMRC rate of 4 unchanged entitlement - no change to p • Holiday Sick pay - no change to present arra •• Overtime - employees at scale point rate of time and a third when require over scale point 35 may • Employees be accrued at single time where aut statutory holidays - paid • Public/extra entitled to take a day off in lieu. Chr double time with a day in lieu
rate - paid between the hours • Night third and Sunday working - paid • Saturday a half for Sundays working - will no longer be paid • Shift period hours - to be paid at time a • Unsocial Standby duty/call out - maintained b • Paid protection - staff losing less tha
•
months protection, staff losing betwe protection, and staff losing 20% or m Long service award - current schem entitled to this after the implementat
Your Branch firmly believes that without conditions would be much inferior to the member of a Unison you should join - it fight to keep what we have got.
need Unison
What's happening in the FE sector? At the Wales TUC in May there was a muted reception for First Minister, Carwyn Jones; it was the first time I can remember that a Labour First Minister hasn't had a standing ovation from the national delegate body of Welsh trade unionists. One part of Jones' speech that was very well received by all delegates was his pledge that "there is no room for privatisation of public services in Wales". Unfortunately the actions of the Labour Welsh Government seem to be in contradiction to this pledge. Less than 2 hours later I was moving a motion from Swansea Trades Council, opposing measures in the Wales FE/HE Bill which, as well as re-classifying Welsh FE colleges as no longer being 'public sector bodies', propose to give Corporation Boards of Welsh FE colleges greater autonomy and powers, including the power to dissolve themselves and transfer their assets to other organisations such as charities or limited companies.
und Single Status has been a raft of changes had tied to any 'offer'. Unison was alone of the h would have a serious impact on our working ncluded:
ger be paid
8 days (including public holidays) sickness e d at single time will compensatory leave to be
ours of 11pm-6am at the rate of time and a
uncil will no longer recognise or pay this term ise or pay this term nger be recognised al scheme is to be devised
nued
ncil which were completed a few weeks ago
n pay protection 45p per mile and out of county rates to remain
present arrangements angements t 35 or below will receive an hourly ed to work over 37 hours per week. be entitled to TOIL for hours worked which will horised by the relevant head of service d at time and a half for all hours worked and be ristmas Day and New Year's Day will be paid at
It might be argued that the re-classification of colleges is only a symbolic act but when taken with the other measures, it leads to serious concerns about the Labour Welsh Government's plans for our colleges. The proposals to strengthen the autonomy of corporation boards seriously threaten to undermine attempts to establish collectively negotiated, common, all-Wales terms and conditions. This is something our members have not had in FE since Tory incorporation in the early '90s took Welsh FE out of local authority control and took away local authority terms and conditions. We've had nearly 3 years' of torturous negotiations and now, when we may be on verge of reaching an agreement, the Welsh Government is prepared to put that in jeopardy. Worse still, allowing colleges the powers to dissolve themselves and transfer their assets to limited companies directly threatens opening up further education in Wales to the dangers of privatisation. All this goes against promises which FE unions believe were made to then by Welsh Labour, before the last Assembly elections, that Tory incorporation would be reversed and Welsh colleges brought back under elected public control. They also make a mockery of Carwyn Jones' 'no privatisation' pledge. In case anybody was in doubt about this, the Bill also effectively outsources Student Finance Wales. Conference thought so too and overwhelmingly, if not unanimously, carried the motion condemning these measures. I'm glad to say that UNISON, along with the lecturers' union, UCU, contributed to the debate, backing the motion, which now forms part of the Wales TUC's statement on public services in Wales. Since then we have had the resignation of the Education Minister who oversaw the presentation of the Bill. Leighton Andrews has been forced to resign after hypocritically campaigning against the effects of his own department's policy when it led to plans to close a school in his own constituency. This came on top of his campaign to preserve full doctor-led critical services in a hospital in his constituency which are threatened by the South Wales Programme for the NHS. This is a programme, which he, as a cabinet member had backed. He received a public dressing down on this issue, from the First Minister, for campaigning, in the name of Labour, against Welsh Labour policy.
of 11pm - 5:59am at an hourly rate of time and a
d at time and a third on Saturdays and time and
d but will be discussed during the protection
and a third between the hours of 7pm - 10:59pm but at a lesser rate an 10% under the new pay model will receive 12 een 10%-19.99% will receive 18 months more will receive 2 years protection me will continue. New employees will not be tion date.
t negotiations with Trade Unions our terms and e present offer from the Council. If you are not a is only our collective strength that enables us to
Unfortunately I don't think Andrews' resignation will be the end of the moves towards privatisation in the Bill he presented. To safeguard the public service status of our colleges, the position of our members in FE and the quality and breadth of courses they provide, means translating the position of our union and the Wales TUC, into action. I think personally, that by a Welsh Labour Government taking such measures against the interests of our members then Labour, including Welsh Labour, has forfeited its right to expect our union's substantial financial backing. I hope, that as Welsh councils too continue to attack the services we provide and the jobs, pay, terms and conditions of our members, like Rhondda Cynon Taff with its proposed zero-hours contracts, UNISON Cymru will seriously debate withdrawing backing from Labour and instead backing candidates who oppose all cuts for our members and services we provide. Ronnie Job, senior steward, Gower College Swansea, (personal capacity).
Retainer Pay: Robbing Peter to pay Paul Are you aware of the council’s decision to withdraw the payment of Retainer Pay as part of the Single Status offer? Many employees are not aware that they are in receipt of retainer pay if you are in any doubt check the list of job titles overleaf to see if your job. If it is, then you receive retainer pay. We know there are 2217 job holders in Swansea in receipt of retainer pay. UNISON has protested at the lack of notice that the payment is to be withdrawn. We have been a lone voice and the council have refused to change their mind. We are unlikely to be able to change their mind purely by negotiation.
If you are currently earning below the hourly rate of the Living Wage of ÂŁ7.45 which the council intends to introduce, you will probably have a slight increase in your annual pay overall, however if you are above that rate this could result a decrease in your annual pay. There are approx 2217 positions within the authority that currently receive a retainer payment that will cease , individuals may hold more than one of these positions. An example of posts is below. For a full list go to:
http://issuu.com/swanseaunison/docs/retainer_pay
What is retainer pay and what does this mean? Many staff, as listed overleaf are paid for term time working, plus annual leave and bank holidays, they are then paid a retainer payment equivalent to half pay for the weeks that remain during school holidays. This retainer payment is for approximately 6 weeks per year meaning that it is equivalent to 3 weeks pay making the total weeks paid per year to the employee is on average 46 weeks. The total figure is then divided by 52 weeks so that a consistent payment is made.
YOUR UNION
What the employer proposes is basically to cut the amount paid to employees by an equivalent of 3 weeks pay per year.
Contact us:
Administration - Cover Supervisor Administration and Organisation Assistant After School Club Assistant After School Club Leader Attendance Officer Assistant Breakfast Club Co-ordinator Breakfast Club Supervisor Clerical Assistant Community Co-ordinator D and T Technician Lower Level 2 Data And Exams Manager Emotional Wellbeing Officer Finance Assistant Flying Start Childcare Worker Literacy Support Lunchtime Supervisor SEN Numeracy Catch-Up Pastoral Assistant School Business Manager Science Technician Level 2 Senior Technician Level 3 Teaching Assistant Level 1 - 4 School Crossing Patrol
Unison Office The Guildhall Swansea SA1 4PE 01792 635271
unison@swansea.gov.uk
Branch Secretary: Mike Davies / Asst. Secretary: Ian Alexander Unison has over 100 trained union reps throughout the council, schools and FE colleges. We will advise, support and represent you collectively and individually on issues from sickness, disciplinaries to legal matters inside and outside the workplace. If you need advice or representation please contact the Senior Steward(s) for your department below or go to your workplace steward. Alternatively please contact the branch office. Social Services Alison O'Kane - 07856 641234 Alison Davies - 07941 757853 Martin Chapman - 01792 635271 Education Pat Lopez - 07557 560097 Mark Otten - 07789 485009 Eve Morse - 07532 232873 (after 3.30 pm) Chris Bell - 07967 551025
Sports & Social website: www.suss.me.uk
Regeneration/Housing John Llewellyn - 07557 560093 Roger Owen - 07847 942458 Gower College Ron Job - 07963 454041 Resources Rhydian Prismick - 01792 635803 Housing Sallyanne Taylor - 07825 401711
www.unison.co.uk
This newsletter is produced by the City and County of Swansea Unison Branch. Any letters, comments or suggestions for articles should be posted to the branch address or emailed to Unison@swansea.gov.uk. Correspondence is not guaranteed to be published and contents may not necessarily reflect Unison policy.