Inside
J10
Full coverage of the July 10th Pay Strike: What happened and what we need to do next
City and County of Swansea
Review Break the Tory pay-freeze:
We were right to strike
From admin workers to refuse collectors to teachers, civil servants and firefighters - public sector workers in their thousands joined marches and rallies on the day (see inside) as did their supporters. The strike brought together workers across several unions — including Unison, Unite, GMB, PCS, NUT and Nipsa. All unions united in their anger at the Tories’ determination to hold down our pay. Firefighters across England and Wales also joined the walkout on the day as part of their pensions dispute. PCS members protested outside the gates of the
Public Service Not Private Profit
“
The crisis is supposed to be over, but why have I lost thousands thanks to Single Status? I’m proud to be in Unison and on strike but we should escalate and keep coming out with other unions. It makes us more effective.
“
The mass public sector strike on July 10th was a big success. There were around 1.5 million on strike, with picket lines and protests in cities and towns across Britain.
UNISON picket, July 10th
Houses of Parliament against plans to privatise services and outsource workers. Support for the strike is not surprising. Thanks to no or belowinflation pay ‘rises’ we have lost up to 20% of our pay side 2010, which in turn cuts the pensions we will get. 450,000 jobs have been lost in local government since 2010. We can’t afford another pay and pension cut. Worst conditions Our pay and conditions are the worst in the public sector from top to bottom, many members in local government claim benefits or taxcredits to make ends-meet and councils attack our pay and terms and conditions p2
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July 2014
Rallies a success Tens of thousands of strikers and supporters took to the streets of towns and cities across Britain for joint union marches and rallies. Up to 20,000 marched through central London, despite a downpour. Thousands gathering in Liverpool at the Pier Head completely filled out the waterfront before marching to their rally at St George’s Hall.
Teachers, Teachers, fire-fighters, fire-fighters, local local government government w w
Unite and escalate to w
Below is a round up of some of the regional rallies: London Liverpool Bristol Birmingham Leeds Nottingham Hull Newcastle Huddersfield Exeter Portsmouth Preston York Cambridge Ipswich Cardiff Chelmsford Bolton Swansea Barnsley Wigan Derry Belfast Torbay Peterborough
up to 20,000 7,000 4,500 4,000 3,000 2,000 2,000 2,000 1,500 1,000 600 500 500 400 350 300 300 250 250 200 200 200 200 100 100
We were right to strike: continued from front page
locally. Many members are doing far more in work time as workforce numbers decrease, many have lost thousands through jobevaluation and services continue to be stripped to the bone, privatised or
stopped all together. All this will continue unless we act - and escalate the action. The government and employers will continue to cut our pay and conditions and services the public need will continue to be decimated without a fight.
Single Status Ballot votes for action As members will know, Single Status has been imposed by Swansea Council without agreement with the trade unions. This has made employees conditions worse in many ways including: Unfair Job Evaluation Panels with two management representatives to one union rep. Forced changes to hours of work with no consideration for family commitments etc.
forced to pay parking charges. UNISON recently undertook a indicative ballot of our membership in regards to industrial action on the manner and issues arising around the Implementation of Single Status, the so-called 'Best and Final Offer' and related issues, particularly as negotiations been lengthy but not meaningful.
The result of the ballot was 55% in favour of strike action, and in a second Compulsory charge of job or workplace, question 66% in favour of industrial action short of a strike. with only partial protection for earnings. Loss of retainer pay for 2000 school employees Compulsory overtime with a requirement to work to the completion of the task. 900 more staff moved to the Guildhall with no parking space available and staff
It is clear that UNISON's membership are determined to tackle the issues that they feel have wronged them by industrial action if necessary. The branch is hopeful that the council will wish to engage meaningfully to resolve the issues, otherwise industrial action is the next step
We are the 7th richest economy in the world, and some recent reports put Britain as the secondlargest economy in Europe. And yet our experience is continued pressure on our lives from a government stuffed with privately- education millionaires lecturing us that we are all ‘in it together’ and a Tory press that scapegoats migrants. A rich economy These cuts aren’t necessary and our claim for a minimum of £1 an hour for all is affordable. Political choices can and should be made. Councils are banking ‘savings’ made from cuts to jobs and pay instead of rewarding hardworking staff. In addition everything is rising clothes, food, utility bills. Many people cannot afford holidays and worry whether they will have a job, how they will afford to live and bring up their families.
The Tories claimed o strike made no differe and had no support. Anyone involved in th action on the day kno that isn’t true. The government wants to rubbish our strike because our power is frightening to them an they are scared the unions will hit back. T strike was popular wi ordinary people beca pensioners, students disabled people and others have all been hammered by the sam austerity agenda. Hard choices
We know the decisio strike was a hard one many members - but even though many fo it hard, they were als really pleased to see fightback. As one stri put it, “The crisis is supposed to be over, why have I lost thous thanks to Single Stat I’m proud to be in Un and on strike but we should escalate and coming out with othe
workers workers && civil civil servants: servants:
win more pay
programme of strikes and would keep going until they won? demonstrations that shows the government We have no choice but to we’re not just protesting, Pride he fight now to beat the ows we’re out to win this fight. More action is even more Tories, and to demand important because we can’t that whoever forms the Firefighters have named o rely on Labour. Ed Miliband next government ends the 15 strike periods over austerity programme. No eight days from 14th July. opposed our strike, has made s it clear that Labour will stick matter how impressive a This is a big stepping up nd to Tory spending plans and one day strike may be, it of the FBU’s battle over that the 1 percent pay limit will not be enough to beat pensions. Union leaders The have said health workers will stay in place if he’s this government. ith will soon be asked to vote elected. ause July 10th therefore needs on strikes. s, In 2011, 2.5 million workers to be just the beginning of struck together against Unison leaders have the campaign. The TUC attacks on public sector raised the prospect of a has called a me pensions. But despite the demonstration the banner two day strike in “Britain needs a pay rise” September. All of us, and huge success. of the action, some union leaders pulled on 18 October. It’s really members of every other important that we build for union, should get behind from the action. That cannot a huge turnout. But while that move. If we are going be allowed to happen again. on to e for we need to march to lose precious pay by We should be proud that July t together on 18 October, striking we need to feel 10th was such a powerful ound we need to strike together that the union leaders so again too - and soon. have a strategy to win - a display of our anger. We’ve ea big one-day strike cannot had enough of our living Escalation iker be used simply as a form standards being driven down year after year. Politicians of of protest. all the main parties agree on , but It’s crucial that our Imagine if over two million one thing—making working sands campaign does not lose class people pay for the momentum and that our workers struck in tus? September, and then said crisis. We need to build a nison union leaders name the mass united fight to stop the day for more coordinated one day wasn’t enough keep strikes. What’s needed is and went for more? Then assault. We have shown we can fight, if we escalate we real escalation – a imagine they said they er can win.
our ence
unions. It makes us more effective”.
Employment Law: our rights under attack Tory leader David Cameron branded our strike a failure. But he then rushed to call for even tougher anti-union laws to stop more strikes. He wouldn’t be doing that if he really thought they had no impact. The strikes also sealed the fate of Education Minister Michael Gove. Gove’s 'reforms' have outraged teachers and parents. Cameron Cabinet reshuffle was partly because he had to admit that Gove was a liability and that he was toxic among teachers. Now their strikes have finished him off.
Hypocrisy Also following the strikes there was hypocritical comments from some politicians that trade-union ballots should only be valid if a majority of members vote. On this basis, many councillors would not be elected. For example, the turnout for the last council election in Swansea in th Llansamlet ward was 16%. Nevertheless the Tories are planning or have planned a range of attacks on tradeunions and the rights of working people.
YOUR UNION
These include reps getting no time off for union business, bosses being allowed to send out an argument against striking with every ballot paper and bosses also getting a fortnight’s notice before workers can strike and no legal ban on them employing scab agency labour to break strikes. These are real proposals from the Department for Business, Innovation and
Contact us:
Skills’ employment law review written into the Tory-Lib Dem coalition pact in 2010. The overarching principle of the review, 'Making the labour market more flexible, efficient and fair', is to make it easier to sack workers and give them little or no legal redress. It has seen the bosses’ CBI lobby group present their wish-list to limit strikes.
And it came soon before a landmark court judgement in favour of the trade unions in March the following year.The legal victory for the unions was the culmination of a series of challenges to court injunctions that had overridden democratic union ballots.
Wonga
The employers had been wielding the weapon of the courts to get strikes declared illegal on ballot technicalities, despite them having no bearing on the result. The March 2011 judgement opposed applying a “standard of perfection” for holding ballots, which would “set traps or hurdles for the union which have no legitimate purpose or function”. It may have prevented some of the more spurious attempts by bosses to subvert union democracy but it certainly hasn’t stopped them.
And Cameron gave millionaire owner of pay-day loan company Wonga, Lord Beecroft, free reign to shape employment law in Britain. One of business secretary Vince Cable’s team described Beecroft’s report as “bonkers”. Yet many of his proposals have got through the back door into law. The more well-known proposal may be his call for “no fault dismissal” or “fire at will” rights for bosses. Recent changes to Employment Tribunals originated with Beecroft. They mean workers are now charged between £960 and £1,060 to get a full hearing and £250 just to make a claim. This has led to a 79 percent drop in workplace disputes reaching Employment Tribunals. Many proposals in Beecroft’s report first appeared in a 2010 report by right wing think tank Policy Exchange, titled Modernising Industrial Relations. It was published to press the bosses’ advantage.
Spurious
The Tories want working class people to pay for the bosses’ crisis and they will stop at nothing to curtail our right to resist. All members who were earning £19,850 or less before April 2014 still have the opportunity yo put in an Equal Pay claim.The deadline is September but forms have to be registered with solicitors and the Authority to be valid, so any claims needs to be lodged as soon as possible. Please contact the Branch Office for details
Unison Office, Rm 153-G, The Guildhall, Swansea 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.