Inside
Xmas Party: it's
Jeremy Corbyn: the 'most dangerous man in Britain'?
never too early to plan for xmas
Trade Union Bill: tories try to silence unions
City and County of Swansea
Review DEMONSTRATE We are at a time when more massive cuts are hitting our public services and putting the most vulnerable at risk. Continued wage freezes and proposed changes to in-work benefits are leaving hard-working public service workers wondering how they will support their families, whilst the government is determined to undermine trade union rights. There are many reasons why you should join the demonstration on the 4th October: The governments plans to cut £12bn from welfare - hitting the most vulnerable the hardest. The richest 1000 in Britain doubled their wealth during the last Parliament, while the living standards of the majority fell There has been a huge rise in zero hour contracts, precarious, low-pain and part-time work. Millions of people are not benefitting from e so-called economic ‘recovery’ The Tories have presided over the worst housing crisis in living memory. They are friends of private landlords and property developers. Now they want to sell off even more social housing. The Tories are pushing privatisation. They want to encourage free-trade deals which will destroy the public sector. Our NHS is under attack. The government intends to dismantle the NHS and sell it off to private companies run for profit. Migrants are facing a racist backlash. They are being scapegoated by the Tories and a disgusting right-wing press for the problems caused by the bankers and bosses.
It is also no accident that the government is attacking union-rights (see inside) at the same time that it’s attacking our members and our livelihoods. The Tories know that it is trade unions who represent and speak up for the vital public services which our communities rely on. They know that unions can use their strike power to resist their austerity. Attacking both the right to strike and our ability to organise by threatening to change the way our members can pay their subscriptions are just one more way the government aims to reduce our ability to recruit, organise and represent our members. That’s why the rally and march in Manchester on Sunday 4 October has that joint theme: No to austerity; Yes to workers’ rights. Join us there.
Sunday 4th October at the Tory Party Conference, Manchester Demonstration called by the TUC. The march finishes at the conference venue Contact branch office for a coach place Public Service Not Private Profit
September 2015
Why the Trade Union Bill attacks yo The Tories have launched a blistering attack on workers’ right to organise in unions. Cameron is targeting the force that can beat his ideological crusade against public services. His business secretary Sajid Javid launched the Trade Union Bill 2015 last week. It aims to take control of strikes out of union hands and into those of a regulator. It will make it harder for workers to win a legal mandate for action—and easier for employers to have them overturned. Picketing in a way the employers don’t like could even get you arrested. Taken together, the attacks could make it almost impossible for many workers to strike legally. With a Tory majority in parliament, this won’t be stopped by MPs. And while it’s right for unions to stand up to bosses’ legal challenges, the courts aren’t on our side either. Whenever workers have stood up for their rights we have come up against laws rigged in favour of the bosses and their piles of cash. It’s not enough to expose their agenda, as the TUC tried to do recently, by showing how few strikes unions have been calling anyway. Instead it will take mass action to rise to the challenge. Union leaders have pledged to defy the new laws—and one of the biggest unions, Unite, even deleted the words “so far as may be lawful” from its constitution. Dave Prentis has called the Bill a ‘strike-breakers charter’ and called for a ‘popular uprising against it. Words must be turned into action. Trade unionists have made laws unworkable before. If Cameron won’t back down, we can make his rule ungovernable as well.
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Too important to strike - but not too importa
The Tories justify making strikes harder for some public sector workers be have “far reaching effects”. But the same rules aren’t applied to votes for MP have far reaching effects across British society. And these services aren’t s Tories when it comes to slashing them.
The draft bill says health, fire and transport services, and the education of 17 are important services. So are the decommissioning of nuclear installati of radioactive waste and spent fuel, and border security. Others could be ad
But over 60,000 nursing related jobs were cut in the Tories’ first two y workloads driven up by cuts have doubled the number of paramedics creating the first ever national shortage. Some 39 fire stations, 145 fire engi 5,000 firefighter positions have been axed since the Tories came to office
Picket the employers way…
Tell the other side your plans... Unions already have to give the bosses seven days’ notice before striking against them. The Tories want to make them hand over their entire battle plan to the enemy. The notice time is to be doubled. And bosses, police and the Certification Officer must be given a full plan of picketing and protests that will be part of their action. This is designed to help companies targeted to prepare their “reputational protection” in face of protests. It will also “make it easier for a union to repudiate” any workers’ action that isn’t part of the plan. Changing the plan means having to update the notice to the bosses, police and the Certification Officer. Ballots already have to ask workers what type of action they are prepared to take. This is to be made much more detailed, with the “nature of the issues”, the specific types of action and the time frame for them. Mandates for action will expire four months after a ballot to rule out ongoing disputes based on “discontinuous action”. But unions will no longer have to call strikes quickly to keep a ballot live.
It could be illegal to call a scab a scab under plans to make “intimidation on the picket line” a new criminal offence. Unions must appoint a picket line “supervisor” and put the police in contact with them. They’ll be held responsible if anyone breaks what’s currently just a code of conduct.
Never mind
To make it harde out any ballots w percent. For any “important public those eligible to
That could mean ordinary shop stewards getting nicked. Or it could mean union officials micromanaging the picket line. Either way it’s bad news.
On the surface t Tories formed a 24.3 percent of a 330 Tory MPs a includes half the they don’t intend
The government “welcomes” evidence that intimidatory picketing is a problem along the lines of a review by anti-union lawyer Bruce Carr’s. But tucked away in Carr's review a footnote which admits it has “issues with the methodology”—and none of the incidents he referred to may have actually happened.
All union laws b repealed by Lab life harder for us information to m many votes wer to vote. This wo called off on a te
More information here: https://www.unison.org.uk/our-
Is this the most dangerous man in Britain?
UNISON's Labour Link section has decided to nominate Jeremy Corbyn in the Labour Party leadership contest. Labour Link is the section of UNISON where a minority of members in the Affiliated Political Fund (APF) agree for some of their subs to be donated to the Labour Party. Most members are in the General Political Fund (GPF) which allows money to be spent on general political campaigning, such as
against privatisation. Whilst this is a m for Labour members and supporters is no doubt Jeremy Corbyn’s anti-aus message has resonated widely with p sector workers. We have suffered ye pay freezes, redundancies with too m having to work more for less. We hav been penalised for too long by a government that keeps on taking mo more from us. The nomination shows
our rights (part 1...)
he Tories want to stop.First Great Western engineering and train staff, all centre members and National Waterfront Museum staff joined forces rike rally outside Swansea's National Waterfront Museum recently.
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Tweet at your peril...
The government is worried that “new forms of protest” could support strikers and escape the anti-union laws. This can mean anything from going on a protest to giving out leaflets or even posting something on Twitter. Apparently, “this conduct is unacceptable and action is needed to prevent it happening in future, with enforcement of strong remedies where it does.” The Tories aren’t content with the Public Order Act, the Protection from Harassment Act, the Highways Act, the Malicious Communications Act, the Criminal Damage Act and other laws. So the anti-picketing rules will be expanding to cover people who never even come near the picket line.
d the ballots...
er to call strikes, the bill would rule with a turnout of less than 50 y workers wanting to strike in c services”, a total of 40 percent of vote must vote for action.
this might sound like plenty. But the a government with the votes of just all potential voters. Some 274 out of also fell short of 40 percent. That e cabinet, including Sajid Javid, but d to apply these rules to themselves.
rought in by the Tories - and never bour - were always meant to make s. All unions will also have to provide members and bosses including how re cast and how many were eligible ould give bosses trying to get strikes echnicality something to start from.
No political funds..? It’s fine for the bosses’ CBI to fund political parties—but not for the unions. The Tories want to limit unions’ political funds to workers who specifically opt in every five years. Unions must also collect political funds separately or provide a rebate. And they must publish full accounts of everything they’ve spent more than £2,000 on. Part 2 on how the Trade Union Bill attempts to silence us will be in the October edition
-campaigns/trade-union-bill-2015 & https://www.tuc.org.uk/tubill
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clear need for change towards a fairer society where work is fairly rewarded, and where those living and working in poverty supported. Members in the APF are of course free to cast their vote as to who they think should lead the Labour Party. APF members could do worse than consult the following unofficial links about Corbyn to help them decide: http://bit.ly/1F0qW51 & http://bit.ly/1K02ruD
EOTAS Teachers fight on against cuts Teachers in the EOTAS service (Education Other Than At School) are still in dispute with the council. The service covers pupil referral units and Home Tuition for children who cannot access mainstream primary and secondary schools through social, emotional, behavioural or medical needs. EOTAS helps many young people carry on their learning and achieve their academic and personal potential. Teaching unions have commented that 'timelines are forever' might sum up council policy on the EOTAS dispute at present, as each time Swansea EOTAS restructuring timelines are announced they never appear to be followed. In a recent Cabinet meeting no new proposals were presented. On June 23rd two unions were told and on July 7th five unions (ATL, NUT, NASUWT, GMB and UNISON) were told by the Chief Education Officer, Lyndsay Harvey, that a new document drafted by him was being presented to the Executive Board. In particular, this was also to Director of People, Chris Sivers, and the Cabinet Member for Education, Cllr Jen Rayner in July, then to Cabinet in mid-August, and then to unions and staff in September. At the joint union meeting on July 7th, Lindsay Harvey had referred to the document as already drafted ready for immediate submission to the Exec. Whilst parents naturally worry who will teach their children throughout this academic year and just how long for and where, and, whilst the cost of living is rising and staff worry about their jobs, no new proposals have been given to staff. Updates can be found on the Save EOTAS Swansea Facebook page: http://on.fb.me/1UfFQvd Sign former EOTAS pupil Sorcha Jewell's petition: https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/vulnerable-childrendeserve-an-education-too Visit or write to your Councillors, AMs or MPs: https://www.writetothem.com/ Write to the campaign: saveswanseaeotas@outlook.com Clarification: The May edition of Unison Review stated that a grievance had been taken out by EOTAS staff against their senior manager. Whilst the June edition stated that a grievance taken out by staff was not upheld, we would like to clarify that this was the grievance about the senior manager referred to in the May edition.
Maternity Leave & Subs
LGBT Members
During periods of maternity leave, your subscription rate will reduce in line with your salary and whilst on unpaid maternity leave, you can retain your membership free of charge.
The national conference of UNISON's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender members self-organised group is on 13 - 15 November 2015, Brighton. Any LGBT members who wish to attend should contact the branch office for details.
If you have paid full subs during your maternity leave please contact the Unison Office, Room 153G, Guildhall, Swansea, SA1 4PE / unison@swansea.gov.uk to find out if you are entitled to a refund of overpaid subs.
Equal Pay and Back Pay Agreement Reached
UNISON's Children’s Christmas Party – 5th December 2015 For children of Unison members aged between two and nine years inclusive. Forms are available from the Unison Office and money for the party MUST be returned by 5th October 2015 No late applications will be accepted and the cost of the Party will be £4.00 per child.
YOUR UNION
Please return the form with a cheque made payable to SUSS to: Unison Office, Room 153G, Guildhall, Swansea SA1 4PE Please note – We are unable to accept cash. No forms will be accepted without either Unison or employee number (if retired, please state retired member)
After lengthy negotiations with the Council, UNISON and other trade unions, union solicitors and the Council have reached agreement on payment of equal pay and back pay. The Council is to make offers to claimants. The council is also to make a different offer to limited number of non claimants assessed by the council to be in scope. UNISON members who have made claims which are supported by a positive Thompsons' merits assessment, will be able to attend drop in days from mid-September to collect their cheques. Dates for signing days for equal pay (claimants) September 14th / 16th / 23rd - Guildhall September 21st / 28th Civic Centre
Dates for signing days for equal pay (Non claimants) October 1st / 6th / 8th / 12th / 13th / 27th / 29th – Civic Centre
Back pay dates November 2nd / 3rd / 10th / 11th / 17th / 19th / 24th / 26th - Civic Centre Payroll deadline is the 7th November so the first few dates could be paid in November payroll everyone else will be paid in the December pay day.
UNISON Sports & Social London Day Trip - November 14th - Prices from £10.00 Bath Christmas Market - December 12th - Prices from £6.00. Further information and booking forms are available from stacey.morris@swansea.gov.uk or telephone 01792 635271 We can also arrange for any of the above trips to be paid for by instalments
Contact us:
Unison Office, Rm 153-G, The Guildhall, Swansea 01792 635271
unison@swansea.gov.uk
Branch Secretary: Mike Davies / Asst. Secretary: Andrea Thomas 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) or Contact for your department below or go to your workplace steward. Alternatively please contact the branch office. SENIOR STEWARD SOCIAL SERVICES ALISON DAVIES 01792 636351 / 07941757853 FINANCE CONTACT RHYDIAN PRISMICK 01792 635803 / 07835757517 SENIOR STEWARD REGENERATION (OUTDOOR LEISURE) JOHN LLEWELLYN 07920560208 SENIOR STEWARD REGENERATION (INDOOR LEISURE) ROGER OWEN 07847942458
Sports & Social website: www.suss.me.uk
SENIOR STEWARDS ENVIRONMENT IAN ALEXANDER 07584505793 PAUL WATKINS (CLYDACH) 07572153750 PAT LOPEZ (CAVE ST) 07557560097 EDUCATION CONTACT JOHN AUSTIN 07796275039 HOUSING CONTACTS SALLYANNE TAYLOR 07825401711 ALICE GREENLEES 01792 457025 / 07773509299
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.