branch newsletter 20152

Summer 2015

Wolverhampton Branch

Dave Prentis told UNISON Conference in Glasgow that the union was ready, will-ing and able to face the "storm to come" following the shock result of the general election.

"We are under attack from a vicious, vindictive Tory govern-ment - attacking our jobs, the services we provide, attack-ing our democracy, attacking our funding, even our right to exist," he said.

"Our union is in the firing line like never before.

"But if we decide to fight, no-one can stop us."

In his keynote speech to UNISONs national delegate confer-ence, the general secretary gave heart to members for the diffi-cult years ahead.

Looking forward, Mr Prentis pledged to treble the number of fighting fund organisers from 100 to 300 to support branches, and would ensure that funding was available to continue training stewards.

UNISON will also double its legal funds in order to take land-mark cases - and if the union fails in parliament, it will take the government to "the highest court in Europe" to defend mem-bers right to strike.

The union will also be calling on the TUC to organise a mass lobby of the Westminster parliament and a march against aus-terity. And, said Mr Prentis, "If the TUC wont do it, then we will do it ourselves."

And a special word in support of the unions activists was wel-

comed by cheers from the delegates.

"Let me make it clear to any employer - if you come for any activist, I promise we will take you on. An injury to one is an injury to all. There will be no victimisation and no witch hunts."

Mr Prentis sought to give hope to members drained by life un-der an ungrateful and damaging government.

"Where our members are unsure, as many are, we must build them up. Well work together to strengthen their resolve.

"The true test of our union is not whether its perfect, its whether we can work together across regions and across ser-vice groups to make it better, to make our union stronger.

"Yes, by all means recognise our weaknesses, but we must rise together to overcome them."

The general secretary used the current Labour Party leader-ship contest to highlight the unions enduring value and strength.

"We are told by Labour contenders that we must shimmy to the centre, and talk the language of Tory aspiration," he said.

"They are right that we should aspire to better things. But aspi-ration isnt about Tory wealth, its not about acquisition. Our aspiration is about conviction.

"What we in UNISON aspire to is for every one of our mem-bers to have decent work, instead of the abuse of zero hours contracts. "We aspire for our members to have proper jobs,

"We aspire for our members to have proper jobs, fair pair, proper contracts, affordable housing. We aspire for them to have enough money to put food on the table, and to sleep without fear for their family and their future."

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Why self-organisation?

Trade unionism is all about organising workers around a common experience. We organise members in a number of different ways, such as by employer, by occupational group (home care workers, police staff, teaching assistants and so on) and by geography.

Self-organisation is members organising around their experience of prejudice and discrimination.

Because prejudice and discrimination are deep-rooted in our society, women members, Black members, dis-abled members and lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans-gender members have traditionally been less visible in trade unions and under-represented in democratic structures. Self-organisation offers a way to address this.

It is sometimes thought that because the members of self-organised groups meet separately, self-organisation is separatism. It is not.

UNISONs self-organised groups are a well-established part of our organisation. They are actively involved in all the unions mainstream work. They have a valuable role in ensuring that the union identi-fies and takes up equality issues, actively challenges discrimination and that our democratic structures re-flect the whole membership. Self-organisation strengthens UNISON.

Our four self organised groups are

Black members

Women

Disabled members

LGBT (Lesbian, Gay , Bisexual and transgender)

Within the branch all but LGBT , have regular meet-ings (attendance of which is open to all who identify as part of that group)

There are also regional self organised groups

Any member who is interested in forming a branch LGBT group please contact;

[email protected]

Chair Paulette Whyte 0793755210

Chair Paulette Whyte

Chair Sharon Dixon

01902554096

Dave Auger our Deputy branch Secretary has been re-elected to UNISONs National Executive Committee

Paulette Whyte Branch Education Officer Was recently elected To UNISONs National Women's Committee

Well done Paulette and Dave !

Branch Officers elected

to national Committees

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Following the outsourcing of most of its care staff (2,800 staff out of 3100) members had a 9.5% pay cut imposed from 1 April last year (add to that the fact that prices have risen by just under 20%) . Before the 9.5% pay cut the impact on mem-bers pay has seen around 3,400 stripped from the value of their wages The staff have taken Industrial action in Janu-ary and February. A total of 8 days of strike action since the dis-pute began. This is in a bid to reverse the harsh 9.5% pay cut imposed on them by their employer. YCB (Your choice Barnet) has not met with UNISON as they have indicated they have nothing new to offer. At the same time UNISON members are con-tinuing to deliver a quality service to adults with disabilities, often with less staff and an in-crease in agency workers.

The Bar-net dis-pute has struck a chord with Wolver-hampton Branch in that the tactic of outsourcing Adult services is one that Wolverhampton Council is actively considering under its savings programme The reality is however, that the only saving that is invariably made through outsourcing is by cutting the wages and terms and conditions of workers as they have done in Barnet. In solidarity recognising the hardship experienced from taking 8 days industrial action , our branch committee agreed to donate 500 to the Barnet strike fund.

As the dust settles on the 2015 election and the most right wing government in recent history is re-elected ,as trade unionists we need to prepare for the battles to come. As a majority Government the Tories will be able to drive forward their agenda; The dismantling of the welfare state The privatisation of the NHS Attacks on welfare and benefits . They will face opposition from the trade union movement. This is why they have plans for us!

Ending facility time for TU officers Seriously hampering representation and organi-sation Ending DOCAS (the right to have union sub-scriptions taken directly from wages) Which creates great difficulty in retaining mem-bers Making strikes in public services almost im-possible by setting participation rates that are far higher than needed to get elected to parlia-ment ! These and other plans could spell the death knell for public sector trade unions and give the Tories free reign to destroy what has taken us genera-tions to build. Granted our record in fighting Tory plans to date has not been all it can be , but we now have no choice but to prepare to defend with every muscle Public services and the welfare state . To do so we need more members to become active in our union!

JOIN US TODAY! tel: 01902554096 website www.wolverhamptonunison.com/ An evaluation version of novaPDF was used to create this PDF file.Purchase a license to generate PDF files without this notice.

In factories in Bangla-desh, India, Indonesia, Cambodia and more, the people who make our clothes live in poverty, usually earning just half of what they need to meet their basic needs and

care for their families. Just over 12 months ago a Textile factory in Bangladesh called Rana Plaza collapsed killing over 1300 workers . This was not the first incident where poor standards had led to the death of Bangladeshi textile workers .

In the UK at least, this is an industry that on paper supports the principle of a living wage. Most high street fashion brands have the commitment to pay a living wage written into their ethical codes. But little is being done to deliver this into the pay packets of workers who desperately need it.

Labour Behind the Label supports garment work-ers' efforts worldwide to improve their working conditions, through awareness raising, informa-tion provision and encouraging international soli-darity between workers and consumers.

Our members include trade unions and their local branches, consumer organisations, campaign groups, and charities.

These organisations work together, through La-bour Behind the Label, to achieve four aims:

1. Raise public awareness and mobilise con-sumers. 2. Pressure companies to take responsibility for workers' rights in the entirety of their supply chains. 3. Support workers in their struggles for decent working conditions, including speaker tours and urgent appeals. 4. Lobby governments and policy makers to bring about change.

Labour Behind the Label believes that everyone with a stake in the garment industry has a re-sponsibility to improve working conditions:

Workers need to join together and demand

better rights Consumers need to take ethics into account in the way that they shop and to enter into dia-logue with companies Governments need to step in and defend workers' rights through legislation Companies especially the big brands at the top of the supply chain need to lead by example

While all the mainstream clothing companies have a long way to go, some have begun to improve working conditions in their supply chains. What we ask of all companies is that they accept their responsibility for working conditions in all the fac-tories producing their products and adopt a code of conduct that sets out workers' rights in the workplace.

What most of us want to know is which shops to buy from and which ones to avoid, but sadly we can't do this. Buying 'sweatshop free' clothes is a complicated business. Labour Behind the Label exists to help improve conditions for garment workers on the ground and empower them to change their systems for the better we are not a consumer label and can't hope to know everything there is to know about all brands.

Yet we also understand that you are a consumer who does need to buy clothes and you want to do this in the best possible way

Labour Behind the Label would expect a company to be doing at least the following: a) have a comprehen-sive code of conduct, b) take mature steps to imple-ment this code, including work to address its own pur-chasing practices, and work to endorse and implement a living wage standard as part of this measure, c) un-dertake credible stakeholder participation, and d) ac-tively support freedom of association and collective bargaining.

To learn more or to get involved

Go to www.labourbehindthelabel.org

Or speak to our International officer

Dave Auger


Branch contacts:

Officers can be contacted on

01902554096

Branch Secretary Ade Turner

Branch Chair Sue Brealey

Deputy Branch sec Dave Auger

Welfare officer Jane Ceresa

07931316741

Catering / Wendy Bond

Cleaning 07969375171

H& S officer Chris Pugh

07949356277

CHRIS PUGH

Our Branch Health &Safety officer has recently completed his final TUC H&S course.

He has also been elected as the Regional H&S officer for UNISON West Midlands

If you need advice in H&S contact

Chris 07949356277

www.wolverhamptonunison.blogspot.com

www.westmidlandsinternational.blogspot.co.uk/

http://www.unison-westmids.blogspot.co.uk/

Wolverhampton Unison local Government

website www.wolverhamptonunison.com

UNISON MEMBERS IN GLASGOW CITYS HOMELESS CASEWORK TEAM HAVE BEEN OUT ON STRIKE FOR THE LAST 13 WEEKS - This follows a dispute over the application of the councils job evaluation scheme to the role of Homelessness Caseworkers. Three out of every four strikers are women. The workers assess the needs of homeless people and families across Glasgow, organise crucial support and help people to access and maintain emergency, temporary and permanent accommodation. The seventy workers have nearly 3,000 people on their caseloads . Recently Wolverhampton Branch sent a message of solidarity to the strikers and agreed to make a donation of 500 to their hardship fund . Whilst in Glasgow for UNISON National Conference ,Our branch secretary Ade Turner took the opportunity To hand over the cheque in person to Ian Leech Branch sec of Glasgow city branch


They are organisers who talk to, recruit and organise members around workplace issues, hold meetings, undertake surveys and help run ballots.

They give members information about union issues by publicising UNISON campaigns, distributing leaflets and keeping members informed about and involved in local negotiations.

They are advisers and sounding boards, talking to members about workplace problems and - if they feel confi-dent - giving advice on how to deal with these.

Alternatively, they may arrange for the member to get advice or assistance from elsewhere in the union, or work with them to get the information they need.

They are representatives and spokespersons for members in their workplace

1 Steward A UNISON steward is an elected representative whose role includes organising, recruiting and repre-senting members (including at disciplinary and grievance hearings).

Stewards in workplaces where UNISON is recog-nised by the employer have rights to time off for training and to carry out their work.

Stewards have a right to be involved in how their branch is run and are the most important link be-tween the members and the union.

UNISON aims to have at least one steward in each workplace and department, more in larger departments and where members work shifts.

Stewards are elected each year by the group of members that they represent and the post is open to job share.

2 Health and safety rep A health and safety representative has the right to training and to raise issues which affect the health and safety of members.

UNISON aims to have at least one health and safety representative in every workplace where we have members.

the most important link between the union and its members. Workplace reps play a number of roles


2 Health and safety rep A health and safety representative has the right to training and to raise issues which affect the health and safety of members.

UNISON aims to have at least one health and safety representative in every workplace where we have mem-bers.

In some cases, the safety representative and steward are the same person but they have two separate roles.

Safety representatives have specific duties and responsibilities and also have important legal rights.

3 Union learning rep Learning reps are likely to be members who have recently completed a learning programme and are enthusi-asts and advocates for learning in their own workplaces.

Their precise role will vary according to their own circumstances, but will probably centre on raising awareness of lifelong learning among the members and helping to identify and articu- late the learn-ing needs of particular members, as well as negotiating with employers on learning is-sues.

They have some rights to time off for training and carrying out their duties.

They will also liaise with employers about lifelong learning opportunities.

4 Workplace contacts Workplace contacts distribute information, support a steward or carry out some tasks normally undertaken by a steward.

Workplace contacts do not have access to the same rights as stewards, but can and do play an important role in helping groups of members to organise effectively.

This is an ideal role for someone who is interested in becoming a steward or safety representative, but would like to find out more about what is involved. It is also ideal for those groups of members who can find no-one willing to be a steward.

Support and training Where the union has a recognition agreement, stewards, health and safety reps and learning reps have a legal right to reasonable time off for union duties. Good recognition agreements may also allow some time off for union activities rather than duties but will depend on the particular agreement and employer.

Support is available for UNISON reps from your branch and region, as well as more experienced colleagues, and every region runs training courses for reps throughout the year.

If you are interested in being more involved in UNISON contact the branch office for a (no obligation ) chat


recent times , excellent attendance records ,who have had the misfortune to suffer long term illness or have ongoing disability issues and are Invariably described as model employees by their managers . Instead of real support they have the added stress of being dragged through the management of atten-dance process. Once at stage 3+ they then have to avoid triggering for two years or face dismissal, which despite their best efforts many of them cannot achieve. This has included triggering after taking sick leave following the death of a mother ! Many employees think that because their illness is genuine , that they cant be dismissed THIS IS NOT THE CASE!. The employer can , even if the absences are genuine, dismiss the employee for failing to abide by their contract and attend work. But the reality is yes there are some who abuse the system , but they know how to work the system and rarely find themselves subject to the procedure. The Council procedure is less about supporting employees and more about reducing Sickness levels and getting employees with health problems out of the door! This is invariably achieved by being more likely to dismiss staff who have long term absences and employees driven (by fear of the procedure) to at-tend work when they are not actually fit to do so. So called presenteeism, is a cause for concern , where unwell staff are pressured into coming to work. This can prolong illness, spread diseases and cause stress in the workplace. Given all the above concerns UNISON has requested an urgent review of the MOA policy But still our employer seeks to drive down

absenteeism . They are now proposing to cut our sick pay by 15%! Beware any one of us who has a good attendance record be it 4 years or twenty , because none of us know what lies round the corner , and could find ourselves caught in this process So lets not get fooled like anonymous that those dismissed somehow deserve it . It could happen to any of us !

And when they come for our sick pay scheme we need to defend it every way we can!

You may have seen this recent article , which states The figures mean that sickness absence at the cash-strapped council is more than double the national average of 4.4 days The national figures referred to are for 2013/2014 (the latest for which figures exist ) In the same period the average number of days lost in the council was 7.57 So despite their new draconian management of attendance policy introduced in April 2013, absence has increased! The national average of 4.4 days includes both private and public sector . For a variety of reasons absence in the public sector is higher than that of the private sector ; There are differences in the type of jobs between the two sectors. On average , women have more sickness absence than men (for a variety of accepted reasons) and the public sector employs a higher proportion of female workers. The paper also added ; The council has laid off 42 serial non-attendees since April 2014 as part of its attendance manage-ment scheme. A n anonymous comment was made on the express and star webpage This is a great approach. These people give council workers a bad name. Not all of us abuse the system, we are lucky we get any sick pay at all because I know plenty of people who don't. I haven't had a sick day since I started at the council 4 years ago. It is our experience of representing members who have been dismissed under this process , that they are far from what would be described as abusers of the system or serial offenders They are in the main female employees (many of whom have 20+ years service ) who have had upto


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