BRANCH NEWS
PAY 2008 – “YES” VOTE FOR INDUSTRIAL ACTION!
The
results of the national strike ballot of UNISON members working in Local
Government in
Nearly
600,000 UNISON members were balloted and 55% of those who voted were in favour
of strike action in support of our pay claim for 6% or 50p an hour whichever
was the greater – and against the employers’ miserable final offer of 2.45%
(well below inflation).
Commenting
on the ballot result, General Secretary Dave Prentis said: "This is a
solid vote for action and a clear message to the local government employers
that our members are willing to fight for a decent pay rise. They are fed up
and angry that they are expected to accept pay cut after pay cut, while prices
go through the roof. Workers who have to use their cars for work are being hit
hard too by spiralling fuel costs and they end up subsidising their
employers."
What Next?
The
ballot results were considered by our national negotiators – the National Joint
Council (NJC) Committee - yesterday (Tuesday 24th June). The NJC Committee will now make a request to
the Industrial Action Committee of the National Executive Council, which will
meet on Friday 27th June, to authorise strike action.
If this
authorisation is given, the
The
history of strikes in pursuit of pay awards shows that the employers do change
their position in the face of concerted action. The last two strikes for pay
were in 1989 and 2002. On both occasions we received a better offer. A
calculation of how much these increases were worth over the years shows that
it’s very worthwhile taking the action.
Remember How Miserly the Employers’ Offer is……….
The employers’ “final” offer is
2.45% (the speech marks are there because they’ll come up with more if we make
a determined stand).
This is
less than the Government’s preferred measure of inflation, the Consumer Price
Index (CPI) which is currently 3.3%. It
lags even further behind the Retail Price Index (RPI), which is a much truer
reflection of the rise in the cost of living.
Unlike the CPI, it includes the cost of housing and council tax and
currently stands at 4.3%.
So what
our employers are offering is a pay cut – the cost of things we buy will rise
more than the amount of money in our pocket does.
And it’s
not just this year. We’ve lost ground
year after year compared with workers in the private sector. The employers also want to tie us into a deal
for the next two years by the end of this year.
We need
to send out a message to our employers and the Government that we’re prepared
to fight – otherwise they’ll tread all over us again and again. As far as they’re concerned, our standard of
living is expendable, on the basis that keeping our wages down controls
inflation. This is, of course, nonsense
– everyone is now aware that it’s the rise in the price of fuel and food that
has had the biggest effect. If it were
the rise in wages that caused inflation, we’ be paying for other people’s wage
increases. As it is we’re asked to take
a pay cut because things are more expensive – how logical or fair it that?
Members
should also be aware that accepting this derisory offer would have given the
green light to our employers for future pay rises. They have stated that they aim to reach
agreement on the 2009 and 2010 pay awards by 31st December
2008. Clearly they’ll seek an increase
for the next two years in line with this year’s. If we accepted a pay cut this year we’d be
facing pay cuts for the next two years as well!
Finally
the employers also want to review our National Agreements as set out in The
Green Book. You can rest assured that
they won’t be looking to improve our Terms and Conditions! Showing that we’re prepared to take
industrial action over the pay offer will clearly make them think carefully
about whether they can risk further attacks on us.
Financial
Hardship
The Branch recognises that taking strike action can cause
genuine financial hardship for some members. If people really cannot afford to go without 2 days pay, we would
rather help them out financially than not have those members out on
strike. In such cases we would ask members to
apply to our Welfare Officer to be considered for financial assistance. Contact the Branch Office - all requests will be treated in
the strictest confidence.
WE
DESERVE A DECENT PAY RISE – TAKE THE ACTION!
SINGLE STATUS
For our latest update
and details of the Appeals Procedure please click here.
SCHOOL SUPPORT STAFF
– LITTLE POCKET BOOK
We now have a supply of these very useful booklets available from
the Branch Office.
This 168-paged booklet
sets out the rights, responsibilities and duty of care for Support Staff in
Schools.
Some of the issues
covered in the booklet include School Matters, Employment, Health, Safety,
Welfare and Security and a mine of other useful information.
A must for all Support
Staff in Schools.
If you would like a
copy please contact Karen on 020 8760 5435.
PENSIONS
The Government Regulations on the Local
Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) can be found on the Pension Update Page
You can also log-on to
the UNISON National Website www.unison.co.uk for more
information on Pensions.
NATIONAL
NEWS
NJC CAR ALLOWANCES
The Car Allowance rates for 2008-9 have just recently been
announced.
The new rates are as follows:
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451-999cc |
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1000-1199cc |
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1200-1450cc |
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ESSENTIAL USERS |
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Lump Sum per annum |
£753 |
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£849 |
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£1,059 |
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Per mile first 8,500 |
34.0p |
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36.9p |
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45.8p |
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Per mile after 8,500 |
13.3p |
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13.6p |
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15.8p |
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CASUAL USERS |
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Per mile first 8,500 |
42.9p |
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46.9p |
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58.7p |
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Per mile after 8,500 |
13.3p |
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13.6p |
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15.8p |
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Petrol Element per mile (for both categories) |
9.227p |
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9.804p |
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10.695p |
The petrol element of the allowance formula is based on a price of
103.52p per litre (470.6p per gallon) for unleaded petrol, based on actual pump
prices in the first two weeks of January (as surveyed by the AA on behalf of
the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders).
On 8th April a request was made to the Employers to
review the petrol element of the formula given the increase of petrol prices,
but they weren’t prepared to do so.
The new rates are effective from April 2008.
EVENTS
CROYDON UNISON SOCIAL CLUB CHARITY QUIZ NIGHT
IN AID OF WORLDVISION’S FAR EAST DISASTER APPEALS –
Wednesday 25th June
A special
Quiz presented by Mr Wally Ross-Gower
7:45pm
start
Maximum 4 per Team (£10 per team)
At Ruskin House, Coombe Road
Prize
raffle on the night – contributions welcome!
Please note that
we intend recommencing regular monthly Croydon UNISON Social Club quizzes at
Ruskin House this summer
TOLPUDDLE FESTIVAL
Friday 18th July 2008 - Sunday 20th July inclusive
Trade unions commemorate the
Tolpuddle Martyrs every year in July. Rallies – held in Tolpuddle since
Victorian times – have evolved into a weekend-long music and arts festival
attended by families and young people as well as union stalwarts.
“Although we still cover the serious issues and trade union campaigns, we’ve
created an environment where people can come and have a great time together
with friends and comrades, and have a nice summer's day out, whatever their
music tastes or political outlook,” says festival organiser Nigel Costley of
the South West regional TUC.
UNISON is one of the official sponsors of the event.
Get the programme -
Download
this document as an Adobe PDF file
OTHER INFO
BRITANNIA BUILDING SOCIETY
The Branch has recently held two very successful Mortgage &
Savings Days with
We hope to hold
further days in the future but in the meantime you can download a PDF Voucher worth £5.00 which you can use to open a UNISON ISA
account.
If you
require further details please get in touch with our Branch Contact Emma
Thompson on 07790793286 or via email to emma.thompson@britannia.co.uk
Don’t forget to check out the deals at UNISON’s
CALLING ALL VOLUNTEERS………
We are always looking for more members to get actively
involved in the Branch. There are many areas where members don't have a local
Steward.
So - if you would like to get more involved in the Branch and
its decision making, take part in negotiations with management and represent
members, why not become a Steward or Health and Safety Rep?
We won't throw you in at the deep end. There are many
courses available that are organised through the TUC or UNISON and they run
throughout the year. You will also have the support of the Branch Office. Time
off for full training is available, please contact the Branch Office for more
details or e-mail branchoffice@croydonunison.co.uk
ARE YOU GETTING IT?
Please let us know in the Branch Office if you have
changed your address, either by phone on 8760-5435 or via e-mail to branchoffice@croydonunison.co.uk
it’s important we keep your records up to date so that you are fully informed
on matters that could affect you.
If you are prepared to be a workplace contact for us,
which involves handing out UNISON information, Newsletters etc to your fellow
UNISON members again please let us know in the Branch Office.
We want to make sure all our members are informed
on what's happening in the Branch.