UNISON York City Newsletter May 2016

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York City

York City Local Government Branch of UNISON

Welcome to this newsletter. We hope that you will find it a useful update as to what is happening in our branch. Over the last few months we have been very busy.

We have sadly bidden farewell to our long standing Branch Secretary and Lead Convenor, Heather McKenzie and wish her well for the future.

We face some big challenges over the next year, but with your help and support, we will take these on and continue to the very best we can for our members.

Andrea Dudding, Branch Secretary and Lead Convenor Terry Shiels, General Convenor Julie Toyne, General and Schools Convenor

Get social with UNISON Craft Fair on Saturday 14 May at The Belfrey Hall off Stonegate.

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We have a really good mix of stalls and there will be refreshments too. We felt that it was a good way of supporting shopping local, showcasing that York is open for business and raising some funds for There for You, UNISON’s welfare charity.

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REMEMBER!

UNISON Doncaster Race Day on Saturday 30 July 2016 See our website for details.

May 2016

Forced Academisation of Schools The government announcement that all schools will be forced to come academies has come in for huge criticism from parents, teachers and councils up and down the country. We will be lobbying our local Councillors to follow suit. In York we are finally starting to see a trend for schools to become multi academy trusts, with Southbank schools already up and running and others in the process of joining or becoming one.

The branch will be working with the other trade unions and

interested parties to discuss how it affects schools and the council.

We will be writing to all members in schools later on this term.

Make no mistake – this is nothing less than privatisation of education and is designed to bust trade unions, as staff are not covered by national pay, so it is easy for terms and conditions to become worse because they are not covered by national agreements.

If you want to become more involved, please get in touch.

£6.9m cuts at the council There are further devastating budget cuts at the council of just over £6m, taking into account the transitional grant of £780k. This means that the endless round of reviews and restructures is going to continue. We don’t as yet know what this will mean in terms of job losses, but it was originally estimated at about 90. One of the biggest restructures just starting is in Early Intervention and Prevention Services in CSES which has to find £1m of savings over 2 years. If you are involved in any review and you need support, get in touch with the branch office.

Holiday Pay Claims A really big thank you to the 50+ City of York Council members who made holiday pay claims last October. It brought the council to the negotiating table and we have signed a collective agreement so that over 300 staff in CYC got back pay going back for 2 years. As part of the negotiations, we ensured that everyone who had lodged a claim got back pay. We have already written to our members in the Joseph Rowntree Foundation about

how to make a claim; if you work additional hours over and above your contracted ones, you may have a holiday pay claim. Contact the branch for details on how you can make a claim.

Contact the branch: Monday to Friday 9 am to 5 pm Tel: 01904 553490 UNISON national helpline 08000 857 857 (open Monday to Friday 6 am to Midnight and Saturday 9am to 4pm) Email: unison@york.gov.uk anytime

UNISON to accept local government pay offer Following a meeting of local government representatives from across UNISON, the union has decided to accept the pay offer from the employers. This is for two years. It is 1% for each year as City of York Council already pay the living wage.

Head of local government Heather Wakefield said: “Having talked to members in local government across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, we’ve decided that there are to be no further consultations and we have agreed to accept the employers’ pay offer for 2016/18.

Attacks on Facility Time

UNISON have had facility time cut by 50% by the new council administration. In addition to that, the government is pressing ahead with its attack on trade unions in general, and public sector unions in particular with their trade union bill. Our strength lies with us, the members and UNISON has 1.2 million voices. Please talk to your colleagues, friends and family and tell them how important unions are. It’s far too easy to take the rights we have for granted. Make no mistake, local government terms and conditions such as sick pay will be next on the menu to be taken away from us.

Trouble brewing at work?

Please don’t leave it to the last minute to talk to us. Stop little problems becoming big ones. No query or question is silly. Our members tell us that it really does help to talk through their concerns as early as possible.

Round-up York Museums Trust

We are delighted to report that we have reconnected with the Trust and now have regular Joint Consultative meetings. The Trust were going to change substance rates and now they are not going to. If you have any issues you want us to raise, please ask.

Askham Bryan College We have had the opportunity to visit the college and attend the Joint Consultative meetings for the first time. We are seeking improvements to their revised redundancy policy. Please let your

Will you be our next Convenor or Branch Officer?

You are us and we are you. All our contacts and stewards are volunteers. The more contacts and stewards we have the better we can look after our members. If more of us do a little, it spreads the load a lot. If you have a contact or steward near you, you know how much it means to be able to have a quiet chat or informal word first. On top of that we are better informed so we can respond more quickly and effectively. If this sounds like something you would be interested in, please contact the branch so we can talk about what you can do; mentoring, support and accredited training is given.

Retired Members

We have a vibrant and active group of retired members who will be delighted to welcome you if you are retiring. Retired membership is £15 for life. Please contact our

colleagues know that UNISON is there for them too.

York College

As part of our termly JCNC (Joint Consultative and Negotiation Committee) with the College, we have arranged to have a trade union meeting between 12 and 2 at York College on Wednesday 6 July. Please put this date in your diary and we will contact you in June when all the details have been firmed up. This is part and parcel of having more positive and constructive employment relations with the college. We are currently commenting on and proposing changes to various policies and procedures.

retired members’ Secretary Barry Beckwith. The retired members’ page has just been updated, and a retired member’s form and meeting details have been posted.

I’ve left my employer, what next?

If you have left your employer and moved onto another job delivering public services you can take your UNISON membership with you.

Just ask for a branch transfer and set up new payment details. If you are not moving onto another job, you can still remain a member for 2 years for a small £4 fee as an unemployed member.

EU Referendum

Thank you to all who took part in the national consultation about the EU Referendum. UNISON nationally now has a policy to remain in the EU so we can better protect workers’ rights.

In addition, Jane Dersley, Our Union Learning Rep at the College is organising some lunchtime sessions at the end of June. As soon as these are finalised, they will be publicised at the college.

Community & Voluntary Sector Workplaces

We have members in lots of other workplaces too, from Libraries and Archives, Be Independant, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, home care companies, Elderly persons’ homes, housing associations and charities.

In fact anywhere that delivers public services. Remember to tell your colleagues about UNISON, and encourage them to join.